Hey everyone! Welcome to Day 4 of 21DMC!

First off, I'd like to congratulate all of you for getting this far. All of you have done MARVELOUSLY and I'm so proud of you for sticking through to Day 4. Whether or not you've skipped a day, or two, or three, it doesn't matter. What's important is you're here with us right now, which means you're serious about cultivating this habit in the long haul.

It's been really interesting for me to read your updates. Some of you are having the most wonderful experiences with your meditation and gliding along with easily 30 minutes, 40 minutes or even longer meditations. Some of you report trouble with your meditation process.

One important thing which I keep emphasizing is that meditation is NOT sitting there and trying to think about nothing. That's absolutely a wrong notion on the habit. Meditation just *IS* as it is. Being an observer. Not engaging with reality. That's all. Which means if you observe yourself struggling with your thoughts and bombardment in your mind, that's your experience during your meditating. That's the meditation itself. It's absolutely untrue that you're not meditating if you're having thoughts. Just let the process take itself and embrace it. What you resist will persist, so the more you feel frustrated at the process and try to think about nothing (which is actually not even the point of meditation), the worse it gets.

Now that it's already Day 4, today I'll like to invite all of you to share *ONE* key insight you've gained for yourself in the past 3 days of meditation (or non-meditation, if you have not been able to take the time out to meditate). Vs. just posting a simple update on whether you've meditated or not and how long you've meditate, please share with us any 1 thing you've learned/gained for yourself so far. It can be from the meditation itself, or it can be from trying to cultivate the habit of meditating (i.e., you learned that your evenings are always hectic, so you should try to meditate in the morning in the future; or you learned that there are some deep emotional gunk related to this X incident in the past which you want to look deeper moving ahead, etc).

Identify this one thing, then share with everyone here, along with your meditation update for today! This way, all of us can learn from each other as we go along. After all, this *IS* a group and community challenge, and we're all to grow together! *hugs all of you*

Group Progress Chart To Date

Please find the group progress chart so far (see below):



To be included in the chart every day, simply fall into the group meditation threads that are posted in this very forum daily.

By the way, sometimes I make mistakes in the update, and if I do - please let me know if there's any amendment needed. Say, whether I missed out your post, or whether I noted the minutes wrongly. I'll appreciate greatly if you can clearly spell out the total minutes you've meditated for the day too (vs. putting a note to reference to your journal), so I can key in the number right away and minimize confusions. That'll really help make the process more streamlined. Thank you so much everyone!

If you've meditated for the earlier days but your name is not recorded there, it's probably because you didn't fall in for the respective group thread for the day. Please look for the respective thread in this official forum and post your update there (*DO NOT* post your updates for Days 1-3 here as this is a Day 4 thread). I'll update the chart accordingly. Thank you!

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HELP NEEDED: Post your meditation in the respective day's group thread

Some of you are still posting your meditations in different days' threads, and it's making it quite confusing for me to make the updates, as well for the other participants to follow on the progress. As I already shared on Day 3's update, I seek everyone's help to post your individual meditations on the day itself, for easier tracking, and also so it's easier for other members to refer. Otherwise, the threads will quickly become very messy. Please follow the guidelines for the benefit for the whole group. Thank you!

Share Your Meditation Experience For Day 4!

1. Were you able to complete your meditation practice today? Why/Why not?
2. If yes, how did your meditation go? What meditation did you do? Where did you meditate? How long did you meditate for?
3. Anything you want to share about the meditation itself?
4. Anything you have learned for yourself today? (whether related or non-related to meditation)

Look forward to reading your updates!

"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

Hello everyone. Set the alarm for a bit earlier and managed 20 minutes today. Much smoother in both the thoughts and settling into the sitting position. As always was sitting on the floor, yoga mat and a small cushion underneath me. Today used a light wrap over my shoulders as there is a cool but fragrant breeze coming through the window near me. Definite improvement. Im learning that even in my medititation i need to cultivate more patience - patience with myself for getting into the right 'mode' and patience in waiting for the outcomes.

Hi everybody,
I meditated today doing the Bodhipaksa: Mindfulness Breathing for 12 minutes. Carefully observing thoughts and seeing them flow through me. Yesterday I felt more centred and focused during my day as if my thoughts had been gathered together and become clearer and stronger. I am consciously observing my thoughts more and more separating emotions and actions.

Celes, if I understand correctly I post here to be included in the progress chart? I have been posting in my journal.

Completed 12 minutes. Mostly parts of Silva technique and some silence (not so long as yesterday).
What I've learned so far is that Silva methods really work when it comes to smaller everyday issues and my days 1 - 3 have been going smoothly with some unexpected opportunities. On the other hand - for bigger projects and challenges - either I have to use it more often, focusing only on that particular issue or I just should give it more time. So I'll keep it as a primary method for the rest of 21 days and see, where it can lead to.

Anyone else, who has experience with practicing Silva method?

Completed 42 minutes today, day 4.

Details here.

My key insight? Well, I hate to get all Socratic about it, but the one insight I got so far is that I know little of meditation despite having practiced it for a while now. The more I do it the less I know how to expect, or how to measure it's effectiveness.

Have a great 4th day, everyone! Good luck.

I completed another 30 min of yoga in the morning today. Noticed that there was a bit of a difference between meditation in the evenings vs the mornings.
One insight I've got is how important it is to plan yourself to do things during a restricted time. Instead of having all things buzz around you all the time, like I've noticed I have most of the time. So basically there's a time a place for everything

10 minutes, on time.

