Impatience

Nirvana_Peace

I have been meditating the last couple of days. It's great and makes me really happy afterward, but I seem to grow impatient and usually only meditate for 10-15 minutes before getting bored (if thats the right way to put it..) . Is this unusual? How do some of you guys go for one hour and up?

The_Fruit_Punch_Wiza

Have patience with yourself. Meditation is not an instant gratification type thing. In fact, a lot of meditation will take you into dark places of your own mind and you will realize how much you've missed in your own mind's sense of awareness. This kind of thing is both common and requires a little bit of self-love, understanding, and forgiveness. Forgive yourself for being impatient, become aware of when you become impatient, why you are becoming impatient, label the thought as impatient, label the feeling as dissatisfied, and let it go, by applying a good load of forgiveness and patience.

Simonthepilgrim

Nirvana_Peace wrote: »

I have been meditating the last couple of days. It's great and makes me really happy afterward, but I seem to grow impatient and usually only meditate for 10-15 minutes before getting bored (if thats the right way to put it..) . Is this unusual? How do some of you guys go for one hour and up?

Welcome to the wonderful world of meditation, with all its joys and pains. TFPW gives you good advice. I would like to add that 10-15 minutes is a good start. It is better to spend 10-15 minutes a day than try for more, get discouraged, give up, beat yourself up and stop altogether.

As one of my teachers used to tell us:
"Patience is nirvana in samsara."

VincentJG

As the Fruit Punch Wizard said, have patience. Meditation doesn't provide instant gratification that we've come to expect in Western Civilization. It takes time to cultivate but the end result is worth the effort. Since you've only been meditating for a few days, it might be best to stop after 10-15 minutes and slowly work your way up to longer times much like a runner trains for a marathon.

Just travel at your own pace and don't worry what others claim to be able to do.

nanadhaja

Nirvana_Peace wrote: »

I have been meditating the last couple of days. It's great and makes me really happy afterward, but I seem to grow impatient and usually only meditate for 10-15 minutes before getting bored (if thats the right way to put it..) . Is this unusual? How do some of you guys go for one hour and up?

Many meditation centers start people off at 10 minutes and gradually increase the time.The mind is not used to being told to calm down and doesn't like it a lot.Take it slowly and increase your sittings as you feel more able to do so.
Glad to see you have started.
With metta

Nirvana_Peace

Thanks a lot guys, very helpful! Not giving up

conradcook

I have been meditating the last couple of days. It's great and makes me really happy afterward, but I seem to grow impatient and usually only meditate for 10-15 minutes before getting bored (if thats the right way to put it..) . Is this unusual? How do some of you guys go for one hour and up?

This is a good sign!

First, boredom. Then, sometimes, anger. Why?

Because the mind is like a monkey turned loose in your bedroom. It's constantly running around, picking things up, checking them out, tossing them away, and going on to the next thing.

And you can imagine what this makes your room look like.

In meditation, we make monkey mind sit still. And monkey mind hates that. (Or at least mine does.) Doesn't like the discipline.

Henepola Gunarantana, writing on Vipassana Meditation:

The method we are explaining here ... is probably what Gotama Buddha taught his students. The Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha's original discourse on mindfulness, specifically says that one must begin by following the attention on the breathing and then go on to note all other physical and mental phenomena which arise.

We sit, watching the air going in and out of our noses. At first glance, this seems an exceedingly odd and useless procedure. ... Why not just sit down and be aware of whatever happens to be present in the mind? In fact, there are meditations of that nature. They are sometimes referred to as unstructured meditation and they are quite difficult. The mind is tricky. Thought is an inherently complicated procedure. By that we mean that we become trapped, wrapped up, and stuck in the thought chain. One thought leads to another which leads to another, and another, and another, and so on. Fifteen minutes later we suddenly wake up and realize we spent the whole time stuck in a daydream or sexual fantasy or a set of worries about our bills or whatever...

We use breath as our focus. It serves as that vital reference point from which the mind wanders and is drawn back. Distraction cannot be seen as distraction unless there is some central focus to be distracted from. That is the frame of reference against which we can view the incessant changes and interruptions that go on all the time as a part of normal thinking.

Ancient Pali texts liken meditation to the process of taming a wild elephant. The procedure in those days was to tie a newly captured animal to a post with a good strong rope. When you do this, the elephant is not happy. He screams and tramples, and pulls against the rope for days. Finally it sinks through his skull that he can't get away, and he settles down. At this point you can begin to feed him and to handle him with some measure of safety. Eventually you can dispense with the rope and post altogether, and train your elephant for various tasks. Now you have got a tamed elephant that can be put to useful work. In this analogy the wild elephant is your wildly active mind, the rope is mindfulness, and the post is our object of meditation, our breathing. The tamed elephan who emerges from this process is a well-trained, concentrated mind that can then be used for the exceedingly tough job of piercing the layers of illusion that obscure reality. Meditation tames the mind.

So -- you find meditation to be really boring? Yes! That means you're doing it right!


Buddha bless,

Conrad.

seeker242

Nirvana_Peace wrote: »

I have been meditating the last couple of days. It's great and makes me really happy afterward, but I seem to grow impatient and usually only meditate for 10-15 minutes before getting bored (if thats the right way to put it..) . Is this unusual? How do some of you guys go for one hour and up?

