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The breath is often very subtle and not easy to find for a dull mind. Try a few minutes of body scan before you start to focus on the breath, just to brighten the mind. It will be more easy to find the breath and to stay focussed on it.
Hi All, Have tried this body scan somewhat. but something weird happens - it is difficult to explain, but let me try to explain it - i am doing meditation with my eyes closed, so when i was trying to do body scan, i felt to be aware of my hands, legs i had to move my eyes downwards even though my eyes are closed - then when i try to be aware of my breath, i feel my eyes were either downwards so i have to bring my eyes in front of my nose area for the feeling of breath. So even though my eyes are closed, how am i knowing my eyes are downward and not straight in front?
Moreover the weird part here is even though my eyes are closed, i see some brightness because of external light of room, then if i wish to still close my eyes(even though they are already closed), i am able to move something internally in my eyes which reduces the visual brightness to some dimness or grayness - so what is happening in this case can someone explain please?
Moreover while i try to bring my eyes to nose area/face area, the awareness of my breath somehow gets lost somewhere. Has someone experienced this type of thing? Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
I am no expert on meditation so my advice may be of no help what so ever, but I would like to try and help if I can and say that maybe you are thinking about it too much, trying to hard. It may sound silly and maybe even unbuddhist, but how about just sitting and being okay with what is?
In meditation things can happen that have always happened, but you never noticed before. Also the senses may do strange things, because they are not exited as they are usually. Sometimes you may feel like you are floating, or like your head is expanding, you see all kinds of floating lights in the inside of your eye, or whatever strange thing. But all of this is not important, because it is just the senses doing a bit odd.
In meditation we seek peace and kindness, not explanations for what is happening, why it is not working, what you should do, etc. If the mind is like that, you will never be peaceful. The only thing you need to do is let go. These things you mention are not important. May be interesting, you can play with them a while if you want, but it is not worth a lot. So let them go. And in order to do that, you first have to let them be. So don't over-analyze everything that is happening.
Also, maybe give it more than 1 try before consulting others You have the potential to find out for yourself.
@sabre/all: Thanks for helping me out by answering my meditation's queries.
Unfortunately, as i have already said earlier either in this post or some other post, i am not a Buddhist and also a family man with a wife and a child, and working in IT industry, so unfortunately i do not have the time to go for a retreat to find a teacher to help me in my meditation.
i am doing meditation sitting in full-lotus position by observing my natural breath as the object of my meditation.
The problem which i am facing in my meditation is i am not able to be silently aware of the present moment - ironically this should be the most easiest of the thing to do as it does not need to do anything, but i am so stupid to not able to do it.
when today i tried to be silently aware of the present moment in meditation, then i tried to not do anything and tried to just be aware of what is coming in my mind, then what i noticed was - there were just blank moments most of the time - no feeling, nothing - just silence getting interrupted by external noises. So what is i am doing wrong here? Please help me to correct it.
Moreover, how to develop concentration in my meditation? Also how to differentiate that i am practicing insight meditation and not samadhi? Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
.....what i noticed was - there were just blank moments most of the time - no feeling, nothing - just silence getting interrupted by external noises. So what is i am doing wrong here?
Blank moments are good, it shows the mind is quietening down. Just be aware of them.
i am doing meditation sitting in full-lotus position by observing my natural breath as the object of my meditation.
The problem which i am facing in my meditation is i am not able to be silently aware of the present moment - ironically this should be the most easiest of the thing to do as it does not need to do anything, but i am so stupid to not able to do it.
when today i tried to be silently aware of the present moment in meditation, then i tried to not do anything and tried to just be aware of what is coming in my mind, then what i noticed was - there were just blank moments most of the time - no feeling, nothing - just silence getting interrupted by external noises. So what is i am doing wrong here? Please help me to correct it.
Moreover, how to develop concentration in my meditation? Also how to differentiate that i am practicing insight meditation and not samadhi? Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
If you are blanking out then I think you are tired. If you want to develop breath as an object of meditation you have to train at it and can't be tired.
Being silently aware of the present moment is not the easiest thing to do since the mind has a habit of being active. So you do actually have to do something. You direct your mind to your breath and train to let go of everything else.
Are you mixing up meditation objects? First you say your breath is your object but then say being aware of what comes up in your mind is your goal. Insight meditation involves comparing a memorized idea from buddhism to the current experience to see if it is true. An example of concentration is to think about something that naturally takes your concentration fully like a pretty face. Now try to develop that level of concentration at your breath.
Are you mixing up meditation objects? First you say your breath is your object but then say being aware of what comes up in your mind is your goal.
i think that i am not mixing up meditation objects. my meditation object is my natural breath. but to be aware of it, i think we need to be aware of the present moment. so i was trying to become aware of the present moment by trying to observe the present moment and when the breath comes then observing it too. usually the time interval between two breaths is long, so during that time interval i am trying to be silently aware of the present moment.
the durations which were blank, were not too long, but short in duration and the silence was getting disturbed by external noises. they were blank in the sense that there were no feelings, nothing, but i think i was aware of it - there were some thoughts arising in those durations though that my head is slightly dropping etc.
