Dale - interesting what you say about your Fridays. I'm wondering if it'd be more useful to leave your commitment how it was, thinking of what you were saying about the 'really don't want to do it' meditation sometimes being the most useful - I'm wondering if you might be more likely to find something out this way?
I've been noticing the flavour of the thoughts that interrupt me when I sit (afterwards) and am wrly amusing at how predictable and themed they are... did I spell wryly right?!
Welcome, Nicole! And Brenda, I loved hearing about your subway meditation yesterday.
I feel like I've been grabbing the odd five or ten minutes here and there rather than being able to sit down and really focus for 20 minutes this week. I sat before bed last night, not for long, but it was good enough to make me feel I had kept my commitment. It's much easier for me to find a block of time for meditation when I am alone - but that's rare. Hope everyone has a good Sunday, and a good start to the week tomorrow.
Thanks, Fiona. Yes, I'm wondering which is the right way to go. Last hundred days I didn't change the commitment after I broke it, and I kept on breaking it, more frequently toward the end -- there were probably ten days out of the hundred I didn't sit, and by the end the commitment was feeling pretty insubstantial. So I'll see if this works better. I think I've already learned all there is to know about hanging onto a commitment unchanged after I've broken it :-)
I tried sitting on my zafu cushion today (I've been sitting on a folded blanket with my back supported against my bed), but besides feeling not quite grounded securely and having some tight muscles in my mid-back, I started feeling pinching in the sacro-iliac area where I had a back injury months ago. So I gave up on that and went back to the blanket and back-support. It seems like the ability to sit relatively comfortably and focus on my breath is more important than being able to sit holding up my own back, right?
The first time I tried I got upset and threw the zafu across the room! Laughed at myself at least. Then I walked around, did some yoga stretching, centered, and went back to trying again on the zafu then on the blanket. I did eventually get comfortable and focused on my breath somewhat, but my mind was distracted by many thoughts. I think mid-day isn't such a good time for sitting. Weekday mornings have more of a routine feel that seems more conducive.
leslee - same as you, I'm learning that mid-day sitting is not a good time for me ... lately have been sitting late in the evening ... enjoy the dark, and I've been too lazy to get up early enough for the dark before dawn
We have a group of meditators locally who meet every Sunday at Queenswood Centre ... it's a residence and conference centre operated by the Sisters of St.Anne ... the property is large and rural, with forest paths and gardens. We are an eclectic group of Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Buddhists, all ages and backgrounds. The group was formed two years ago by a Zen monk.
We sit for 30-40 minutes and go outside to walk in the labyrinth, then gather in the dining room for tea. Here's a picture of the labyrinth:
http://www.queenswoodcentre.com/amenities.html
I don't know how to make the URL clickable, so I guess you'll have to copy and paste.
When I've been putting up the date early in the morning in the UK during the last few days, I've been thinking about our little group. The meditators in the eastern hemisphere are well into the afternoon, those on the east coast of N America are probably asleep, and those on the west coast of that continent might not even have gone to bed. And we Europeans are just getting up. I find this is almost a mini meditation in itself ....
I sat this evening for a change. Dark, as in the mornings. I am glad to have kept the commitment today.
Dale, I give myself permission in advance to miss a day if I know it is only going to cause stress. I also think a day 'of rest' - even from meditation - is not such a bad thing, if only to miss it. Sounds like your Fridays are pretty packed, and guilt about 'breaking your commitment' won't help. I think the idea of working with your commitment to 6 days is a really good one. So far, in my experience, this hasn't stopped me sitting on the seventh if I want to, but does relieve me of a great deal of anxiety about where/when/how throughout the day.
Today I had two three hour DG recording sessions and a three hour concert. I also worked out (an essential means to compensate a day spent on my arse) and scoffed a bowl of old lentils inbetween sessions. There wasn't much time outside of all that but I took Brenda's lead and meditated on the blue and green lines of the Grenoble tramway between hotel and concert. First time with eyes open and quite focused in a wierd trammy sort of way. my colleagues were all taking the same tram and must have thought I'd finally lost it!
