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Hitting a plateau?
Well, like the old times when I was around, I have a question for you all.
It's barely been three years now I been travelling this "path" and it seems I've hit a plateau of sorts. My meditation practice is seriously lacking, and minus a few things, I've gone back to the same person I was. You know, the one that is just riding the current, not floating against the stream of ignorance and selfishness. What do you recommend someone does to get back "on track" and hopefully, the positive changes come back into place?
It's barely been three years now I been travelling this "path" and it seems I've hit a plateau of sorts. My meditation practice is seriously lacking, and minus a few things, I've gone back to the same person I was. You know, the one that is just riding the current, not floating against the stream of ignorance and selfishness. What do you recommend someone does to get back "on track" and hopefully, the positive changes come back into place?
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Comments
Palzang
Keep posting, keep on truckin'!!
Nice to see you again!
What you describe, as Palzang says, is quite normal. Indeed, it is a normal part of the process of any learning.
Learning anything (languages, driving, musical instruments, surgical techniques, spiritual practices - they're all the same) moves through four stages:
1. "Unconscious incompetence":
Here we don't even realise that we don't know the thing to be learned. This is like the baby who babbles without words or semantic structures.
2. "Conscious incompetence":
We know that we don't know so we had better learn. The growing infant learns words and structures but is still not competent at language.
3. "Conscious competence":
We have learned a lot but still need to think about what we are doing.
4. "Unconscious competence":
We do what we have learned without thinking about it.
Learning to drive is a perfect example. Once we have achieved unconscious competence, we may think the task is over but we will, in all probability, have acquired some unskillful habits. In order to change these, we must move 'back' to conscious competence and correct the habits.
At each stage, we will reach 'plateaux' and experience discouragement. The role of the teacher is to encourage the student through these 'dry' times.
If you study the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures you may be surprised to find that this process is hidden there too. And in Eliot's "Four Quartets":
So, in the words of the song, "don't give up". This 'dryness' can be a consolation if it moves us towards better practice.
When one starts at something one makes big progress quite quickly, then comes the boring bit when one has to put in twice as much effort to make half the progress.
Happens to everyone - just keep on trucking, Friend.
It is hard to give an answer to such a question not know all of the circumstances involved. Perhaps part of the problem is that you are getting bored with the practice and it no longer interests you as it once did; perhaps another part is that you do not have an encouraging and supportive community and environment to practice in, et cetera. In my case, it look a long time before I found those two things again and was really able to put forth the effort.
I imagine that it varies from person to person, but for me, having an encouraging and supportive community and environment to practice in is very important. Without them, I end up doing everything but practicing meditation. One of the first days practicing with my new teacher, he said that while it is important to practice mindfulness all the time, it helps to have a place to go to formally practice since it is easy not to practice when we are at home.
To be honest, until very recently, I had doubts of every conceivable kind; in fact, I was having all sorts of trouble with my practice, so much so that I was close to saying the hell with it (see this thread). In the end, what truly helped me was going out and finding a place to practice. My good kamma seems to have paid off as I am now practicing meditation at a Chinese Mahayana Temple with a very good-natured and friendly teacher (see this thread).
Jason
That's great Jason, so glad we were able to help!!
*namaste*
Fede
Didn't you just say that you had a new baby? I think that would put a crimp in just about anyone's practice for a while! Possibly some of the 'negative changes' you've noticed lately are just the sleep deprivation!
Don't worry, your practice will still be there for you when you're able to return to it.
Best wishes,
-jacx
I could only suppose that it would depend on how long one takes their eye off the ball (of practice) while wrapped up mentally in going about the daily affairs. Then regaining awareness it may appear as a complete backslide has occured.
If you think of practice itself more like a dance with spinning an twisting, rather then a linear progression it's more fun.
That quote by T.S. Eliot is my favorite all-time quote. It perfectly sums up the spiritual path. In fact, I even used to carry it around with me in my wallet!
Palzang
jason- I think you're right on with the community thing, I had been going to one that some friends and I started but due to the lack of "members" we stopped going as it felt like it wasn't going anywhere with only 2 of us showing each week.
jacx- Yes we did just have a baby and sleep deprivation could very well be a big part of it.
The quote is from Eliot's "Four Quartets". If anyone wants the whole poem, or all four, they are on the Net, for example:
http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/
Eliot also recorded the poems, along with others. When I first heard the recording (on 78 r.p.m. disk!), I found his voice very off-putting. I have, however, heard it many times since and, although Ted Hughes and others (including Alec Guiness have also recorded them, I now believe that Eliot's recording is a real gem to be treasured.
Congratulations on the baby LFA. With a newborn baby in the house, you'll be lucky to even know which day of the week it is, never mind practice.
Practice suggestion: cuddle that baby.
Sorta the same thing has been happening with me. It's kind of interesting to watch actually. But I think I had a bit of an intense period of getting into the path, then realized how it was affecting my personal life (marriage, kids, etc) and had to step back and re-examine. It's interesting seeing myself slip back into old behavior patterns, etc. I'm not particularly worried about it though. I know myself pretty well at this point, and I know I'll find my way back into practice in a manner that is more in harmony with my personal life and goals.
Here's wishing the same to you.
metta
_/\_
Think Middle way...... "Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation."