June: 30 days of meditation trial

[Bene]

My plan for June is to practice 30 days of meditation. I don't think I've ever done 30 days of meditation in a row. I probably only did a maximum of a week or 10 days of continuous meditative practice. I never meditated seriously, for a prolonged period either.

I know how much meditation can improve ones life but I am guilty of not putting it into practice.

So with that said, I will either use concentrating on the breath type, or observing the thoughts type of meditation for these first 30 days. I will record my progress and also note what type of changes I notice.

I will wake up at 5 AM to meditate. Technically this constitutes another goal of getting up in the morning... but I wasn't really aiming for that, however I need the quiet atmosphere to meditate. So I guess its 2 birds with one stone.

Wish me luck!

[seeker5]

Bene,

That's great! I'm learning to do meditation, so I'll be keeping an eye on your thread. I intend to do daily meditation myself too, although I'm not setting it up as a 30 day trial.

How long do you intend to do your meditations for each day?

[mercuryrising]

I'll join you.

I'm working at 5am in the morning, but I'll do a session before bed and when I arise.

I'm guilty of the same... I know all the benefits, but I don't do it.

I sometimes wonder what would happen if a large group of people (like in the millions) began meditating on a regular basis. Something tells me the Shift would occur.

Namaste.

[Bene]

Hi, thats great, lets all do it!

I wasn't able to wake up at 5 AM today... seems like this waking up part is going to be more of a challenge than I thought.

But I did the meditation for about 13 minutes. In these first 30 days, my plan is to practice anywhere in between 10 and 30 minutes, one session per day.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Bene

I wasn't able to wake up at 5 AM today... seems like this waking up part is going to be more of a challenge than I thought.

Heh, yes, as someone who has done two 30 day trial of waking up at 5am, I know it's a challenge to get started, and be fully awake at 5am

But I did the meditation for about 13 minutes. In these first 30 days, my plan is to practice anywhere in between 10 and 30 minutes, one session per day.

Cool! I did 5 minutes yesterday and I think I'm going to build up that from that as suggested here.

[DEEJ]

Im sorta in the same boat, been meditating very on and off for a few years but due to lack of disclipline never have gone more than about 10 days of practice....

Started again 2 weeks ago with a SOLID commitment to keep it going and so far its been going well...

I do 10 - 15 mins of breathing med (which im going to increase soon) and do a loving kindness meditation after this for a further 10 - 15 mins....

Not really noticed any real changes yet except for the peace I feel straight after...

Lets keep this thread going with our progress!!!!!!

Peace,
Daniel...

[Cultivate]

God, do I know what you guys are talking about. I have done a fair amount of research on meditation, but it seems that no matter how many benefits I find I cannot get myself to section off a bit of time each day to meditate.

One idea you guys may try is if at the beginning you have trouble maintaining concentration throughout a 30 minute session, break it up into smaller sessions with breaks in between. For example 15 minutes of meditation, then a five minute break, then another 15 minutes. This way you are not wasting any time in "lazy meditation".

I think I'm going to try to do this 30 day trial with you guys. I'll keep you guys posted.

[Rose of Cairo]

Hey cool!!! I'm glad you guys are doing this. I'm in! I'll do it with you, I like the idea of doing it all together.

I've been meditating on and off for a couple years now, but never consistently every day for a long time. Lack of discipline. I'm wondering how I would feel if I did it really every day.

Once I did it for an entire month twice a day and it was wonderful. I used to chain it together with some energy exercises - the combination felt great. I even had a strange consciousness shift happening to me, and an out of body experience. So I'm curious to see if this time something exciting will happen.

I also need to build self-discipline, so that's a perfect first step

Good idea, I'll post about it on my blog, too.

Looking forward to seeing how everybody will do. Happy meditating

[seeker5]

It's great to have a number of people onboard for this! How's it going? I've been doing it every day in the four days ago. I started with 5 minutes, (I'm a brand new baby beginner at this), went up to 6 minutes and today did it for 7 minutes. Tomorrow I'll increase it to 8 minutes. It's a delight to see the timer go off and think "oh, already over?". I can see some progress made in how I'm able to focus on my breathing. The funny thing is I have a harder time to let my breathing be natural - as soon as I focus my consciousness on breathing, it (not sure what the "it" is here) wants to take over my breathing as well instead of letting it be natural.

I noticed the same thing when a number of weeks ago I focused on the Power of Now of focusing on something to avoid thinking - immediately my body wanted to take conscious control of my breathing.

[Bene]

^ I read somewhere that when you tend to get caught up in the breathing, you should take a deep in-breath and exhale naturally. Then refocus on your nostrils slowly. You could take several deep breaths if needed.

This is my meditation log:
June 2
Approximately 25-30 minutes broken up in to two sessions. I was able to concentrate better in the last few minutes.

June 3
25 minutes meditation in the morning. Having problems with posture. 20 minutes in the evening.

June 4
Did meditation in the morning for 15-20 minutes. I feel like I have to focus more on the technique. It feels like I am spending a lot of time but able to focus very little.

