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Meditation Problem
rocala
Explorer
in Meditation
I have been meditating on and off for twenty four years. Observing or counting breaths has always been my preferred method. This year I have not been able to meditate at all, lots of opportunity but it just does not happen.
I recently spent two weeks at a beautiful place with a meditation room and it was a complete waste of time. I tried switching to the metta bhavana method without luck. My usual methods seem to act as a powerful stimulant and I experience 'monkey mind' like never before. Even my body gets fidgety and that is new for me.
Life is pretty good at the moment, no special stress or anxiety so I am at a complete loss. Any advice anybody?
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Comments
Don't meditate. Let it be for a while. Actively avoid it. Then, come back to it in a year or so. I'm not kidding.
In the Eastern teaching the mind is described as being like a drunken monkey bitten by a scorpion because, just as a monkey leaps from branch to branch, so the mind leaps from one thing to another, constantly distracted and busy
Change your teacher ... Self taught ... Change your teacher
Agree with @federica - take a break and come back to it later. Good teaching in Anicca.....
And don't beat yourself up about it!!
So it is now the off time of on & off so as others have already said... take time off and appreciate it ...don't worry about it...
Meditation has been part of life for around 20 odd years...However, round 15 years ago I stopped meditating for around two months...I normally meditate twice a day "everyday" (cushion time) like clockwork..
There was no particular reason that comes to mind as to why I stopped, but just as abruptly I started again...again no particular reason as to why...the mind must have had its reasons but didn't want to disclose them..Hmm a mind of its own
"I" guess ,,,Old habits die hard:)
Taking time away can be useful, for myself when I step away I notice the difference in the way I think and act in the world, and the way I feel. All that is a major motivating factor in why I practice regularly now without much fuss.
Working through difficulties can be very useful too. Facing challenges and dealing with hardships build strength of character. Avoiding meditation, or any difficulty in life, because it isn't working in a pleasant way isn't necessarily the best long term solution. Most teachers I listen to tell stories of times in their practice where nothing was working well and sitting was just an unpleasant challenge.
At any rate, writing this I'm seeing areas in my life that I've been avoiding because they are difficult. It's been easier staying away but I doubt that's the better solution.
You say things are well in your life at the moment. Maybe you are living in a sort of psychological god realm, they say that practice for the gods is more difficult without the suffering of the human realm.
To reflect @Bunks and @lobster, go easy on yourself and plugging into a sangha or finding a qualified teacher who can knock you out of your rut (change your teacher) is about the best thing I can think to do.
Ah ha!
time wasting meditation ... Sounds like a plan ... I'll join
... luckless meditation. You plan to do and get results? Mmm ...
... this is hard to be around? Method does not work? So stop constricting ... How about walking meditation, is that 'method' possible? If too constrained go for a walk instead ... Nothing but mindful strolling ...
So fidget. Bring a stimulant. Green tea sipping meditation worked for me ...
I am fidgeting by doing yoga asana mindfulness at the moment ...
You are trying to meditate. Maybe sitting on a cushion without trying ...
https://www.lionsroar.com/going-nowhere/
It's best to just sit and breathe without attaching to, or trying to avoid, some particular experience. Quiet and calm? That's fine, return to breathing. Fidgety monkey mind? That's fine, return to breathing. Always wanting a pleasant experience and always trying to avoid an unpleasant experience, is the very reason for samsara to begin with. Not doing it because you don't want to experience unpleasantness is just more of the same.
Self discipline required? Here is the problem earlier ...
http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/11594/self-discipline-how-to-have-it