Well, your analysis that i was tired seems correct to me as day before yesterday night, my sleep was not complete as it was getting disturbed by my child waking up many times in the night.
So what i am doing wrong and how to rectify it? My mind gets distracted the moment an external noise hits my ears, so there is no concentration in my meditation. So how to have some concentration in my meditation? Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
You're probably doing nothing wrong besides overthinking it. Meditation is a practice. Just like one doesn't become a pro athlete within a few days, meditation also needs to grow. The silences will become longer and longer, but only if you let them. Be at peace with the silence and it will grow. Also, external noises will fade out, but only if you let it happen. You do not need to do anything for it. This will take some practice, it doesn't just happen over night. It may take weeks, months, even years to perfect it. But this doesn't matter, you are already practicing and that's what counts.
Just to be sure, in meditation the concentration is not forced concentration, we let everything develop by itself, learning to make small movements of mind to nudge it in the right direction. Meditation is not doing, it is being.
But these are just my words. You have many questions, but to each one you can find the answer yourself if you just are with whatever arises.
My mind gets distracted the moment an external noise hits my ears,
this is what you are doing wrong:
so there is no concentration in my meditation.
assuming that he situation shouldn't happen.
So how to have some concentration in my meditation
by gently returning the attention to the breath (or whatever concentration object you are using) whenever you realize your mind got distracted.
it really is this simple. You ask this same question at least a dozen times and got the same answer by many people. Im not pointing this out to tease you or anything like this, just to give you the opportunity to realize what you are doing. Somehow this answer doesn't satisfy you, so you are holding on to something.
I'm under the impression that this is the main problem of your practice so perhaps we should talk about this.
Perhaps you imagine it should be different? Perhaps you imagine there is some kind of secret technique to develop concentration other than returning your attention on the object every times you realize you were distracted?
Do you mind sharing why you think the answer doesn't satisfy you?
Hi All, Actually today i got totally confused at a question which raise in my mind, and i was not able to answer it. you all can consider me to be a complete idiot that even though i have asked this question many times - how to increase my concentration in my meditation - got the answer to let go and just sit with what arises and passes by - still i am not able to work it out practically, even though theoretically i think i understand it.
i am doing meditation on natural breath - so when the breath is arising, i should be aware of it - this is ok. the gaps between two breaths is usually long. So the question is - during this gap, i should be aware of which thing in below things: 1. how i am feeling during this gap? 2. what physical sensation is arising during this gap - for example, today i felt some tickling occurring in the left part of my head? 3. both of the above 4. just sit and pass the time 5. none of the above
if the answer is option 5, then suggest what should be i aware of during the gap between breaths - means on which area i should focus my attention to in this gap duration?
Hope my question is clear. the 4th option i have written above let me clarify what i mean - many people say to just sit and let go - it is ok - but where the attention should be during gap as the breath is not available at this moment.
Even though the above question may seem silly to all of you, but please suggest on it. Thanks in advance.
by gently returning the attention to the breath (or whatever concentration object you are using) whenever you realize your mind got distracted.
by doing this, eventually, naturally you get better at it. you realize you were distracted sooner and sooner and return to your concentration object. The more time you spend continuously looking at the concentration object the more concentrated you become. Eventually you will get so good at this that you will catch your mind being distracted the second it is being distracted. So you end up spending more time focused on the concentration object. now you have great concentration.
the gaps between two breaths is usually long. So the question is - during this gap, i should be aware of which thing in below things: 1. how i am feeling during this gap? 2. what physical sensation is arising during this gap - for example, today i felt some tickling occurring in the left part of my head? 3. both of the above 4. just sit and pass the time 5. none of the above
you are doing sati meditation, concentration meditation. what you are trying to do is to steady the mind on a object Try not paying too much attention to the individual sensations themselves, but conceptualize the breath as a coherent and continuous entity. so during the gap, keep your attention on the same location as the breath.
if you were doing mahasi vipassana, you would be trying to deconstruct every single tiny sensation that make up the breath. during the gap you could go in the body and note whatever sensation your mind is going toward. But you are not doing vipassana. Stay on the breath.
I really recommend you to try kasina meditation, http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/102060 even just one time for 10 minutes, so you can easily understand the kind of attention you need to put on the breath. There is no secret, you just look at one spot and stay on it, return to it whenever you got distracted. with kasina it is a spot on the wall or a disk or whatever. with concentration breath meditation the spot is the sensation of the breath.
a tip that work very well for me during breath meditation: when you start meditating, you can start by looking at the more obvious sensation on your nostril, but after a couple minutes, you can zoom in the sensation and choose a smaller part of the sensation to focus on.
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I would also consider the possibility of giving up meditation for a while.... it's not obligatory, and it seems to be confusing you up more than being beneficial to you.....
