ValleyStream

I have a regular problem of falling asleep when meditating if I am sitting or laying down. I can usually meditate for 10-15 minutes without a problem but whenever I go any longer there is a good chance that i will fade into sleep. Through my Taiji practice I have been able to accomplish effective standing meditation without dozing off to dream land but when sitting or laying I find myself falling asleep while meditating on a regular basis. I have a good diet. I exercise regularly. I sleep a solid 8 hours a night (usually 930pm-530am). I never meditate after a large meal or in the evening when i am tired. Granted, i am fairly new to meditating and some advice i have read on other forums is that this problem will pass with time and practice but i thought that you guys would have a few helpful things to say. Any help would be appreciated.

Rode my bike to the market to fetch some grub. Came home and immediately meditated while heart rate was up. Single cross legged seated to avoid becoming too relaxed. Well lit room and kept my eyes cracked open. I kept it kinda chilly in the house so that i would not become warm and too relaxed; it did not impede on my meditation (i was worried that the cold would). Meditated for a solid 30 minutes and only dozed off once or twice. i caught myself dozing and focused on my breathing and continued the practice. id say it was a success. I will be using more tactics that were suggested by others in upcoming sessions. Thank you, all.

This is good insight. I was told before that falling asleep while meditating is not a bad thing as long as you wake up feeling clear. Whenever i do fall asleep i try to just wake up with ease and not beat myself up about it. Sleeping clears my head, so it is great. I am able to actually meditate and remain clear minded due to my Taiji practice. So my problem is not a failure of meditation from falling asleep. I just personally want to be able to stay awake for 40 minutes and sit still while emptying. I have received some great tactics on this thread that I will be putting into practice.

I really do think that this is what i need to do (for now); focus more on staying awake and external things to train myself to relax while staying awake. But yes, it comes down to time and persistent practice. All in time.

Thank you for this!

Well, there is really no need for me to sleep more at night. perhaps i just need to nap and then meditate. I do like the idea of sitting in a more uncomfortable position and what-not. I will put that into practice for sure.

I will have to check that out. It seems that ol' Tom Cleary knows his stuff.

Well, i have an "audiobook/guide" for breathing & meditation that i sometimes refer to. It is basically designed to help you breathe into your lower dantian and adding more depth to your breath with an interval chime. It has a guide walking you through it all and i am sure there is more techniques beyond these two but i cant get past the 3rd or 4th chapter without falling asleep when sitting or standing. I have decided to not go beyond these beginning chapters until i can successfully keep myself awake for 20-30 minutes(perhaps indefinitely). Also, i do the 6 healing sounds and internal smile techniques. this seems to work up until a certain point. Once i go through the 6 healing sounds and i focus on converting the negative energy into positive energy i tend to doze off. Perhaps i should just run though another round of healing sounds if ever i feel tired. I will take your advice of trying other techniques. i just need to find some good resources. Any suggested online forums or documents for techniques?

I plan on attempting this. Sounds like it will be very effective. Thank you.

I like the idea of a timer being utilized. I could set up a timer on certain intervals and if i find that i can stay awake from one interval to the next i could extend the intervals it to where it would wake me up after a certain amount of time. It may distract me from my actual meditation but at this point i am more concerned to training myself to stay awake. Perhaps i should try meditating after exercise. Like you said, Daeluin, i could walk around or wait until after Taiji. This is something i have yet to put into practice because i usually do Taiji in the evenings but i could start a morning Qigong routine and meditate in correlation with that. Good advice. One thing is for sure though... it will just take time and persistent practice.

I think I am drinking a real beer because it tastes delicious...but then I remember that everything is an illusion and I realize I don't understand anything.

Thank you for this.

I am all about the simplicity. Difficult questions should have simple answers, i say.

Oh wow, i had no idea. That is very neat. I will be reading up more on him in relation to the I Ching. Great insight, Michael. Immediately my search led me to this recent article... http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/21/ancient-book-wisdom-i-ching-computer-binary-code The ending of the article is good stuff.... "So when scientific thinkers – including many of my favourite science fiction writers – ask whether computers can create "virtual realities" or "artificial intelligence", they are missing the point. Of course we can create ever deeper and more complex layers of the dream of reality to get lost in. The real question is, can we wake up from the dream we're in already?"

The Link to the "Taoist Theory and Practice of Internal Alchemy" document is great. Another thing to be added to the top of my reading list. I Ching, TTC, Zhuangzi, Feng Shui and now "Taoist Theory and Practice of Internal Alchemy" along with Taijiquan, Neidan and all my college work. I truely enjoy being a student. Thanks again, Daeluin.

I have acquired a copy of the other edition for close to nothing and i am very excited to delve into it; it has been a long time coming for me and the I Ching. I will be starting tonight after my Calculus test. I want to obtain The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth, by Ni Hua Ching but i am on a sparse student budget and just cannot afford to purchase something of that measure. Perhaps i will sneak it into next semesters "curriculum" of required texts. Thank you for the recommendations, Daeluin.

I am in need of someone to translate the term, "Valley Stream" into traditional chinese characters. I think i may have it correct in my picture but i know nothing of proper chinese caligraphy. Also, When annotating these characters on my profile picture, if i write them vertically do i start from bottom to top or from top to bottom? If i already have it correct in my profile picture just let me know. As a local to northern rural USA i dont have much local chinese caligraphy sources. Thank you.

Thank you, dustybeijing.

So, what I have now should read as "Valley Stream" top to bottom if I am correct. Should it be written top to bottom? Also, a confirmation that it is correct would be super cool. On some real levels, Thanks everybody.

Aha! it makes sense. So my picture is annotating "to flow" under Valley. I think i will "steal" the painters signature. After looking into some translations of the name it is what i am going for. 2 nouns rather than a verb. Thank you!

This is a great site! thank you!

Well, i intended to have it translated as a name if that is possible. My Family name is translated as valley stream in swedish, Hence my user name is ValleyStream. I believe my profile picture is working now. Do i have it right on the picture?

I have always attributed the trigrams as being binary. My limited knowledge of the I Ching does not allow me to make much more of an observation than that. I really need to get on that I Ching. I think that this is some righteous theory. How the nothing between the 2 is "something", therefore there is 3. It just makes sence how this would continue in that fashion into 5 and 6 and how they relate in our spacial/spiritual comprehension. I really need to read more into all of this to understand exactly what you are getting at but i would like you to know that this will be taken with a grain of salt (as you said)...along with a cup of tea and a intensive study. great stuff.

I have actually been holding off on researching into The I Ching because i do not have access to a quality "copy". Believe it or not, Northern rural USA has a sparse collection of quality eastern philosophy texts. I can find a couple free "versions" online but i dont know where to start; and i dont want to spend money on a copy with little insight on the different translations and interpretations. Any suggestions on a certain translation/version that will grant a new student, such as myself, a quality introductory read?