By the way, with all this talk about sitting positions , I have to reiterate my happiness with sitting on a chair. Like many of us in 'sitting'jobs, I sit straight and very comfortably, grounded and relaxed (after so many years of alexander technique I should hope so) for many hours on end. It just feels natural not to want have to think about sitting when meditating but rather my breathing. I light a candle and incense and/or read a bit before hand to make it 'special'.
I commented under yesterday's post by mistake and deleted it. Re-posting here.
Meditated while snowshoeing today. Never tried that before. And I didn't even realize I was doing it at first. How nice is that. It worked well because it was foggy, no views to distract me, to much glare to want to look around, I was alone in dim light, among hoarfrosted trees... just chuffing along, focused on the regular breathing. About halfway through I was briefly approached by a couple who were on snowshoes for the first time and wanted to know how I did it so fast (ah, an ego stroke). 20 minutes out, 20 minutes back. Quite nice.
Dale, it seems fair to commit to "6 out of 7 days" of "daily" practice. When I lived in a Zen Center, we were allowed one sleep-in day, so it seems fair to allow yourself a day off if you've been "good" the rest of the week (or even if you haven't...)
Leslee, a friend of mine who's a Zen nun used to sit propped up against a wall due to back & knee problems, so I wouldn't worry about sitting with a blanket vs. a zafu. I think "Whatever works" is a good philosophy: "Sit as you can, not as you can't."
I drove down to the Cambridge Zen Center this morning for their Sunday mid-morning meditation, which spans from 9 - 11:30 am. I was planning to sit the entire thing (30-minute meditation sessions separated by 10 minutes of walking), but when I arrived, the Director explained they didn't have any Senior Dharma Teachers present to give the usual Sunday morning consulting interviews.
So, I sat the first half-hour session, then spent the remaining 2+ hours having individual meetings with practitioners who had questions. It was a great lesson in flexibility (I hadn't "planned" to play teacher today), and it was also a reminder of how helping others can be a great way to energize one's own practice.
Maybe the next time I go down to CZC, one of the Zen Masters will be there so I can play student. In the meantime, playing teacher kept me awake the entire time... ;-)
10 Comments:
Welcome Nicole, and good morning all.
Dale - interesting what you say about your Fridays. I'm wondering if it'd be more useful to leave your commitment how it was, thinking of what you were saying about the 'really don't want to do it' meditation sometimes being the most useful - I'm wondering if you might be more likely to find something out this way?
I've been noticing the flavour of the thoughts that interrupt me when I sit (afterwards) and am wrly amusing at how predictable and themed they are... did I spell wryly right?!
Have wonderful Sundays.
Hi Nicole. Welcome! Gosh, I see you're in Japan. I love that we're everywhere.
Just sat for 30 minutes. Twitchy.
Welcome, Nicole! And Brenda, I loved hearing about your subway meditation yesterday.
I feel like I've been grabbing the odd five or ten minutes here and there rather than being able to sit down and really focus for 20 minutes this week. I sat before bed last night, not for long, but it was good enough to make me feel I had kept my commitment. It's much easier for me to find a block of time for meditation when I am alone - but that's rare. Hope everyone has a good Sunday, and a good start to the week tomorrow.
Welcome, Nicole!
Thanks, Fiona. Yes, I'm wondering which is the right way to go. Last hundred days I didn't change the commitment after I broke it, and I kept on breaking it, more frequently toward the end -- there were probably ten days out of the hundred I didn't sit, and by the end the commitment was feeling pretty insubstantial. So I'll see if this works better. I think I've already learned all there is to know about hanging onto a commitment unchanged after I've broken it :-)
I tried sitting on my zafu cushion today (I've been sitting on a folded blanket with my back supported against my bed), but besides feeling not quite grounded securely and having some tight muscles in my mid-back, I started feeling pinching in the sacro-iliac area where I had a back injury months ago. So I gave up on that and went back to the blanket and back-support. It seems like the ability to sit relatively comfortably and focus on my breath is more important than being able to sit holding up my own back, right?
