Of course, it will only get really interesting and useful when someone *doesn't* sit. That's when we can do some real work here.
Sat again last night. You know what I'd like to have? A timer that rang a nice soft bell. I've seen incense-timers that do that, but I don't much like incense. When I first was meditating I spent a lot of time not looking at the clock. I have a better sense of time now, or maybe I'm just not quite as distractable, but it still would be nice to sit like I do at the sangha, waiting for a bell to ring.
I always set an ending-time for myself when I sit down, because if I don't I spend most of my time trying to evaluate how it's going, thinking "have I meditated enough? Has this been a good enough meditation yet? How good is this meditation so far? Is it good enough that I can stop now?"
Mmm, this may or may not be interesting, but from where I am it's extremely effective. Just knowing I will be checking in with you all is a powerful tool.
The trouble is, I have a horrible feeling that if I didn't sit I would just slink away - I would be so embarrassed and disappointed I might not come back.
Anyway, sat this morning and a lot of feelings came up towards the end, to the point where I prolonged the session for 5 minutes just because, well, I felt I had to. I agree with you about the timer, I glance at the clock a lot.
I really hope no one slinks away, because that will be the person who can bring the experience to the table that we're all (I bet) going to need to deal with. We've got to be able to fail and get back to it, or it's not really going to take.
On reflection I know you're right. And, yes, I would come back. But I would prefer not to take that path in the first place .... it feels very important to honour this particular commitment.
The weekend was very busy, between two frantic weeks at work, and Sunday evening brought an upsetting personal encounter.
I had thought of dropping out of my commitments for Sunday because it felt like too much between two such busy weeks, but did not, was glad I did not, and got through the weekend much more relaxed than I thought I would. When I sit regularly, even for short periods, it definitely helps me to stay in the moment more and not exhaust myself by experiencing everything far in advance of doing it, just before doing it and endlessly after doing it...
Even though I was upset last night, I slept quite well, and after a good sleep felt much more able to cope. Even short meditation sessions make such a difference!
I used to feel the lack of a timer. But find I judge it pretty well now. If I could find one with a nice bell and not too expensive though, I'd buy it.
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Of course, it will only get really interesting and useful when someone *doesn't* sit. That's when we can do some real work here.
Sat again last night. You know what I'd like to have? A timer that rang a nice soft bell. I've seen incense-timers that do that, but I don't much like incense. When I first was meditating I spent a lot of time not looking at the clock. I have a better sense of time now, or maybe I'm just not quite as distractable, but it still would be nice to sit like I do at the sangha, waiting for a bell to ring.
I always set an ending-time for myself when I sit down, because if I don't I spend most of my time trying to evaluate how it's going, thinking "have I meditated enough? Has this been a good enough meditation yet? How good is this meditation so far? Is it good enough that I can stop now?"
Mmm, this may or may not be interesting, but from where I am it's extremely effective. Just knowing I will be checking in with you all is a powerful tool.
The trouble is, I have a horrible feeling that if I didn't sit I would just slink away - I would be so embarrassed and disappointed I might not come back.
Anyway, sat this morning and a lot of feelings came up towards the end, to the point where I prolonged the session for 5 minutes just because, well, I felt I had to. I agree with you about the timer, I glance at the clock a lot.
I really hope no one slinks away, because that will be the person who can bring the experience to the table that we're all (I bet) going to need to deal with. We've got to be able to fail and get back to it, or it's not really going to take.
On reflection I know you're right. And, yes, I would come back. But I would prefer not to take that path in the first place .... it feels very important to honour this particular commitment.
I sat again first thing Sunday morning.
The weekend was very busy, between two frantic weeks at work, and Sunday evening brought an upsetting personal encounter.
I had thought of dropping out of my commitments for Sunday because it felt like too much between two such busy weeks, but did not, was glad I did not, and got through the weekend much more relaxed than I thought I would. When I sit regularly, even for short periods, it definitely helps me to stay in the moment more and not exhaust myself by experiencing everything far in advance of doing it, just before doing it and endlessly after doing it...
Even though I was upset last night, I slept quite well, and after a good sleep felt much more able to cope. Even short meditation sessions make such a difference!
I used to feel the lack of a timer. But find I judge it pretty well now. If I could find one with a nice bell and not too expensive though, I'd buy it.
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