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Mindfulness dependent on the time of day

BunksBunks Australia Veteran
Do you find that the steadiness / consistency of your mindfulness is dependent on the time of day?

I am a morning person and I normally find from waking up at the crack of dawn until lunch time I feel strong in mind and spirit.

However, post lunch and into the evening my mind becomes dull and I struggle to keep it up.

Any tips? Anyone else have the same issue?

Comments

  • ChazChaz The Remarkable Chaz Anywhere, Everywhere & Nowhere Veteran
    Bunks said:

    Do you find that the steadiness / consistency of your mindfulness is dependent on the time of day?

    I am a morning person and I normally find from waking up at the crack of dawn until lunch time I feel strong in mind and spirit.

    I'm a weekends kinda guy myself ......
    ...... I struggle to keep it up.
    Mos Def a TMI thing there dude ....
    Any tips? Anyone else have the same issue?
    Viagra?

    Geez .....

    First we have Singing Bowels and now a Freudian slip

    Maybe mindfullness of typing ......
    BunksanatamankarastiDharmaMcBum
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran
    Chaz said:

    Bunks said:

    Do you find that the steadiness / consistency of your mindfulness is dependent on the time of day?

    I am a morning person and I normally find from waking up at the crack of dawn until lunch time I feel strong in mind and spirit.

    I'm a weekends kinda guy myself ......
    ...... I struggle to keep it up.
    Mos Def a TMI thing there dude ....
    Any tips? Anyone else have the same issue?
    Viagra?

    Geez .....

    First we have Singing Bowels and now a Freudian slip

    Maybe mindfullness of typing ......


    Ha! I wanted to give you an awesome AND a lol for that @Chaz!!

    I'm surprised you didn't also pick me up on the "crack of dawn" :)

    Now, back to serious buddhist stuff.....
    anataman
  • There's a truism in business that you should never send an e-mail that you write late at night; you should save it and read it in the morning (then you can cringe and delete it). The point is that time of day greatly affects not just mood, but actual thought patterns and whole style of communication.
    Bunks
  • BhanteLuckyBhanteLucky Alternative lifestyle person in the South Island of New Zealand New Zealand Veteran
    What I call the"Golden Hours", my sharpest and deepest meditations of the day, are always between 4pm and maybe 8pm.
    The morning for me is a total disaster zone, jumbled, busy mind that won't stay on the breath... but I meditate in the morning anyway, just for the good practise of accepting that my mind is out of control, letting go.
    I've no idea why different times of day are better or worse. I've tried radically varying my diet, eating times, exercise, wake-up time, caffeine, etc etc... And nothing seemed to change it much. A mystery!
    So I just work with it, and use it to my advantage.
    lobster
  • So I just work with it, and use it to my advantage.
    Good advice.

    I prefer to meditate at night/early morning as it is quiet and I am awake. Many physical factors can effect a formal sitting. Time of the month, stress, temperature, food, time of day, type of food, stimulants such as tea or coffee, intoxicants such as chocolate, experiences we have buzzing around, physical or mental distractions, illness . . . and on it goes . . . eventually we may be sensitive to the emanations of other meditators and prefer solitude but initially their proximity is inspiring . . .

    image
    Bunks
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    Bunks said:


    However, post lunch and into the evening my mind becomes dull and I struggle to keep it up.

    Same here. Sometimes a good long walk helps.
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator
    I have a very hard time meditating in the middle of the day. Morning and evening when our daily life settles down is the only time that seems to work best. But because of that, I did put the mindfulness bell on my phone (free app, iphone and android for sure have it) and it is quite helpful. I make sure to stop and take a few meditation type breaths, sometimes I can do it a few minutes, sometimes just a couple seconds at a stoplight, or whatever. But it does help bring me back to my meditation state some.

    I definitely find it to be true that my sense of everything changes. Morning is my best time, because I'm home alone for several hours (first time in my adult life, really). As the day wears on and more and more people come home it becomes harder to maintain. I notice the same thing when I go to my Sangha meetings or after a retreat. The longer I can spend in that "Dharmic state" the longer it lasts afterwards, but I find myself a bit let down as I feel it leave. I know it's possible to hang onto it and I work on that, but it's hard when you have to be around so many draining, non-Dharmic people, LOL. I don't mean that as an insult to them, but a difficulty/challenge for me in knowing how to bring mindfulness to areas where people are as mindless as can be.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran

    Isn't one's experience of the time of a day, mindfulness?
    Chaz
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran
    Thanks everyone. I didn't think it was just me!
  • 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
    That's why I wear a mala bracelet... it's pretty impossible to be un-Mindful, when I catch a glimpse of it....
    But I'm an early waker... so I sit up in bed, while my H sleeps, and do a bit of inner reflection, prep for the day....
    Bunks
  • ChazChaz The Remarkable Chaz Anywhere, Everywhere & Nowhere Veteran
    On a serious note ... I used to offer this same complaint to my meditation instructor. He told me that if I was having trouble with morning practice, then that was the best time to practice.

    Now, time of day or place is never a problem. Remembering to practice....now that's another thing.
    how
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    @Chaz

    I have often recommended that meditators commit to a set schedule of formal meditation so that they develop mindfulness beyond the limitations of likes, dislikes or whenever they feel amenable to doing it.
    Later, it's good to include additional formal meditation outside of a set schedule to experience mindfulness of life beyond a schedule.

    It is not about good or poor meditation but about the mindfulnes within what ever moment that you find yourself.
    lobster
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    how said:


    Isn't one's experience of the time of a day, mindfulness?

    Yes, also being mindful of being tired and lethargic and not all that mindful. ;)
    lobsterBunks
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