90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

[Evie.Lou]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

DeeBee, I have that book and find it to be really good. I love Jean Smith's books...a few years ago my son bought me the book "Radiant Mind" for a birthday gift..He surely got a discount cause he was working at Barnes and Noble at the time...LOL..It was probably the most "loved by me and thoughtful gift' since he was in grade school and wrote me a peom...

[DeeBee]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

Hi Peace and Evie!!

I tried to practice counting breaths.... it's crazy how easily my mind wanders. I had an itch on my arm which I managed to sit and breathe through but then I got an itch on the side of my nose that was so distracting my breath changed and I felt like I was almost hyperventilating I was breathing so shallow and fast.

On the plus side, I have been really batteling with cravings today -- craving for a cigarette and AL... seems like my cravings have increased ten fold since quitting the twaks, -- whilst sitting and breathing now, I felt calm and more in control of the craving.

[peacenik]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

good for you dee! you can control it. i think that is the main problem sometimes, people believe they can't.

[A Work in Progress]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

Wonderful, Peace, AND wonderful, too, Deebs!

Itches and wandering minds and shallow or fast breathing... it's all "grist for the mill," it is all part of the experience that we can step back from, a bit, and observe... none of it is wrong, or mistaken. When we realize that we are negatively "judging" our experience, then it's time to just let it be, realize that we have fallen into the mental habit of being judgmental and avoidant about our experiences, let it go, and return to the sensations of our breath. Shallow or deep, fast or slow, it's OK regardless, it is simply a place to serve as the target of our attention.

Overall, the aim is to become more compassionate toward, and less reactive about, our own experience... in the beginning, it is enough just to notice WHEN we are being judgmental, reactive, or avoidant (saying to ourselves, usually, that we aren't doing it right, or we aren't cut out for this, or whatever).

This practice translates directly into our capacity to stay free from alcohol abuse; to the extent that we can learn to compassionately notice our uncomfortable feelings, emotions, and urges... without acting on them or running away from them.... to that same extent, we have become much stronger in our own programs of recovery from alcohol dependence.

Welcome, EvieLou... I know that you're an old hand at meditation (I think perhaps we were trained in different traditions, but that's OK!)... I hope you'll join us here!

[sunshine_gg]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

I'm behind, I know! (not to be mistaken for 'a behind')

I'm going to try and sit tonight! Frankly, I'm afraid I'm either going to not be able to concentrate at all or fall asleep. Either way - will let you know how I make out


Thanks for all the links, Wip... still got more reading to do.

[DeeBee]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

I woke up this morning, dusted the cob webs off and sat for a good 15 minutes -- this is the longest I have ever sat. Firstly I just counted and then I incorporated the "Just" and "this". I feel I am slowly "getting" this.

I had to travel today and got stuck in a traffic jam in pouring rain for 2 and 1/2 hours. I got to watch the dude in front of me finish off a box of cigs -- oh what I would've done for a cig right then and there -- but I didn't. Instead I started counting slowly and just breathing. It was kinda okay after that.

[DeeBee]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

Our Nature

After you wake up you probably open the curtains and look outside. You may even like to open the window and feel the cool morning air with the dew still on the grass. But is what you see really "outside"? In fact, it is your own mind. As the sun sends its rays through the window, you are not just yourself. You are also the beautiful view from your window. You are the Dharmakaya.
Dharmakaya literally means the "body" (kaya) of the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), the way of understanding and love. Before passing away, the Buddha told his disciples, "Only my physical body will pass away. My Dharma body will remain with you forever." In Mahayana Buddhism, the word has come to mean "the essence of all that exists." All phenomena--the song of a bird, the warm rays of the sun, a cup of hot tea--are manifestations of the Dharmakaya. We, too, are of the same nature as these wonders of the universe.

--Thich Nhat Hanh, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment

[A Work in Progress]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

Hey Sunshine! Hey Deebs!

Sunny, "late" is no problem! There is no bad time to start practicing, to start paying a different kind of attention to our lives!

Deebs, way to go! The practice of shifting attention from "want a cigarette!" (or drink or whatever) to the sensations of breathing... or to watching the sky... is an incredibly helpful and simple way to get stronger and stronger about resisting cravings and impulses. It is NOT a "quick fix," however, and so some people (especially alcohol-dependent folks like us, who really got used to getting "quick fixes") get discouraged, and do not see the value of the practice. That's a shame... because persistence pays off!

