Post: #1

Signing up to the 21 day meditation challenge!

(a) Why you want to cultivate meditation /What you wish to get out of your 21-day meditation journey
I want to do this challenge to give myself a chance to see what meditation is *really* about by doing it more regularly, and see if I can connect with "the Now", to learn to "observe and dissolve" the noisy chattering mind rather than engage with it, to become in touch with the self beyond the mind and uncover peace and joy! ( big goals! )

(b) Time of your daily meditation
In the evening after work

(c ) Duration
I get bored quite quickly! So I think perhaps 10 minutes is a realistic goal for me.

(d) Type of meditation you are going to do
I think I may alternate between:

• Breathing meditation, clearing the mind and focusing on connecting with the present moment.
• Meditation of dissociating from the mind whilst it is going: Observing any troublesome emotions / thoughts rather than engaging with them in an attempt to look at them more consciously and dissolve them
  

Wishing everyone happy meditating!

Post: #2

"I get bored quite quickly" haha, talk about me as well

You could try guided meditation as well. Since there are lots of different recordings, you could have something new each day...

An eye for an eye only ends up making the world blind. (Gandhi)
http://matsallehrempit.wordpress.com

Post: #3

(10-05-2011 07:08 AM)Thulemin Wrote:  You could try guided meditation as well.

Thanks Thulemin - That's a good suggestion, especially at the beginning. Perhaps I'll alternate some guided meditations into the mix too

Post: #4

Pre-Challenge Meditation

Ever since signing up, I've been really excited to start meditating so today I did my first pre-"official challenge" meditation to get into the groove of things.

Chosen method of meditation:
Since I'm currently reading Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now, I decided to do one of his recommended meditations. (He has a few recommended exercises). The one I chose was focusing on your internal body and becoming very aware of what's going on inside. Let's call this "Internal Meditation". This includes becoming aware and observing your thoughts, emotions, any feelings or sensations in your body. He says to try to dissociate from these things and observe them as a watcher.

Preparation for first meditation

• I chose a comfy, quiet place to sit (for me this was my living room on my favourite sofa)
• I decided on a comfortable sitting position that suited me
• I set my timer to 10 minutes
  

Describing the experience of Internal Meditation #1:
I closed my eyes, emptied my mind, and diverted all focus to my body, reaching out into the nothingness to see what I felt.

At first I felt various tensions in my body, especially the tension around the neck and shoulders, and a slight tightness in certain locations which I'm pretty sure was stress. I just observed these sensations. Nothing happened as I observed.. they stayed right where they were. I made a conscious effort to relax my muscles.

I became aware of the beating of my heart, and a pulsation at my neck. I consciously made sure I was breathing deeply, from my abdomen.

I became aware of the heaviness of my head (tiredness) and I really was in the feeling of heaviness. Suddenly I had a thought that I'd like to try *observing* the heaviness rather than engaging in it and I made a conscious effort to detach from the heaviness in my head.
Suddenly the colour behind my closed eyes altered from pitch black to slightly goldish and my head felt really clear! I think I detached from the heaviness somehow but I couldn't really see it to observe it anymore. I'm not sure where it went! All I could feel was a sharp, bright clearness in my head. I started to smile because I knew something quite cool had happened - and as my attention diverted to becoming aware of the smile I lost the clear feeling! The blackness and heaviness returned and I felt tired again.

Then the timer sounded. 10 minutes were up. Although I felt tired I felt quite excited and positive that something happened! Also the conscious effort to relax my muscles and breathe deeply during the meditation made me feel slightly more relaxed.

Goal for next time
Focus on detaching from any feeling earlier on in the meditation rather than concentrating on what it feels like.

Post: #5

Leah Wrote:Suddenly the colour behind my closed eyes altered from pitch black to slightly goldish and my head felt really clear! I think I detached from the heaviness somehow but I couldn't really see it to observe it anymore. I'm not sure where it went! All I could feel was a sharp, bright clearness in my head. I started to smile because I knew something quite cool had happened - and as my attention diverted to becoming aware of the smile I lost the clear feeling! The blackness and heaviness returned and I felt tired again.

It sounds like a great observation. I'll try what you did and see if it works for me.

~Amanda

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

Post: #6

Really nice to see you getting into the spirit of things! Enjoy!

Post: #7

Chosen method of meditation:
I chose to use another of Eckhart Tolle's recommended internal meditations where instead of just observing the internal body in general, you focus on each part of your body separately and slowly go from one part to another, just observing what you feel in that body part as you focus on it. Again, the idea is to try to dissociate from the feelings themselves and observe them as a watcher.