I got up at 6.00 am to meditate for an hour. I had a cup of tea to wake me up, then sat at 6.20 am and set my timer for one hour.
During the whole hour I felt uncomfortable, thoughts kept on coming, I followed some, let go of others and kept on returning to the breath, again, again, and again - for a whole hour. If I were to judge my meditation - which I know you're not meant to - I'd say it was pretty poor. A part of me wishes I'd just stayed in bed for an extra hour.
I find that after periods of not meditating, say a few days, I have a good peaceful meditation session, but if I meditate twice a day, I don't; it's like I really get bored with it. I do look at the boredom; I know I know.
But does anyone else share this experience?
I'll stick with it, I've been doing it for a few years now, but I don't find it easy.
I would also consider the possibility of giving up meditation for a while.... it's not obligatory, and it seems to be confusing you up more than being beneficial to you.....
I wouldn't advice this. If he can change his attitude to meditation, it will benefit him greatly. But the key is changing the attitude; meditation is not about figuring out life; it's no time for philosophy.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I would also consider the possibility of giving up meditation for a while.... it's not obligatory, and it seems to be confusing you up more than being beneficial to you.....
I wouldn't advice this. If he can change his attitude to meditation, it will benefit him greatly. But the key is changing the attitude; meditation is not about figuring out life; it's no time for philosophy.
actually, I'm only repeating what a tutor told me, when i described a similar problem to him. He replied - "so quit meditating for a while, and come back to it when you think you'll feel more comfortable..."
There's nothing wrong with persevering - there's nothing wrong with stopping. Providing you're clear about your intentions....
If there are troubles changing the attitude towards meditation, it may in some cases be better to back up for a while. Could be. But it is not given this time off will change the attitude, especially in this case. Misecmisc can stop meditating for months, but if he has the attitude that meditation is about figuring things out, why would this idea change within that time?
In my eyes it takes just a change of perspective, another way of looking at it. Not trying to figure things out and analyzing them, but just being with the moment. If you want to learn anything, this is always the start.
But that's my idea. The only one who can know what to do is misec himself.
With metta, Sabre
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Today some queries arise in my meditation: 1. while trying to observe silence, i am finding it as totally blank - so what to observe here? moreover, how to know if my mind is really observing or taking a small sleep in that duration? 2. a concern is rising in my mind, while trying to be aware of present moment - currently what i am observing is - the present moment, or feeling the moment just passed by so not in present moment? How to know this thing? 3. As far as hindrances are concerned, it seems restlessness is there as the doer part of my mind simply keep on being active too much and the knower part is not getting active. So how to make the knower part more active to observe, rather than doer part disturbing the natural breath?
Anyone having faced the above issues in their meditation, please suggest. Thanks in advance.
Whatever arises is the present moment. Including the confusion of thoughts. But. Even so there is no true present moment.
So personally i'd learn to ride the transcience of phenomena. Really see clearly into the details of phenomena.
Learning how to relax is important when the mind is busy. Learning how to focus and concentrate when the mind is tired. When both are in union them just relaxed focus. From there investigate phenomena.
When I first went to study with my teacher, Ajaan Fuang, he handed me a small booklet of meditation instructions and sent me up the hill behind the monastery to meditate.
[..]
He had told me [Ajahn Thanissaro] once about his own experiences as a young meditator: "Back in those days you didn't have books explaining everything the way we do now. When I first studied with Ajaan Lee, he told me to bring my mind down. So I focused on getting it down, down, down, but the more I brought it down, the heavily and duller it got. I thought, 'This can't be right.' So I turned around and focused on bringing it up, up, up, until I found a balance and could figure out what he was talking about." This incident was one of many that taught him some important lessons: that you have to test things for yourself, to see where the instructions had to be taken literally and where they had to be taken figuratively; that you had to judge for yourself how well you were doing; and that you had to be ingenious, experimenting and taking risks to find to ways to deal with problems as they arose.
First off, I have experienced many distractions that you have been speaking about throughout my meditation experience (a few years). Your only goal is to breath and follow your breath - all other distractions should be let go. Let me explain:
Today some queries arise in my meditation: 1. while trying to observe silence, i am finding it as totally blank - so what to observe here? moreover, how to know if my mind is really observing or taking a small sleep in that duration?
It seems that you are looking too hard for something to grasp. Learn to let go. Try to focus intently on your breath and the sensations (key idea I believe) that it brings. Focus only on the sensation of air passing through your nostrils, each small detail as well as you can; or the movement of your stomach/chest while breathing. That is your goal; how does it feel? During each in-breath, you can recite (in your head) in and out for each breath that enters and leaves your body. By doing this you can enable your mind to follow each breath and sensation with greater focus. Following your breath is meant to anchor your mind to something that occurs at all moments, as you are always breathing. So as you sit there and meditate, follow this breath - and only the breath you are currently experiencing. Each time you notice you aren't concentrating on the breath don't worry about or contemplate what you were thinking and just return to breathing. I find that letting go of whatever you were thinking without identifying with it allows for greater peace of mind and less distractions. For a while at least, do not pursue your thoughts at all - the breath and its sensations are more important.
