Post: #1

Hi, everybody!

I'm really excited about this challenge! That's a little odd though. I'm excited to sit and breathe deeply with my eyes closed everyday, then go online and discuss it with people!

Meditation is something I have enjoyed immensely for the past year. I think it brings great mental clarity and emotional renewal into my life. We are bombarded with constant mental stimulation throughout the day and simply taking time to relax your mind can make a huge difference in your day.

I plan on meditating in the morning before work. I will meditate for 30 minutes to an hour each day. I may also do it for just 5 minutes before I go to sleep.

When I meditate I like to sit on my living room floor and breathe deeply with my eyes closed. I try not to engage any thoughts. I like to pay close attention to my breath or listen to the silence in the room. I may try using meditation music as well.

What do you wish to get out of your 21-day meditation journey?

My main goals are to be more present and disidentify myself from my thoughts. I think most people spend their time either focusing on the past or future without truly living in this moment (the only time we ever really have). I also believe many people are completely identified with the stream of thoughts inside their head to the point where they believe the "thinker" is who they really are. You are not the thoughts in your head.

I'm as guilty of all this as just about anybody else. Those of you who have read any of Eckhart Tolle's work will be family with these ideas.

Tolle is where I got the name for my journal. I cannot remember if it was A New Earth or Power of Now where he said the words, "Enlightenment is quite ordinary."

It's true though. There is nothing special about not thinking. Nothing exceptional about being fully conscious and experiencing the world without the veil of mental noise. Anybody can reach the level of enlightenment at any time.

"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."
- Alan Watts

Okay now I'm starting to rant It's just that I have been reviewing these ideas myself for a few days and I thought I would share. I'm sure these 21 days will benefit us all.

Post: #2

It's a great introductory post. I love it.

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

Post: #3

Love your introductory post too, Matt! I'm excited to see how your meditation journey ahead unfolds. I know you've been talking about wanting to cultivate meditation as a habit for a while and it's exciting to have you here to share your experiences with us, whether past experiences with meditation or the new upcoming ones. I'm sure other members will benefit a lot from having your support.

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
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Post: #4

Matt,
You are so right, on how we listen to our thoughts and not the conscious. I don't know how many times I have done that. And as usually my conscious was right.

Thank you

Post: #5

Hi Matt, I love your post as well , specially "Enlightenment is quite ordinary." . Thanks for sharing

Post: #6

Thank you so much guys! That's very nice of you. (I just edited my first post because I noticed an embarrassing amount of spelling and grammar errors I bet I still missed some though.) I'm glad we will all get to experience this challenge together and share with each other.

Much of what I shared is what I have learned from Eckhart Tolle and Alan Watts. I think I will reread A New Earth and a book by Alan Watts over the next 3 weeks and share anything special I come across. I will probably also share a few online videos I have found which I find spiritually powerful. Everyone, please feel free to respond to my posts whether you agree or have a different opinion.

This challenge is going to be awesome!

Post: #7

(10-05-2011 07:28 PM)Matt Wrote:  "Enlightenment is quite ordinary."
"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."
- Alan Watts

Hi Matt,

I particularly like the two sentences above.

What I like about meditation is the simplicity of it.

Post: #8

I don't think I have read either of the gentlemen you have referenced. I will be adding them to my "To Read" list for sure though.

Post: #9

(10-05-2011 07:28 PM)Matt Wrote:  Those of you who have read any of Eckhart Tolle's work will be family with these ideas.

I am also basing my meditation work on Tolle's stuff. It's a wonderful resource =) I look forward to comparing notes with you!

(10-05-2011 07:28 PM)Matt Wrote:  "Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."
- Alan Watts

^ A most succinct and humorous description of Zen! I like it! I must check this Alan Watts guy out! Which Alan Watts book would you recommend?

Post: #10

(10-08-2011 11:39 PM)Ariane Wrote:  

(10-05-2011 07:28 PM)Matt Wrote:  "Enlightenment is quite ordinary."
"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."
- Alan Watts

Hi Matt,

I particularly like the two sentences above.

What I like about meditation is the simplicity of it.

Hi Matt & Ariane,
Great thoughts meditation can be done whilst doing anything. I have heard it said that when you truly master something it is like meditation in motion. It is mastering the monkey as Ganesh would say.
Bob

Post: #11

   

Hi all. Here is where I'm keeping track of my meditation on the white board next to the my desk. (My handwriting is horrendous )

It's day 2 and I have meditated 15 minutes each day. Before I fell out of the habit a couple months ago I usually mediated at least 30 minutes to an hour. Now I find it hard to do more than 15 minutes at a time. After that I find I am just waiting and wondering when my timer will beep. Maybe the law of diminishing returns applies to meditation. I will gradually increase the length of time I meditate as the challenge roles on.

