Meditation Time

[Flyingwithoutwings]

I've heard various recommendations for meditation times:

-shortly after waking/before bed
-4am
-before breakfast/before dinner

How about functional meditation times?

I've tried each of the above schedules and while it may not seem satisfactory for hardcore meditators, the most enduring schedule I have played with in the past, and am currently embarking upon is something that may be called a functional meditation schedule:

This means, allowing my meditation schedule to serve me. To meditate when I need: a complete mental break, to recieve insight on an important/difficult decision, or allow space and calm after an intense conversation of some sort.

When I say meditation I'm referring to more traditional, sitting eyes closed breath-following calmness/mindfulness/deep looking/insight meditation. I assume that mindfulness and everyday walking meditation are easily interspersed and have hardly ever been confined to a single portion of the day.

This schedule especially fits my own lifestyle as a social, pre-med college student. My activities push into late night and require wakefulness in the early morning. Personally, I find exercise much more wakeful in the morning and socializing with close friends much more theraputic (and sometimes even more insightful) at night, not to mention my love of unending cuddling .

Other reasons why I see a functional daily schedule as superior:
-It worked with exercise. The more functions exercise fills in my life the more likely I am to do it. Currently it is a stress reducer, break-time, social activity, wake-up, and sleep aide.
-Lifestyle factors clashing with meditation schedules can induce: guilt, a tendency to throw the entirety of meditation out of one's life, feeling stiff or unsocial, and undue stress.

In summary a functional meditation schedule is working traditional meditation into each day, enjoying whatever time you have for it, as many times as you may need or desire it. For others this may set into an after work meditation habit, sounds good, the most important thing is that it works for you.

Anyone have any additional ideas about how meditation can work for you (on a short term/that day basis; the more the better)?

Or possibly critiques of why this schedule is wrong or another is better?

Any comments would be much appreciated.

[Akashic_Librarian]

I do Obsevational Meditation. I meditate as I live. My life is my meditation.

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by Akashic_Librarian

I do Obsevational Meditation. I meditate as I live. My life is my meditation.

Well said AL, just observe the observation, all the calm, peace and truth is right there.

[Mysom]

Ideally, you must meditate twice in a day, at the same time, for a specific period. Make it a habit, as simple as that. If you can make time to brush your teeth everyday at the same time of the day, then, I am sure you can do it with meditation as well.

According to the great guru Osho, The 20+20 minutes that you spend time meditating is probably the most useful thing you can do in a 24-hour day. The other 23 hours have no meaning if you don't your meditation.

I try and get my meditation done as soon as I finish my stretch exercises in the morning. My evening meditation varies - and sometimes I don't do it due to lack of time. Yes, I don't necessarily practice what I preach :-)

Hope this helps.

[Uplift]

Depends what you are meditating on, and why. If you are meditating on yourself, your spirit, your truth, allowing the creations, the world to take precedence, is just that. It is placing them before you, as more desirable, and important than you. You don't need them to exist and be complete, creations need you to exist. You create. Put yourself, self knowledge first, and the rest is easy and fun.

[reflections]

I get a lot out of mindfulness in everyday life, but also find that 2 sittings of dedicated practice a day help to deepen my moment to moment practice of mindfulness even more. Early morning is really great for me as well as an hour before bed. 3-4am works really well for astral projection and energy work meditations.

[Uplift]

Originally Posted by reflections

I get a lot out of mindfulness in everyday life, but also find that 2 sittings of dedicated practice a day help to deepen my moment to moment practice of mindfulness even more. Early morning is really great for me as well as an hour before bed. 3-4am works really well for astral projection and energy work meditations.

Awesome, inspiring, and no doubt fullfilling!

[Flyingwithoutwings]

Originally Posted by reflections

I get a lot out of mindfulness in everyday life, but also find that 2 sittings of dedicated practice a day help to deepen my moment to moment practice of mindfulness even more. Early morning is really great for me as well as an hour before bed. 3-4am works really well for astral projection and energy work meditations.

I'm curious, I think I could get a lot more near-sleep time meditation in if I was okay with letting my mind wander into images, which I assume could lead to some sort of astral projection. Whether or not this assumtion is right, I'm curious as to your introduction or instructions source? In other words, where do you get your astral projection instructions?