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Need Some Encouragement
Good day everybody!
My name is Joey, and I am a college student in my 2nd year. I have been "practicing" Buddhism and Taoism for about a year now. I say "practicing" because I don't stick to the exact practices or beliefs of Buddhism or Taoism (or any -ism, for that matter), but am nevertheless interested in the concepts of eastern spirituality.
Anyway, I have been doing zazen on and off for the past year. I find the concept of zazen to be very agreeable, since it focuses on letting go of the mind and all its attachments rather than any mystical aspects of spirituality. I see myself as a very logical person, and think of zazen as a good way to let go of my mind sometimes. Just as Zen Buddhism sees attachment to the mind as a hindrance, I find that my mind in particular causes many problems for me. I am acutely aware that the simplicity and beauty of life can sometimes be obscured by endless mind activity - that is why I try to practice zazen.
Recently though, I've been having some trouble with all of this. My biggest problem is that I think too much - I have had problems with this in the past, including anxiety disorder (which, thankfully, I have been able to get over). I have been able to feel the effects of zazen after meditation, but very inconsistently. What's sad is that very recently I've been having some very frustrating meditation sessions and this in turn gets me on edge for the rest of the day. I try and count my breaths, relax, and allow thoughts to happen, but none of these things really get me into that meditative state. During meditation I think about everyday troubles and thoughts, and in addition to that I start to think about how I can't get to a meditative state!
I've tried a lot of different techniques, and I can't seem to reap the benefits of everyday meditation. It's come to the point where meditation has become frustrating for me. I'm sure a few of us here have overactive minds - are there any tips you can give me to help regulate it for meditation? Is there anybody who has had the same problem as me? Any tips or techniques would be of great help. I am still hopeful about my practice and I just need a little bit of encouragement to keep going on the right path.
Thank you for your time!
My name is Joey, and I am a college student in my 2nd year. I have been "practicing" Buddhism and Taoism for about a year now. I say "practicing" because I don't stick to the exact practices or beliefs of Buddhism or Taoism (or any -ism, for that matter), but am nevertheless interested in the concepts of eastern spirituality.
Anyway, I have been doing zazen on and off for the past year. I find the concept of zazen to be very agreeable, since it focuses on letting go of the mind and all its attachments rather than any mystical aspects of spirituality. I see myself as a very logical person, and think of zazen as a good way to let go of my mind sometimes. Just as Zen Buddhism sees attachment to the mind as a hindrance, I find that my mind in particular causes many problems for me. I am acutely aware that the simplicity and beauty of life can sometimes be obscured by endless mind activity - that is why I try to practice zazen.
Recently though, I've been having some trouble with all of this. My biggest problem is that I think too much - I have had problems with this in the past, including anxiety disorder (which, thankfully, I have been able to get over). I have been able to feel the effects of zazen after meditation, but very inconsistently. What's sad is that very recently I've been having some very frustrating meditation sessions and this in turn gets me on edge for the rest of the day. I try and count my breaths, relax, and allow thoughts to happen, but none of these things really get me into that meditative state. During meditation I think about everyday troubles and thoughts, and in addition to that I start to think about how I can't get to a meditative state!
I've tried a lot of different techniques, and I can't seem to reap the benefits of everyday meditation. It's come to the point where meditation has become frustrating for me. I'm sure a few of us here have overactive minds - are there any tips you can give me to help regulate it for meditation? Is there anybody who has had the same problem as me? Any tips or techniques would be of great help. I am still hopeful about my practice and I just need a little bit of encouragement to keep going on the right path.
Thank you for your time!
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Comments
That sounds like not such a good idea.
Stick to one technique for a year or so. How about counting the breath?
Also, sometimes meditation is more peaceful than other times. We all have had and will have rough patches, that's the way it is. That's the nature of the mind. But in the less peaceful meditations you lay the ground for the more peaceful meditations, so no session is wasted.
Wish you much meditation happiness,
Sabre
Things start out yummy as chocolate (the hopes, the expectations, the achievements, the benefits, the explanations, the beliefs....) and then, with practice, it turns to shit. And while this shit (the confusion, the uncertainty, the inability to really 'meditate,' and the rest of the 'bad' news') can feel pretty shitty, it is that shittiness precisely that will put honest meat on a wistful and expectant meditative bone.
Courage, patience and doubt are our great allies in practice. Luckily, everyone possesses these characteristics. No need to check out the sale aisles at Walmart. Since every one of us practices alone (I can't fold your legs any more than you can fold mine; I can't focus your mind any more than you can focus mine; etc.), a sense of loneliness can make itself felt. And that loneliness can give rise to all sorts of fears and explanations and beliefs. All I can say is, be determined: You're not alone... you just don't know it yet.
The Hindu Vedanta exponent Swami Vivekananda once observed, "The mind [he meant intellect] is a good servant and a poor master." Intellect and emotion are human traits that should not be looked down upon from some deified or aggrandized throne. But they are traits ... in the same sense that a Chevrolet might be red or might be blue. In meditation practice, bit by bit, the characteristics that any of us might rightly value are not erased or consigned to some holy-roller waste basket, they are simply seen as characteristics ... not good, not bad, but also not the whole story.
Take your time. Keep up your good practice. See what happens.
Imagine yourself like a curious cat. Itxhhere, thought there, oh a knee cap, etc.
If something steals your attention then completely absorb into it as if you can feel it and taste it directly.
If nothing steals your attention then focus on various parts of the body then the whole body.
Try focusing on focusing. Or how about a theme like openness. What does it feel to be open?
Meditation is boring as hell. Thus its more interesting if your curious about everything.
We always assume that we know he inner world. Butthe inner world is always changing. Thus its always facinating.