I personally find myself full of thought during meditation. quieting the mind is difficult. I have read some spiritual teachers say they are always focused on the now and are not plagued with habitual needless thinking during their daily lives. I suppose that could be something you work on over years and years; similar to how you exercise a muscle to make it bigger and stronger.

Most of my daily thinking truly is needless. I think it's partly because of constant stimulation from certain sources. I go to websites or busy myself with tasks that are not really important because it just keeps my mind busy. For instance I visit sites like Gizmodo or Huffington Post nearly everyday even though I logically know they are are consciousness lowering. These sites and others are not necessarily bad but I do recognize they eat up attention and brain power on things that do not really matter. During the challenge I will be working on weening myself from sites or activities that are not serving me well. You could think of it as attention decluttering.

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(10-09-2011 04:25 AM)Leah Wrote:  A most succinct and humorous description of Zen! I like it! I must check this Alan Watts guy out! Which Alan Watts book would you recommend?

I haven't read much by him but what I have come across is very enlightening and humorous. Mostly I have listened to audio recording of him from various seminars. I downloaded a torrent collection of him years ago (today I don't pirate content). He has a lot of YouTube videos if you would like to check him out. I own a copy of Wisdom of Insecurity but I have not sat down to read it yet.

Post: #12

ah ok - it's a good idea to check him out on youtube. Thanks for the suggestion =)

Regarding your point about doing 30 minutes to an hour before and now only 15 minutes - I wonder if more is better. I'm not so certain. I wonder if perhaps it's more important thing is to *live* consciously as much as is possible (or at least to strive towards living consciously and exercise this muscle and get better at it) rather than to meditate for hours and hours. But I don't know.. What do you reckon?

Post: #13

I really like the focus on living in the moment. I have had some things going on in my life that have hammered that point home. That is also part of my meditation journey as well.

Post: #14

(10-10-2011 10:50 AM)Leah Wrote:  ah ok - it's a good idea to check him out on youtube. Thanks for the suggestion =)

Regarding your point about doing 30 minutes to an hour before and now only 15 minutes - I wonder if more is better. I'm not so certain. I wonder if perhaps it's more important thing is to *live* consciously as much as is possible (or at least to strive towards living consciously and exercise this muscle and get better at it) rather than to meditate for hours and hours. But I don't know.. What do you reckon?

I think it's good practice to live consciously throughout your day at work and at home...everywhere. What I've learned from my Yoga teachers is that your breath will always bring you back to the present moment. I have actually been practicing this for the past few months...just being in the moment and it has helped quiet my mind, so when I'm focusing on something at work, and my mind starts wandering, I note that it is wandering and then bring it back to my breath, this way I am not setting an impression on my mind by attaching an emotion to the thought. Matt is correct though in that if you spend time reading articles that do not serve you then these will set negative impressions on your mind and keep surfacing, sometimes you get addicted to this, it's almost like how some ppl get addicted to drama...it's the condition of the "monkey mind"

Post: #15

I'm loving my daily meditations. I have been trying to meditate for 5 or 10 minutes at my work desk when I get a chance. It can be hard to find the time though. I definitely feel a greater mental clarity after doing this for a few days. I think meditation is a really great way to let go of stress. For instance just yesterday I came upset because of several issues related to work and family. Instead of dealing with these feelings in unhealthy ways I decided to meditate. After doing that I felt much stronger and more about to find solutions to the issues.

Post: #16

Hi everybody,

Today is the last day of 21DMC. It's been fantastic. During the challenge I noticed that while meditating I could become extremely restless and bored. My mind would say this is lame and we should get up and do something more interesting. Sometimes my meditations could be very short because of this. Over the past couple days though I came to a realization about simply experiencing the process of meditation and observing what is happening inside me.

At the beginning of the challenge I was trying to not think during meditation. I thought that if I did this I would having a greater spiritual connection and also have mental clarity. I stopped trying to clear my mind after reading an update by Celes in one of the daily group threads. After reading it my meditations were more focused on observing my thoughts. I allowed thoughts to come up and sometimes I would become actively engaged in an idea I had during meditation. I noticed I was trying to analyze all thoughts and emotions that might pop up during my mediation.

During last couple days of the challenge I stop trying to analyze and dissect all my thoughts. I simply observed the thoughts or feelings that would arise inside me without labeling or judging them. I noticed that when I did this the thoughts and feelings would really just float away and I would feel especially present in the moment, without thought, and extremely peaceful.

Now when I meditate I will continue to simply observe what is happening inside me without analyzation or labeling. If I am consumed by thoughts that is fine. If I end up being very present and without thought that is fine as well. I will not resist or chase any particular state. Whatever happens during meditation happens.

I'm so glad I joined the challenge