The first time I tried I got upset and threw the zafu across the room! Laughed at myself at least. Then I walked around, did some yoga stretching, centered, and went back to trying again on the zafu then on the blanket. I did eventually get comfortable and focused on my breath somewhat, but my mind was distracted by many thoughts. I think mid-day isn't such a good time for sitting. Weekday mornings have more of a routine feel that seems more conducive.
leslee - same as you, I'm learning that mid-day sitting is not a good time for me ... lately have been sitting late in the evening ... enjoy the dark, and I've been too lazy to get up early enough for the dark before dawn
We have a group of meditators locally who meet every Sunday at Queenswood Centre ... it's a residence and conference centre operated by the Sisters of St.Anne ... the property is large and rural, with forest paths and gardens. We are an eclectic group of Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Buddhists, all ages and backgrounds. The group was formed two years ago by a Zen monk.
We sit for 30-40 minutes and go outside to walk in the labyrinth, then gather in the dining room for tea. Here's a picture of the labyrinth:
http://www.queenswoodcentre.com/amenities.html
I don't know how to make the URL clickable, so I guess you'll have to copy and paste.
Welcome Nicole.
When I've been putting up the date early in the morning in the UK during the last few days, I've been thinking about our little group. The meditators in the eastern hemisphere are well into the afternoon, those on the east coast of N America are probably asleep, and those on the west coast of that continent might not even have gone to bed. And we Europeans are just getting up. I find this is almost a mini meditation in itself ....
I sat this evening for a change. Dark, as in the mornings. I am glad to have kept the commitment today.
Welcome Nicole!
Dale, I give myself permission in advance to miss a day if I know it is only going to cause stress. I also think a day 'of rest' - even from meditation - is not such a bad thing, if only to miss it. Sounds like your Fridays are pretty packed, and guilt about 'breaking your commitment' won't help. I think the idea of working with your commitment to 6 days is a really good one. So far, in my experience, this hasn't stopped me sitting on the seventh if I want to, but does relieve me of a great deal of anxiety about where/when/how throughout the day.
Today I had two three hour DG recording sessions and a three hour concert. I also worked out (an essential means to compensate a day spent on my arse) and scoffed a bowl of old lentils inbetween sessions. There wasn't much time outside of all that but I took Brenda's lead and meditated on the blue and green lines of the Grenoble tramway between hotel and concert. First time with eyes open and quite focused in a wierd trammy sort of way. my colleagues were all taking the same tram and must have thought I'd finally lost it!
By the way, with all this talk about sitting positions , I have to reiterate my happiness with sitting on a chair. Like many of us in 'sitting'jobs, I sit straight and very comfortably, grounded and relaxed (after so many years of alexander technique I should hope so) for many hours on end. It just feels natural not to want have to think about sitting when meditating but rather my breathing. I light a candle and incense and/or read a bit before hand to make it 'special'.
I commented under yesterday's post by mistake and deleted it. Re-posting here.
Meditated while snowshoeing today. Never tried that before. And I didn't even realize I was doing it at first. How nice is that. It worked well because it was foggy, no views to distract me, to much glare to want to look around, I was alone in dim light, among hoarfrosted trees... just chuffing along, focused on the regular breathing. About halfway through I was briefly approached by a couple who were on snowshoes for the first time and wanted to know how I did it so fast (ah, an ego stroke). 20 minutes out, 20 minutes back. Quite nice.
What about the monthly sit? When?
Hello, everyone...
Dale, it seems fair to commit to "6 out of 7 days" of "daily" practice. When I lived in a Zen Center, we were allowed one sleep-in day, so it seems fair to allow yourself a day off if you've been "good" the rest of the week (or even if you haven't...)
Leslee, a friend of mine who's a Zen nun used to sit propped up against a wall due to back & knee problems, so I wouldn't worry about sitting with a blanket vs. a zafu. I think "Whatever works" is a good philosophy: "Sit as you can, not as you can't."
I drove down to the Cambridge Zen Center this morning for their Sunday mid-morning meditation, which spans from 9 - 11:30 am. I was planning to sit the entire thing (30-minute meditation sessions separated by 10 minutes of walking), but when I arrived, the Director explained they didn't have any Senior Dharma Teachers present to give the usual Sunday morning consulting interviews.
So, I sat the first half-hour session, then spent the remaining 2+ hours having individual meetings with practitioners who had questions. It was a great lesson in flexibility (I hadn't "planned" to play teacher today), and it was also a reminder of how helping others can be a great way to energize one's own practice.
Maybe the next time I go down to CZC, one of the Zen Masters will be there so I can play student. In the meantime, playing teacher kept me awake the entire time... ;-)
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