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Meditation: Howzit workin' for ya...?
lobster
Crusty Veteran
in Meditation
Formal:
After closed eye meditation for about a year, my eyes are open again.
I sit on two to four firm pillows (memory foam) for a minimum of twenty minutes. Lately about an hour. I might also do some extra chanting or chant for part of a session. I favour my own mantra which is so secret I can tell anyone:
OM YA HA HUM HRIH (meaning: Have a nice day)
I sit on the floor as I don't have chairs and using the Burmese pose. Very occasionally will use a half lotus. Mudra is normally hands in lap.
http://yinyana.tumblr.com/day/2014/11/06
2
Comments
I do 2 15 minute sets a day. One in the morning and a walking med at work in the evening. Mantras and visit to the altar couple times a week. I need to step up my monastery vists.......i pass the temple on the way to work....so i get a quick notice/check in there. Everything is working pretty good so far....thanks for asking.
20 mins in the morning with a Tibetan mantra on the I pod. Sit outside amongst the cactuses or sometimes I go out into the desert just before sunrise. Sit on the ground. Works a treat.
I try to do 30 min + everyday, breathing meditation, I dont have any alter or spescial mantra or something like that, but I sit close to the wall with my eyes closed, (the room is not made for "formal meditation" there are too many distracting things so I sit close to the wall).
If its to noisy in the house, I just take the car and drive away for 30 min, parcking the car near the ocean/beach and take a "formal car meditation", if not I will use walking meditation, I like to move around, humans are not designed to sit on their ass :P
I'm just doing a single 40 minute sit daily at present, a simple breathing meditation to develop samatha. I meditate with eyes closed though I did eyes open for many years. After meditation I usually have a mindful walk by the sea, though with eyes open to avoid falling in.
I tried walking meditation with closed eyes...works very well, until you reach the stairs
Twenty five minutes a day, at whatever point of the day seems convenient. On some days I work 12-hour shifts, but I usually have time at work between calls to meditate. I'm trying to "let go" in meditation and do it without expecting anything in particular. So far I've had good results, and am far less likely to avoid meditating altogether.
Memory foam cushions?! Sheer luxury!
And what's more, it's amazing how a small piece of lego under a bare foot can focus the mind wonderfully....
Don't get excited... what he means is, the cushions see the posterior and think "Oh I've seen that face before...!"
"Meditation: Howzit workin' for ya...?"
Lets just say "I" now work for it
Thanks guys.
This thread title was suggested from a comment from our esteemed hard working moderator @federica Long may she enjoy her spelling.
Informal Practice:
My thoughts/being/experiencing of awareness is always with me apart from during unconsciousness. Therefore my informal practice takes up most of my time. So what do I do exactly? Watch and listen. Feel and sense.
i'm taking the Vipassana Fellowship's online course and it's working pretty freaking awesome for me so far.
that, and a bunch of candles, a broad selection of new incenses, and a new (old) Tibetan singing bowl that all help to make the space and the time spent sitting in front of my altar like unto a journey into a new and exceedingly pleasant world - different every time - even before i settle into my meditation and add its benefits to the mix.
That looks interesting. Could you say briefly what the method is?
I had done 30 minutes every day for several years and then november I started an hour/day because my goal was to medititate 10,000 hours in my life. This past week or so I sort of ran out of gas and have only been doing about 15 per day, but haven't had a day without a sitting at least. And I have gone jog/walk 7 times in the past two weeks so I guess that is where my energy is going!
@Lobster
Howzit workin' for ya...
Seems to take unscheduled coffee breaks, often arrives late for work, offers unsolicited criticisms of others, shows a complete lack of ambition and may not respect the management.
Is a tenuous employee at best.
As for how is it working I imagine it is like therapy in that you are never totally sure it helps but you pretty much feel that way (that it has helped) over the years.
LOL
Good thing you are your own boss ... sort of ...
Thanks guys.
Non Practice
When under the sway of ignorance, what then? We can not run or hide or blame Mr Cushion. For me this is where acceptance, patience, letting go of perfect idealism comes in.
I am human. Failure is part of my Being.
Whenever possible, I aim for two sessions a day of between 15-40 minutes.
That amount works fine with me.
I am able to scan my body for tension areas, relax, not get carried away by the monkey chatter and sit up from my session with an overall sensation of bliss.
I have found that beyond 40 minutes it does not work for me.
My legs pass out and I begin to feel too distracted by it, and getting anxious for the gong to mark the end.
I find myself berating myself for my lack of discipline and come out of my session more worked up and frustrated than if I had not sit at all.
What I enjoy the most is dwelling in mindfulness during the day.
