I just recently hit the 30 minute mark and the difference between 15 and 30 is remarkable, I've heard the difference between 30 minutes and 90 is even more stark, but I am aiming for 45 first!

This is such a nice introduction for people that are very new or have just started with meditation.

I want to share a particular interesting meditation that i stumbled upon in a science podcast i quite enjoy. I noticed that on days when i am extremely late for my daily meditation I have trouble to focus and stay awake. Means I get very sleepy during classic sitting meditation late in the day. When that happens a couple of times, I switch to the suggested STB Meditation from the podcast.

Which helps me greatly to keep awake and do -some- meditation practice, instead of breaking off and giving up entirely (which frustrates me greatly).

Feel free to share what you think, or what your favorite strategy against sleepiness is.

Peace is in the void.

What are you doing right now? It's what you do, it's what you are used to doing.

Is that a healthy habit? Fuck that question. Here's a better one.

Is this a habit that you want to be? Do you want to be this current collection of habits?

It's fine if you do. But understand this is what you are. A series of learned and repeated actions.

Do with that what you will.

“In asana our eyes are open, our ears are open, our minds are open, our hearts are open. As the months turn into years, we realize that our practice is a long unfolding, an opening into promise. We learn to stand easy, firm, and relaxed, and our problems become the open windows of opportunity.” –Rolf Gates

I was introduced to mantra meditation in a yogic setting, so I began with traditional vedic mantras ("Om", "So Ham", "Om Namo Narayanaya", etc)

Recently I've been experimenting with different mantras. Some of my favourites have been: "Be here now" and "Love, Truth"

What mantras do you use?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/2534576

Instant Zen #49: Sitting Meditation

Foyan, Cleary translation

The light of mind is reflected in emptiness;

its substance is void of relative or absolute.

Golden waves all around,

Zen is constant, in action or stillness.

Thoughts arise, thoughts disappear;

don't try to shut them off.

Let them flow spontaneously—

what has ever arisen and vanished?

When arising and vanishing quiet down,

there appears the great Zen master;

sitting, reclining, walking around,

there's never an interruption.

When meditating, why not sit?

When sitting, why not meditate?

Only when you have understood this way.

is it called sitting meditation.

Who is it that sits? What is meditation?

To try to seat it

is using Buddha to look for Buddha.

Buddha need not be sought,

seeking takes you further away.

In sitting, you do not look at yourself;

meditation is not an external art.

At first, the mind is noisy and unruly;

there is still no choice but to shift it back.

That is why there are many methods

to teach it quiet observation.

When you sit up and gather your spirit,

at first it scatters helter-skelter;

over a period of time, eventually it calms down,

opening and freeing the six senses.

When the six senses rest a bit,

discrimination occurs therein.

As soon as discrimination occurs,

it seems to produce arising and vanishing.

The transformations of arising and vanishing

come from manifestations of one's own mind.

Put your own mind to use to look back once:

once you've returned, no need to do it again;

you wear a halo of light on your head.

The spiritual flames leap and shine,

unobstructed in any state of mind,

all-inclusive, all-pervasive;

birth and death forever cease.

A single grain of restorative elixir

turns gold into liquid;

acquired pollution of body and mind

have no way to get through.

Confusion and enlightenment are temporarily explained;

stop discussing opposition and accord.

When I think carefully of olden days

when I sat coolly seeking,

though it's nothing different,

it was quite a mess.

You can turn from ordinary mortal to sage

in an instant, but no one believes.

All over the earth is unclarity;

best be very careful.

If it happens you do not know,

then sit up straight and think;

one day you'll bump into it.

This I humbly hope.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1082995

Search for and reside in the still point of the mind. This point lies beyond the senses and truth and light await the searchers who arrive.

I find this an excellent book by the late ex-neuroscientist and meditation adept, that illustrates how the mind works and distils the core of Buddhist meditation into easy to follow steps - the medtiation practice, as always, is the challenge to progress.

I have some The Mind Illuminated guided meditation audio files created by a meditation teacher if anyone is interested.

Has anyone used the book?

An absolute favorite.

Welp, I've only been meditating for a couple of days, but I already feel like I've made some progress. I have been feeling anxious about everything my whole life, and this video convinced me to start meditating.
It's a short and funny introduction to meditation, where the very basics are explained with some simple analogies and such. I recommend it to anyone who's interested in the subject.

Medito is a completely free and open-source meditation app for both android and iOS. I am not associated with it in anyway but have been using it for the past few months and absolutely love it! There are so many guided recordings, there's a timer feature, there are background white noise options, etc.

I am looking for guided metta meditations. Any good ones?

Nobody was claiming ##meditation @ libera.chat, so I've registered it.

For directions on how to log in:

https://libera.chat/guides/clients

All beings are welcome.

Just finished my daily absolutely required 20min. (which can be extended depeneding on the situation)

I almost missed it today and started at about 01:04. That is to say: after midnight.

How do I pump up my motivation when everything is blah or worse?

Sometimes the preparation to the meditation - that is, reminding of the four guidelines, going through the six points, and easing attention from the periphery, sounds, body sensations, breath sensations in totality, and the sensations at the tip of the nose - feels slippery.

I can't hold onto the preparation and I find myself already with the breath at the tip of the nose when going through the six points, like the breath is already at the background, or maybe even the preparation is at the background, not sure.

A review of Carnevil, a rails shooter, is provided for demonstration purposes. Yes, my mind sometimes feels like an evil carnival.

About two years ago the first jhana appeared in a session for a few moments. It was like stepping on a high voltage conduit of joy. At the time almost each session had access concentration.

Several bad things happened after that period of time and now I am struggling with the lowest of the Elephant Path stages.

Just sharing / venting. I don't know how you could help except for reiterating "do what is right for the stage you are in as written in The Mind Illuminated".

I have found an accountability partner and we are reading Culadasa's The Mind Illuminated. I am also trying to have a few shorter sessions per day, each 20-30min long.

Thank you for reading.

They always seemed to me to be in the same neighborhood of meaning.

I would love having here different answers from different people because these words seem to be carrying a lot of meaning.

It was based around Culadasa's The Mind Illuninated. I don't know exactly what I want to say, just that I am struggling to get back practicing. I have some background issues concerning mental health.

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1. Sit comfortably and remain still
2. Fix your gaze slightly downward
3. Breathe naturally and deeply
4. When breathing in, notice that you are breathing in. Think "I am breathing in"
5. When breathing out, notice that you are breathing out. Think "I am breathing out"
6. Engage in this breathing meditation for at least five minutes. Whenever your mind wanders from noticing your breathing, think "imagining" or "remembering" or "planning", etc. and return your focus to your breath.

This is one of many ways to meditate.