Post: #1

Saturday 8th October

Meditated this morning, 15 minutes, no guided meditation.

As I did it I noticed myself largely worrying about a subject that had been on my mind for a long time. Recognising it and letting it happen in the background, I decided to focus my attention on my breathing, letting other stuff come and go.

I did the meditations sitting on the edge of my bed. Because I have tight hamstrings I find it hard to maintain a cross-legged position for any length of time without an outside thing to focus my attention on. I also found it hard to keep a straight spine during the time, and I noticed my back hurting in the last 5 minutes. I wasn't trying to sit bolt upright, but I'd know if I was slumping over.

This isn't my first experience of meditating: I've known about it for 4.5 years and have been doing it on and off. I'm looking forward to using the rest of 21DMC to get myself reconnected to this subject.

Chris, London, UK

"Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." -Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Post: #2

Hi Chris!
Sitting straight is also hard for me, it doesn´t feel natural and my back hurts. What I do is I sit near a wall and lay my back against it. Maybe it would help if you sat on a confi sofa.
Good luck with the challenge!

Post: #3

hi chris and elezhara. chris, i noticed that u did your meditation by try to focus on your breathing. did u done the meditation in a quiet environment? how about letting a harmony music or song in the environment?

Post: #4

@Faiz: I've never "done meditation" to background music, except for when I've gone to group energy healing sessions. I often experience meditative states when I put relaxing music on- I usually listen to it through my iPod- but I don't sit down to meditate with background music unless I'm doing a guided session.

In my experience, the best meditation I've done has been the times where I haven't thought of it as a daily chore to do, rather than doing it simply because I like it. Sometimes I don't even call it meditating: it might be "listening to X, Y or Z tune/session" or just sitting quietly for a few moments.

I'm quite a fan of the music of Steve Roach, Thom Brennan and Rudy Adrian (and similar artists on iTunes) so I use those as my relaxing tunes. What do you use? What else would you recommend?

---

Sunday 9th October

Meditated just now (about 10am). I spent 15 minutes again with no background music.

As I was meditating I became aware that, previously, there had been a bed of emotions that were only coming to the surface in the mental quietude I was experiencing. They were almost panicky emotions, representing my control-freak side which needs everything to be a certain way. I also experienced memories of a video game which I haven't played for ages, like more than a year. I also found it easier to focus on my breathing now that I was doing this for the second day in a row.

Chris, London, UK

"Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." -Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Post: #5

Monday 10th October

I meditated this morning (again 15m, quiet), but this time I did so after having gone jogging for 30 minutes. I usually do that on weekdays. The main thing I noticed going on inside was that I was still mentally cooling down from the run: things didn't seem so quiet in my mind. I also noticed that I was annoyed at myself for having gotten up late, so I've decided to get up earlier (6am). It was interesting having that experience and seeing how things are different after having exercised vs. not having exercised. In future, I think I won't meditate straight after exercising!

Chris, London, UK

"Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." -Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Post: #6

Tuesday 11th October

Today I meditated in the evening rather than the morning, and I found it a lot more relaxing. I did it for 15 minutes in my bedroom (usual place for meditation), with the light off. I noticed that I was having a lot of memories come up of things that had happened in the past 48 hours. I also felt more tired, and found it harder to focus on my breathing, so instead my practice was "to watch my thoughts as they passed". I also think it will be easier for me to get to sleep tonight as a result of having this quiet time not long before bed.

Chris, London, UK

"Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." -Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Post: #7

Wednesday- Went dancing (5Rhythms) and made that my meditation.

Thursday- Did a tea-drinking meditation; was surprisingly peaceful and relaxing.

Friday- Meditated to music. Main focus of attention was the music although I got some mental dialogue as well.

Chris, London, UK

"Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." -Steve Jobs (1955-2011)