2. a concern is rising in my mind, while trying to be aware of present moment - currently what i am observing is - the present moment, or feeling the moment just passed by so not in present moment? How to know this thing?
Again, you are thinking too much. Contemplating whether you are focusing on the present moment or not is another way of not focusing on your breath and creating distractions. As soon as you realize you are contemplating this - that should be a warning - stop pursing the idea of "present moment" any longer and return to your breath and the sensations that follow.
3. As far as hindrances are concerned, it seems restlessness is there as the doer part of my mind simply keep on being active too much and the knower part is not getting active. So how to make the knower part more active to observe, rather than doer part disturbing the natural breath?
You can refer back to my first section's for the answer to this question. Each time you realize that you are having problems focusing - that in itself should be a reminder to begin breathing again. When your mind gets carried away with these thoughts, you are losing the concentration of the "knower". Focus on nothing but each in and out breath, and wonderful sensations each breath produce. Feel the air tickle the inside your nostrils; the cool air sensations around the entrance of your nostrils during each in-breath, and deep warmth that is created as each breath leaves your body. If you focus on these feelings, you will "know" what is occurring in your body and thus have focus. But remember, each time you realize you lost connections with this breath - you must let go of whatever it was, no matter what it was - and then you may begin to realize that each idea/thought does not matter. Try letting the any thoughts/ideas go, no matter HOW important you think they may be. How does that feel?
With Metta.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
1. while trying to observe silence, i am finding it as totally blank - so what to observe here? moreover, how to know if my mind is really observing or taking a small sleep in that duration?
if you are aware, you are not sleeping. if it's totlly blank, breathe and accept. Notice blank-ness, and let it be....
2. a concern is rising in my mind, while trying to be aware of present moment - currently what i am observing is - the present moment, or feeling the moment just passed by so not in present moment? How to know this thing?
Why need to know? every moment is present moment. Let it be....
3. As far as hindrances are concerned, it seems restlessness is there as the doer part of my mind simply keep on being active too much and the knower part is not getting active. So how to make the knower part more active to observe, rather than doer part disturbing the natural breath?
Knower and doer are same. let them be friends. Knower can watch doer, and doer can watch knower.....they are the same awareness.
@boats: thanks for your reply too. actually the questions which i have raised are for the gap period in between two breaths. usually the gap period in my two consecutive breaths is slightly long. so when that gap period is there, then what should i do - this is what i have referred to as silence in the above 3 queries - during this gap period, since there is no breathing happening, so focussing on breathing cant be done, so the question arises what to focus on in silence as there is nothing there?
moreover if we try to breath, then it usually becomes cautious breathing, and i want to observe just natural breathing.
i read the first few chapters of Mindfulness, Bliss and beyond by Ajahn Brahm, so tried to figure out the hindrances in my meditation, which i listed above.
3. As far as hindrances are concerned, it seems restlessness is there as the doer part of my mind simply keep on being active too much and the knower part is not getting active. So how to make the knower part more active to observe, rather than doer part disturbing the natural breath?
Knower and doer are same. let them be friends. Knower can watch doer, and doer can watch knower.....they are the same awareness.
You really do think far too much.
my mind keeps on thinking - this is my basic problem. the doer simply do not stop doing. so i raised this question how to make the knower more active and doer less active?
One more query: most of the time when i am having attention on breath and gap between breaths, i think it is forced attention out of will, rather than the attention coming naturally - so is this ok?
Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I suggest you stop analysing and let things unfold as they unfold.
attention, is attention. if you bring attention to something, you are making yourself pay attention, but it isn't forced.... because attention coming naturally is the same thing. you can be attentive, or inattentive. inattentive is careless. attentive is mindful.
In addition to my previous post, let me give you some hints.
Hi All,
Today some queries arise in my meditation: 1. while trying to observe silence, i am finding it as totally blank - so what to observe here? moreover, how to know if my mind is really observing or taking a small sleep in that duration? 2. a concern is rising in my mind, while trying to be aware of present moment - currently what i am observing is - the present moment, or feeling the moment just passed by so not in present moment? How to know this thing? 3. As far as hindrances are concerned, it seems restlessness is there as the doer part of my mind simply keep on being active too much and the knower part is not getting active. So how to make the knower part more active to observe, rather than doer part disturbing the natural breath?
Anyone having faced the above issues in their meditation, please suggest. Thanks in advance.
my mind keeps on thinking - this is my basic problem. the doer simply do not stop doing. so i raised this question how to make the knower more active and doer less active?
One more query: most of the time when i am having attention on breath and gap between breaths, i think it is forced attention out of will, rather than the attention coming naturally - so is this ok?
You see...?
Try to figure out what is happening here. I think you can do that yourself.
In addition to my previous post, let me give you some hints.
