Four months of meditation

[julad]

I mentioned a while back that starting to do meditation was the most unexpected thing that happened for me last year. I've been meaning to do a post about it, but took longer than I thought, because I found it quite difficult to put this stuff into words. Finally I've got something down, though, so here goes.

Comments

[shinetheway]

This whole post makes so much sense, and I never would have thought of any of it.

Where did you do the meditation course? Do they do more courses like that?

[julad]

The one I did was through my local yoga studio, which is awesome. I'm sure you could find one in your area, but do look for reviews/recommendations so that you find something that seems a good fit for you.

I found the structure of doing a course really helpful to get me started - you go to another location, you're not distracted, you've got nothing else you can do but sit there and focus, and somebody tells you what to do. Awesome. *g*

[jaydeyn_sitari]

What shinetheway said!

It's been a long while since I put in the effort to meditate and it's like I forgot why I did it. Much of what you've said here is a bit of a kick in the pants - I'm doing my Masters at the moment and it and a bit of travelling and various other life stuff is going on and oh hey, I'm tired and stressed out! Shocker!

So thanks for the reminder! And good luck with the deeper meditation stuff. I had a great one as a kid (insomnia-ridden) that I wish I could find now.

:)
Jaydeyn

[julad]

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to my next course and getting, like, a fresh infusion of whatever-it-is and seeing what happens next. *g*

[misspamela]

Fascinating! I've been struggling to find time to actually meditate, but I find that taking 30-60 seconds to breathe and be mindful, identify thoughts and thoughts and not feelings...it's done wonders for my anxiety. Even just saying to myself, "Hey, I'm anxious," is oddly helpful.

Minds! They are amazing.

[julad]

It might be familiar material already, but if not, you might find The Happiness Trap interesting - what you describe is exactly the type of thing that's in there.

In my course, we talked a bit about finding the time to meditate, and related issues like how to get the quiet you need, how to ensure you won't be interrupted. (One of the mothers in the course decided to meditate in the shower, because it was her only time that she could count on to not be interrupted.) And I struggled at first to consistently find the time, but the funny thing was, within a few weeks of meditating ten minutes a day, I had jettisoned hours and hours of stuff from my life that I didn't need. Now I totally have the time. *g*

[dogeared]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I'm totally fascinated by the whole process. I've been wanting to incorporate some kind of meditation into my life and just haven't quite made the leap yet, so this is really inspiring.

[julad]

Thanks! I'd say it's worth a try at least! :)

[snailbones]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It's such a fascinating subject, isn't it? And I love those moments in my own life when I catch my own brain in the act of derailing me... I wonder if we're not all our own worst enemies? *g*

Your comments about what didn't change also made me smile in recognition; it's a theme in my own life that I get to keep doing the same 'lesson' over and over, until I really get it right. Incredibly frustrating, and yet, if you turn it around, it's awfully nice of the universe to keep patiently kicking me in the tush until I finally catch on... *hg*

I'd love to hear more about your experiences as you progress with the meditation, and thank you again for sharing.

[julad]

Thanks.

Yeah, I figure the work stress thing is a pretty ingrained thing that will take a while to untangle. But also, ironically, the reason I wanted to get rid of the work stress was so that I would have time and energy for other things I wanted to do in life. And in a way, meditation cut right to the chase - it freed up a bunch of my time and energy without bothering to go via fixing work first. So perhaps I should give it credit for being smarter than I am. *g*