Post: #41

Hey Matt! I was confused as to why the challenge was starting on Feb 22 too - glad it's all cleared up now!!

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #42

Whoa! Jan 30th huh? r u sure 'bout that Matt?

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.
.
- Buddha|

Post: #43

Well, if the challenge is starting today, Sunday 30th January, then I would like to offer this calendar (see attachments) to use to cross off the days.

I am making notes from the book by Eric Harrison, and will publish soon, but here is the first exercise. he recommends you practice a meditation on 4 successive days to memorise the routine. There is no need to rush and try a new technique every day.

Charles

Spot-meditation: Seven deep breaths (page 21)

This meditation only takes a minute or so. You can do it anywhere, at
any time. You can even do it with your eyes open, while standing in a
queue or waiting at the traffic lights.

When tense, we hold our breath, (and the out-breaths tend to be
short. This gives us a certain energy charge, so we can respond
quickly to danger if necessary. In contrast, we only let the breath go
completely when we relax and it feels safe to do so.

By breathing deeply and deliberately sighing, we mimic the
physiological effect of relaxation. It sends signals to the mind
saying, 'It's okay to relax now.' This is probably the fastest way to
induce the relaxation response.

So breathe deeply and sigh seven times, but don't force the
sighs. Just breathe in deeply, and then let go as much as feels right
each time. Then wait for the new breath to come when it wants
to. After three or four breaths, you'll find your whole body letting
go in sympathy.

INSTRUCTIONS

Breathe deeply, sigh and pause.
Wait for the next breath.
Breathe deeply again, sigh and pause.
Repeat seven times.

Each sigh is usually deeper and softer than the one before.
Rest in that stillness at the end of the breath.
Seven sighs is quite enough.

Now enjoy the natural breathing as long as you like.

Post: #44

Charles, you are awesome, millions of thanks for the both calendars - they are looking great and will be very, very useful for me and everybody on the next 100 days!! Oh, and it`s exactly what I needed for being sure I "won`t break the chain" for this habit and others!

Thank you also for sharing the instructions and ideas from that book, I wanted to create and work on a chapter of meditation for my life handbook, so I`ll include what you shared here on it, it sounds very simple and beautiful - I`ll try it soon!
I`m planning to read and learn more about meditation on these weeks, soon I hope I`ll have beautiful things to share with you as well..

Sending all of you all my best wishes for the next 100 days and wishing you a relaxed and serene Sunday!


p.s: millions of thanks for starting this challenge today, Matt!

Post: #45

(01-30-2011 04:40 PM)Andreea Wrote:  Charles, you are awesome, millions of thanks for the both calendars - they are looking great and will be very, very useful for me and everybody on the next 100 days!! :

Andrea - I am glad you like the calendars. I have been crossing off the meditation task on my weekly checklist which I will share soon on this forum.

Today I practiced this 7 deep breaths technique and tomorrow I will practice it 2 or 3 times during the day. Instead of drinking coffee, now I can take a meditation and water break for 5 minutes.

Greetings from a hot sunny Sydney day (no rain at all...)

Charles

Post: #46

Hi Charles, thank you for the template! It will be very helpful to keep on track.

Thank you for the notes from the book as well! Like Andreea, I have also added the notes to my Lifebook.
The method is not much different as the one I am using. What was missing was the pause in between. I also like having the "reason" behind it - must be my scientific background

ozcaveman Wrote:Greetings from a hot sunny Sydney day (no rain at all...)

Enjoy your sunny Sunday!
Here it's been raining for the past few days. I can't really complain as we really need the rain. But the weather today is terrible -it's not raining but it's dark and cloudy, very hot and very very humid.

Post: #47

Hey guys! I just posted a new post to the blog with 15 inspirational wallpapers. Among them are 2 wallpapers related to meditation (#8 Peace and #15 Gap Between Your Thoughts), so those of you who are taking the meditation challenge might want to check that out. They give a therapeutic effect, plus help to remind about why you would want to meditate every time you look at them. I have #15 on my desktop right now

(Btw, for comments pertaining to the wallpapers post, please post them in the article comments forum - let's keep this post specific to the Matt's Meditation Challenge. Thanks!)

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #48

Thank you for the calendars, Charles. I am excited to start this challenge with all of you! I'll probably post more in detail when we get further into the challenge or if, hopefully not, I slip.

Post: #49

First link of the chain done... 99 to go!