Hi All,
Today some queries arise in my meditation: 1. while trying to observe silence, i am finding it as totally blank - so what to observe here? moreover, how to know if my mind is really observing or taking a small sleep in that duration? 2. a concern is rising in my mind, while trying to be aware of present moment - currently what i am observing is - the present moment, or feeling the moment just passed by so not in present moment? How to know this thing? 3. As far as hindrances are concerned, it seems restlessness is there as the doer part of my mind simply keep on being active too much and the knower part is not getting active. So how to make the knower part more active to observe, rather than doer part disturbing the natural breath?
Anyone having faced the above issues in their meditation, please suggest. Thanks in advance.
my mind keeps on thinking - this is my basic problem. the doer simply do not stop doing. so i raised this question how to make the knower more active and doer less active?
One more query: most of the time when i am having attention on breath and gap between breaths, i think it is forced attention out of will, rather than the attention coming naturally - so is this ok?
You see...?
Try to figure out what is happening here. I think you can do that yourself.
Have changed something in my meditation - trying to let things as they are, in blank moments just trying to sit and observe what is going on and trying to bring awareness to body parts - i was able to realize the hand and legs, but was not able to realize the heart-beating and even though i tried to feel the heart-beating, but was somehow not able to bring awareness to heart - is something wrong going here. please suggest. thanks in advance.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
No, everything's fine.
Stop trying so hard. If you sense it, you sense it. If you don't sense it, you don't sense it.
one question: these days i am observing that the moment i try to focus on my breath in meditation, usually saliva comes in my mouth - even though i drink sufficient water before sitting in meditation, still saliva is coming in my mouth and then taking it in disturbs the meditation.
another question: also that the ear ringing (may be tinnitus problem) starts at a particular sitting position with back straight and head straight and also this is arising when i try to focus on the breath.
does anyone has faced such things in their meditation and can please suggest how to get rid of these things. thanks in advance.
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DavidA human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First NationsVeteran
I get bad tinnitus too sometimes. If it lasts more than a few minutes I do something else. I've ridden it out before but it takes a while. I havn't found that "sweet position" that makes the tone stop, haha.
For the saliva, I'm not sure but how do you position your tongue? I usually have the tip of mine right in the corner of my front tooth and my palate (yeah, for some reason where most of us have two front teeth, I have one big one, lol) and I don't get that problem.
all these things can be great objects of interest if you bring such attitude, note it, be with it then go back to the breath when you're done.
all the difficulty in meditation is in the attitude we bring to it.
even if we cannot imagine anything then difficulty we must sit through it because it is through the rough that we learn the most.
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DavidA human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First NationsVeteran
nothing disturbs meditation.
you disturb it.
all these things can be great objects of interest if you bring such attitude, note it, be with it then go back to the breath when you're done.
all the difficulty in meditation is in the attitude we bring to it.
even if we cannot imagine anything then difficulty we must sit through it because it is through the rough that we learn the most.
That's a very good point. My impatience needs a light shone on it.
Even very annoying things the mind can leave behind if you don't fight them. Once I came out of meditation, I noticed I drooled all over myself.. But I've meditated not just with saliva or ear noise, but also through noisy neighbours & their music, physical problems/ & pains. The amazing thing is, you can let it all go and you won't hear or feel it anymore, just like you won't smell or see anything in meditation. But this will only happen if you stop the fight with those things.
By the way, to stop saliva from accumulating it can be useful to straighten your head if you didn't do already. If your head is hanging forward, saliva can't get to the troath.
One thing more i have observed: when at night i go to sleep, just before sleeping i try to be aware of my breath again and try to scan the body from head to feet. what i have observed is that somehow my head starts feeling very heavy and becomes uncomfortable in that sleeping position - as far as the posture is concerned, it is straight, flat, arms stretched out, face upwards and a pillow behind my head.
is there anything wrong with this laying posture? can someone please suggest why that heavy head feeling is coming while trying to do body scan just before going to sleep in night. thanks in advance.
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DavidA human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First NationsVeteran
The disturbances you describe will never cease... the universe doesnt stop because you're meditating.
Perhaps stop meditating for say 1 month but instead do other activities that involve motor function and thought - for example, the planting season is upon us - why dont you start a vegetable patch and really take your time to observe everything that happens when you engage in that activity and concentrate on your breath while undertaking it... you may be able to isolate various facets of yourself or your actions or the environment which may then assist when you undertake the same exercise without the motor function.
I suspect that you are aiming to achieve the impossible with your meditation...
The disturbances you describe will never cease... the universe doesnt stop because you're meditating.
Perhaps stop meditating for say 1 month but instead do other activities that involve motor function and thought - for example, the planting season is upon us - why dont you start a vegetable patch and really take your time to observe everything that happens when you engage in that activity and concentrate on your breath while undertaking it... you may be able to isolate various facets of yourself or your actions or the environment which may then assist when you undertake the same exercise without the motor function.
I suspect that you are aiming to achieve the impossible with your meditation...
