How has meditation helped you?

ShiftPlusOne

I used to wake up drowsy/hazy and then stay in bed for a couple more hours every morning. Basically I'd be late to everything because I couldn't wake up. I've been doing mindfulness meditation for about a week and have found that I wake up in an alert state and can get out of bed without any problems. There are other benefits of awareness of the links between actions, responses, thoughts and emotions so I can catch a moment a thought turns into a negative action or a response turns to a negative thought and that tends to reduce the frequency with which these things happen.

I've tried other types of meditation but found that I would break it when I got an itch or got distracted because I didn't know how to turn a distraction into something to meditate on. I guess if I was to move onto another kind of meditation I would be able to get past distractions and that's good to know.

So, what are some benefits you have experienced and what kind of meditation was it?

Gecko

My meditation usually involves basic mindfulness of breathing, though occasionally I just sit. So far, meditation has helped me by being a thoroughly inconstant, insufferable, pain in the butt(knees).

One moment it will show me just exactly how much a mess my monkey mind can create, the other it will give a fleeting impression of my concept of dualistic mind and body melting away.

I've had it reveal such horrible things in myself that I've near run screaming from my seat, exiting the shrine room in a classic cut-out hole in the wall. It's also taken me deeply into my mind, like a parent leading a child by the hand, and shown me in vague yet achingly familiar images what 'I' really am... and out the other side, where for a brief few moments I felt so peacefully still and quiet and free, I cried.

Meditation has taught me patience - even sitting on a meditation stool for an hour straight (at the end of a long day of such stretches of sitting), you will reach a point where the pain, impatience, the burning itching need to jump up, shout, scream, hurricane-fist the nearest damn silent meditating dude next to you for being so damn patient and still.... gets almost unbearable. And then you find yourself sitting just a moment more.


Er, sorry about that little rave. It's the chocolate talking To sum - meditation has helped me become. EDIT: No, is helping me become. (that's the non-final version)

ShiftPlusOne

Surely not 70% dark chocolate with essence of mandarin and cinnamon?

I keep my meditation fairly short and increase it by 5 minutes when I get comfortable with the previous meditation. Right now it's 25 minutes which doesn't make me impatient, but I know if I did 1 hour with proper posture I wouldn't be able to stay with it. Baby steps is the way to go for me.

Gecko

Yeah, I used to do the smart thing and go nice and easy. Then a while back I traveled four hours to attend a two-week intensive meditation retreat. Up to nine hours of meditation a day, with silence, was pretty hardcore for me n00bness

EDIT: W00t! 100th post! 100 posts of inane, pseduo-zen drivel! I'd like to thank everyone for not tarring, feathering, and lynching me, and to my not-so local family takeaway store for making the most horribly unhealthy and awesome pizzas in the world.

ShiftPlusOne

What state are you in?

Brandon

I used to have extreme panic attacks but buddhism and meditation helped me to realize that whatever I am going through is what it is and freaking out over it will not help. I have not had panic attacks ever since.

SyntheticKinetic

Meditation has helped me stay calm throughout the day. Instead of constantly worrying about every stress in my life, I'm able to spend my time doing constructive things. I can see clearly past my actions, and am currently trying to reduce the part of my personality that many people call a' lazy sarcastic jack-ass'.

TheJourney

I am trying to work "real"(sitting) meditation into my everyday life, though i'm still just beginning to work it in and thus the amount I do is fairly small, i'm sure especially compared to some of you guys on here. I try to keep mindfulness at all times, though, and this puts me into a meditative state all day.

newtech

uff a lot. Its such a tool...actually i see more changes in 1 yearthat in 14 without meditation...its crazy.

ShiftPlusOne

Newtech, yeah it target the parts of the brain that we don't use a lot. Therefore, a little goes a long way... and a lot goes even further

Aeonuniversalis

When I was in and then after i was discharged from the military I had a very hard time sleeping. I would either I was not tired enough to sleep or I would only sleep and then somehow be jolted out of sleep 2 or 3 hours of sleeping and cant go back to sleep. Recently over the past 2 weeks I have taken an initiative to bring myslef more into the practice. It has been years since I have slept this good. Now lately I have been getting a good 9 or 10 hours of sleep.

Gecko

Shift - Canbra, mate.

ShiftPlusOne

Yeah, I figured that one out already. Seems like there are quite a few members from there. Canberra must be great for Buddhists, since there is absolutely nothing to distract yourself with.

Kundo

Gecko wrote: »

Shift - Canbra, mate.

Dude!!!! So am I. South or North?

EDIT - I'm still deciding which temple to attend here (I moved here from Sydney in January). Any recommendations?