Um, at some point I pictured myself walking down a super long staircase that led out to a beach. I'm not sure what this means (if anything). Definitely felt...space. If only I could take a ten minute break before dealing with unpleasantness in life!

(10-11-2011 02:20 PM)Bob Wrote:  Celes, if I understand correctly I post here to be included in the progress chart? I have been posting in my journal.

Hi Bob! Yes you're right. The meditation journals are for personal documentation purposes and for detailed sharing with the other participants. The daily group threads (i.e. this thread) are for official updating on your meditation progress and to be included in the group progress chart. Simply fall into the respective days (1-3) to report/share on your updates for Days 1-3. I've included your progress for Day 4 - it'll be reflected when I upload the new chart for Day 4 at the end of the day.

"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

Day 4: 5 min this morning.

Thank you Celes for your "what meditation is not" comment. lol. Perhaps now I can stop concentrating so hard on trying not to think, and just relax and let it be. Meditation was starting to be a competition with myself.

Key insight: I like just sitting in silence.

Hi Celes!

Today (Day 4) is my first day of trying to meditate - this past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada and I was so busy working/ cleaning/ making food/ spending time with family/ running around like crazy that I completely forgot about the challenge altogether. Oops!

I meditated for 10 minutes today. I found it tough to relax at first but eventually got the hang of it.

"One important thing which I keep emphasizing is that meditation is NOT sitting there and trying to think about nothing." Thank you for clarifying this - this is exactly what I thought I was supposed to be doing! Next time I'll be a little less harsh on myself when my mind takes off on different thoughts.

My insight for today is that it is ok to take time out from my busy schedule to just enjoy the moment. I have been so busy with work, art and life that I never give myself a chance to do this. I enjoyed listening to the birds outside this morning and am looking forward to tomorrow to try again!

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
Find me at My Studio Blog or My Facebook Page

Today I followed Bob's link (above) and meditated for

12 minutes

using the Bodhipaksa: Mindfulness Breathing.

I have learned this week so far that meditation in the morning gives me a calm, peaceful core to the day that I can come back to with one slow breath when things get crazy. On a side note, I also noticed that this week my frown lines are less evident, you know, the one's people get Botox for. Meditation could give Botox a run for the money!

*ONE* key insight you've gained for yourself in the past 3 days of meditation:

I noticed a little inner peace because I did not have to be stuck in certain thoughts but I would just observe them as they passed by

_______________________________________________________

Today, I meditated for 5 mins by being an observer

"Love is a state of Being. Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. You can never lose it, and it cannot leave you." -Eckhart Tolle

Today I meditated for 5 minutes but got interrupted but then I continued for another 8 minutes . I stopped because I started feeling sleepy .
One thing I learned is that somedays I have more thoughts than others and that I should probably try meditating in the morning too because I keep getting interrupted in the afternoon .

managed a good 30 mins at dawn today
pure bliss

Meditation is the acknowledgement with the inner self

Managed 62 minutes of meditation, will update at journal tomorrow because I'm in a rush today (again!)

One key thing I learnt about myself is that I usually am at peace, but at times of exams, etc. I get really frustrated and worried. Luckily meditation is here.

~Amanda

Hello guys, my blog has been launched. Hope you can pop by! Great Life Blog

Day 4:

15 minutes, in my bedroom, sitting on meditation cushion.
10 mintues of silently counting my breath, and 5 mintues of just concentration on breath.

The last part of "freeform" concentration is always the hardest for me, because my brain immediately goes into action mode and nags me about the thousand chores I need to do for the day

I have been meditating for about five to ten minutes from Day One but it took me some time to figure out where I had to enter my findings. Today I think I have understood what has to be done.
This morning I meditated for a few minutes before I was interrupted.
A key learning fact for me is that being quiet within myself and letting my thoughts flow, observing them and not worrying too much about them has been exciting.

Hi! 13 min sitting meditation, consciously releasing the day tensions.
What i learned so far : meditation helps me in accepting my emotions and helps me not controlling them, but prevent them off overpowering me.
i will try and explain better tomorrow in my journal when back home.

Today was the first day of this challenge that I actually meditated! I found it frustrating. I wasn't comfortable in my seated position on the floor, and kept thinking about that, and really feeling the discomfort. However, there was one moment when I was simply following the breath, and I felt very in the moment, and for me, that's meditation. Just being there, breathing, was a truly lovely moment.
So, I guess that is my insight, that meditation, for me, is about being in the moment, present, without judging or having the mind take over, hijacking my peace.
I also remembered that meditation is a practice, meaning for me that whatever happens during my meditation IS the meditation. As long as I come to the cushion, even if I manage only a minute, that is meditating. And practice makes perfect.

10/10/2011
I think I am figuring this out. This is my first time using a forum thread (bulletin board) so I apologize for being all over the place.

My Day 1
Morning: 10 minutes

I have decide that I will meditate AFTER I do my stretch routine. I just couldn't focus. I was just drifting off to sleep.

Evening: 15 Minutes

a very productive time. I was able to "zone" in on my thoughts. My body, mind and spirit were in complete balance. When the timer went off it startled me from my state - which is not good. Moving foreward I will not set a limit (with an alarm); just the stop watch to measure myself. I need to understand what is the optimal frame for me to get the most from this process so that I can plan my meditation time more efficiently.

JAP

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
~Henry David Thoreau