So I sat for 20 minutes last night and 15 this morning, and am glad.
Meditation makes me feel good. Dale and the Dalai Lama are right of course. It's always made me feel good, though, so far, even when things are really really shit. Not that that's why I do it, it's not. And not that that's enough to stop me dropping the practice from time to time, though you'd think it would be.
Shall we get some more folk to join in here? Can I mention it on my blog? Are you going to, Dale? (it was only ever in a somewhat oblique comment)
The above sounds abominably self-centred, especially reading Dale's post at Mole yesterday! Of course I don't view meditation as only affecting myself. One of the reasons it makes me feel good is that I believe and experience that holding others in my mind and heart in loving kindness meditation is startlingly powerful and really does result in treating them more kindly (ha, perhaps this is more easily noticeable and gratifying if you start out not very kind at all!)
Yow, I'm taking over here. You may have guessed that I don't have anyone to talk to about meditation...
I'm of two minds about making it more public. I wouldn't want it to transform into a place where people squabble about what's "real" meditation and what isn't -- there's few things more depressing than listening to people quarrel about loving-kindness meditation, or boast about how advanced their meditation on the emptiness of ego is. (I've encountered plenty of both of those things on the net.)
On the other hand if it would be useful to other people it seems like it would be a shame not let them know about it. So I dunno. What do other people think?
-- No, it doesn't sound self-centered at all, Jean; it just sounds honest. I think one of the commonest and worst mistakes people can make about practice is pretending to a purer motivation than they have. That's the kind of practice, in my experience, that tends to crash and burn. I doubt that any of us would practice if we didn't expect (and then experience) some benefit from it. And I intend to leave that expectation undisturbed, even though it may not be the intention I ultimately want to cultivate. *Any* motivation is precious, right now :-) And anyway I think the whole dharma really is a matter of hijacking cravings and aversions and tricking them into undoing themselves. Starting by trying to eliminate the cravings and aversions that lead us to practice I think would be be starting (disastrously) at the wrong end.
I reserve the right to be dubious about your supposed not-very-kindness in the past :-)
Oh, I too sat last night; I'm quite sure I wouldn't have without the extra push of knowing I'd be checkin in here.
Well, this comment ought to be long enough to soothe any fears that you're "taking over," Jean :-)
Hi, just got in after a l-o-n-g but quite OK day. Sat this morning, and probably wouldn't have done without this blog either. (So thank you again, Dale).
More people? I really don't know -sorry, can't be definite on this. Might people perhaps stumble on this blog anyway? Both Jean and yourself have it in your links.
Maybe put a descriptive note at the top of this blog saying something along the lines of: welcome, join us, this is what we are doing?
Yeah, it would be great to have a note like that at the top. I tried to write one when I started this but I found it daunting, somehow. Does anyone else feel like drafting one?
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So I sat for 20 minutes last night and 15 this morning, and am glad.
Meditation makes me feel good. Dale and the Dalai Lama are right of course. It's always made me feel good, though, so far, even when things are really really shit. Not that that's why I do it, it's not. And not that that's enough to stop me dropping the practice from time to time, though you'd think it would be.
Shall we get some more folk to join in here? Can I mention it on my blog? Are you going to, Dale? (it was only ever in a somewhat oblique comment)
The above sounds abominably self-centred, especially reading Dale's post at Mole yesterday! Of course I don't view meditation as only affecting myself. One of the reasons it makes me feel good is that I believe and experience that holding others in my mind and heart in loving kindness meditation is startlingly powerful and really does result in treating them more kindly (ha, perhaps this is more easily noticeable and gratifying if you start out not very kind at all!)
Yow, I'm taking over here. You may have guessed that I don't have anyone to talk to about meditation...
I'm of two minds about making it more public. I wouldn't want it to transform into a place where people squabble about what's "real" meditation and what isn't -- there's few things more depressing than listening to people quarrel about loving-kindness meditation, or boast about how advanced their meditation on the emptiness of ego is. (I've encountered plenty of both of those things on the net.)
On the other hand if it would be useful to other people it seems like it would be a shame not let them know about it. So I dunno. What do other people think?
-- No, it doesn't sound self-centered at all, Jean; it just sounds honest. I think one of the commonest and worst mistakes people can make about practice is pretending to a purer motivation than they have. That's the kind of practice, in my experience, that tends to crash and burn. I doubt that any of us would practice if we didn't expect (and then experience) some benefit from it. And I intend to leave that expectation undisturbed, even though it may not be the intention I ultimately want to cultivate. *Any* motivation is precious, right now :-) And anyway I think the whole dharma really is a matter of hijacking cravings and aversions and tricking them into undoing themselves. Starting by trying to eliminate the cravings and aversions that lead us to practice I think would be be starting (disastrously) at the wrong end.
I reserve the right to be dubious about your supposed not-very-kindness in the past :-)
Oh, I too sat last night; I'm quite sure I wouldn't have without the extra push of knowing I'd be checkin in here.
Well, this comment ought to be long enough to soothe any fears that you're "taking over," Jean :-)
Hi, just got in after a l-o-n-g but quite OK day. Sat this morning, and probably wouldn't have done without this blog either. (So thank you again, Dale).
More people? I really don't know -sorry, can't be definite on this. Might people perhaps stumble on this blog anyway? Both Jean and yourself have it in your links.
Maybe put a descriptive note at the top of this blog saying something along the lines of: welcome, join us, this is what we are doing?
(A suggestion only, feel free to ignore it ..)
Yeah, it would be great to have a note like that at the top. I tried to write one when I started this but I found it daunting, somehow. Does anyone else feel like drafting one?
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