Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Tips for Meditation

Since March I've been attempting to meditate everyday. My duration depends on the day, sometimes 45, 30, 20 or 15 minute sessions. I have a 'sacred' space in my room, with a candle and a Buddha statue. Most of the longer sessions I've completed have been in classes. I've attended several classes lately at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, such as: The Way of Awareness: An Introduction to Vipassana Meditation. 

It's motivating to hear the teachings and be with others.  
To motivate me further there is a nifty application that I downloaded on my iTouch called "Insight Timer." There are several applications to choose from, but I like Insight Timer best. You can keep data on how often you meditate, the duration per day, and the total duration over weeks and months. So far I've meditated a total of 11 hours, 42 minutes. Best of all you can connect with other people worldwide. 

Another tip is that I don't judge myself in comparison to other times I've tried to meditate. Sometimes I do think: "Oh my God. I'm so distracted!" But then I just refocus myself and bring myself back to my breath, my body sensations, or noises in the environment. Luckily my kitties have gotten used to my meditation, and don't bother too much anymore!

I also use mantras to focus. I repeat the loving kindness mantras as follows: 
"May I have mental happiness."
"May I have physical happiness." 
"May I be at peace with the comings and goings of events."

Sometimes I branch out from myself and focus on beloved others, but mostly I'm at the first stages of loving-kindness and you are instructed to begin with yourself. Sharon Salzberg's book "Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness" is a must read.

Also I find Susan Piver's books, website, and videos to be incredibly helpful.  

I am just a beginner. Here is some of my data.

Date             Duration (Minutes)       Total Days Meditating
05-21-2012 20:47,15.0,                  33 
05-20-2012 21:12,20.0,
05-19-2012 18:19,15.0,                  Average Time
05-18-2012 19:35,30.0,                  20.6 minutes
05-13-2012 19:00,30.0,
05-12-2012 22:09,15.0,                  Total Time
05-11-2012 21:13,15.0,                  11 hours, 42 minutes
05-10-2012 20:11,20.0,
05-09-2012 17:00,30.0,
05-07-2012 19:00,45.0,
05-05-2012 19:22,30.0,
05-02-2012 17:48,20.0,
04-30-2012 21:48,30.0,
04-09-2012 22:34,30.0,
04-02-2012 23:00,20.0,
04-01-2012 15:47,20.0,
03-28-2012 19:27,20.0,
03-25-2012 15:29,10.0,
03-24-2012 18:24,20.0,
03-23-2012 16:16,20.0,
03-21-2012 21:01,15.0,
03-21-2012 18:48,15.0,
03-20-2012 17:02,20.0,
03-19-2012 23:24,25.0,
03-14-2012 19:05,15.0,
03-13-2012 17:31,20.0,
03-12-2012 21:38,25.0,
03-11-2012 21:08,15.0,
03-10-2012 15:05,15.0,
03-06-2012 19:52,15.0,
03-05-2012 19:39,15.0,
03-04-2012 15:36,15.0,
03-03-2012 15:50,17.0,

1 comment:

tips for meditation said...

I liked that you're focusing on mantras. It’s important to enjoy meditation and I think you are enjoying. And that's good. You might like to try sitting with a hint of a smile. Be kind to yourself. Start sitting just a little each day. It’s helpful to establish a daily habit.