@zero: so your advice is basically to observe other things in my daily life and try to be aware of my breath in my other activities of doing work, eating lunch, walking to/from office etc? or is it about something else? please clarify. thanks in advance.
I totally agree your reply that everyday mindfulness when working/eating etc is very, very helpful indeed, and it might be what misc needs, BUT it won't be able to replace more silent sitting/walking practice.
To advice someone to stop meditating just because they encounter some problems, is -with all respect- a silly advice. Problems are there to overcome, not to run away from. Overcoming the problems (buddha called them hindrances) is all meditation is about; in fact it is in a sense Buddhist practice is all about. It is like saying to someone who is training for the marathon and can't do 42km yet, to just stop running for a while. That won't help him in any way to get better at running, it will probably even make him worse.
Meditation is just like that. If you don't practice it, it has a high potential to deteriorate. It needs a solid everyday practice to really take off. You could skip a day or two or whatever, but just taking a holiday from meditation has the potential to get you back to square one. But if you practice well, you might soon be able to do 42km. With or without saliva..
I totally agree your reply that everyday mindfulness when working/eating etc is very, very helpful indeed, but it won't be able to replace more silent sitting/walking practice.
I've found that regular meditation is a necessary foundation for maintaining mindfulness throughout the day.
Comments
You can do it guided, for example here:
http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/353.html
Hi All,
Have tried this body scan somewhat. but something weird happens - it is difficult to explain, but let me try to explain it - i am doing meditation with my eyes closed, so when i was trying to do body scan, i felt to be aware of my hands, legs i had to move my eyes downwards even though my eyes are closed - then when i try to be aware of my breath, i feel my eyes were either downwards so i have to bring my eyes in front of my nose area for the feeling of breath. So even though my eyes are closed, how am i knowing my eyes are downward and not straight in front?
Moreover the weird part here is even though my eyes are closed, i see some brightness because of external light of room, then if i wish to still close my eyes(even though they are already closed), i am able to move something internally in my eyes which reduces the visual brightness to some dimness or grayness - so what is happening in this case can someone explain please?
Moreover while i try to bring my eyes to nose area/face area, the awareness of my breath somehow gets lost somewhere. Has someone experienced this type of thing? Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
You are welcome.
In meditation things can happen that have always happened, but you never noticed before. Also the senses may do strange things, because they are not exited as they are usually. Sometimes you may feel like you are floating, or like your head is expanding, you see all kinds of floating lights in the inside of your eye, or whatever strange thing. But all of this is not important, because it is just the senses doing a bit odd.
In meditation we seek peace and kindness, not explanations for what is happening, why it is not working, what you should do, etc. If the mind is like that, you will never be peaceful. The only thing you need to do is let go. These things you mention are not important. May be interesting, you can play with them a while if you want, but it is not worth a lot. So let them go. And in order to do that, you first have to let them be. So don't over-analyze everything that is happening.
Also, maybe give it more than 1 try before consulting others
With metta,
Sabre
Unfortunately, as i have already said earlier either in this post or some other post, i am not a Buddhist and also a family man with a wife and a child, and working in IT industry, so unfortunately i do not have the time to go for a retreat to find a teacher to help me in my meditation.
i am doing meditation sitting in full-lotus position by observing my natural breath as the object of my meditation.
The problem which i am facing in my meditation is i am not able to be silently aware of the present moment - ironically this should be the most easiest of the thing to do as it does not need to do anything, but i am so stupid to not able to do it.
when today i tried to be silently aware of the present moment in meditation, then i tried to not do anything and tried to just be aware of what is coming in my mind, then what i noticed was - there were just blank moments most of the time - no feeling, nothing - just silence getting interrupted by external noises. So what is i am doing wrong here? Please help me to correct it.
Moreover, how to develop concentration in my meditation? Also how to differentiate that i am practicing insight meditation and not samadhi? Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
Spiny
Being silently aware of the present moment is not the easiest thing to do since the mind has a habit of being active. So you do actually have to do something. You direct your mind to your breath and train to let go of everything else.
Are you mixing up meditation objects? First you say your breath is your object but then say being aware of what comes up in your mind is your goal. Insight meditation involves comparing a memorized idea from buddhism to the current experience to see if it is true. An example of concentration is to think about something that naturally takes your concentration fully like a pretty face. Now try to develop that level of concentration at your breath.
the durations which were blank, were not too long, but short in duration and the silence was getting disturbed by external noises. they were blank in the sense that there were no feelings, nothing, but i think i was aware of it - there were some thoughts arising in those durations though that my head is slightly dropping etc.
Well, your analysis that i was tired seems correct to me as day before yesterday night, my sleep was not complete as it was getting disturbed by my child waking up many times in the night.
So what i am doing wrong and how to rectify it? My mind gets distracted the moment an external noise hits my ears, so there is no concentration in my meditation. So how to have some concentration in my meditation? Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
You're probably doing nothing wrong besides overthinking it.
Just to be sure, in meditation the concentration is not forced concentration, we let everything develop by itself, learning to make small movements of mind to nudge it in the right direction. Meditation is not doing, it is being.
