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Thulemin · 10-05-2011 05:50 AM

First post, so I'll follow the rules

My plan is not really thought upon but, from previous attempts, I know pretty much what I am aiming for.

a) Why I want to cultivate meditation?
Because it does calm me down, if only for a while sometimes, and to get my lungs full of oxygen. It's my equivalent of a power nap but while being conscious. I like seeing how my thoughts fly by also. I obviously never manage to have 100% control over what goes in my head, and I'm always surprised at some of the thoughts that apparently need to be processed

b) Time of my daily meditation
I'm planning for end of afternoon. If I can't at those times, I'll do it as soon as I can after 6pm, when I have a moment of calm, and -at worst- just before sleeping to wrap up the day on a good note.

c) Duration
I'm thinking 21 days = 3 x 7 days. 10 minutes the first week, 15 the second week and 20 minutes the third week.

d) Type of meditation I am going to do
I usually do sitting meditation, concentrating on my breath. If need be, I'll do some walking meditation. I might try some guided meditation for the longer ones if I feel lazy. Anyone has great resources to advise?

e) What I wish to get out of my 21-day meditation journey
Hum... Friends, and a new habit

Dule · 10-05-2011 06:39 AM

Hey Thulemin

Glad you joined us on the group meditation challenge

Welcome!

As for the guided meditation part, i might just have the real deal for you

go to http://www.brainsync.com/ and from there choose the meditation that resonates with you. For you to get the first week, i personally recommend the " 7 minute Vacation " meditation, and then when you are ready to be in meditation for longer periods of time i recommend " Healing Meditation" and " Awaking Kundalini " which are one of my favorites. But there is a variety of choice there too.

P.S. If you know your way around Torrents, you can find torrents on google with theese meditations and download them for free

Thulemin · 10-05-2011 07:03 AM

Awesome! Thanks Dule, I'll check it out tomorrow

I'm going to my brother's home on Thursday, so I'll ask him to do the torrent stuff for me hehe. It used to be blocked where I live so I've never tried understanding it yet...

Thanks for the recommendation anyway, it'll be nice to try a guided meditation on my own!

Thulemin · 10-09-2011 05:56 PM

I forgoooooooooot

I was traveling all day long and joined my family, and it totally went out of my mind.

...

I think I'll consider it's 11am in France so it's still Saturday 8th somewhere in the world. I'll do it now

ganeshmuthiah · 10-09-2011 06:06 PM

(10-09-2011 05:56 PM)Thulemin Wrote: I forgoooooooooot

I was traveling all day long and joined my family, and it totally went out of my mind.

...

I think I'll consider it's 11am in France so it's still Saturday 8th somewhere in the world. I'll do it now

Hey Thulemin,

You will have another day coming your way. Cant wait to see your updates (you write well :dance:

, thats attractme to read your point of view)

Thulemin · 10-10-2011 01:37 AM

Thanks Ganesh

Soooooooo... My belated meditation went well. Sat down in a corner of my room, escaping the family lunch preparation downstairs, and set my alarm clock for 10min.

I just did a silent sitting one. I knew which thoughts would be flying in my head, as it's been the same things that worry me a bit at the moment.

I tried different visualizations for the breathing and found one that works better for me to focus. I'll keep on alternating breathing patterns to avoid "getting lost" into one & wandering.

Next one, the real one for today, starts... now

Thulemin · 10-10-2011 03:12 AM

Done with my 2nd day meditation session

It was much more "emotional" than the first one, though...

I started with alternating breathing patterns, as this morning. And then, something popped up about a friend's comment & I started smiling like stupid. And then, after a while, I saw a scene with my grandparents (they don't agree with me living in Malaysia & always give me tricky questions as a way to blame me - this time, only 2) and I started crying.

I think it's the first time I'm crying during a meditation. Not sure if it's because I was feeling sad at the regular clashes or afraid at the truth they might be holding.

Anyway, my question was more: should I stop concentrating on that thought & let go, or keep on digging a bit?

Hope you guys had a cool session

ganeshmuthiah · 10-10-2011 06:30 PM

(10-10-2011 03:12 AM)Thulemin Wrote: Done with my 2nd day meditation session It was much more "emotional" than the first one, though...

I started with alternating breathing patterns, as this morning. And then, something popped up about a friend's comment & I started smiling like stupid. And then, after a while, I saw a scene with my grandparents (they don't agree with me living in Malaysia & always give me tricky questions as a way to blame me - this time, only 2) and I started crying.

I think it's the first time I'm crying during a meditation. Not sure if it's because I was feeling sad at the regular clashes or afraid at the truth they might be holding.

Anyway, my question was more: should I stop concentrating on that thought & let go, or keep on digging a bit?