June 5
Ok I just meditated for approximately 20 minutes.
This meditation was the best by far. I was able to concentrate for longer periods of time on the movement of the breath. Afterwards when reading, I noticed an improvement in concentration.

June 6
Didn't feel like meditating today but I forced myself to sit for 10 minutes. Consequently it wasn't good lol.

June 7
Today I did my meditation at the end of the day instead of how I usually do in the morning or at about noon. I did one 10 minute session and a 7 minute session. I could hardly concentrate. It felt like I was trying too hard. I think after a long day like today I should gradually ease into the meditation. For example, just sit there for 5-10 minutes and breath naturally without concentrating and just relax and settle down first. Then ease into the concentration part etc. Or I could just meditate in the morning instead.


Overall, I feel good that I actually stuck to this and did it every day. By day 30 I should improve a lot... but no pressure. I think with meditation the rewards are cumulative.

I've been having problems with the sitting posture. I am researching it and I'll be implementing some suggestions like stretching beforehand and using a cushion under my butt.

I'll think I'll stick to meditating in the morning.

[Bene]

How are you all doing?

[pianoperformer]

Oh, mind if I join in several days late? I just started a 30 day trial, but may as well join in here, too, for more accountability.

I'm using a mantra as discussed on this site. I might add some chakra clearing or something similar, too.

My plan is something like this:
20 minute session in the morning, followed by chakra clearing
20 minute session at night, might work on spirit guide communication afterwards, since I've been doing that before I go to sleep, lately, lol.

[mercuryrising]

Slacked off already... I decided to renew the challenge for myself today. I also started this blog here to help me stay accountable.

[pianoperformer]

mercuryrising, that link seems dead.

Anyway, yeah it's hard. I didn't do my first meditation until 4:00 today. I will do another later.

It went well, though. It was hard to focus, but I was able to renew the focus every time I wandered off. The chakra clearing was pretty nice, too. I was able to feel the energy rather distinctly.

[mercuryrising]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

mercuryrising, that link seems dead.

Anyway, yeah it's hard. I didn't do my first meditation until 4:00 today. I will do another later.

It went well, though. It was hard to focus, but I was able to renew the focus every time I wandered off. The chakra clearing was pretty nice, too. I was able to feel the energy rather distinctly.

It should be up and running, pianoperformer. I started this morning.

[BettyBoo]

Originally Posted by Bene

^ I read somewhere that when you tend to get caught up in the breathing, you should take a deep in-breath and exhale naturally. Then refocus on your nostrils slowly. You could take several deep breaths if needed.

This is my meditation log:
June 2
Approximately 25-30 minutes broken up in to two sessions. I was able to concentrate better in the last few minutes.

June 3
25 minutes meditation in the morning. Having problems with posture. 20 minutes in the evening.

June 4
Did meditation in the morning for 15-20 minutes. I feel like I have to focus more on the technique. It feels like I am spending a lot of time but able to focus very little.

June 5
Ok I just meditated for approximately 20 minutes.
This meditation was the best by far. I was able to concentrate for longer periods of time on the movement of the breath. Afterwards when reading, I noticed an improvement in concentration.

June 6
Didn't feel like meditating today but I forced myself to sit for 10 minutes. Consequently it wasn't good lol.

June 7
Today I did my meditation at the end of the day instead of how I usually do in the morning or at about noon. I did one 10 minute session and a 7 minute session. I could hardly concentrate. It felt like I was trying too hard. I think after a long day like today I should gradually ease into the meditation. For example, just sit there for 5-10 minutes and breath naturally without concentrating and just relax and settle down first. Then ease into the concentration part etc. Or I could just meditate in the morning instead.


Overall, I feel good that I actually stuck to this and did it every day. By day 30 I should improve a lot... but no pressure. I think with meditation the rewards are cumulative.

I've been having problems with the sitting posture. I am researching it and I'll be implementing some suggestions like stretching beforehand and using a cushion under my butt.

I'll think I'll stick to meditating in the morning.

It seems like for the first week meditation did it best at annoying you :-))
hope you will begin to enjoy it soon

[DEEJ]

I switched to my holosync today. Feel really calm after the first listen :-)

[sv800]

Originally Posted by DEEJ

I switched to my holosync today. Feel really calm after the first listen :-)

Hey guys/gals you are not alone.

I stand up on my feet 5 am for 1 hour meditation before going work. Maybe 2-3 months since then, only Sundays I gave myself a break switching mediation to evening time. I use Holosync 30 mins then I write or read my goals on the final 10 minutes...

In matter of fact I feel more confident...

[Tim Brownson]

LMAO I was about to go and meditate but came here instead by way of some procrastination!

I would ask this question: What are you meditating for? Shouldn't the answer be, for nothing, just to be?