But these are just my words. You have many questions, but to each one you can find the answer yourself if you just are with whatever arises.
Wish you much meditation joy,
Reflection
@sabre: Thanks for your reply too.
it really is this simple.
You ask this same question at least a dozen times and got the same answer by many people.
Im not pointing this out to tease you or anything like this, just to give you the opportunity to realize what you are doing.
Somehow this answer doesn't satisfy you, so you are holding on to something.
I'm under the impression that this is the main problem of your practice so perhaps we should talk about this.
Perhaps you imagine it should be different?
Perhaps you imagine there is some kind of secret technique to develop concentration other than returning your attention on the object every times you realize you were distracted?
Do you mind sharing why you think the answer doesn't satisfy you?
Hi All,
Actually today i got totally confused at a question which raise in my mind, and i was not able to answer it. you all can consider me to be a complete idiot that even though i have asked this question many times - how to increase my concentration in my meditation - got the answer to let go and just sit with what arises and passes by - still i am not able to work it out practically, even though theoretically i think i understand it.
i am doing meditation on natural breath - so when the breath is arising, i should be aware of it - this is ok. the gaps between two breaths is usually long. So the question is - during this gap, i should be aware of which thing in below things:
1. how i am feeling during this gap?
2. what physical sensation is arising during this gap - for example, today i felt some tickling occurring in the left part of my head?
3. both of the above
4. just sit and pass the time
5. none of the above
if the answer is option 5, then suggest what should be i aware of during the gap between breaths - means on which area i should focus my attention to in this gap duration?
Hope my question is clear. the 4th option i have written above let me clarify what i mean - many people say to just sit and let go - it is ok - but where the attention should be during gap as the breath is not available at this moment.
Even though the above question may seem silly to all of you, but please suggest on it. Thanks in advance.
by doing this, eventually, naturally you get better at it.
you realize you were distracted sooner and sooner and return to your concentration object.
The more time you spend continuously looking at the concentration object the more concentrated you become.
Eventually you will get so good at this that you will catch your mind being distracted the second it is being distracted.
So you end up spending more time focused on the concentration object.
now you have great concentration. you are doing sati meditation, concentration meditation.
what you are trying to do is to steady the mind on a object
Try not paying too much attention to the individual sensations themselves, but conceptualize the breath as a coherent and continuous entity.
so during the gap, keep your attention on the same location as the breath.
if you were doing mahasi vipassana, you would be trying to deconstruct every single tiny sensation that make up the breath.
during the gap you could go in the body and note whatever sensation your mind is going toward.
But you are not doing vipassana.
Stay on the breath.
I really recommend you to try kasina meditation,
http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/102060
even just one time for 10 minutes, so you can easily understand the kind of attention you need to put on the breath.
There is no secret, you just look at one spot and stay on it, return to it whenever you got distracted.
with kasina it is a spot on the wall or a disk or whatever.
with concentration breath meditation the spot is the sensation of the breath.
a tip that work very well for me during breath meditation:
when you start meditating, you can start by looking at the more obvious sensation on your nostril, but after a couple minutes, you can zoom in the sensation and choose a smaller part of the sensation to focus on.
During the whole hour I felt uncomfortable, thoughts kept on coming, I followed some, let go of others and kept on returning to the breath, again, again, and again - for a whole hour. If I were to judge my meditation - which I know you're not meant to - I'd say it was pretty poor. A part of me wishes I'd just stayed in bed for an extra hour.
I find that after periods of not meditating, say a few days, I have a good peaceful meditation session, but if I meditate twice a day, I don't; it's like I really get bored with it. I do look at the boredom; I know I know.
But does anyone else share this experience?
I'll stick with it, I've been doing it for a few years now, but I don't find it easy.
He replied - "so quit meditating for a while, and come back to it when you think you'll feel more comfortable..."
There's nothing wrong with persevering - there's nothing wrong with stopping.
Providing you're clear about your intentions....
In my eyes it takes just a change of perspective, another way of looking at it. Not trying to figure things out and analyzing them, but just being with the moment. If you want to learn anything, this is always the start.
But that's my idea. The only one who can know what to do is misec himself.
With metta,
Sabre
Today some queries arise in my meditation:
1. while trying to observe silence, i am finding it as totally blank - so what to observe here? moreover, how to know if my mind is really observing or taking a small sleep in that duration?
2. a concern is rising in my mind, while trying to be aware of present moment - currently what i am observing is - the present moment, or feeling the moment just passed by so not in present moment? How to know this thing?
3. As far as hindrances are concerned, it seems restlessness is there as the doer part of my mind simply keep on being active too much and the knower part is not getting active. So how to make the knower part more active to observe, rather than doer part disturbing the natural breath?
Anyone having faced the above issues in their meditation, please suggest. Thanks in advance.
.....
When you don't find anything, that not-finding is finding emptiness.
When you don't see anything, that not-seeing is seeing emptiness.