Describing the experience of Internal Meditation #2:
I closed my eyes, emptied my mind, and diverted all focus first to my fingertips, then to my hands, arms, shoulders, back, abdomen etc going through all my body. I "listened" very intently to my body as I did this to see what I felt.

I noticed that where my focus was, there was a mild tingling, and in certain places it felt like heat - sort of like the heat you get when you drink an alcoholic beverage and it warms you up from the inside. This was particularly strong in my central body and was only detectable as a mild tingle on my limbs.

I finished going through the whole body.. and then the thought "wow, it's not been 10 minutes yet??" popped into my head. It felt like a long time! I even opened one eyelid to check that the timer was working and sure enough there were still 2 minutes to go.

I used the rest of the time to just examine the warm feeling, detaching from it. Just looking at it. It was harder to detach from it than when I tried to detach from my tiredness on my previous meditation. I'm not sure if I was successful in detaching. The feeling just stayed there. I started thinking that maybe it was heartburn or backpain from the way I was sitting... but I let that thought drift by and continued until the timer rang, and 10 minutes were over.

I grounded myself after the meditation with quick visualization.

I didn't feel very differently after the meditation. My body is still tingling a bit and still feeling a bit warm inside even as I type this. uh.. it might be heartburn which I'm sometimes prone to! Although I didn't feel it before starting today's meditation. I dunno.
[edit: After sharing my experience with a friend, she suggested it might have been the sensation associated with a chakra opening. The sensation was around the solar plexus chakra area. Interesting..! I later was reading online and came across this forum post on the Steve Pavlina forums which describes my feeling very well - a "minty feeling" and here again people are saying it's chakras opening! Exciting! ]

I guess I feel quite relaxed though I'm not sure if I feel more relaxed than normal.

Goal for next time
The main goal is just to keep up the meditation for tomorrow! I'll decide tomorrow what type of meditation I want to do.

---

Other stuff I'm trying at the moment:

Wakeful meditation practice:

I also tried today a wakeful meditation, which is trying to be very conscious of what's going on in your body as you go through your every day life. So for example, if you're talking to someone and they say something to annoy you, instead of getting angry like you might normally, you are aware of the annoyed feeling rising, and you observe it and recognize it before it takes over you. I tried this today when talking to people (people who I normally find quite irritating ) and I found that the second I recognized the irritated/ angry feeling rising, it sort of stopped it from going any further. When I noticed it rising I took a deep breath and made a mental note to try and detach from the annoyance then and there before it got worse. Some trace of the feeling remained to a certain extent, but it didn't take over me as it normally would. Normally I'd respond to the annoying person with some angry, impatient snappy response but today I was able to just answer with little negative emotion attached to my words. I wonder if it's possible to diffuse even that little trace of negative emotion that remains somehow...

Post: #8

(10-09-2011 03:12 AM)Leah Wrote:  I finished going through the whole body.. and then the thought "wow, it's not been 10 minutes yet??" popped into my head. It felt like a long time! I even opened one eyelid to check that the timer was working and sure enough there were still 2 minutes to go.

a similar situation happened to me in some meditation I did a while ago : )
The best is to not set a time for the meditation, because our minds will be worried when is time to finish the session.

Have a good Meditation session
Lots of Happiness : )

Post: #9

Hey Leah,

It seems that your meditation is very body and feeling centered. I think this is a great way to meditate and a very healthy one.

You can turn that into an extra benefit, if you so choose, by using meditation to increase your body's natural healing capabilities.

On my chosen profession, I adopt some not-so-good postures, and some weeks ago I got a really nasty pain right below my shoulder, affecting my neck and right arm as well. I used a similar technique to yours to help me deal with it; when I breathed in, I would imagine the energy coursing trough my body, and imagine it focusing on the area where I had pain.

After a 40-minute session, it still hurt, but I felt a lot more comfortable; after the next days' session, it was barely there·

Now, I'm not advocating meditation as the cure for all ills - I'm a doctor, after all, and I have great trust in medicine and science - but I do believe that meditation has unexplored / untapped healing potential and that it can be very beneficial in addition to conventional healing.

So if you ever feel ill or less comfortable with a part of your body, give it a try and focus your energy there. It seems you have a natural talent for it.

Post: #10

(10-09-2011 05:06 AM)Luis_magalhaes Wrote:  You can turn that into an extra benefit, if you so choose, by using meditation to increase your body's natural healing capabilities.

Ah yes, Eckhart mentioned this technique is useful for boosting the immune system - and it's wonderful to hear an example of how it worked in action for you with your shoulder,back,arm pain/inflammation. When reading things sometimes it all feels very theoretical and it's lovely to hear about it in practice. I will certainly apply this technique next time I have an ailment : )

Post: #11

Wakeful meditation practice:

I've decided that as part of this Meditation Challenge I will attempt to keep up the wakeful meditation practice throughout too. (I know it's debatable if it's technically "meditation" - but hey - it's all about raising consciousness ).

