Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register
Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Accidental Meditation!

vixthenomadvixthenomad
edited August 2011 in Meditation
This morning my 4-year-old daughter got me up at 6:30am (ouch) and so I put cartoons on for her and cuddled her on the sofa, intending to catch a few more Z's whilst she was engrossed. But what actually happened was that I started to automatically meditate, without intending to, and it was one of the most profound meditation experiences I've had to date.

Has this ever happened to anyone else here?

(Of course, it's entirely possible I did fall asleep and in fact dreamed the whole thing... :D )

Comments

  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited August 2011
    Definitely. That used to happen to me all the time. I'd maybe lay down to take a nap or go to sleep and instead my mind would clear out and I'd find myself in a meditative state. There were even times when I felt like I should meditate, as odd as that sounds, and that's before I had a steady practice. I don't think it can be that unusual if it's happened to us both, and those were more profound meditations than I have had before... it's like my mind wanted to work stuff out and it was the perfect time, the perfect conditions, for it.
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    Not exactly the same but similarly .... at times, ever since I was a young child I had experienced waking up at night and not being able to get back to sleep. When I first began mediatation, I was 27 ( I am 47 now) I began using these times to meditate and had no excuse for not having enough time !!! Seeing the benefit from it I began a regular practice and no longer have the same difficulty with sleep. When my children were younger and I was breastfeeding, likewise, I utilised times when I was awoken early to meditate.
  • DazzleDazzle
    edited August 2011
    This morning my 4-year-old daughter got me up at 6:30am (ouch) and so I put cartoons on for her and cuddled her on the sofa, intending to catch a few more Z's whilst she was engrossed. But what actually happened was that I started to automatically meditate, without intending to, and it was one of the most profound meditation experiences I've had to date.

    Has this ever happened to anyone else here?

    (Of course, it's entirely possible I did fall asleep and in fact dreamed the whole thing... :D )

    Its normal for that to happen sometimes, but we shouldn't become attached to the good experiences that we have, we need to let go of them too.

    Evventually, as we continue practising, meditation and post meditation begin to merge together.

  • vixthenomadvixthenomad
    Its normal for that to happen sometimes, but we shouldn't become attached to the good experiences that we have, we need to let go of them too.
    Yeah, I'm having difficulty with that aspect. Practising Buddhism IS 'good' for me and it's hard not to become attached to it in place of all the other stuff!
  • ZenshinZenshin Veteran East Midlands UK Veteran
    Something very strange happend to me when I started reading Zen, Mind Beginners mind, some of the more "cryptic" statements made a sort of "sense" to me and my mind went spontaneously went very calm, quiet and still, it lasted for the best part of a day. It made me wonder if I should try and experience Zen in a more formal setting. Any advice from experienced Zen practitioners would be appreciated.
  • BarraBarra soto zennie wandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of Canada Veteran
    As a 'zennie', I say Yes! try zen. Its a very simple practice. Its only about meditating. Nothing else.
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited September 2011
    That's a bit of an over-simplification don't you think Barra? Zen's not about only meditating... though one would say "when meditating, just meditate". ;)
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited September 2011
    As a 'zennie', I say Yes! try zen. Its a very simple practice. Its only about meditating. Nothing else.
    I've heard this about Zen, and it puzzles me. Even Stephen Batchelor's teacher, when he was a Zen monk, told him to meditate, rather than read scripture and learn about Buddhist principles. This can't be the standard approach for newer students, can it? How does a student learn the fundamentals if it's all about meditation? They must teach the Eightfold Path, and all that...?
  • AMHAMH
    I am more a meditator than a studier so it sounds good to me. I have also had those accidental meditations. the funny thing is though I have not held onto them with attachment (yes it took some work) that they come back to me at moments when I need to be reminded that it is possible.
Sign In or Register to comment.