The Tao Bums Daily Meditation Challenge

[lifeforce]

Greetings everyone.

 

As the new year approaches a lot of us make resolutions. Often to be broken quite early.

Over the holiday period I've been doing a bit of contemplating as to how to step up my practice a notch.

One of my resolutions is to meditate more regularly (hopefully daily) and to increase the length of my meditations.

I'm sure a lot of us here are in the same boat, so how about a support topic where we can help each other along and inspire us to greater accomplishments ? Like a communal practice log.

Starting on the 1st of January we could log our meditations here either daily or in a weekly digest. Whatever suits the individual I suppose.

My goals are to meditate for at least 30 minutes a day in full lotus. My style is vipassana as it is what I have been taught and have tried to practice regularly for a couple of years.

 

Any thoughts ?

[Sarnyn]

I really like this idea. It just makes me nervous, because every time I make a log I can feel my mind saying, "Look everybody, how good am I‽"

 

but in anyway

[Fox]

I think it can be done with humility.

 

I'm in.

 

[UTI]

I have made myself the same idea, except twice a day with no say of how long, just as long as I feel like that time. Also, I already started, 3 weeks ago. Nevertheless I am in, all in the spirit of keeping up.

 

Don't particularly have a style, just looking for the emptiness.

[NeiChuan]

Hm yea 30 minutes of meditation is a great idea.

 

Mine is stay strong on my routine and lengthen the time with each method I do. Oh.. and dont train at 3 to 5 am anymore.. Often.

 

1 Hour horse stance here I come =D

[soaring crane]

The idea is attractive but I know that if I join a group like that, it'll interfere with the quality of my meditation. I'll be tinking about logging-in to report my experience. I do that with my running at Runner's World.com, but that's not the same thing.

 

So, for those who enjoy it, well, enjoy

 

But I'd suggest feeling for signs that the discussion may be creeping into your meditations. And if it does, and it feels good and beneficial, then great. If it's a distraction, also great, but a lesson at the same time.

[glooper23]

I'm in. All I do to meditate currently is to sit and focus on my breath and / or the darkness in front of me.

[thelerner]

I like the idea. You make a pledge in writing (I like keeping my pledges short term ie 3 weeks) then continually link to the same post and edit it w/ each day you've completed. Another suggestion is setting the name Meditation Challenge in the Personal section and using that in a similar manner.

 

I like Santi's Kap. Shaktimama reminded me of the simple technique of doing 2 x 20 minutes a day of secret smile followed by microcosmic orbit, probably some body warm up in the beginning and a few minutes at the close, so we're talking 2 x 30 minutes in the morning and afternoon. That seems doable.

 

That will be my pledge 2 x 30 for 3 weeks, then reevaluate. I'll see if I can work in some standing meditation to Rawns Archaeous during the day.

 

Michael

[Mal]

[mYTHmAKER]

Greetings everyone.

 

As the new year approaches a lot of us make resolutions. Often to be broken quite early.

Over the holiday period I've been doing a bit of contemplating as to how to step up my practice a notch.

One of my resolutions is to meditate more regularly (hopefully daily) and to increase the length of my meditations.

I'm sure a lot of us here are in the same boat, so how about a support topic where we can help each other along and inspire us to greater accomplishments ? Like a communal practice log.

Starting on the 1st of January we could log our meditations here either daily or in a weekly digest. Whatever suits the individual I suppose.

My goals are to meditate for at least 30 minutes a day in full lotus. My style is vipassana as it is what I have been taught and have tried to practice regularly for a couple of years.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

Why wait. Why not start right away.

[lifeforce]

[Sunya]

yes, of course. Great idea. I think group resolve works, but only if the intention is personal first. i.e. you have resolved to meditate with many personal reasons for doing so. I think a group can only support those personal reasons.

 

I've fallen off the wagon actually.. and need to get back on. over the summer I meditated everyday but during school with all my philosophy classes, I've lost the daily regimen which is absolutely essential for meditative progress. now.. having started back up after a month off, it sucks! my concentration is wack, my mind is chaotic, and its really difficult. This should motivate you to not quit! You certainly do lose much gain through taking long breaks and as for progress: it takes months and months of daily meditation to make the breakthroughs necessary for insight into the true nature of reality to occur.

 

I'm resolving to meditate everyday, at least 30 minutes, upon waking up. I'm taking formal refuge/bodhisattva vows on Jan 1st so that can only help strengthen my resolve. I'm also resolving to be increasingly ever-mindful. Post-meditation is more important than meditation itself, and I feel my lack of progress can be attributed to not carrying meditation into daily life. 24/7 non-distracted mindful awareness, a lofty goal but a worthy one.

