Does anyone have a daily meditation practice? Would anyone like one but needs motivation?

[mangolassi]

Ooh, I feel all shy

I am agnostic and generally confused about spiritual things, but after recovering from a bout of pnd found a great book - The Mindful Way Through Depression. It has a programme of daily meditation, and I've tried in the past, but it's soooo hard to stick to with no support.

The meditation style in the book is 'western insight' - basically vipassana with the Buddhism taken out - but it would be great to have a thread for anyone trying to get started with daily practice, whatever kind of meditation appeals. Even better if there's anyone who actually has a daily practice already

This is so helpful. I am still trying to have medative moments, didn't manage at all over the weekend as had a houseful of guests and I feel more frazzled for it now. .

Hi Everyone, I couldn't do much this weekend - my ds was ill so spent the entire time latched on to me!

Mango I have really noticed points of tension in my body - in particular my shoulders, neck and head. If I get stressed about something these areas will tense up until they are as hard as concrete and I have to mentally remind myself to relax.

Still have not had time to read any books as well - the year slips by so fast.

Will try some more meditation tonight - well hopefully will try some that is!

Louie and carolsingers - thankfully mine are getting less clingy (it is very waring I agree).

I grit my teeth when tense which leads to headaches so I try to check regularly for teeth gritting. I am feeling calmer after a wet school run. I am looking forward to a ponderous bath .

Looks like bodily tension and bad mornings go with the mothering territory. One of the things jkz says in a guided meditation I listen to is, "Whatever it is, it's already here. Let me feel it." I'm finding it very hard to relax into feeling, but I like the sentiment, so I'm kind of working around the edges of the tension I feel, breathing into the difficult areas (mostly neck and shoulders for me. And lower back. And I'll stop now before the list gets too long!)

Hope all the little ones are feeling better.

Hi, can I come and join you?

I am particularly looking at pain relief through meditation. Allthough do some simple walking/breathing meditations when I can. I already listen to Thich Nhat Hanh, who's voice as much as anything calms me down.

One of my biggest problems is that I am prone to being somewhat hyper-active!

Just saying hello for now, but will catch up with thread as and when I have time.

Thanks for drawing my attention to this thread mangolassi.

Me too smiles.

justabout - your blog is lovely .

I like the idea of God visiting us in the time we have.

The FatherChristmas one made me laugh .

To be honest justabout it is only something that I have started looking at, but I will definately keep you posted as things progress.
Still short of time but to all.

Hi Smiles!

Nice blog, justabout. Do you 'do' Santa at all, or is it just Santa in the flesh that ds has been missing out on?

For my meditation yesterday I decided to use a mantra for the first time ever. Stuck to Om, to keep it simple. I still followed my breathing as well (couldn't help it!). After a while I noticed the sensation in my hands, which were resting on my leg. They didn't feel hand-shaped, actually I couldn't feel anything in most of my hands, just a fingertip here and a tingling sensation somewhere I couldn't identify. It was clear to me that I could project (think) a hand-shape onto the sensations, but the actual feelings were different. My first instinct was to move my hands to get my usual sense of them back, but I managed not to, and just stay with the actual feelings. And then it got a bit odd. My hands started to feel very warm, and the heat was kind of pulsing in time with my breathing.

Ooh look, Xmas emoticons are here

Sigh. Well I did manage ten minutes of stillness in the empty dentist's waiting room, but ever since then it has been a havoc of guests, chores, first day back at work and so on and so on. But I will try again today.

Having a toddler, I find it almost impossible to do anything with her around, and so when she is asleep I rush around trying to get all the tasks I haven't done, done. Unless it's the evening when I am too tired even to think. I know I should make myself more of a priority, but it's a hard thing to do when there is supper to cook, washing to do, bills to pay and (vs fades out in the endless litany of her to do list...)

vs - it is almost impossible to focus on yourself during the baby and toddler years I have found. Only now that mine are 5 and 3.5 do I have a little breathing space. I have tried to develop a routine of spending a moment by myself (with a cup of tea) first thing in the morning (while DS watchs Ben10 and DD still asleep) and to have a relaxing bath once DCs in bed (before Dh wants company). The thing I'm struggling with is what to do with these moments as its all to easy to find something to worry about, or to make lists!

I find it hard to focus on breathing etc as my mind wonders and I get frustrated. Tsk!