Boredom is quite the natural response. However, if you exercise discipline and continue sitting longer, you will see the boredom eventually pass away, then come back, then pass away, then come back, then pass away. All the while, all you are doing is just sitting there with nothing really changing except your mental states. Simply observing this coming and going leads to knowledge of the true essence of unsatisfactory things like boredom. I forget who said this but they said, with regards to meditation, "If you can sit past the point of being fed up with it, that is where the real progress is made."

Epicurus

^but isn't the strain of having to deal with an extreme sense of boredom going to make meditation for longer and longer, increasingly difficult?

I've got to say, I'm probably one of those people that would benefit most from meditation. It's not like I have ADD, but almost. And I just hate boredom with a passion.

That being said, I still haven't tried to meditate (because I'm lazy as hell). But I promised myself I would try it later today

Jeffrey

Hot boredom turns into cool boredom. It has cooled down in its uncortability and it is like refreshing coolness. Well I am still in the hot stages myself.

seeker242

Epicurus wrote: »

^but isn't the strain of having to deal with an extreme sense of boredom going to make meditation for longer and longer, increasingly difficult?

I've got to say, I'm probably one of those people that would benefit most from meditation. It's not like I have ADD, but almost. And I just hate boredom with a passion.

That being said, I still haven't tried to meditate (because I'm lazy as hell). But I promised myself I would try it later today

This post is deserving of a sticky. http://newbuddhist.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6571

username_5

The_Fruit_Punch_Wizard wrote: »

Have patience with yourself. Meditation is not an instant gratification type thing. In fact, a lot of meditation will take you into dark places of your own mind and you will realize how much you've missed in your own mind's sense of awareness. This kind of thing is both common and requires a little bit of self-love, understanding, and forgiveness. Forgive yourself for being impatient, become aware of when you become impatient, why you are becoming impatient, label the thought as impatient, label the feeling as dissatisfied, and let it go, by applying a good load of forgiveness and patience.

QFT.

If your meditation practice doesn't turn your entire world upside down, you aren't doing it right Silly instructors who tell you that meditation leads to peace, calm and endless joy do not know what they are speaking of. Meditation shows you what you really are at that moment and much of what you are is not OK. Much of what any of us is at any given moment is deeply dysfunctional and completely messed up. It's OK, that's how we all are despite our outward appearances. Self love and forgiveness are absolutely necessary because until we can forgive ourselves for our many failings we will lack the capacity to genuinely forgive others. We cannot genuinely love others until we can love ourselves despite how ugly we may be.

karmadorje

There is a tendency when beginning meditation to make the whole event into a very big deal, like one is doing something very important and spiritual. This can exaggerate a sense of uptightness which is exactly the opposite of meditation. The best way I find to deconstruct that is to simply say, "I'm going to sit here for the next few minutes and just relax and be me." Not follow all of the thoughts like we normally do, but just pay attention to what I am underneath all of the busy-work of thoughts. It should be something very familiar, relaxed and with a sense of cheerfulness.

The advice from the above posters is excellent; particularly that many repeated small sessions of paying attention is much better than long periods of distraction and discomfort. As you go on, it will become natural to sit for longer. Just remember: no big deal, just sitting and being natural and attentive to what it is to be you... the feel of breath coming in and out, the sounds around you, the weight of your body. Simple, natural things. If it starts to feel uptight and a drag, you are probably trying too hard.

All the best in your practice!

zenbiker

10 minutes is awesome! That's where I'm at too. I did 5 minutes a day for a few weeks, just to prove to myself that I could, and now I'm up to 10. Once I felt very calm on a particular day and did 15 minutes; a few times I've felt more "monkey mind" than normal and contented myself with 5 minutes.

Remember that you're not competing with yourself or anyone else. If 10 minutes is perfect for you on a given day then, for that day, 10 minutes is your perfect meditation!

Nirvana_Peace

thanks zen good to know someone else is where I'm at

Dazzle

If you have physical problems its ok to sit in a straight-backed chair . The centres I go to always provide them for people.
Trying to sit in a rigid uncomfortable position or forcing yourelf into a lotus position isn't helpful. If your body is fairly comfortable your mind will begin to relax too.


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[DeletedUser]

It is natural as mind is input with uncountable "dusts" before and when one is born. Therefore, the more your dusts settle, the longer is the process of meditation. The key is patience and bliss to meditate, you will gradually experience your inner strength leading your way of serenity, peace and bliss in meditation.

The_Fruit_Punch_Wiza

username_5 wrote: »

QFT.

If your meditation practice doesn't turn your entire world upside down, you aren't doing it right Silly instructors who tell you that meditation leads to peace, calm and endless joy do not know what they are speaking of. Meditation shows you what you really are at that moment and much of what you are is not OK. Much of what any of us is at any given moment is deeply dysfunctional and completely messed up. It's OK, that's how we all are despite our outward appearances. Self love and forgiveness are absolutely necessary because until we can forgive ourselves for our many failings we will lack the capacity to genuinely forgive others. We cannot genuinely love others until we can love ourselves despite how ugly we may be.

That indeed is true in more ways than one. Meditation is more than just calmness but the more aware you become the more open you end up.