New to meditation

txbuddhist

Hello all,

I'm new to meditation and Buddhism. I've been meditating for about 25 minutes each night before I go to bed. I'm doing the Mindfulness of Breath meditation and have found it really calming. I've recently starting meditating in the morning when I wake up and have found the Mindfulness of Breath meditation gives me energy and is a great way to start the day.

My question is, should I do a different meditating at night? Say maybe a combination of Mindfulness of Breath and Loving Kindness? Or maybe there's another meditation I should try.

I'm really hoping to learn to focus better, but also need to learn to let go of grudges.

Lastly, any advice for Mindfulness practices during the day? ESPECIALLY, Mindfulness while listening and reading. I have a lot of trouble with those last two and something finish a conversation with little knowledge of what was said or what I read. Obviously this is very frustrating.

I look forward to your responses.

Theswingisyellow

Your meditation sounds great! I would tend to stick with one aspect of meditation at a time, mix it up if you like. I would find that I could do mindfulness of breath meditaion easier in the morning as I was refreshed from sleep. I often would do metta/lovingkindness meditation at night before bed as it was more engaging/active in a sense and much easier for my tired brain to handle. Mix it up, you'll find your style. As to this "ESPECIALLY, Mindfulness while listening and reading" this will require practice. Return to it again and again as you do with your breath in meditation. Be kind to yourself, don't get mad at yourself, when you notice your mind has strayed just simply return. Your regular meditation practice will certainly buttress this.
All the best,
Todd

Jason

I think doing a combination of mindfulness of breathing and loving-kindness at night is a great idea. Try it for a while and see what happens.

BonsaiDoug

A 25 minute sitting for someone just beginning is great; 25 minutes at the beginning and end of each day would be a wonderful foundation.

As Theswingisyellow mentions, mix it up. At some point you'll find that "just right" mix. Be comfortable with it and your practice can only grow.

Jeffrey

Experiment. A lot of this is intution. Don't think that you ever do something wrong by doing one or the other. Whatever happpens *that* is your path.

Its quite a challenge to read books and be mindful isn't it? Maybe start doing a breath in and out mindfully each time you turn a page. Don't beat yourself up if you forget, just when you remember do it. You can be mindful when you do dishes or fix dinner. Mindful when the phone rings.

txbuddhist

Thanks so much for the quick responses. I'll try some different things and see what works best for me. I've quickly found myself looking forward to meditation. It's a nice way to begin the day and to wind down.

Dakini

I'm new to meditation and Buddhism. I've been meditating for about 25 minutes each night before I go to bed. I'm doing the Mindfulness of Breath meditation and have found it really calming. I've recently starting meditating in the morning when I wake up and have found the Mindfulness of Breath meditation gives me energy and is a great way to start the day.

You're off to a really good start. Are you able to maintain your focus on the breath the whole 25 minutes? Just work on that until the answer is "yes". Then you can move on to other types of meditation. Be patient, there's no hurry, no deadline.

Yes, it's a nice sort of vacation for the mind, stilling all that chatter. Very nice. You're doing well.

Jeffrey

There's no reason to believe you will be able to stay on the breath 25 minutes. Probably never.

The reason is that the fundamental nature of mind is to focus and diffuse. Suffering occurs when you strain to not have the mind diffuse whatsoever. That is when you get heavy with yourself for 'having thoughts'..

But the funny thing is when you realize that on the breath is itself just a thought. Part of the deal is drifting off. That is a great oportunity when you drift off. An opportunity to notice the awake quality of mind to return.

Meditation creates a wind that blows away the clouds. You don't need to create the sky, the sun, the moon, the night and stars. You just need to sit with the arisings.

The shamata that includes all experience including drifting away is more powerful than a simple absorbance into a sense (the breath).

ajnast4r

There's no reason to believe you will be able to stay on the breath 25 minutes. Probably never.

what makes you say that?

Jeffrey

The reason is that the fundamental nature of mind is to focus and diffuse. Suffering occurs when you strain to not have the mind diffuse whatsoever. That is when you get heavy with yourself for 'having thoughts'..

But the funny thing is when you realize that on the breath is itself just a thought. Part of the deal is drifting off. That is a great oportunity when you drift off. An opportunity to notice the awake quality of mind to return.....



The shamata that includes all experience including drifting away is more powerful than a simple absorbance into a sense (the breath).

ajnast4r

but why he wont be able to stay with the breath for 25 minutes?

Jeffrey

Because the nature of mind is to diffuse as well as focus

ajnast4r

Because the nature of mind is to diffuse as well as focus

im confused if you are hinting at something more subtle or you are saying its impossible to stay with the breath 25 minutes unbroken.

Jeffrey

Yes as far as I know. At some point at least consciousness must diffuse. That's impermanence for you.

ajnast4r

As concentration develops it should not be tremendously difficult to fix the mind to the breath for 25 minutes.

txbuddhist

I am not able to concentrate on breath for the full 25 minutes, but for the most part, I'm getting better each time. That said, some days I do have trouble. It just depends how the day went. Tonight, for instance, was great.

I seem to have more trouble in the morning. Especially if I have to go to work. I'm going to start getting up earlier as I feel the cause may be that I'm not fully awake. I'll play around and see.

Meditation has really become something that I look forward to. It's so nice to have a mind so, at least for a little while, is calm and can think more clearly.

Telly03

@txbuddhist I believe we all have some days that are more difficult than others to focus... it's all part of. Glad to hear your not letting that slow you down any. I'm already learning that it gets better with practice

ajnast4r

@txbuddhist ups and downs with practice is normal some days are good some days are bad... but if you are looking forward to and enjoying meditation, you pretty much won the battle. imo, you can only make real progress when you truly enjoy meditation... it cant be a burden or a chore.

early morning meditation can be a bit more difficult because the mind tends to want to be active and gogogo after being asleep all night. so it may be tougher to concentrate, but it will be more beneficial that way. i was always told morning meditation is the most conducive to mental development. sometimes i have trouble with sleepiness in the morning and what i do is just get up and have a shower or wash my face... that usually wakes me up. if not i will have a few sips of coffee and that does the job. for most people it will be impossible to just wake up and meditate without getting tired.

newtech

Hello:

Some teachers don´t advice mixing meditations, some teachers do.

With metta.

jll

check this out.

craigpoff

I am currently reading Geshe Gyato's "The New Meditation Handbook" which has been a wonderful "how to" or step by step walking you through Meditation with dozens of specific topic medications, starting with our old favorite, observation of our breath, on to deeper and more complex topics. Check it out!