Hi all, I have been reading this thread with interest and have found it really inspiring. Justabout - I read your blog all the time, the way you write about your children is lovely!
I used to go to yoga classes which I didn't enjoy especially but I loved the meditation at the end of the class - I felt so refreshed and uplifted afterwards. I resolved at the time to make meditation a part of my life but have been a bit slack lately! I also used meditation/relaxation techniques when I gave up smoking which really helped me.

I also wondered if anyone could advise me on the subject of Quaker meetings? I think someone mentioned them earlier in the thread? I am thinking of attending my local one on Sunday but am nervous about just walking in uninvited. I have been thinking about going since I attended an anti-Iraq meeting there years ago and I have recently been reading about the history of the Quakers and their way of worship and way of living really speaks to me . . . but I am not a church goer of any kind (since childhood) and feel a bit self-conscious about it.

Hi everyone, I feel as if I have not participated properly in this thread - which sums of my meditation practice over the last few years

I have been a bit better at focusing on my breath the last few days. We lost two dear friends in a plane crash last week and I thought about it almost obsessively until just the last day or so. I found that the only way I could "calm the monkey mind" in order to go to sleep was to go back to counting my breaths.

Still not caught up with the thread, but achieved something with the pain this morning.

I imagined the pain as a 'gas' in my body, and I 'exhaled' it into a balloon, over about 15/20 mins and at the end of it, let the balloon go like it was filled with helium, so it floated away.

I can not say I was pain free but I felt a kind of physical lightness and definately stronger mentally as I finished.

I get very tired with trying to mentally overcome the pain and felt positive about doing something 'pro-active'.
Need to try it in bed as I am shattered, from discomfort in bed coupled with insomnia.
Felt very relaxed in my favourite cafe and could happily have dropped off there!

Jabber - a trajedy like that can be totally overwhelming.

smiles- sounds like you are making some progress with the pain. Do you know the cause of the pain or is it more generalised?

I am getting calmer (I think)!

jabber (i know you from the demanding kids thread - !) am so sorry about what has happened - you poor thing, sympathy ++ coming your way.
louise - i am the quaker-goer, not that i'd describe myself as a fully-fledged quaker just yet ! i too grew up with no religious background at all but have come to quaker meetings via meditation - i live in a very rural area and was wondering about setting up a meditation group. a few months ago i contacted the local group about using their beautiful, ancient timber-beamed meeting house for such a group. i decided it was only polite to attend a meeting, so went the following sunday. i was slightly nervous but there was no need. if you feel comfortable with the concept of spending an hour in the company of other people in silence (alien to a lot of people in our modern world of course, including to myself a few years back)then you will be fine. there are pews arranged in a circle around a central table bearing books and maybe flowers or a plant. everyone sits in silence but now and again someone stands and speaks - usually sharing something meaningful and wise, i have found so far. some meetings are more vocal than others. they vary. but there is something very powerful about sitting in silent contemplation in a group - and the great thing about quakers is that they are very open-minded. you can be a buddhist and attend, or agnostic, or even atheist! i love going. my local group has been very welcoming. i have met a lot of older people i could now turn to for advice or support (just as elders in a community are supposed to function!) as well as people nearer my own age. i am also hoping to start my meditation group - several people are interested - there is a natural affinity between quakerism and meditation. do go along, and let me know how it goes! good luck! xx

Hi katiek! Nice to see you here. I don't post as much as I used to so it's a good feeling to talk to someone on more than one thread iykwim.

I wish there were Quaker meetings here. They sound really nice. I've been interested since reading about Quakers as a little girl but as yet have not had an opportunity to experience a meeting.

Here's to breathing in and breathing out

hi jabber! there are quaker meetings in the US but maybe not in your area? and i did read recently that something like 80% of them in the states now follow a set pattern and are led by a minister-type figure and have sermons etc which to me would definitely detract from their appeal massively. some sort of historical split occured i believe. i definitely like the original version of quakerism ie the waiting patiently in silence bit.
v interesting to read you all esp about meditation helping chronic pain - i do hope that continues to go well - would be a really powerful weapon in time i would hope? do hope so.
have not been doing so well with meditation this week and had my first bout of bad insomnia in ages, i think related to subconscious worries over work. so i must get back to a better daily practice. this thread is a good motivator! have a lovely weekend everyone x