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meditation question

chanrattchanratt Veteran
edited June 2010 in Meditation
i have been meditating now for about a month. somedays 2 15 min sessions but most days just one ( i have 3 boys running around and its hard to fit it in). well, my question isnt 'how' to meditate but so far it's rare if i can keep my mind on simply breathing 1-10 etc, and the couple of times i have managed to do this the results were very rewarding. my question is rather, am i doing something wrong or do i just need more practice? or should ijust stop beating myself up and give it more time.

Comments

  • patbbpatbb Veteran
    edited June 2010
    chanratt wrote: »
    or do i just need more practice? or should ijust stop beating myself up and give it more time.
    seems like you already know the answer to your question ;)

    15 minute is better than nothing, but eventually perhaps longer sessions would be good if you can.
    chanratt wrote: »
    it's rare if i can keep my mind on simply breathing 1-10 etc, and the couple of times i have managed to do this the results were very rewarding. my question is rather, am i doing something wrong
    i see nothing wrong with that.

    it's perfectly normal to not be able to comple cycles 1-10 when beginning.

    Eventually you will progress, and be able to do a few counting cycles and then you will be able to drop the counting.

    here is a great technique to count the breaths if you are not sure
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    <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/03nifVj9pqI&hl=en_GB&fs=1&&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></object>

    you can watch all of the Ajahn Jayasaro video series on youtube, they are excellent, very informative and inspiring!
  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    edited June 2010
    chanratt wrote: »
    so far it's rare if i can keep my mind on simply breathing 1-10 etc, and the couple of times i have managed to do this the results were very rewarding.

    chanratt,

    The mind gets more focused with continued practice. There is no need to beat yourself up over being distracted. It is very normal to have issues in the beginning, give yourself a little time. :)

    With warmth,

    Matt
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Learning unconditional friendliness is one thing to learn. (so when you mess up its no big deal)

    Learning that you just have to be, rather than do is another. (there is nothing wrong with not reaching 10....at 10 thats not nirvana :tonguec: )

    Part of it is falling off so you train in 'coming back'.. This starts to get into your waking life with your boys too. You come back to your pure heart of awareness more easily when you fall off.
  • AtishaAtisha
    edited June 2010
    Maybe you can look out for more appropriate types of meditation, which are more fittable in your personal life. For example, when you're eating, try to stick to the that moment, taste the food, and try to eat more conscious than you normally do.
    Or, just lying in bed, focusing on the breathing and start feeling your body from tip to toe. In doing this, you also train your mind and perhaps your 15 minutes breahting meditation will work out much better after those other exercises?
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Someone posed this question to my teacher once. They said "How long will I have to practice in order for thoughts to stop entering my mind and disturbing my focus"

    His answer: 20,000 years :)
  • truthseekertruthseeker
    edited June 2010
    Thoughts always intrude when mindfulness is lost, but rather than looking forward to 20,000 years of practice, it is possible -even for the beginner- to achieve moments of "thoughtlessness", i.e. moments of thought being completely absent, after a while of practice. It is probably better to focus on this type of small improvements and accomplishments than beating oneself up over all the "mistakes".

    Cheers, Thomas
  • FoibleFullFoibleFull Canada Veteran
    edited June 2010
    seeker242 wrote: »
    Someone posed this question to my teacher once. They said "How long will I have to practice in order for thoughts to stop entering my mind and disturbing my focus"

    His answer: 20,000 years :)

    Ha ha ha :lol: That sounds about right!
  • lightwithinlightwithin Veteran
    edited June 2010
    I learned a very important lesson when I read my first meditation book, and that was to never judge your meditation practice. Doesn't matter if it's a positive judgement ("Wow, this is turning out to be a great session! I'm making progress"), or negative ("I don't know why I'm doing this. I'm not good at it. I should quit").

    Judgments only open up the door for disappointment and delusion, because either they build you up enough to give you a big head about your practice and a ridiculous sense of pride, or they lead you to leave the practice after you judge your "progress" (whatever that means) to be insufficient.

    If you're gonna meditate, make meditation it's own purpose and do it without a gaining mind. Don't think "What am I getting out of this?" or expect to reach enlightenment with it. Don't get caught up in the why's and the how's.

    But yes, give yourself lots of time. Focus and collecting the mind don't come easy for people after years of being content with the monkey mind and not even realizing it. Keep on practicing and don't despair if you don't seem to have any other-worldly experiences, as these are unimportant for the development of your practice.
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