Day 11 - 100 Day Meditation Challenge

Day 11

Length: -
Start: Missed
Experience:

I couldn't sit today, I was running from dusk til dawn then I gave in to a classic vice (Duck Walk Vineyards Blueberry Port - not that I'm a vino, but it's my favorite wine) while catching up on a TV show. My day: Orthopedist at 8am, work until 4:30pm, drove to the girlfriends, went straight to CVS for some aspirin, straight to dinner, came back to a bunch of minor things we had to do, finally sat for the first time and popped open the wine to have while we watched American Horror Story. We went to bed after that.

Closing Thoughts: This is a minor setback.

Day 10 - 100 Day Meditation Challenge

Day 10

Length: Less than 5 minutes (timed)
Start: 11:33pm
Experience:

I couldn't sit today, part frustration and part elation. I'll elaborate on the elation in the future, but I'm very upset with myself for losing an iPod Touch 64gb. I should probably be cultivating a sense of mind that makes such a loss irrelevant, but I like my music, especially during long car rides.

Closing Thoughts: Material possessions still have great sway over me.

Day 9 - 100 Day Meditation Challenge

Day 9

Length: 10 minutes (timed)
Start: 11:40pm
Experience:

I've been wandering into a bit stronger of a feeling of calmness. I had some pain today from a lot of moving around and other things that are going on, and I also started playing guitar again so my mind was eased. While there were loads of thoughts going through, they were less 'loud' then normal. I felt like I could really sit back and watch them.

Closing Thoughts: Certain activities are good for the meditator. I'm still stupid for always doing this so late at night.

Day 8 - 100 Day Meditation Challenge

Day 8

Length: 5 minutes (timed)
Start: 12:12pm
Experience:

The usual song thing. I decided to try to take charge over my mind with a mantra, though it doesn't agree with my chosen Vipassana meditation, it helps to 'blow out' the other thoughts in my head and quiets the song loops that appear to be playing.

 

After some moderate-heavy prodding on some of the things I was belly-aching over, I made some decisions and it helped to quiet some of the actual worries. The intrusive thoughts that did occur were easier just to view instead of becoming distracted by them.

Closing Thoughts: The lateness is getting to be a problem. I went out to Starbucks to do a bit of writing then came home, restrung my guitar and messed around a bit, so at least it was partially for good causes, but I have to quit going past 12. It also means I'm up later writing these posts. Solving some pressing personal issues makes for a calmer meditation.

100 Day Meditation Challenge: Week 1 Retrospective

I was wondering what I'd really do as an introspective after writing so much about my internal thoughts throughout this exercise, but I quickly noticed that this could be a way of homing in on problems I was having and helping others to overcome them.

Morning Meditation - I still firmly believe the best time for meditation is in the morning before any other people around you are moving around. It's more peaceful and it stops you from worrying about getting it done. If I ever get a handle on myself and get to bed at a decent hour I'm going to set the alarm a half hour early so I can do some pre-work meditating.

Monkey-mind Realization - This is talked about in the simple buddha and I had forgotten the phrase until Lee Eddy reminded me in the comments of my first post. The mind will jump around and cling to whatever it is given, especially noisy distractions. If someone in your life is watching television or being loud you'll need to try to get away from them lest it interrupt your practice. I must become a bit better at moving away. Music gets locked in and interrupts me in the worst way!

Fatigue - I don't get sleepy and yawn but when I'm fatigued the quality of my attention degrades rapidly. I must sleep more and meditate earlier to avoid this, I sincerely doubt a cup of coffee prior to mindful meditation will do me any good. Reducing my stress would help, but I need to be smart. Buying a car just to get it over with would be ridiculous!

Duration - Ramp up slowly or it will feel like a chore. I've been doing alright with 10 minutes to start but a part of me craves more.

Small Benefits - I've come to some interactions in my daily life that were slower then normal, I actually took the time to think about them and work them over in my mind before attacking them. This is odd for me, and I sincerely believe it has shown some improvement. I have been a bit more mindful as well, self-talking more positively. It's like these little pieces of the day I've taken and decided are for this have rediscovered the audience of myself again, and I'm more receptive to this input then I realized.

Day 7 - 100 Day Meditation Challenge

Day 7

Length: 10 minutes (timed)
Start: 11:16pm
Experience:

Songs again. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons just completely wrecked my peace. I suppose it could be worse though, it could have been dubstep.

Focusing on the breath brought momentary reprieve. I am extremely stressed and haven't slept well, last night I realized part of my leg and foot are going numb (I'm guessing it's related to the accident), and I've begun searching for a new car because mine appears to be dieing. I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon but that does not quiet me.

My mind is racing as usual. It jumps to the usual relationships and the like. Stress makes this much harder. I lash myself internally for a lack of self control several times.

Closing Thoughts: Do not download catchy music and listen to it prior to meditating. Bad news. Stress causes me to have severe issues maintaining concentration. Perhaps read a book on meditation for 15 minutes before beginning? That might focus me.

Day 6 - 100 Day Meditation Challenge

Day 6

Length: 5 minutes (timed)
Start: 12:57am
Experience:

I cannot concentrate. I'm not sure what went wrong today, but I do not even make it the full five minutes. Songs and thoughts run through my head.

Closing Thoughts: Cannot overcome my mind. Will come back tomorrow.