 

I hope that others here that are joined in my resolve will be strengthened by it, and I by them. Let us join hands in understanding the difficulty of the spiritual path and support each other through such an arduous task as watching ourselves, inspecting ourselves, and growing.

Edited December 30, 2009 by mikaelz

[lifeforce]

I hope that others here that are joined in my resolve will be strengthened by it, and I by them. Let us join hands in understanding the difficulty of the spiritual path and support each other through such an arduous task as watching ourselves, inspecting ourselves, and growing.

 

Here here ! Excellent words.

[ronko]

hey everyone

i just started quite a few 100 day period routines this monday , 28th dec ,

 

began my first ever chigong routine which is a 100 day course,

began my 100 day mission to awaken kundalini ,

and an attempted , notice "attempted" ! retention period ,

and also started a lean hybrid muscle course too ,

 

i really want to go for it this year ,i give up the booze jus before xmas ,

looking forward to progression

 

the chigong i can really feel , feels great but cant do it for that long yet

 

im hoping to get 2 1 hour meditations in a day

[thelerner]

[Mal]

Thanks Lifeforce, that is the sort of thing I was looking for

and thanks Michael as the Smilie one was the one I remembered, now I'm all set

[~jK~]

My goals are to meditate for at least 30 minutes a day in full lotus. My style is vipassana as it is what I have been taught and have tried to practice regularly for a couple of years.

Any thoughts ?

 

Excellent topic and post.

 

Full lotus is often not used in even Buddhist monasteries. Damaged legs from no circulation?

What is used is a simple cross leg sitting on a Zafu with the aim of being comfortable.

Make your own: http://www.buddhamind.info/leftside/lifestyl/medi/zafu.htm

Or buy for over 50$ http://www.zafu-meditation-cushions.com/

 

A book, on meditation, by a Zen Buddhist priest (headmaster) that gives a page on making a Zafu: http://www.amazon.com/Opening-Hand-Thought...d/dp/0861713575

 

On the ego - If it helps you meditate - use it - if not - loose it. Meditation is the objective.

More important is not to become obsessed with the ego.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Over the years I have found that I have become a connoisseur of meditation

To be honest, the best places for meditation are found on trains, planes, busses and park benches.

When on a park bench, I often wear sunglasses, take my had off and place it, on the ground, at my feet.

I have learned to use care when picking my hat up though - Sometimes people actually throw coins in the hat

 

Back at the ranch - there are many styles of mediating. One, not commonly known, is Conceptual Meditation which is taught by taking a box apart and remaking it - then doing the same in your mind. I have learned it to the extent that I can build a wooden staircase - or even a house in my mind, cut the wood to make it as a helper assembles it.

The most advanced case of this meditation practice is: described on this web page:

Nikola Tesla's Creative Thinking Secrets

 

Nikola Tesla's Mind Lab

Nikola Tesla had extraordinary visual thinking powers. When he got an idea for a new machine, he was able to "set it up" in his mind and leave it running to see how it would work. His capacity for this was so developed that the results that he got in his mind were incredibly accurate. This was verified when it came to building prototypes for the new machine. He would already know exactly how it would perform because of his "Mind Lab" experiments. http://www.creativethinkingwith.com/Nikola...ng-Secrets.html

 

Albert Einstein also used this style of conceptual Meditation albeit to a lesser degree.

 

I found more on the subject:

 

"A Blind Man Learns To "See"

Here's a great example of someone learning to develop extraordinary powers of visualisation, like Tesla. Mark Tew, who been blind since birth, read a braille version of the great book Superlearning in 1984 and realised it was just the thing he'd been searching for. He started practicing the accelerated learning techniques and before long his computer programming career just took off as he became the 'go-to' guy for troubleshooting. His bosses made him the chief debugger of all their software programs. Mark's story features in the updated sequel Superlearning 2000, where it says:

 

"Using his new skills in relaxation training and visualization plus the slow Baroque music that facilitates a connection to the subconscious mind, he found it easy to mentally picture an entire computer program. He could remember it and see it in his mind. "I can mentally find bugs because I can see what's happening with the program," he says. He didn't even have to go through the braille printouts. He developed a talent for visualization like the great Nikola Tesla, who could run entire experiments in his mind."

 

"

Edited December 31, 2009 by ~jK~

[Owledge]

My goals are to meditate for at least 30 minutes a day in full lotus. My style is vipassana as it is what I have been taught and have tried to practice regularly for a couple of years.

