Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

[Yosemite Sam]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

nancy;379738 wrote: Hi WIP

Yes, I know it's always said that people have monkey minds and need to return themselves to practice. I guess what I was getting at is that people with addictions, who need it most, might have super-active-monkeys and that this prevents them from taking advantage of the meditation advantages.

Thanks again for all your posts. You are such a great addition to the website.

Hello, I am not a teacher of any meditation school, and am not qualified to address this statement except by my experience. And I offer a positive take on this... It may seem like nothing is happening, while meditation is going on, with the monkey minded being so derailed by thoughts and emotions and nervousness, but this is not the case.

As long as one is persistant in their practice, one will gain great benefit from the practice. The one who will benefit the fastest and the most is exactly the one who IS monkey minded, but persistant anyway.

The trick is to notice that one has been derailed, and gently let the thought
or emotion go and return to the meditation.

If you have any interest in this practice, or think that you may gain from it,
I heartily suggest that one try it for a month, and don't be concerned about
not being able to sit still, or calm your mind, just do it.

I can with assure you that you will notice positive growth in a month.

I thought I should share, Sam [ a life time student ]

[A Work in Progress]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Bingo, Sam! That's the real deal... you said it.

wip

[nowandzen11]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Hey wip

I have heard of Spirit Rock. I hear it is wonderful. I am going to look it up right now.

The center I was referring to is Sonoma Mountain Zen Center

Thanks!!

[MyHeartIsDrenchedInWine]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

OK, So, in a nutshell, we are supposed to be thinking of nothing but our breath while meditating? Is that right?

Also, Is it OK to listen to music while meditating? I bought a CD that is supposed to help balance your brain through the music www.Hemi-Sync.com

[A Work in Progress]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Hi, Heart! OK, the "nutshell" version could be stated like this (the shortest possible version of meditation instructions!): "Just sit, knowing that you are sitting." The emphasis is not so much on "thinking about," but on noticing, paying attention to. So, often we begin by sitting still, in a comfortable and upright position, and focusing our attention on the physical sensations of breathing. Not thinking about breathing, but noticing the physical sensations. While we are doing that, sometimes thoughts will distract us... we will notice that we have stopped keeping our attention on the sensations, and instead have begun thinking: about lunch, about how much we think this is stupid, about what we did yesterday... and that is NORMAL and it will happen A LOT and that is OKAY. The point is simply to notice that it has happened, and re-focus attention on the sensations of breathing. The idea is that we are training our minds/brains to attend to what we WANT to attend to, instead of getting dragged here and there by our brains (or "monkey mind"). It enhances our freedom and makes us less vulnerable to impulses, urges, and negative thoughts, fears, etc.

Don't try to make thoughts disappear or go away (that will just backfire!)... just keep re-focusing your attention on the physical sensations of breathing.

Normally we don't have music playing during meditation, in the type of meditation that I teach (and actually in most types of meditation, although lots of yoga teachers do play music, even at the end during the meditation part). That is because we don't do meditation to listen to music or to have particular kinds of feelings (to feel all soothed and nice). We do meditation to learn to live with things THE WAY THEY ARE, instead of trying to change them into something nicer. And that is the bottom line, really, for people with substance abuse problems.... we have gotten way too good at trying to change things into something else, by drinking... Learning acceptance is central to recovery.

Might be a good idea to use the CD that you bought, but not at the same time that you practice meditation.

Another book I highly recommend, that is really relevant to people in recovery from substance abuse: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Wherever-You-There-Are-Mindfulness/dp/1401307787/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218501501&sr= 8-2]Wherever You Are, There You Are[/ame], by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

wip

[MyHeartIsDrenchedInWine]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Wow wip,

Thanks for your great reply! So clear my head of thinking and instead observe, especially my breathing....I hope I got that right. OK so no music, does it have to be quiet? I might need some white noise headphones or something because I am never in a silent place. Otherwise I will be "observing" the doorbell ringing, etc. and that's OK by me but doesn't sound right somehow. Then again, I'm afraid I definitely have "monkey mind" so I'm probably overthinking this. I told my therapist I think too much and she recommended Jon Kabat-Zinn's book as well, I'm halfway through it and on page 37 of the Mindfulness in plain English that you recommended. My ADD always has me reading 10 books at once. It seems I am in the category of those that have the most to gain by meditating.

You have been so helpful!

Myheart

[A Work in Progress]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Heart, yeah, you have it... but perhaps over-thinking, JUST a tad. No need to try to "clear the mind." That's impossible, anyway. Just use your power of directing your attention... kinda like a flashlight... onto the sensations in your chest, or belly, or nostrils, as you breathe in and out.

And you don't have to find a way for things to be totally silent... just like thoughts will occur, noises will occur, too, and that's perfectly normal and OK. It just gives you another opportunity to notice what happens in your own mind, and to re-focus attention on your breathing. It is in the act of repeatedly re-focusing attention (gently, without a lot of self-criticism), that we strengthen the pathways in our brain that permit us to be less reactive, calmer, etc.