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. - Wayne Dyer

Post: #50

Hey, Charles! Thanks for posting the information. I did it a few times today. I did it slightly differently than what was posted and instead let out a long groan when I exhaled. It was very relaxing. I'm definitely going to be using this method in the future. Thanks for sharing!

Post: #51

I meditated earlier this afternoon. I was kind of in a blah mood and had a lot on my mind. For most of my meditation I was lost in thought. Meditation is probably the best thing to do when your in that kind of state though. I hope everybody else had a pleasant day and enjoyed meditating.

Post: #52

well, yesterday (Sunday) was not a good start as I got caught up in life and did not meditate but today (Monday) after my yoga I meditate for 10mins.

I wish everyone else who is doing this best of luck.

Hugs and Happiness to all!!!

I hope this is okay
A Day in the woods

Post: #53

Silly me, I lost track of the date and didn't realise it was the 31st already. I did manage a few minutes this afternoon though, and will do some more now. Definitely helpful.

Glenn Thomas - Sydney, Australia
Avene Website | Personal Website | Facebook Page | Twitter

Post: #54

Day 1 (Sunday) Done
Feeling relaxed and had a good sleep

Post: #55

Hi Charles - I think the seven deep breaths meditation sounds very interesting. I have had some trouble consentration during long meditation sessions, so I will try this out instead. Thanks for sharing this

Post: #56

Just meditated last night right before bed. I need to stop doing it at this time though. When I meditated at the end of the day I usually start falling asleep sitting up after about 20 minutes. I think mornings or the mid-afternoon are the best times for meditation.

Post: #57

(02-02-2011 02:40 AM)Chestnut Wrote:  Hi Charles - I think the seven deep breaths meditation sounds very interesting. I have had some trouble consentration during long meditation sessions, so I will try this out instead. Thanks for sharing this

Chestnut - I think this meditation is very effective! I practiced it
on the train yesterday morning to calm myself before a training
session I was running. I was slightly self-conscious about making loud
sighing noises

I will post another meditation from the book in the next couple of days.

Charles

Post: #58

So far so good. I had a lovely meditative stint after yoga this morning. I am quite pleased.

Post: #59

Today I printed the word document with the calendar made by Charles and I just crossed 4 days from it I`m quite pleased about it and I feel that this chain will grow more and more beautiful in the next 96 days, and me and everybody along with it I hope..

I used often the exercise learnt from Charles, especially while working and walking - on the frozen and lonely park close to my workplace it worked the best - thank you again so much for it, Charles!
I`ve meditated also in the evenings for 10-15 minutes using relaxing music.
I love the one-of-a-kind feeling that I`ve experienced while doing it.. on Monday evening I was so happy before meditating, that when I closed my eyes for doing it there was such a strong feeling of love inside and all that I could see and feel was the most beautiful version of myself dancing round and round with pure joy inside of me and being surrounded by a sea of brightness - just feeling and "seeing" it has brought tears of joy into my eyes, like it happened mostly on September challenge.. When I`m thinking of that experience, I call it my little meditation of love.
On Tuesday I meditated for 10-15 minutes in the evening and during this time there were few important insights about myself and my life that appeared into my mind: an answer to one of my questions, a reminder to explore again the relationships with the people around me (from Dec 30DLBL) and also the idea of "forgiving" - and the areas where I should apply it..
I want to increase the duration of meditation in the next days, but for the moment I`m just glad I`ve done it daily and I enjoy it as it is..
Thank you for this, Matt and Celes!

Sending lots of love and good thoughts to everybody!

Post: #60

Here is another meditation from the book I studied:

Spot-meditation - Where am I?

When you're caught in a train of thought, you can literally lose contact with reality. Have you ever been driving or walking somewhere, and realise you don't have a clue where you are? This exercise takes you back into the world of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Two or three minutes is usually enough.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Ask: "What am I seeing?"

What is in front of your eyes? Sense the room with your peripheral
vision. What are the most obvious visual features?

2. Ask: "What am I hearing?"

Explore the soundscape. Check out the sounds from all directions.

3. Ask: "What am I touching?"

Notice the points of contact: feet, buttocks, back, forearms,
fingers. Feel the air on your skin.

4. Ask: "What am I smelling or tasting?" (if appropriate).

5. Slow down and go deeply into any sensory data.

Move from one to another as you wish. Notice when you inadvertently
slide back into thought. Notice how still and focused the mind feels
when you return to sensing.