When I sat this morning, a gentle rain was falling outside. And yet, inside my mind, still a whirlwind of thinking, thinking... about things I need to do, about things people have said or done that have been hurtful, about what I will have for breakfast... same as always. The array of thoughts is sometimes mixed up and loud, sometimes quieter, sometimes some topics, sometimes others... sometimes nicer thoughts that I want to pursue, sometimes not so wonderful ones that I want to be rid of... no matter. Just returning attention to the breathing, over and over, helps me to stay grounded in the present, throughout the rest of my day.

All phenomena--the song of a bird, the warm rays of the sun, a cup of hot tea--are manifestations of the Dharmakaya. We, too, are of the same nature as these wonders of the universe.

And this includes all phenomena that we experience as pleasant... and those we experience as unpleasant, as well. The goal is to learn to treat all phenomena with a welcoming heart and mind.

[A Work in Progress]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

Yeah Oney it is really difficult, I know, sometimes even after years I have to force myself to sit down and do my meditation practice! It helps to take off some of the pressure, and tell yourself all you have to do is sit still for 3 (or maybe even 5!) minutes, pay attention to your breathing, and observe what happens. That's all. That's plenty, to start out with!

[A Work in Progress]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

Late night is a really tough time to be doing this, everybody is tired, then. Mornings are a lot better, if you can manage to be up 5 or 10 minutes before the kids are up... or can just get a few minutes with the door shut, before Rob leaves for the day?

[A Work in Progress]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

I was looking through the videos posted on my meditation website. Here are a couple of good ones (also they are not very long) that people might find interesting:

This one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgMT_4uhiZ8[/video]]click here) is a quick introduction to what is "mindfulness" ( this type of meditation we area practicing is often called "mindfulness meditation").

and this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1l7w6r2dm0[/video]]click here) is about some research into how practicing meditation helps us in our ability to pay attention.

Let me know what you think!

[LookingToGrow]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

WIP, and everyone contributing to this thread, I have not begun this process yet BUT I will and I have been enjoying reading this thread. Thank you for your contributions! :h

[A Work in Progress]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

That's great LTG! Thanks... stick around, and do as much or as little as you feel like, and let us know how it goes...

[peacenik]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

funny day...i practiced for an hour (30 minutes each time) today. needed a day of rest after some days of alot of exercise and busy life stuff...anyway, my daughter (10 year old) called me from school crying and told me a boy had grabbed her and was making fun of her so she pushed him away and he proceeded to basicall hit, kick and punch her. another mom was there and took my girl to the office and they called me. i was very shaken and used meditation techniques to remain focused on her and the situation at hand. we went directly to the house of the boy involved where i was met with his mother who is an anxious and high strung person. she began screeching about how the kids need to get along and brought up old stuff that was irrelevant to this situation and basically flew off the handle. i asked her calmly to stop yelling and talk with us (meanwhile my kid is crying from the bruises on her leg and this woman who is making matters worse). i remained calm in spite of shaking like a leaf ( i don't do well with confrontation) and feel like i set a good example to my kid about how to handle a stressful uncomfortable situation. i told my daughter that this wasn't her fault and that the boy has alot of problems (he is basically a spoiled kid who can do no wrong according to his mother, even though he has done stuff like this in the past to many other kids). we talked with her teacher and she is going to talk with the whole class about bullying.
i guess my point is, being mindful in the situation really helped me maintain and remain calm and sane in spite of the mother bear inside who wanted to rip the mom and son to shreds...i aknowledged those strong feelings and allowed myself to feel them, without acting them out.

now i want to teach my daughter some of those techniques (we have talked about this before and she does relaxation techniques to fall asleep), and was wondering wip, if you have any suggestions about good resources for teaching kids mindfullness?

thanks much!

[A Work in Progress]

90-Day Meditation Practice Challenge!

That's fantastic, Peace! Wow.

Mindfulness for kids. Great topic. A lot of schools have begun teaching mindfulness/meditation to kids; it is considered an excellent intervention for kids with attentional problems and also those with problems relating to impulsiveness. Click here for a review article with some specific suggestions about how to go about teaching kids. It really isn't much different from teaching adults. You want to give them shorter practice periods, usually; and it's also good to give them targets to focus on that might be a bit easier than the breath. The "body scan" is a good method to use with kids. Click here for a guided body scan meditation.

Actually, the body scan is a great meditation technique for everyone, and some people prefer it to sitting meditation with focus on breathing sensations. The idea is that you sit quietly, and bring the focus of your attention to all physical sensations in the entire body, bit by bit, very slowly and carefully, beginning with the feet and working your way through all parts of the body, up to the head and face.