The books you have are just excellent... but, more important is just doing the practice, even if it is only for 5 minutes at a time, at first. Slowly build up to about 15-20 minutes. Let me know how it's going!

wip

[MyHeartIsDrenchedInWine]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

You rock wip

[A Work in Progress]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

I just got inspired by DG and LL and others on one of the daily threads today, which has had a LOT of thought-provoking posts lately about "next steps" in ongoing recovery. I was thinking about Alan Marlatt, the great addiction researcher and clinician, who pioneered the use of mindfulness meditation as one very effective tool in relapse prevention. From my point of view, one of the most attractive aspects of using meditation as one of my lifelong practices, or commitments, in the battle to keep alcohol out of my life (and my heart and soul) is that meditation is also (for me, not necessarily for everyone) a spiritual practice. I started looking around for some of the better books about spirituality and recovery from alcoholism (I had collected them and read a lot of them, years ago... but of course became disinterested when I got back into heavy drinking!) and found one that I really like. Here's an excerpt, written by Alan Marlatt:

In my own clinical practice with clients with addictive behavior problems, I have found meditation to be a powerful tool in relapse prevention. One client, a woman who came for therapy for co-occurring alcohol dependence and depression, decided to extend her practice by attending a ten-day meditation retreat. After the retreat was over, she told me that she had learned to accept and tolerate the endless pattern of urges and cravings that used to drive her to drink. In meditation, she came to observe the rise and fall of urges, as if they were waves on the sea, without being " wiped out" by them. She had learned the technique of "urge surfing," one of the practices described in this book. As she explained, she no longer felt "dictated to" by her urges to drink when she experienced painful emotions. She reminded me that the Latin root for the term addiction is the same as for the word dictator. Instead of giving into the urge, as her mental dictator used to command, she was able to accept it as "just another thought," rising and falling like a wave passing through her mind. Meditation helped her think "outside of the box" of addicted thinking.

Alan Marlatt, in: Thomas, Ph.D. Bien, Beverly Bien. Mindful Recovery: A Spiritual Path to Healing from Addiction. (Wiley, 2002).

I added the emphasis, because it really speaks to me. I am learning that there is no dictator who MAKES me drink, that urges are just thoughts, just feelings, and essentially without any power of their own... unless I give them "power" by choosing to act on them. I am learning that I can live with and survive the pain that comes in ordinary living, without getting rid of it with alcohol... and that when I do so, I experience a much happier, more meaningful, and satisfying life...

wip

[Bandit]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Hi WIP,

I am a bit of a latecomer to this thread and I know this is not directly relevant to your last post but I just wanted to thank you for starting this thread and all the work you have put into it. I started readng through all the posts last night (when I was really struggling with trying not to think about drinking) and it really caught my interest..have followed up on some of the reading you refer to and found quite a lot on the internet. Will follow this further.
Thanks again
:h
Bandit

[A Work in Progress]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

That's great, Bandit! Post here again about what you find and how (or whether) it is helpful for you!

wip

[spottydingo]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Hi there, I read this thread a few days ago and have been stewing on it since. I just ordered the book 'Mindfulness in Plain English'. I've been very interested in meditation for some time but haven't gotten around to finding out more about it.

Any suggestions on how to start? Thats my biggest problem. I feel like I need to get everything ready before I can start ... then I have to remind myself to start (I get really distracted these days). Also, do I need a special place to do it? What time of day is best? Should I be sitting or lying down or does it matter?

Thanks! I'll post more when I get & read the book.

Cheers.

[A Work in Progress]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Good for you, Spotts! I hope you enjoy that book, most people find it really helpful. Here are some thoughts, to get you started: you might want to practice finding a position that is comfortable enough so that you can sit still (and upright) for 10 or 15 minutes without a lot of discomfort. Practice setting a timer for maybe 5 or 10 minutes, somewhere that you won't be interrupted by phone or people or whatever, sit still, shut your eyes, and focus your attention on whatever you can hear. Just listen to whatever sounds are going on around you, as the time passes. When you notice a lot of thinking going on ABOUT the sounds (or about anything else), just gently return your attention to the sounds, themselves... sort of like watching a train go by, car by car. Just attending to the sounds, just listening. If you feel as if you want or need to move around, just notice that desire or urge, as well, without giving in to it... instead, re-focus or shift your attention back to what you can hear.

Try doing that for a couple of days, and let me know how it goes!

wip

[spottydingo]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

Thanks WIP. I'll have to figure out a spot where I can't be interrupted by my animals ... every time I sit on the floor or lay down they think its an invitation for cuddling!

Didn't you say you started at 7 minutes? I may have to start off with less time. I've tried the MWO tapes and that was hard for me to focus on too. Also I'm not sure I could sit on the floor for that long. I've always thought of getting one of those small stools that help you sit cross legged -- I am overweight and outta shape.

But, I'll let you know what happens!

[A Work in Progress]

Anybody into Mindfulness Meditation?

You don't have to sit on the floor! A chair is fine. My animals eventually got used to me sitting still on the floor, and they now go and lie down while I am sitting meditation (although sometimes there is some startled and startling barking).

At first you might want to go into a room and shut the door (but then there might be crying and scratching at the door!). It really doesn't have to be a totally silent and non-disturbing time or place. People learn to meditate in prison (a very noisy and disturbing place). And don't think that you have to go into this, already being able to focus... this is a practice of learning how to re-direct your attention WHEN you get distracted... if you were already perfectly able to focus, you would not need to practice! Everyone gets distracted, and re-focusing attention, or re-attending to a chosen stimulus (sounds, sensations of breathing, whatever) is just a way of practicing. Don't let yourself get all judgmental and self-critical about it. OK? Try that out. Seven minutes is good, 5 is good too... build up the length of time, over time, just a bit at a time.

wip