 

Any thoughts ?

I practice almost every night, and I always do it as long as I feel comfortable. Then it will end naturally. I'm OK with this because I imagine it being like muscle training: a very short time every day is - while not the fastest - the most efficient way. So I think it's wise to at least trigger the energy regularly.

An interesting question might also be whether the practice length should not be based on time, but on your perception of time. When you practice one hour a day and it feels short and easy to do, will you make more progress than when you practice 15 minutes a day and it seems like an eternity?

[lifeforce]

An interesting question might also be whether the practice length should not be based on time, but on your perception of time. When you practice one hour a day and it feels short and easy to do, will you make more progress than when you practice 15 minutes a day and it seems like an eternity?

 

This is an interesting observation. That does happen sometime to me. For instance I sat for 25 minutes in full lotus this morning, but it felt like only 5-10 minutes had passed.

[~jK~]

This is an interesting observation. That does happen sometime to me. For instance I sat for 25 minutes in full lotus this morning, but it felt like only 5-10 minutes had passed.

 

Monestaries do 8 hours twice a week for beginners.

The other days are for warming up - varied times.

Many will open their doors to almost anyone.

[lifeforce]

Well we're nearly a week into the new year, how's everyone doing ?

I've missed one day so far unfortunately, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

Kept to the 30 minutes every time though, which is what I was realistically aiming for.

[glooper23]

Good work. I've meditated at least 15 minutes each day, with some days going as long as an hour.

 

The past few times, my bad began to tingle and feel extremely relaxed and warm. Does anyone else get this sensation?

[david2885]

Here's a 100 Days of Qigong chart from Chunyi Lin:

http://www.learningstrategies.com/Qigong/100Days.asp

 

I started my own challenge on October 1st and I'm actually already on Day 100 of my 100 Day Spring Forest Qigong practice of 30 min-1 hour every day, but I did not practice it at the same time every day as instructed on that SFQ page, so I guess my next challenge is to do 100 Days at the same time every single day.

 

If anyone is doing a combination of Active Exercises/Sitting Meditation for their 100 Day Challenge and has the problem of 'falling asleep' or 'zoning out' while in a sitting meditation, I suggest starting out doing Active Exercises more often than you do Small Universe/Sitting Meditations, then gradually increasing the frequency of your Small Universe/Sitting Meditations. In this LSC recording, Chunyi Lin says the reason you zone out like that is because your liver energy is low. The Active Exercises must help you build liver energy, because after 2-3 weeks of 3 days Active Exercise/1 day sitting meditation, I stopped zoning out, and ever since then I've always stayed conscious in my sitting meditations.

 

What did I gain from my 100 day Gong? I've noticed little effect on my blood pressure, my weight has dropped about 4-5 kg since I started (it may be related more to dietary changes than the qigong), I'm less attracted, sometimes even deeply disgusted by 'junk foods' that I used to enjoy, and am less frequently hungry than I used to be. My allergies are much less frequent and usually only about 20-40% as bad as they used to be when I actually do get them.

 

Halfway through (around the 60 day mark) I switched from Level 1 Active Exercises to Level 2 Active Exercises. When I first tried using Chunyi Lin's sword fingers/pulling energy out/adding energy in, I had to focus and concentrate fairly hard to get the healing energy and imagery going. Recently (Day 90+) I had the opportunity to try healing someone (with SFQ), and it felt MUCH easier and effective because of the L2 Exercises. It was like the Karate Kid doing 'wax-on, wax-off' every day, I did not realize how useful it would be for the healing of others until one day I had the opportunity to apply what I had practiced.

 

I kept a log of my practice in a simple Excel spreadsheet, and it really helps to be able to see your progress. It was one of the things that kept me going until I reached Day 100 instead of just stopping 2-3 weeks in like I often did before when I attempted to start a daily practice. I did not talk about it too much (online or offline) because I found that in the past when I talked about my qigong practice I actually ended up spending more time talking about meditating than I did meditating.

 

Good luck with your Meditation Challenge Guys , I'm going to let off a couple of weeks (though it's become such a habit now that I'll probably do my qigong every day anyway) and then come back and do it at the same time every day.

[glooper23]

I'm glad for you, david2885.

[lifeforce]

Another week on. Anyone sticking to it ?

 

I must admit I missed a couple of days this week. I'm just finding it difficult to get up early sometimes.

The focus of my formal sitting meditation has changed. I have always had trouble drifting off into thoughts with vipassana, so I figured I need a more concentration based method.

Anapanasati has filled that gap very well and my meditations have improved 100%.