I have been practicing Buddhism for about 9 months now, and in that time I have been procrastinating to a terrible extent when it comes to meditation. At one time I don't think I have been able to meditate for more than 15 minutes! Anyway, last night I was all alone in my Living Room with the television as the only source of illumination. It was at least one in the morning and I think I was the only one still awake. After turning off the tv, I then planned to meditate for the rest of the night instead of going to sleep (I wasn't particularly tired since I woke up at 1:30 in the afternoon that day). I sat down in the dark against the front of a chair for support to start my meditation. However, I found that I could not stand to keep my eyes closed and my mind focused because everytime I closed then I had this mental image of the scary monster guy that I think I got from some scary movie on the sci-fi channel. I think I subconsciously might be trying to sabotage my own efforts to peacefully meditate. I find also, that this doesn't happen in the daytime when I attempt to meditate, but those attempts don't last very long either. Has anyone else experienced any time of (what seems like) self sabotage? And does anyone know ways to prevent it? Namaste, Diana
Yes, I used to self-sabotage when I was a newbie...but it's not worth it, and it's definately not part of Buddhism. I switched to SGI buddhism and now I chant instead of meditate, and it makes it easier to focus. You can't force it; if you do, you'll start to subconciously resent it and it will backfire. Just relax, and remember that there are more ways than one to meditate--you can go for a walk, cook something, take a bath...these are all ways of meditation. You don't have to be silent and in a lotus position. -Kate
I had problems whith scary images for a while. What I did to get passed it was that I tryed to "seperate" the image from the actual emotion of being frightened. See them as two seperate things. Try recalling the image at a time when you feel secure, like in the daytime. And analyze it then... Fear is one of the things I think everybody has to overcome in meditation(like in life). Fear is just one of the many thresholds. Its all selfsabotage isnt?
Hi xdianax Meditation is maybe a lot about the attention you can give to your inner dialogue. Pay attention to it and dont let it be superior to you. You leave a state of peace to think. But thoughts are not dangerous, you can control them and make yourself reach "higher" state of conscious. I already told myself, i wont sleep this night for a time, i will only focus on my inner dialogue. You are not even forced to sit in the lotus position. You perfectly could lay on your bed and do this. Seeing and livin your thoughts as they are and as you are. You are something else than those thoughts, I maybe think that Buddhism can makes you understand this. *If you have those image, you could really face it for a while and even live your problem with it. Or you could change your mind, take a stop for a time and restart after Or you could change your mind, changing your thoughts really by really willing to think about something else. *Really do not be scared of you thinking while meditating. It's normal, you have to accept that your thoughts will never stop to appear. After a time you really understand how it works. And you ll take control of it. *Attention is similar to meditation. One can be i that state all the day long. Not thinking because he sees things. But thinking because he is driving its thoughts where he wants them to lead himself. *I think medidate for a whole night is not an easy exercise. If you r already pretty experimented, it's ok, if not dont jump the stage. *be free of your your emotions and feelings means you know how you provoke those impression and feeling in yourself (in your inner state or dialogue) Everything is done with your willingness. With love, take care Hope that helped PS : diana, PM me if you'd like to explain me more stuff about you, i would like too, maybe could I help, and be helped
tell me diana, why would you want to sit on the floor, in a dark room, facing a wall, anxiously waiting for time to pass, when you could be out under the stars dancing, or eating ice cream on a comfortable couch, or listening to beautiful music, or even just going for a walk?
Haha, interesting question. I actually had already done that the night before That is funny, because I have been thinking about that! Even that night the idea was on my mind. The only reason I didn't was because I was nervous that 1) my mom was awake/would wake up when I slipped out the door 2) and I felt kinda guilty, because my mother always told me I wasn't allowed to walk alone at night (even though I live in an extremely safe town/neighborhood). Good question! Haha, I really should do both, in fact mentioning it has really made me want to. Thanks for all the replies! Since I started the thread I have been focusing on going to bed early (although every time I have done that =/ I wake up easily), and I have been playing DDR and reading books assigned by my high school. So as you can see I haven't been meditating much recently. But I have had success meditating in the daytime, so I will have to see what happens the next time I meditate at night. That might even be tonight for all I know! Namaste, Diana
I am not a buddhist but i do know something about meditation, so here is my 2 cents. First of all, late night isnt a good time to meditate, you should ideally do it early morning or at sunset. The reasons for this are several, but mainly that disturbing vibrations in the mind and in the external world are more in the night. If you notice the day is always a more positive time for most people. Second, one of the most important things in spirituality is to have regular timings. Not only does this mean scheduling your daily practise and sticking to it no matter what, it also means bringing a certain level or regularity to the rest of your life as well, such as your sleep hours, what time you take meals, etc. This brings order and discipline to the mind. All this said, 15-20 minutes is quite good for a beginner in meditation. Usually we start off at just 5 minutes or so and build up from there, so if you can sit in meditation for that long then youre doing something write. Dont let a few bad sessions put you off. You will eventually find your way to a lasting experience.
Find the dance and play of light inside, laugh, cry and sing with it, it is not needed to do this is a conventional sense, you do this with each breath, in, then out, so your mind does what it does, return to the breath, let compassion and love for your condition develop for the process itself is perfect! When you learn how to love and be calm at this level, through practice, patience, humor (hopefully cosmic) and love. So what if you see a scary monster? don't push it away, let it be, it cannot hurt you! You see, meditation, helps you become a more calm, peaceful, loving being, it brings light to all other activities like a walk, a dance under the stars and what not... 15 minutes is not that much to give to something that can help you be healthy. At times it can feel like excercise and medicine and boredom and anger and bad memories and bad images and restlessness... but this comes in your life anyway! When you learn how to sit and watch it pass from a calm center, then you become more and more liberated. If you put what Buddha called right effort into it, it works. Does that mean that everyone should do it? It would be good if a sitting meditation practice, with the exception of realized beings, was practiced by many beings for at least 10 minutes a day, the vibes would improve so much, we would have world peace. However, it's good to do more if you can. However, it's not a serious thing, disciplined practice, yes, serious, no... it's like the funniest part of the funniest movie you ever saw, repeated and repeated, while never ever getting old or boring! There are so many practices out there to choose from, find one that dances with you like a love. Buddha talked about that, when this one disciple couldn't do his sitting meditation, Buddha said do a walking one, and he became really high from it. Mantra, chant, psychedelics, worship, devotion, guru, ganja, dance, prayer, service, and on and on... so much to choose whatever your thing is! "Emotions are like waves disappearing into the distance on the vast calm ocean." - Bhagavan Das and by his Buddhist name, Dharma Sara
Don't forget the worthy quote, "IT WILL PASS". What ever you experience in meditation, IT WILL PASS. Monsters will PASS, Angels will PASS. You will PASS. By the way can we say: "Meditation is the art of passing"
negative habitual energy is a bitch find its source and give it the staredown silence treatment seeing that its there laughing at it soon it lessens and you have reached a pathless land
Simply being aware of something and then questioning it is natural. The questioning leads to different answers, none definite, none completely true. Stopping the questioning and just being aware allows the subconcious to make its own decision whether to act or not. Being aware of this self sabatoge, the questioning begins. What happens when you are simply aware of it? Watch these thoughts like you would watch a cloud and find out what it is all about. Don't cling to any answers your mind may come up with. Just watch them float by.