To me, that's the real practice: being present to life, more aware of the noises and colours that impact on my senses, breathing deeply and actually knowing that I am savouring life.
2 x 10-minute slots currently help keep me sane, cheerful and optimistic.
I know it doesn't sound like much, and when I see people mention more than 30 minutes, or hours even, I get a small feeling of inadequacy.
But to me, the quality is important, and I'm dedicated, if nothing else.
So I comfort myself with the knowledge that there are some out there (and I'm not referring to any present company) who say they sit for very long periods, but still have difficulties focusing and getting any positive results, whereas I, with my little and modest twenty-minutes-in-total, feel a real difference....
Outstanding.
I normally do only one formal session, usually first thing. My time varies a lot. If under twenty minutes, there is a problem, usually stress. If over an hour, I have gone into 'bliss bunny' mode.
Both are problems that I rectify.
Equanimity is a useful measure of progress. The ability to focus or attend to an aspect of awareness can then arise.
Sado masochism or 'gimp meditation', where one contorts or restricts movement belongs to kinky body binding. Completely unnecessary unless training for the yogic meditation marathon. Ideally you sit and rise in complete ease. The crippled rising after extensive sitting that you often find on retreats is indicative of competive 'more is better'. Crippled tightness, haemorrhoids, buttock callouses and torn ligaments are worn with self congratulaly pride. LOL. Pity the fool.
Sit on a chair dudes, you are on a mind path, not statue mime class. However you can not say such things or you will get sutras thrown at you ...
Be kind to the mind AND the body.
Have I failed again?
I'm on raking meditation again!
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rock_garden
Anyone else do this Zennie thing? hahahaha
FWIW...my kids went it very easily and my youngest one can sit for an hour...
I love this, about the Ryoan-ji Japanese Garden- arguably the most famous one in Japan...
@Lobster
Meditation: Howzit workin' for ya...?
Currently...
30 Minutes of formal Zazen meditation first thing in the morning & later in the evening.
Attend a couple of different meditation venues once week to stretch my boundaries.
Try to have my daily activities be an integeral part of my meditative exploration.
I seem to either be navigating the space between my senses and my conditioned reflexes to them, or I am lolling about somewhere in an ego dream.
And... I come here to help me explore what all of this means.
Thanks everyone raking in the meditation methods
Most of us know why we meditate ...
http://www.bodymindsoulspirit.com/100-benefits-of-meditation/#
I feel though this is an excellent approach, two hours for beginners is perhaps unrealistic
http://www.albigen.com/uarelove/abandon_release.htm
So here is a seven minute practice. One minute on each technique
Segmented Practice
_- dedicate practice, refuge or for situation or person
Thanks for this. My 57 year old back doesn't deal well with the traditional sit for 20 minutes, unless I really want to just focus on physical discomfort
I usually sit for 20 minutes before breakfast and 20 minutes before dinner. Twenty minutes just sort of worked out, it's as long as I typically have time for and after four months I seem to have a sense when it's up, I use a timer in the morning but in the evening I usually don't and still seem to open my eyes around 20 minutes.
In the office, I try to count what I call 10 up 10 down just to clear stress when needed. It really helps
I propose to do the following (for myself):
1 minute: Dedication.
1 minute: Watch the Monkey Mind
4 minutes: Body scan
1 minute: sit & hear
1 minute: Mantra recitation
1 minute: Metta connection
1 minute: breathe - you are alive!
That's my 10 minutes taken care of.
When I increase it to 15 - Eeek! What to do, what to do...?!
(I'll worry about that later...)
Would you time this or just wing it?
Trying to experience the first foundation of mindfulness, called the body in the body, and that is where I am right now, i'm hoping i'll eventually get to the second foundation of of mindfulness called feelings in the feelings, using anapana.
That is if i'm practicing correctly.
Personally I would do what @federica has done. Personalise and be prepared to modify/hone it.
Personally I would wing it. The basic structure is:
Doing it in a formal timed way is excellent. If able, for your back, try a full prostration or three at the beginning and end.
Segmented practice shows you how much can be done (we live in a 'one does' meditation society). Make use of that but also think in terms of aimless sitting towards the end if going for your twenty minute stint.
Sitting without doing ...
yes it does, when you're on the path then mindfulness is invaluable.
https://suttacentral.net/en/sn1.21
Once our monkey mind has settled and we can engage in relaxed attentive focus we can try:
Themed Meditation
Some samples to get you started. If your mind drifts you may be doing this prematurely. Return to breath, mindfulness and discipline.