Hope you guys had a cool session

Hi Gal,

Sometime it may make you feel good to dwell into your thoughts little bit further for new ideas or should i say Wow to an answer you been searching for very long time.

Beware about it Thulemin , digging too much can cultivate habit where you constantly loose track from being focus during meditation.

I find by ignoring/observing and not doing anything about the thoughts, i gain peace in seeing/ perceiving thing as it is presented to me. eg: looking at sun flower. (Note: Sometime i just get the thoughts flow in and out till the mind stop because i'm not reacting) Or Just as "I wonder what is my next thoughts" In an instant you will not get any thoughts (Try this & let me know) It will work for you :dance:

An unfocused Mind: only sees some part of the flower and dwell with next picture in mind.

A peaceful mind/soul see the flower as it is and appreciate beyond the beauty and relate oneself with the plant. (How you felt the smoothing feeling of blending with nature ?).

Alrite, back to your question, i would prefer observe the thoughts and let go. The more i let go the more i become peace and allow the nature reveal itself. :mrgreen:

Thulemin · 10-11-2011 09:50 PM

(10-10-2011 06:30 PM)ganeshmuthiah Wrote: Beware about it Thulemin , digging too much can cultivate habit where you constantly loose track from being focus during meditation.

Yeah, I can understand that pretty easily. Celes was also saying that if the thought was important, it would come back. I think I'm just afraid at the moment, hopefully it will get better

Day 3 meditation:

As I was in transit from one city to another and then had to catch up with my parents, I didn't really feel like it during the day. I squeezed it just before sleeping, at 11pm. Not a really good choice, as I just wanted to sleep & my brain was in this "thoughts drifting" pattern. Kept on thinking of this & that. 10min, as planned!

I'll see if I can do it earlier today. Shouldn't be difficult!

parishereicome · 10-12-2011 08:43 PM

Hi All sorry for late post however have not been on computer for last few days extremely busy. - i am also doing a 30 day challenge of birkram yoga so i do some of my meditation there - i arrive 15 minutes early and lie down in the heated room and just concentrate on my breath - i also did a full day meditation retreat which was for about 6 hours with a small break every hour and half hour off for lunch - it is based on the Vipassana meditation style which firstly conentrates on the breath coming in and out and the sensations on the top of the lip and under the nose - i have previously done 2 x ten day retreats of this sort of meditation which was challenging but rewarding - i enjoying aiming to meditate more regularly - keep up the good work everyone cheers

Thulemin · 10-13-2011 02:06 AM

Day 4 went well

I went running for 30 min, and decided to meditate straight after. It was both good to slow down my rhythm and to run high on the clear brain you get after exercising. I still had lots of thoughts flying though. I tried visualization but it was totally random, more like a dream starting again & again, so I think I need to get mp3 to guide me the first times

10min, as usual for this week. Can't wait to start the 20min to see how it goes but I know myself, and it's better to go slow if I want to keep it up

Thulemin · 10-13-2011 10:11 PM

Skipped Day 5... Part out of choice, part ouf of schedule. Not beating myself up about it.

For Day 6, I decided to use a mp3 guiding meditation. Found one in French that lasted 10min, so it was pretty much perfect

It focused on breathing 5sec in, 5sec out, then visualizing our heart increasing volume at the in-breath and decreasing at the out-breath, and then surrounding it with love & tenderness "as if you were kissing a toddler".

This made me realize I usually try to fit everything in my meditation. I want to breathe slowly, and then give attention to my body, thanks my organs & stuff, and do some visualization, and etc. How do you fit all this in 10 min?

Clearly a sign that the overproductiveness feeling from every day life tried to sneak in into my meditation style. I guess realizing is was important & I'll try to focus on one thing each day

Hope yours went well as well!

Thulemin · 10-16-2011 01:26 AM

Were you able to complete your meditation practice today? Why/Why not?

Yes

Worked for 3 hours, so it was time to "empty" my brain a bit. Still had lots of time before dinner, so no problem!

If yes, how did your meditation go? What meditation did you do? Where did you meditate? How long did you meditate for?

20min (second week, woot!), sitting against a wall on my terrace under the sun, legs extended in front of me. Decided to listen to a guided meditation as 20min seemed long to me.

Anything you want to share about the meditation itself?

I didn't choose the best mp3 ever, or maybe it's all of them, but the guy's voice cutting the music tends to irritate me a bit

Forced myself to take it easy.
In the end, the 20min felt like 15

Anything you have learned for yourself today? (whether related or non-related to meditation)

Talking with an old classmate (from 10 yrs ago) made me realize that I still have under-confidence issues related to this time, when I actually look / feel confident nowadays. Need to work on this!

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