Meditated in my office for 20 minutes this lunch time again, as I didn't manage to get up in time this morning. It's not ideal. Half way through I thought of something I'd forgotten to do and leapt up to do it. But better than not sitting at all. Less pounding in my head than yesterday; it was nice and peaceful apart from the 'oh god, I haven't...' moment.
Thanks for the hugs, Mary and Jean. I feel a little less out of it this morning, but still not up to par. I'll keep working on it.
Beth, your physician friend does indeed sound wise; I'm glad you are getting such warm support.
Jean, at least you did sit! Good for you. I think for me, doing it imperfectly is more helpful to developing the long-term habit than not doing it at all.
Sat 23 minutes this morning. I sat down on the cushion and the dog came over, nosing. I gave him 2 good hugs then told him to take a break. He looked up quickly as if to say "Huh? What'd you say?" "Take a break," I repeated quietly. He gave me a long look, got up, and obediently walked away several paces where he sat down heavily, watching me. I closed my eyes. A few more minutes of licking and tag jingling noises and he settled. Halfway through the session he got up and went outside. Success!
Jean, lama Michael says, and I agree, that if something's important enough to seem more important than meditation it's far better to just get up and do it than to try to make a mental note and hold it through the meditation -- which really is to practice elevating the importance of whatever it is over the importance of the meditation. Better to cave in once, than to practice caving in.
John, it's great to have you back! I've been wondering about you (and Moira and Yam, for that matter) and hoping you're doing okay.
It's the returning that counts, on the large scale of returning to the cushion after an absence, just as it is on the small scale of returning to the object of your meditation from a distraction. It's the same thing, really.
I sat in my office at the end of the workday, yesterday, because we were having a guest for dinner and I knew it would be hard to sit either before or after that... sitting in my office I seldom seem to get a very still mind, even when the place is quiet. But I was glad to have seen the trouble coming and to have forestalled it.
Sat this morning and, inspired by Soon Joen, started the session with a couple of minutes chanting. I have for the last couple of weeks been focussing just on the meditation. My first non-work day and very hard to keep the focus on the breath. So, I had to keep returning the mind each time it wandered off - which it did at every opportunity.
I won't be able to check in for probably the next 48 hours (short break), but I fully intend to sit both mornings and will think of you all.
Sat for a few minutes as soon as I got up today (Weds). It felt good. I do, do hope I can get back to it. Yes, I agree it's better to get up and do something than spend the whole meditation time trying to remember to do it afterwards. But it goes to show that if work feels like the priority in the office it's not the best place to meditate.
Sat for 20 minutes last night and the mental chatter never really stopped - but it was good anyway. Mary - best wishes for your coming weeks. John - great to see you again. Moose - I love hearing about your dog - he'll settle down eventually, I bet.
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Meditated in my office for 20 minutes this lunch time again, as I didn't manage to get up in time this morning. It's not ideal. Half way through I thought of something I'd forgotten to do and leapt up to do it. But better than not sitting at all. Less pounding in my head than yesterday; it was nice and peaceful apart from the 'oh god, I haven't...' moment.
Welcome back, John.
Thanks for the hugs, Mary and Jean. I feel a little less out of it this morning, but still not up to par. I'll keep working on it.
Beth, your physician friend does indeed sound wise; I'm glad you are getting such warm support.
Jean, at least you did sit! Good for you. I think for me, doing it imperfectly is more helpful to developing the long-term habit than not doing it at all.
Sat 23 minutes this morning. I sat down on the cushion and the dog came over, nosing. I gave him 2 good hugs then told him to take a break. He looked up quickly as if to say "Huh? What'd you say?" "Take a break," I repeated quietly. He gave me a long look, got up, and obediently walked away several paces where he sat down heavily, watching me. I closed my eyes. A few more minutes of licking and tag jingling noises and he settled. Halfway through the session he got up and went outside. Success!
Jean, lama Michael says, and I agree, that if something's important enough to seem more important than meditation it's far better to just get up and do it than to try to make a mental note and hold it through the meditation -- which really is to practice elevating the importance of whatever it is over the importance of the meditation. Better to cave in once, than to practice caving in.
John, it's great to have you back! I've been wondering about you (and Moira and Yam, for that matter) and hoping you're doing okay.
It's the returning that counts, on the large scale of returning to the cushion after an absence, just as it is on the small scale of returning to the object of your meditation from a distraction. It's the same thing, really.
That's great, Moose! My experience is that animals learn to cope with my meditation faster than people do :-)
I sat in my office at the end of the workday, yesterday, because we were having a guest for dinner and I knew it would be hard to sit either before or after that... sitting in my office I seldom seem to get a very still mind, even when the place is quiet. But I was glad to have seen the trouble coming and to have forestalled it.
Sat this morning and, inspired by Soon Joen, started the session with a couple of minutes chanting. I have for the last couple of weeks been focussing just on the meditation. My first non-work day and very hard to keep the focus on the breath. So, I had to keep returning the mind each time it wandered off - which it did at every opportunity.
I won't be able to check in for probably the next 48 hours (short break), but I fully intend to sit both mornings and will think of you all.
I sat for 30 min this morning. It was a good recentering time.
John, nice to see you again!
Sat for a few minutes as soon as I got up today (Weds). It felt good. I do, do hope I can get back to it. Yes, I agree it's better to get up and do something than spend the whole meditation time trying to remember to do it afterwards. But it goes to show that if work feels like the priority in the office it's not the best place to meditate.
John, welcome back!
Mary, have a fabulous month off starting today!
Sat for 20 minutes last night and the mental chatter never really stopped - but it was good anyway. Mary - best wishes for your coming weeks. John - great to see you again. Moose - I love hearing about your dog - he'll settle down eventually, I bet.
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