Sadhana is a spiritual practice used a lot in Tantra. On the exoteric level an abstract concept such as 'compassion' or 'wisdom' is given a concrete visualisation and practice. However we can allow the associations and theme of 'wisdom' to arise and be present without the need for Manjusri visualisation.
Return to a core word/phrase : Peace, Love, Compassion, Patience, Nirvana, Dependant Origination, Health, Karma, One of the 8 fold path recommendations etc.
Symbols. In many ways symbols such as a Buddha image are good to stare at - a theme reminder. Hence altars.
Metta Bhavana is a much used theme based meditation.
On the whole going into negative or 'wrathful' themes is deemed advanced practice without a supporting structure, strong personal discipline or teaching/community support.
No rakers yet??
instead of sending books or malas....the next one of ya is gettin a table top zen/ rock garden.....hahahaha
Try one if u can.
I'll post pics when I get done this round of raking....
I believe the plural of rakers is Reiki
Perhaps you would like to say more about
Active Meditation
Anything you care to share?
Not sure what more I can say about it :
You humble me. (prostration here)
Zen rock gardens/landscapes are used for concentration/calming the mind/or visual reminders. Visual reminder can be the rake patterns looking like ocean waves, etc.
I personally prefer active/moving meditation. Always have. Not really sure why. TBH, I think it takes out the 'intention' of sitting for me. Does that make sense? It physically addresses my mind wanting and feeling forced to sit.... I dunno....I just find particularly walking meditation more effective for me personally. I do keep in a quick sit in the rotation, just to address this 'forceness', but you get the idea.
Walking meditation and gardening have always been my go to's....I added raking to the mix about 5 years ago. Started with a little cheap table top set from a chain $1 store and went from there. We made a small one in the back yard with things from Home Depot.
Here's a super easy How to rake....very general...but user friendly for starters...
http://www.wikihow.com/Rake-a-Zen-Garden
quick little video....
Im sweet as OP!
Hi Loster,
I am currently at the stage where I can maintain some regularity and motivation in the meditation. I notice really subtle sensations in my body when my mind is really quiet. I am not entirely sure I should meditate on these or bring the focus back to the breath. So I keep doing both.
And most of the distractions I tend to get during the sessions are either fallen into greed, aversion or delusion. But I can see them arrive, which hopefully is a pointer that I don't loose sight of my stillness.
But my practice is still not so formal, as I am meditating on my couch
but I do have plan to set up a shrine area in my flat. Hopefully that will set me in a mood for some serious meditation.
Sounds good.
It is a serious commitment. Real effort and real potential. Gentle return to the breath and an altar sounds like a plan. Be gentle with yourself but also determined.
Good luck. I will be setting up a new shrine in your honour.
Still wandering in search of heartwood.
http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/middle-length-discourses-buddha/selections/middle-length-discourses-29-mahasaropama-sutta
It is also suitable for the times between formal sitting or for those not sitting ...
@Vastmind mentions raking. I have only done this on grass. Never on sand.
Activity meditation
Practice based:
Prostrations, altar care, walking, yoga, tai chi
personally I include Tai Chi and some martial arts from the Shaolin tradition
Life as practice:
Cleaning, running, cooking?
Crafts, painting, dancing?
Do it with, love, carefully, attention?
One of my teachers always said. No doubt you have heard similar:
'Your practice begins after you leave the practice hall'
My activity meditation
Yoga - I don't meditate while doing yoga actually, but I do it mindfully. I end my exercise with meditation, either sitting or shavasana.
Taichi (yang) - 3 segments, 30 mins per segment. Warm up, qigong, taichi forms. I do meditation at the qigong segment. For warm up and taichi forms, I do them mindfully.
Walking meditation - every evening.
In the morning, I do sitting or standing meditation.
Hm.. Dearest veterans, I have a question.. (again)
What's the difference between mindfulness and meditation?
So I said I do walking meditation or is it mindful walking...
Each evening, as I walk, I "unload my suffering", be it caused by my ego, wrong perception or ...
I unload them one by one, gently, in a peaceful manner until I am totally at peace.
Still walking, now immerse in peace, I begin focussing my steps, each step of the way..
What I'm doing every evening as described above, is it..
Mindful walking or Walking meditation?
Thanking all of you...
Namaste
Zenni
I tend to think of meditation as being on the cushion and mindfulness as being off the cushion, but of course the boundaries are blurred.
@SpinyNorman - thank you very much
Namaste
I've been raking as part of my home retreat until the funeral stuff starts....
I also spend about an hour doing walking/mindfulness meditation. Passive observing of life. It's normally during this that I have insights, weird huh?
I also do a few guided meditations about 30 minutes long. Good if the monkey is on your back.