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Personal practice logs?

AureliusAurelius
edited August 2009 in Buddhism Basics
Morning all,

first post and a couple of possibly trivial/practical questions;

Do any of you keep practice logs to assist with your progress in the Dhamma?

Like a lot of new enquirers I have spent a long time going round in circles asking endless questions about which methods or traditions may be best for me, and trialing various forms of meditation or other practices, (somewhat compulsively) in a bid to find the 'right' one for me. After musing about this a little, I've decided to take a leaf out of the book of my 15-odd years of physical training experiences;

Firstly I thought I'd start journalling my practices - noting what I have done (formally/informally) and what experiences I have had with these.

Secondly, I am going to try and be a bit more consistent/rational with what I do; I want to maintain an element of 'experimentation' with everything I do - commit to a practice for a period, review my experiences and then proceed from there.

Does anyone do anything like this? Any tips or pointers?

I know this sounds a bit clinical and 'dry', but the alternative (for me at least) seems to be impulsively flitting from practice to practice without really making any lasting realisations or progress.




If anyone's remotely interested, I have decided that for the next 90 days I am committing to a daily mindfulness meditation along with a (mental) refuge and reminder of the 5 precepts. VERY simple, but simple is a good starting point I feel. I also commit to re-reading The Miracle of Mindfulness, Cultivating the Mind of Love(TNH) and the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - in that order. See you in 90 days I guess.

Comments

  • PalzangPalzang Veteran
    edited August 2009
    I think if it helps you in your practice, it's good. I know I keep a log of sorts to keep track of my (glacially slow) progress in Ngondro (preliminary) practice. You need to accumulate 100,000 repetitions of different things, so you really need to keep track. I also think journaling can be extremely helpful in learning to watch your mind and observing how it functions, which most of us are blithely ignorant of.

    Palzang
  • gracklegrackle Veteran
    edited August 2009
    Aurelius,
    I think the keeping of a practice diary is a good idea. For me it was helpful in the beginning. Keeping the entries terse and to the point worked best for me.
    It's quite helpful when you feel you feel that you not practicing well to turn those pages backward to see where you once were.

    grackle
  • AureliusAurelius
    edited August 2009
    thank you for the replies.... With regards to keeping the entries to the point, this is what worked 'best' in the various physical training logs I have kept so I was going for a similar thing; simply note what I did with perhaps a brief 'comments' section at the end for anything I feel worthy of note.

    Good to hear other people have had success doing this. I know applying physical training methods into mental or spiritual training methods is not an entirely like-for-like substitution, but I hope it will help me cut through some of the confusion that comes from being a beginner and having so much info at our disposal. Frame it in a language I can relate to I guess...


    p.s. to anyone who feels compelled to point out that my notions of 'training' and 'progress' are illusory, delusional or simplistic.... I know. ;)
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited August 2009
    Oh......:o

    ok. :p

    :winkc:
  • BrigidBrigid Veteran
    edited August 2009
    Aurelius wrote: »
    thank you for the replies.... With regards to keeping the entries to the point, this is what worked 'best' in the various physical training logs I have kept so I was going for a similar thing; simply note what I did with perhaps a brief 'comments' section at the end for anything I feel worthy of note.

    Good to hear other people have had success doing this. I know applying physical training methods into mental or spiritual training methods is not an entirely like-for-like substitution, but I hope it will help me cut through some of the confusion that comes from being a beginner and having so much info at our disposal. Frame it in a language I can relate to I guess...


    p.s. to anyone who feels compelled to point out that my notions of 'training' and 'progress' are illusory, delusional or simplistic.... I know. ;)
    Hi, Aurelius, and welcome to the site. It's lovely to meet you.

    Yes, I keep of journal of my daily practice, thoughts about certain teachings and so on and I've been doing so for about 6 months. It helps me immensely. I started doing it because, as you said, I hoped it would "help me cut through some of the confusion that comes from being a beginner and having so much info at our disposal."

    I should have started doing it sooner. Since I'm still at the stage where 'training' and 'progress' actually do have meaning, it works for me. When I eventually get to the other shore I'll leave my notebook behind with the raft. Until then, I'll use whatever is at my disposal to stay on track.

    Sending my wishes for a very fruitful 90 days!
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