In metta,
Raven

ThailandTom

Personally speaking it hasn't really helped me at all as of yet. It has shown to me the frantic untamed mind, maybe let me relax for a few minutes but that is about it really

Jennis

Id love to know if anyone has been helped with illness by the use of meditation

ThailandTom

meditation if done correctly has many positive outcomes, but it is not the best option for everything. Having a cell fone is great, you can do so many things with it but you wouldn't use it to brush your teeth now would you? With illnesses I think seeking medical advise/help would be the best thing to do, use the meditation to relax your mind and deal with the situation of being unwell in the best way possible

Gecko

Shift - Canberra makes me want to cry, and run naked screaming through the scrub until a kangaroo puts me out of its misery

Dhammachick - Weston Creek. Consider yourself friended, biatch! As for temples - I turned up to the one in Lyneham while they were rebuilding the front section, and got weird looks from people while I was browsing their free book library. Guess I should have made an appointment first? As I haven't aligned myself to a school yet, and as there seems to be no surviving zen/chan sect here, I'm a bit uncertain which one I want to inflict my presence upon.

On topic: I read that for many things like anxiety, depression, etc, that meditation is great - but not in the short term. When you start out, it's more an exercise of getting used to 'it' - the monkey mind and all the mess that we call ourselves. Sitting with that can be quite... disturbing. I've had some rather unpleasant experiences with that, and it's always a great idea to have sangha or other experienced meditators around to gently remind you that you're not insane and don't need to run screaming naked through the bush... etc. Of course, if you keep up the practice of precepts, and balance with metta, and have support, it does become extremely beneficial.

On that note, in our wonderful stomach-ulcer-inducing society nowadays, meditation is a priceless gift. You can almost taste the calm and togetherness of a long-term meditator among the hassled and discombobulated masses. Stop thinking about vegetables, me (darnit, Mountains!)

Kundo

Gecko wrote: »

Dhammachick - Weston Creek. Consider yourself friended, biatch! As for temples - I turned up to the one in Lyneham while they were rebuilding the front section, and got weird looks from people while I was browsing their free book library. Guess I should have made an appointment first? As I haven't aligned myself to a school yet, and as there seems to be no surviving zen/chan sect here, I'm a bit uncertain which one I want to inflict my presence upon.

Ha!! I probably live up the road from you then Talk about a small world

Kundo

Jennis wrote: »

Id love to know if anyone has been helped with illness by the use of meditation

Namaste Jennis,

I use the Medicine Buddha meditation whenever I am sick or injured and find it to be such a boon. I also have a Medicine Buddha pendant that I wear a lot and ALWAYS when I am ill/injured. I also have one for my daughter. (My husband is a strong secular humanist who while a fan of Buddhism, won't go as far as to try it - yet )

In metta,
Raven

Gecko

If I ever get enough dedication and determination to study towards medicine again, I think the medicine buddha would be idealistic goal. The doctors in Medecins sans Frontieres and the Aussie Flying Doctors are my heros in that department.

I would say, actually, that in a round-about way, a doctor or nurse who meditates is actually likely to be a better practitioner.

Invincible_summer

I've only been practicing mindfulness meditation, and only more recently (~2 weeks, maybe every other day.. I need to get consistent), but I've noticed that my thoughts are more clear, I can articulate my thoughts better, and while I'm meditating I feel so at peace I sometimes find myself smiling after for no reason.

ThailandTom

2 weeks lol,I have been meditating about 18 months or so and have seen little affect :P I must be doing it very wrong indeed. When I first became interested in buddhism I was on a different forum that has no closed down, but I remember reading a thread about a guy who had been meditating for about 5 years and had just worked out what the point of meditation was, he had just realised how it should be done :P

TheJourney

ThailandTom wrote: »

2 weeks lol,I have been meditating about 18 months or so and have seen little affect :P I must be doing it very wrong indeed. When I first became interested in buddhism I was on a different forum that has no closed down, but I remember reading a thread about a guy who had been meditating for about 5 years and had just worked out what the point of meditation was, he had just realised how it should be done :P

I have been supplementing my meditation with study(both on dharma and meditation)and have been pleased with the results. Perhaps a little more study would be beneficial? idk i'm just speculating here

Invincible_summer

ThailandTom wrote: »

2 weeks lol,I have been meditating about 18 months or so and have seen little affect :P I must be doing it very wrong indeed. When I first became interested in buddhism I was on a different forum that has no closed down, but I remember reading a thread about a guy who had been meditating for about 5 years and had just worked out what the point of meditation was, he had just realised how it should be done :P

Perhaps it's just a placebo effect? Or a false correlation with something else? I'm not even sure I'm "doing it right" to be honest. But regardless, i have noticed these changes in myself.

Floating_Abu

Ask not what meditation can do for you... ?

Floating_Abu

ShiftPlusOne wrote: »

I used to wake up drowsy/hazy and then stay in bed for a couple more hours every morning. Basically I'd be late to everything because I couldn't wake up. I've been doing mindfulness meditation for about a week and have found that I wake up in an alert state and can get out of bed without any problems. There are other benefits of awareness of the links between actions, responses, thoughts and emotions so I can catch a moment a thought turns into a negative action or a response turns to a negative thought and that tends to reduce the frequency with which these things happen.

I've tried other types of meditation but found that I would break it when I got an itch or got distracted because I didn't know how to turn a distraction into something to meditate on. I guess if I was to move onto another kind of meditation I would be able to get past distractions and that's good to know.

So, what are some benefits you have experienced and what kind of meditation was it?

