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What do I do after meditation?
Grastella
Great Britain New
I am very new to this way of life. I am finding some aspects easy but others extremely hard, all the while, satisfying. One thing I find very hard is meditation. I have so many problems and issues going on they all seem to gather up during meditation. However I am learning to block them out from time to time. Sometimes I use meditation music that I find online sometimes I sit in silence (but my dog and cat puts a stop to that). I digress. My question is, what to people do after meditation? Sleep, eat, go for a walk, watch telly, listen to music, have a bath...................? I find myself saying "what now? I want to do it all correctly.
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I don't think there is a correct answer that applies to every day. I think the same question is "what should I do with my time"? And for that you just use your own judgement. But you can actually work on your judgement. Just being more aware of what you ARE doing with time is an example. Before maybe not aware and after more aware. And other 'aha' realizations I have had well one I think of is that no matter how much you do you could have done more. So what's the point in scolding yourself because you did not do more?
Thank you Jeffrey.your response is very much appreciated.
Hi @Grastella, and welcome to NB. Oodles of beginners find meditation hard, but that's only because they think there's more to it than there actually is. I think that your pets coming around you when you're trying to meditate is the perfect opportunity to see how calm, kind and loving you can remain during your meditation practice while they are milling around, trying to get your attention.
P.S. Your calm may rub off on them and maybe watch them and see if it makes them calmer.
@Grastella
What kind of meditation practice are you doing now and
what aspects of that practice do you think can you can incorporate into daily life?
Example..
I practice Soto Zen meditation where I attempt to allow all of what I see, hear, smell, taste, feel and think, to freely unfold, where my conditioned impulses would otherwise be trying to control them.
I do this in formal meditation, where there is a supportive priority to do this, but the real purpose of this meditation is to learn to apply it to everything in daily life.
I just continue to live my life. Meditation is as much a part of it as brushing my teeth, so I don't need to ask "what now?" after I've brushed my teeth or showered, so I don't ask it about meditation, either. Meditation isn't really about forceably shutting your mind down, it's about accepting what comes up and letting it go without attaching to it and following the stories you create about the random thoughts. The more you force, the more stuff is going to come up, your brain thinks. That is what it is supposed to be doing. What you do with those thoughts is another matter. The more you meditate, the more your mind will clear and settle easier. Then it makes it easier to make better decisions, it makes it easier to interact with people and the world. Because you can start to operate in the spaces that meditation creates rather than as a victim of our thought-churning factory of a brain.
What now? That is a question I have to ask myself rather frequently, and I can tell you how I personally address the issue, but have no idea if it would be appropriate for anyone else.
There is for me this churning, angry ball of tasks needing to be done, and no real hope of ever being able to do them all, which can be very confusing. So I first sit in a chair and ask the question, what to do? Then still the mind, and forget the question, and within 5 - 10 minutes something appropriate will float up to the surface, and I'll do that.
The thing is, the mind has to be really still, no thoughts allowed - not always an easy thing to achieve. Sometimes a breath visualization of some sort helps with that, but just having meditated for a while may suffice.
As for the pets, I can relate. We have 4 dogs, and they always want something. If they see a person sitting still, they want it even more. So sometimes they can be worked into the meditation, but other times they must be shut out of the room and hope that they don't start in to whining.
If you haven't already done so...Get a teacher....You can either study and practice a technique from books, (some have the ability to achieve results through reading and practising), use a cyber meditation teacher (youtube's full of them) or look for a local meditation group...
Remember ...meditation is like exercising the body muscles, and in this case the muscle being exercised is the brain...The more you exercise the easier it will become, and like physical exercise, it's best to start off in small doses and gradually work your way up..
Before meditating is very easy, there is no-meditating. After meditating there is the ease of no-meditating too. By applying no-meditating to my formal stillness, I find my no-meditating is easier at the ends and the middle ...
Meditation is the way of life. Our sessions on the cushion are the signposts which point us in the right direction.
There are 2 aspects to meditation.
The 1st is to settle the mind. Blocking out problems can help to a certain extent but cannot be the long term solution.
The 2nd is to understand why these problems cause suffering. Some problems can be solved while others can't where the only solution is to accept and let go.
The purpose of meditation or mental cultivation is to attain freedom from suffering and the best way to do this is to constantly watch what the mind is doing on and off the cushion.
What is causing the mind to ask, "What now?"
What do you think the mind is trying to do by watching telly or listening to music or having a drink?
Welcome @Grastella. Hope you find something useful here.
The hard part of Buddhist practice is not so much getting it "right." The hard part is appreciating that you cannot get it "wrong." The only way to slip into that mode is ... to keep on practicing. Just keep on keepin' on.
Will you get it "right?" Yup.
Will you get it "wrong?" Yup.
Now what?
Best wishes.
@genkaku that seems a rather simplistic pointer to persistence and non-judgment, perhaps you might elaborate? Or have I just elaborated enough?
I'm a fan of the traditional "post-meditation nap."
This, of course, goes back thousands of years. Many, many great masters (cats) have done this with great results.
@Kerome -- It's sort of hard to tell someone, "Just keep doing it" when, from their current point of view, doing it hardly seems to clear things up. Still, maybe it's like playing the piano or baseball -- you just keep screwing up until, somehow, screwing up just stops or is less interesting or something. As a buddy of mine was fond of pointing out, "Wherever you go, there you are" ... and the same is true for whatever it is that's called "Buddhism."
If you find peace in your meditation, please do share it afterwards.
I have cup of tea. That is my 'after' for most things, after sleeping, walking dog, shopping etc, pause for 5 mins with a cuppa, then carry on.
Tha you for all the advice. What sort if meditation do I do? Well, I am not sure about it yet. I seem to be trying different types. I have sat in the lotus position and been in a silent environment or listening to music. I have lay down listening to music I have found on YouTube, usually I search for Buddhist music. I have also sat in the garden listening to the birds. However I am learning to block all sounds out of my mind, but when I do I am awear that I have emptied my mind which takes be back to square one. But I am able to empty my mind for a few minutes, not a lot but I will get there. One thing that does happen, which I am not sure if it should, I feel my self floating up yet I can still feel the surface I am on. Hope that is normal.
Sometimes I feel lucky, as I have a very small life. A small house, job, car and social circle. I have very little stress. However, when thighs do go wrong they go wrong in a galactic way. I really am quite lucky, but I find it hard to cope often. I went through a difficult 10 years from 2004 to 2014 and I am just getting through it (perhaps not the platform to go into detail), unfortunately, as a result I can, from time to time, get highly stung, but only on my own. I work in a sales environment and the people whom I work with are very 'alpha male' and I am not. It is very hard to undertake the precept of false talk when working in sales.
I know at the moment I will get many things wrong with my quest. But I hope to learn and get a little bit right each day.
Try watching this series of short videos on meditation by Ajahan Jayasaro of the Thai Forest Tradition.
Perfectly normal and all kinds of stuff (a technical term)
and sensations happen during meditation.
@Lonely_Traveller has posted an excellent instruction video on meditation.
Your input on the type of meditation you are doing is very interesting. Trying to force yourself to a 'mind empty' state is form of concentration. That really is more like oblivion and not part of any Buddhist Middle Way that I am aware of.
Some of it sounds like 'chilling' or relaxing. That is a good preparation. Things like yoga nidra may suit your sales based lifestyle.
Here is my web page on meditation FAQS
http://opcoa.st/0Dfkj