- Loppon Namdrol"
http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2011/07/see-emptiness.html?m=0
Whatever arises is the present moment. Including the confusion of thoughts. But. Even so there is no true present moment.
So personally i'd learn to ride the transcience of phenomena. Really see clearly into the details of phenomena.
Learning how to relax is important when the mind is busy. Learning how to focus and concentrate when the mind is tired. When both are in union them just relaxed focus. From there investigate phenomena.
Sabre
With Metta.
if it's totlly blank, breathe and accept. Notice blank-ness, and let it be.... Why need to know?
every moment is present moment. Let it be.... Knower and doer are same.
let them be friends. Knower can watch doer, and doer can watch knower.....they are the same awareness.
You really do think far too much.
@boats: thanks for your reply too. actually the questions which i have raised are for the gap period in between two breaths. usually the gap period in my two consecutive breaths is slightly long. so when that gap period is there, then what should i do - this is what i have referred to as silence in the above 3 queries - during this gap period, since there is no breathing happening, so focussing on breathing cant be done, so the question arises what to focus on in silence as there is nothing there?
moreover if we try to breath, then it usually becomes cautious breathing, and i want to observe just natural breathing.
i read the first few chapters of Mindfulness, Bliss and beyond by Ajahn Brahm, so tried to figure out the hindrances in my meditation, which i listed above. my mind keeps on thinking - this is my basic problem. the doer simply do not stop doing. so i raised this question how to make the knower more active and doer less active?
One more query: most of the time when i am having attention on breath and gap between breaths, i think it is forced attention out of will, rather than the attention coming naturally - so is this ok?
Please suggest. Thanks in advance.
attention, is attention.
if you bring attention to something, you are making yourself pay attention, but it isn't forced.... because attention coming naturally is the same thing.
you can be attentive, or inattentive.
inattentive is careless.
attentive is mindful.
Try to figure out what is happening here. I think you can do that yourself.
With metta,
Sabre
Stop trying so hard.
If you sense it, you sense it.
If you don't sense it, you don't sense it.
Heart beats whether you sense it or not.
you're here, aren't you?
your mind has a right to flutter.
that is what a mind does.
just
surrender
one question: these days i am observing that the moment i try to focus on my breath in meditation, usually saliva comes in my mouth - even though i drink sufficient water before sitting in meditation, still saliva is coming in my mouth and then taking it in disturbs the meditation.
another question: also that the ear ringing (may be tinnitus problem) starts at a particular sitting position with back straight and head straight and also this is arising when i try to focus on the breath.
does anyone has faced such things in their meditation and can please suggest how to get rid of these things. thanks in advance.
For the saliva, I'm not sure but how do you position your tongue? I usually have the tip of mine right in the corner of my front tooth and my palate (yeah, for some reason where most of us have two front teeth, I have one big one, lol) and I don't get that problem.
you disturb it.
all these things can be great objects of interest if you bring such attitude, note it, be with it then go back to the breath when you're done.
all the difficulty in meditation is in the attitude we bring to it.
even if we cannot imagine anything then difficulty we must sit through it because it is through the rough that we learn the most.
:bowdown:
@ourself: i dont think i am placing my tongue in any special position.
Even very annoying things the mind can leave behind if you don't fight them. Once I came out of meditation, I noticed I drooled all over myself..
By the way, to stop saliva from accumulating it can be useful to straighten your head if you didn't do already. If your head is hanging forward, saliva can't get to the troath.
With metta,
Sabre
is there anything wrong with this laying posture? can someone please suggest why that heavy head feeling is coming while trying to do body scan just before going to sleep in night. thanks in advance.
This may sound dumb but for the sleepy feeling, have you tried starting with your feet and working up to your head?
Perhaps stop meditating for say 1 month but instead do other activities that involve motor function and thought - for example, the planting season is upon us - why dont you start a vegetable patch and really take your time to observe everything that happens when you engage in that activity and concentrate on your breath while undertaking it... you may be able to isolate various facets of yourself or your actions or the environment which may then assist when you undertake the same exercise without the motor function.
I suspect that you are aiming to achieve the impossible with your meditation...
I totally agree your reply that everyday mindfulness when working/eating etc is very, very helpful indeed, and it might be what misc needs, BUT it won't be able to replace more silent sitting/walking practice.
To advice someone to stop meditating just because they encounter some problems, is -with all respect- a silly advice. Problems are there to overcome, not to run away from. Overcoming the problems (buddha called them hindrances) is all meditation is about; in fact it is in a sense Buddhist practice is all about. It is like saying to someone who is training for the marathon and can't do 42km yet, to just stop running for a while. That won't help him in any way to get better at running, it will probably even make him worse.
Meditation is just like that. If you don't practice it, it has a high potential to deteriorate. It needs a solid everyday practice to really take off. You could skip a day or two or whatever, but just taking a holiday from meditation has the potential to get you back to square one. But if you practice well, you might soon be able to do 42km. With or without saliva..
With metta,
Sabre