By writing a log and recording what and how you feel you're almost defeating the object and probably making it less likely that you'll keep going if you don't get some concrete 'results'

I have been meditating daily and sometimes twice daily (like today) for about 18 months. I started off wanting to achieve something and got bugger all out of it. When I read more about meditation from people like Jon Kabat-Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh, Deepak Chopra etc I realized that was the wrong approach. By not actually seeking anything I have conversely got a lot more out of it and enjoy it more.

Anyway, just my 2 cents and my procrastination time is over, I'm off to do nothing for 30 minutes.

[Bene]

Originally Posted by BettyBoo

It seems like for the first week meditation did it best at annoying you :-))
hope you will begin to enjoy it soon

hehe, yeah it kinda did. thanks!

[Bene]

Originally Posted by Tim Brownson

I would ask this question: What are you meditating for? Shouldn't the answer be, for nothing, just to be?

By writing a log and recording what and how you feel you're almost defeating the object and probably making it less likely that you'll keep going if you don't get some concrete 'results'.

I am meditating for peace of mind, to better my concentration and to train my mind to be more in the present. I am not disappointed though if I don't at present or even in the short term close on my goals even a little bit. I know meditation works.
The log is to just sort of take down notes on what happened, what i experienced, keep myself accountable by posting here and perhaps inspire others to meditate but its not meant as a measurement tool.

And also I have full intentions to continue meditation past the 30 days. But the 30 days trial is to kick start in concrete what I've always procrastinated on doing. It isn't actually a trial to see if it works.

[Tim Brownson]

Originally Posted by Bene

I am meditating for peace of mind, to better my concentration and to train my mind to be more in the present. I am not disappointed though if I don't at present or even in the short term close on my goals even a little bit. I know meditation works.
The log is to just sort of take down notes on what happened, what i experienced, keep myself accountable by posting here and perhaps inspire others to meditate but its not meant as a measurement tool.

And also I have full intentions to continue meditation past the 30 days. But the 30 days trial is to kick start in concrete what I've always procrastinated on doing. It isn't actually a trial to see if it works.

Fair point Bene. I just re-read what I posted and it sounded a bit critical. I apologize because it wasn't meant to be. I applaude anybody for taking up meditation.

[Rose of Cairo]

Bene, pianoperformer, looks like you guys are really motivated. That's great

I for my part am doing bad. I do meditate (like today, it was very nice), but not every day. I couldn't stand that much self-discipline

However, I still think it'd be nice to do it every day. I'm starting another 30 days trial in two days (see signature), and I'm thinking about incorporating the meditation trial to the mountain trial. Like, meditating every time I reach the summit, or something like that...

How are you doing now?? Let us know!

[Bene]

I am still doing it. I am doing about 15 minutes everyday. Some days I do a 2nd session if I feel like it. I missed 2 days so far since June 1. A few times I would remember in the evening that I hadn't meditated yet... and I just wouldn't feel like doing it but I end up doing it anyway... even if it was just sitting still and mind all over the place hehe. I find the best concentration is achieved when done soon after waking up. Also, It becomes a habit just like brushing your teeth.

If I do it in the mornings; after I wake up I brush my teeth, wash my face, stretch and walk around a little bit with the sun light streaming in so I am alert and fully awake. I then do the meditation. I sit at the same place everyday.

I want to make this a habit and start the day with it everyday. I think this is a worthwhile habit to incorporate into daily life. It may take some discipline in the beginning but its absolutely worth it. Hope this helps anyone.

[onomotopeia]

Glad to see there's much success with this thread. This is something that I'd also like to try to commit to better, as although it's been a june goal of mine I have not meditated solidly for a single day.

Here's a site that I think many might find interesting--pardon any hokeyness.

Mind and Memory Training by Ernest E.Wood

My current philosophy is that if you can train yourself to floss, you can train yourself to meditate . But seriously, I wish all good luck and hope to hear back on your successes.

[n_vizion]

Originally Posted by onomotopeia

Glad to see there's much success with this thread. This is something that I'd also like to try to commit to better, as although it's been a june goal of mine I have not meditated solidly for a single day.

Here's a site that I think many might find interesting--pardon any hokeyness.

Mind and Memory Training by Ernest E.Wood

My current philosophy is that if you can train yourself to floss, you can train yourself to meditate . But seriously, I wish all good luck and hope to hear back on your successes.

Thanks for the link. Most appreciated. I came into this thread kinda late but count me in on the daily meditation practice. When I meditate consistently every day, things in my life change for the better. Sometimes the change is mainly internal other times its external. Either way, change happens.

[Bud921]

I used to be good at meditating each and everyday, but I have been slacking off. Hopefully this will motivate me. It feels so good when I actually meditate. Good luck everyone!

[Rose of Cairo]

Hey all! How are you doing??

[mercuryrising]

Just thought I'd revive this thread for a moment. I found this Zen teacher who does daily meditation sittings on his blog. He does shikantaza (just sitting) meditation. He sits for 25 minutes with you and he's vowed to do so for 9 years (!).

For some reason, this has helped me out. Just having someone else there, even if it's just a video on the Internet, cuts through the excuses. I just sit and do it (pardon the pun).

Thought it might help you folks out, too.