If you are distracted, just come back to focus. Recognising you are distracted is mindfulness. Coming back to the object or no_object (whatever your meditation is) is meditation.

Itching, accept, feel, continue sitting.

Meditation is invaluable.

ShiftPlusOne

Floating_Abu wrote: »

If you are distracted, just come back to focus. Recognising you are distracted is mindfulness. Coming back to the object or no_object (whatever your meditation is) is meditation.

Itching, accept, feel, continue sitting.

Meditation is invaluable.

Ah, sorry I didn't write that clearly. I meant I had tried other types of meditation, but none of them addressed pain and itching, so I didn't know how to handle that. Then after starting mindfulness meditation, I could easily make itching pass and accept pain as is.

I still have trouble differentiating between destructive pain and non-destructive pain, so I sometimes move, then realize I didn't have to.

Also, I get impatient after about 20 minutes, so 30 minute meditation is very difficult for me. I try to accept and feel the impatience, but it still gets the better of me.

ThailandTom

I have at times briefly touched upon a very positive state of mind where I have been able to still the mind and focus it, but that only lasts a few minutes at the most. I have more progression from using every day bits of wisdom such as being mindful of attachment,not having control over many things in life, letting go of things and so on. I haven't actually ever read any scriptures or chanted or recited mantras anything like that Maybe that would help... But yea, meditation hasn't done a whole lot for me personally

Floating_Abu

ShiftPlusOne wrote: »

Ah, sorry I didn't write that clearly. I meant I had tried other types of meditation, but none of them addressed pain and itching, so I didn't know how to handle that. Then after starting mindfulness meditation, I could easily make itching pass and accept pain as is.

I still have trouble differentiating between destructive pain and non-destructive pain, so I sometimes move, then realize I didn't have to.

Also, I get impatient after about 20 minutes, so 30 minute meditation is very difficult for me. I try to accept and feel the impatience, but it still gets the better of me.

Yes you will be able to sustain it more and more...your true self or spirit feels those things but are not those feelings.

You have my thanks.

Abu

Floating_Abu

ThailandTom wrote: »

I have at times briefly touched upon a very positive state of mind where I have been able to still the mind and focus it, but that only lasts a few minutes at the most. I have more progression from using every day bits of wisdom such as being mindful of attachment,not having control over many things in life, letting go of things and so on. I haven't actually ever read any scriptures or chanted or recited mantras anything like that Maybe that would help... But yea, meditation hasn't done a whole lot for me personally

The purpose of meditation if there is one, is not only to #attain# positive states of mind, the meditation that encompasses, and can encompass all, is the real meditation. Otherwise we could only do it on the ground.

Blessings,
Abu

ThailandTom

Yea I have heard so often by monks and especially ajahn chah that you should go into meditation expecting nothing in return.. If you strive to gain something you will never reach nirvana or inner peace. The best meditation sessions I have had were when I was able to just let go of everything simply be in that moment. This to me doesn't seem to gain such wisdom about the world though.. Just tranquility for a few minutes

VincentJG

In the few months that I've been practicing basic breathing meditation, I've become calmer, happier, more patient and have reduced my stress level A LOT. I've noticed my mind is quieter and more focused (usually ). When I go shopping with my wife, I no longer complain or become incessantly bored. It has helped me realize and accept my homesickness from the area I lived for most of my life.

I only wished I discovered meditation earlier.

Floating_Abu

ThailandTom wrote: »

Yea I have heard so often by monks and especially ajahn chah that you should go into meditation expecting nothing in return.. If you strive to gain something you will never reach nirvana or inner peace. The best meditation sessions I have had were when I was able to just let go of everything simply be in that moment.

Dazzle

Jennis wrote: »

Id love to know if anyone has been helped with illness by the use of meditation

Yes. I had an operation a few years ago. I had some pain, but I did basic tranquility meditation beforehand - and then whilst in the hospital - and again when I was healing and recovering at home - and I felt great, no problems !




.

ThailandTom

Did they give you any pain relieving drugs as well??

Karmic_Pinball

For me, physical wellness seems to be strongly influenced by spiritual (or mental?) well being. Meditation has been similar to hitting the gym, not something I get excited about but I feel the benefits across the board if I stay consistent with it. Unfortunately, just like staying in shape, it is easy for me to forget the benefits when I'm on the path and get used to it, when things start going south 'yes, Ive gotten slack' I start going back to the gym (and the seat) and start exercising again.

ThailandTom

lol, I did this also. I started going to the gym and then realised why I was going to the gym and stopped. I came to the conclusion I was not going to be healthy, but for other unimportant matters. BUT, now I do not meditate regularly or go to the gym at all lol... I really do not know what it is, it is like meditation is a chore and I know it shouldn't be this way, but it is what it is..

Whoknows

I rarely get sick, I feel lighter, my vast reserves of anger are highly attenuated. I no longer suffer from depression and anxiety. I highly recommend it!!!!!


My meditation is Mahamudra meditation as per Tibetan Kagyu tradition. Followed verbatim from Mind at Ease by Traleg Kyabgon.