Kick up the backside

ThailandTom

Any tips on not being a slack mediator? I do not have right effort and haven't really cultivated it for over 2 years.. I would really like to get into a regular meditation pattern and cultivate mindfulness.

All the best,
Tom

NomaDBuddha

All I can say is...(re)start slowly.

tess

Any tips on not being a slack mediator? I do not have right effort and haven't really cultivated it for over 2 years.. I would really like to get into a regular meditation pattern and cultivate mindfulness.

All the best,
Tom

I am not going to say it again. Detox - before!!!

No point to look for solutions with all those chemicals driving your body and brain insane.

Theswingisyellow

Tom,
Everyday, even if it is just for a few minutes.
Everyday.
All the best,
Todd

taiyaki

become a good listener. while awake & while meditating.

listen to the noise and listen to the silence. don't comment. just listen.

get tired of listening? move onto another sense. rinse, lather, repeat.

tess

Propably they will ban me from this forum for this post.

All those posts :

""become a good listener. while awake & while meditating.

listen to the noise and listen to the silence. don't comment. just listen.

get tired of listening? move onto another sense. rinse, lather, repeat.""

Meditate etc,


STOP GIVING AN EMPTY HOPE.



I have to say this:

Buddhism , spiritaulism is great.

Nevertheless, look for other motivation before you attempt to clean your body from chemical dependency.

In the moment don’t let others lead you here with chanting , spiritual practicices and oms.

Take care of your body first, clean it of all the chemical cravings – and then you can go on your own spiritual journey.

Chemical dependency is stronger without a proper help. You are young but you are running of the time to face your prime problems.

You need to start ,without drugs which in the moment aestheticism you , and at the same time deprive you from real self.

Detox!!!


Good luck.

fivebells

I do not have right effort and haven't really cultivated it for over 2 years.. I would really like to get into a regular meditation pattern and cultivate mindfulness.

If there's something you'd like to do which you're not doing, you face some kind of internal conflict. When you think about commiting to a regular meditation practice, what comes up?

I haven't sat in 2.5 weeks or so. Last time I sat, I was contemplating my mother's newly-retrieved ashes. Plus I'm spending a lot of time on grief reactions and responses of varying legitimacy and helpfulness.

Sabre

We've probably all been in a phase we just wanted to stop meditating or we were a bit slack, but meditation needs to be cultivated regularly to be effective, so really start again and keep doing it daily. My tip is: Just do it. Sometimes there is no motivation, then before you start focusing on the breath think about something to motivate you. This can be goodwill towards yourself and/or others, having faith in the dhamma or anything else you can come up with.

With metta,
Sabre

Sabre

I hope this helps a bit.

Just meditate daily. Doing just once a week or whatever doesn't really work.

I think tess also made a valuable point, you might want to consider that, however I have no experience with drug addiction things myself so this is what I could say about meditation.

With metta,
Sabre

genkaku

Tom -- I gather from what others have said here that you have/are working on some sort of drug dependency issue. Good for you -- keep at it. Meditating, as some write between the lines, is really not much good if the reason for doing it rests on a desire to cover-up or camouflage honest personal problems. That said, I think everyone -- and I mean everyone -- makes that mistake ... trying to get good as a means of fleeing what is not or does not feel so good. I repeat ... everyone does this in subtle and gross ways, so, if it's any consolation, you have a lot of company.

The trick here is to get your ducks lined up. What is most compelling/important and to what extent do other important things keep anyone from the honest work at hand. There is no cookie-cutter answer for such a question. Most of us do it by-guess-and-by-God. When we find ourselves in a position where we recognize we have fallen into the trap, the best thing we can do is reassess the scene and reset the priorities. It may not bang your chimes, but here is a New York Times article about a fellow who became a fully-transmitted Zen teacher only to find out he had been covering up some serious difficulties: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/magazine/26zen-t.html

There is nothing saying you can't or shouldn't do meditation while working on a chemical dependency and its fallout. But, equally, there is nothing saying you can or should. If you do decide to do it, (re)start slowly and keep a sharp eye on the priorities you have set for yourself. Don't imagine meditation will somehow excuse you from the hard work dependency can entail. Don't imagine you'll get all serene and smilie-faced and your problems will evaporate. Just do it with a small determination and constancy. Keep your ducks lined up in a way that is consistent with your life ... not somebody else's life. Will you fail? Count on it. As the Japanese say, "Fall down seven times, get up eight." That's all anyone does in an honest practice ... begin and continue.

Best wishes.

ThailandTom

@tes, I have detoxed, actually I flat out stopped my valium in take and was put on some anti depressents for 2 weeks, in 2 days I am going to see a psychiatrist so that's all good. I can already feel my mind is a lot clearer and not so fuzzy/skatty.

@fivebells I do not know, for some reason I have good meditation late at night at around midnight, but say for example if I tried now I would sit for maybe a minute and then just give up as my mind is so racy. I have had an internal conflict since probably 8 years of age, however now I am ready to confront it hence the psychiatrist. Sorry to hear about your current state of mind, it will pass as you know, wish you all the best.
Thanks people for giving me the cyber kick up the booty :P

person

@ThailandTom Try having a set time for your meditation, whatever is comforatable and stick to it. Even if your mind is racing or your feeling lousy its not that hard to stick to 10 or 20 minutes. Also stick to it if the session is going well, this will leave you with a pleasant taste in your mouth and make it easier to go back.

ThailandTom

Thanks, I have never meditated for more than 25 minutes in 2 years believe it or not. I have always had this over active, anxious mind which doesn't help, probably why I can sit longer towards the end of the day.
I am aware also that one should not become attached to the sensations and notion of meditation, that you should enter it without expectations or wants

fivebells

...I tried now I would sit for maybe a minute and then just give up as my mind is so racy.

How does the raciness induce you to give up?

ThailandTom

Probably because I am weak minded and have weak effort. I just simply open my eyes and think, 'well this isn't going to happen. I cannot quiet that mind of mine.'

bravehawk

I started using self made mala beads myself to get my mind on track. Alot of poeple try to just close their eyes and freeflow meditation, but I think its better to go in with a plan.

First just try focusing on your breath, if you wander off, its ok. just come back to the breath and continue. with my mala, I breath, and move my mala beads(21 times) and then stop. Im a fidgeter so this gives my body something to do while I focus.

hope that helps.

fivebells

Probably because I am weak minded and have weak effort. I just simply open my eyes and think, 'well this isn't going to happen. I cannot quiet that mind of mine.'

Ah, you're taking the results for the method. The method is return to the breath whenever attention wanders. The eventual result is a quiet mind. If you start by trying to quiet your mind, you'll never get anywhere. Instead, just rest attention on the breath, and rest. When attention attaches to something else, just rest it back on the breath and rest again. Even if attention only rests on the breath for a second and you have to return to resting on the breath dozens of times a minute, you're doing the practice correctly and productively. Even if you don't notice for minutes that attention has attached to something else, resting it back on the breath is correct and productive.

You might find this article helpful: Up Against a Wall? Sources of Unnecessary Confusion

NOTaGangsta

Goto bed early, have at least 7 hours sleep. Eat regular nutrious meals and have adequate amount of exercise. This will make your body and mind stronger for meditation.