I've found that the ideal time to practice this wakeful meditation is whenever something irritating happens during the day. There's one person in my life who is very good at irritating me (the same one from yesterday!). Today he was up to his old tricks again, being generally inconsiderate, insensitive and also critical.
I immediately felt my body begin to respond to his annoying behaviour and I took a deep breath as I made a conscious effort to notice the irritated feeling in me as it seethed in my belly like a volcano simmering ominously. I mentally tried to take a step back and observe the feeling rather than engage in the feeling. I found that concentrating on doing this whilst at the same time holding a conversation with this person was challenging but I'm pretty sure he didn't notice anything particularly strange in my behaviour (I hope ) and I was quite pleased with the result: I successfully managed not to engage with the negative feeling, which meant that the conversation did not go down the route of an argument as it would have done had I been less conscious. Like yesterday, I still felt some faint trace of the annoyed feeling, although it wasn't as strong as it would normally be when I am not conscious at all and just let it take over me completely.

I've just been re-reading Eckhart Tolle and I think I understand why there is still a residual bit of annoyance left in spite of being conscious of it and separating from the pain mentally. I think it's because although I have successfully separated from the negative emotion, I haven't yet accepted it ("it is what it is, it's neither a negative situation nor a positive one") and surrendered to it entirely. And I guess I wasn't completely in "the now". Hm. This may take a bit more work.

I will do my sitting meditation soon!

Post: #12

Laundry Meditation?

In the end, instead of a sitting meditation I did a laundry meditation! I was inspired from a quote in Matt's journal:

(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

So I thought I'd have a go at a meditative laundry-folding session!

Chosen method of meditation:
I decided that I will try to focus on:
- Clearing my mind from thoughts
- Focus on the task at hand (ie folding the laundry) and just concentrate on that and on the related physical sensations involved (primarily sense of touch, smell and sight)

Describing the experience of the laundry meditation!
It was interesting to compare and contrast today's experience of a "meditative state of mind whilst doing an activity" with the normal "meditative state whilst sitting calmly and just focusing on the meditation". I found that keeping a meditative state of mind whilst doing laundry folding was *far* more challenging than just sitting quietly and keeping that frame of mind! Usually I have little trouble quietening my mind when I do a sitting meditation, but during this attempt, I found my mind constantly popping up with little thoughts, getting distracted from the activity, and my mind was very prone to coming up with songs! which rarely happens when I do sitting meditations, but it is a habit I have when I do everyday tasks around the house usually so I guess the folding action triggered my internal radio automatic switch

I tried to focus on the feeling of the clothes (mm nice and warm and soft from the machine!) and the lovely fresh scent of newly washed clothes, and even the delicate sound of cloth being folded. But I found it really hard to keep my focus. I really wasnt in the moment and far too much distracted by thoughts for this meditation. When I finished I didn't really feel like I'd meditated at all. It just felt like I'd folded laundry.. :/ I think I have a way to go before such an activity can feel relaxing! Maybe a meditation whilst doing something is too advanced for me. But maybe I will try again... but I think I prefer the body-focusing technique so far. It felt more enriching than this method.

Goal for next time
Perhaps I will try this again with another task like peeling potatoes and see if I can keep a better focus on the Now next time. Practice makes.. better!

Post: #13

Hey Leah! Good job on all those experiments. I'm sure that soon you will find something that resonates with you.

As far as dealing with your annoying friend/colleague/housemate, I'd suggest you use your imagination to walk a mile in his shoes. I don't believe that people are unpleasant just for the sake of it; it may be just that that's the way they grew (difficult childhood, no friends, were teased because of being fat, etc) and they think that's the normal behavior pattern in society, or it may be that they have something in their life that frustrates them and makes them act they way they do (chronic pain, unfulfilling job, broken heart, etc...).

This does not excuse bad behavior towards others, no. But it does make it easier to "turn the other cheek" if we understand the other person and imagine ourselves in their situation. It makes their unpleasantness about them and not about us, and with that comes some degree of acceptance. Maybe even sympathy, if you're a better person than me. ;P

Good luck for next time!

Post: #14

Hi Luis! You're right - I'm sure this guy doesn't mean to be unpleasant, it's just the way he is, probably, as you say, from the way he grew up. I've tried seeing it from his perspective but it's difficult to understand insensitivity and inconsideration for me. I've read about how anything a person does is "neutral" and only your mind interprets it as "negative", so I'm pretty sure I'm the one who has to work on learning to accept his behaviour as neutral so that it doesn't bother me anymore. It's tough when the body feels like it responds automatically without giving enough time to change the interpretation but hopefully it gets easier with keeping continued awareness and practice =)

Post: #15

Well, on the other hand, don't go too far.

Despite what Ghandi said, not every one of us can have the capacity to be like him, and actual, recent research reveals that turning the other cheek is not nearly as effective for dealing with "bullies" as it once was.

Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself if he crosses the line.

Like everything in life, one needs to have balance. Tolerant and understanding is one thing, being a doormat is another.

Post: #16

Official Challenge DAY 3

Chosen method of meditation:
I chose to do a sitting meditation today for 10 minutes, looking within the body and tuning in to everything going on inside.

Describing the experience of Internal Meditation #3:
The meditation started in a more comfortable sitting position than last time (because last time I suspected I might have been sitting uncomfortably because I had this extreme warmth in my back and abdomen). I closed my eyes and tuned in to how my body was feeling. The usual tensions in the shoulders and heart were there - so I visualized the tension softening and flowing.

Then something unexpected happened. That intense strong warmth, like I had last meditation, suddenly appeared again, only this time it was around my belly button region. And it definitely wasn't due to bad posture this time! It almost feels like burning, reminiscent again of heartburn or the warmth of alcohol, but this was definitely not heartburn because I never get it in my belly button area. I remembered the suggestion from my friend who thought that the strange warmth last time may have been my chakra opening and I thought to myself that maybe this is my sacral chakra opening. Because I know this chakra is orange, I tried to tune in to that chakra, seeing it. I saw a *massive* orange sphere radiating from my belly button - it was absolutely huge! And the heat was still intense to the degree of it being a little uncomfortable but I told myself it's a good thing and I visualized the orange sphere becoming smaller and more normal sized.

It's now been a little while since I've finished this meditation and still I feel the heat in my front and back. It's strange! But if it is a chakra opening it's also quite exciting!

---

(10-10-2011 08:47 PM)Luis_magalhaes Wrote:  Well, on the other hand, don't go too far.

Despite what Ghandi said, not every one of us can have the capacity to be like him, and actual, recent research reveals that turning the other cheek is not nearly as effective for dealing with "bullies" as it once was.

Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself if he crosses the line.

Like everything in life, one needs to have balance. Tolerant and understanding is one thing, being a doormat is another.

You're absolutely right Luis - you need to be careful about becoming a doormat when you are exercising reacting peacefully to unpleasant behaviour. I guess you can detect whether you are being a doormat or reacting peacefully by how you feel. If you are a doormat I imagine there would be a part of you who is resentful about it, whereas if you are rising above any unpleasantness through consciousness, you should genuinely feel peaceful, and have the power to put the bully in their place without any negative emotions behind your words.

Post: #17

Thanks for the encouragement, Leah. Definitely give the Body Awareness Med. a try and let me know what you think. PEACE, Nan

Post: #18

(10-11-2011 06:19 AM)Leah Wrote:  Then something unexpected happened. That intense strong warmth, like I had last meditation, suddenly appeared again, only this time it was around my belly button region. And it definitely wasn't due to bad posture this time! It almost feels like burning, reminiscent again of heartburn or the warmth of alcohol, but this was definitely not heartburn because I never get it in my belly button area. I remembered the suggestion from my friend who thought that the strange warmth last time may have been my chakra opening and I thought to myself that maybe this is my sacral chakra opening. Because I know this chakra is orange, I tried to tune in to that chakra, seeing it. I saw a *massive* orange sphere radiating from my belly button - it was absolutely huge! And the heat was still intense to the degree of it being a little uncomfortable but I told myself it's a good thing and I visualized the orange sphere becoming smaller and more normal sized.

It's now been a little while since I've finished this meditation and still I feel the heat in my front and back. It's strange! But if it is a chakra opening it's also quite exciting!

Wow, that's really incredible! I've been meditating for a while now and know some people that have been doing it for even longer, and never have experienced something like that.

You must be really special, with a really strong aura. Way to go, I'm looking forward to seeing where you go to next.

So how was your day?

Post: #19

Either a really strong aura or a very strong imagination

My day was ok thanks : ) Like yours, it was a bit slow. I'm working on translating Eckhart's Power of Now into my own words to more understandable English and am also reorganizing it entirely - hoping to make an ebook out of it : ) It's a little bit slow going because Eckhart's book is a bit heavy!

Post: #20

Oh, I don't know about that, it seems that it's way to specific to be imagined. Have faith in your subconscious!

I am yet to read "Power of Now", let me know when you finish it! There's never enough good mind-food. It's really good that you have the discipline to commit to such a hard endeavor! Well done.

What motivated you to do so?