The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

[bodom]

30 minutes walking / 30 minutes sitting.

[BlackBird]

Today I'm going to do a lot of meditation. The only thing that could get in the way is food, Tolstoy and DW.

metta
Jack

[bodom]

Today I'm going to do a lot of meditation. The only thing that could get in the way is food, Tolstoy and DW.

metta
Jack

I wish I could get more in. My daughter has been my main meditation subject the past 9 months.

[rowyourboat]

Just finished conducting the last session of mindfulness based cognitive therapy. Feel happy I can do this for other people!

[Guy]

I'm going on my first ever 9-day retreat tomorrow...should be good.

[BlackBird]

My daughter has been my main meditation subject the past 9 months.

Good teacher?

I'm going on my first ever 9-day retreat tomorrow...should be good.

Awesome! Let us know how it goes

metta
Jack

[bodom]

My daughter has been my main meditation subject the past 9 months.

Good teacher?

There is no better teacher of patience and equanimity.

[Guy]

I'm going on my first ever 9-day retreat tomorrow...should be good.

Awesome! Let us know how it goes

Will do

[bodom]

30 minutes walking / 30 minutes sitting.

[bodom]

50 minutes metta/anapanasati.

[locusphor]

Hi All,

This is a great idea and I'm happy to participate here. I recently made the decision to hop back on the cushion and make my practice daily. My next step is to get up early at the same time each day for meditation (6AM), and also to practice each night before bed (10PM). One hour a day for a month.

I'm using Bhante G's Mindfulness in Plain English to bring some cohesiveness to my meditation practice. At this early stage in my practice I do need the examples to establish discipline and order as I have the tendency to get self-confident and veer wildly off course. I'm grateful for Bhante's G's lessons, willing to see for myself how they work, and yet I sometimes feel like I'm copying off someone else's homework. I see the answers, but I'm actually interested in the steps.

Thanks all for sharing even the randomnest details of your experience.

[bodom]

Hi All,

This is a great idea and I'm happy to participate here. I recently made the decision to hop back on the cushion and make my practice daily. My next step is to get up early at the same time each day for meditation (6AM), and also to practice each night before bed (10PM). One hour a day for a month.

I'm using Bhante G's Mindfulness in Plain English to bring some cohesiveness to my meditation practice. At this early stage in my practice I do need the examples to establish discipline and order as I have the tendency to get self-confident and veer wildly off course. I'm grateful for Bhante's G's lessons, willing to see for myself how they work, and yet I sometimes feel like I'm copying off someone else's homework. I see the answers, but I'm actually interested in the steps.

Hey are you copying my practice now?! I too am using MIPE as my standard meditation text. I dont believe there are any clearer meditation instruction's available beyond what Bhante G. offers.

[bodom]

50 minutes metta/anapanasati.

[locusphor]

Today is the third day of my meditation challenge: one hour of practice divided into two 30 minute sessions at 6 AM and 10 PM. The time spent on the cushion is non-negotiable for me, though arriving at the cushion on time has been something of a challenge. This morning I was wide awake at 4 AM, so I went with it.

But there are some things I'm definitely not just going along with. Namely, my natural tendency to be lured with thoughts of attainments. I have allowed them enough power to distract me especially during my sitting practice. When I get to thinking about attainments I go to a place where nothing of me is present. Maybe one day I'll arrive there with my full self and will be able to see them for myself. But it will not be much of a disappointment if I never reach the plateau of attainments. Really, honestly, all I want is to do each sitting as authentically as I am capable. Nothing mystical, just now. I know when I'm watching the clock. And I also know when my practice is honest and brave.

It's been helpful to think about a lesson I learned as a kid hanging out at the local skate shop. There on the wall, below the boards was a sign that read: "Skate at your level." I didn't have to hold my breath long to find out why this was so.

I welcome any feedback, whatever you see in this, however random your response may appear. Thanks.

[bodom]

45 minutes metta/anapanasati.

[locusphor]

Hey Bodom, you have great taste. I will probably copy you and many others, but only under two conditions: 1) Copying is still considered the sincerest form of flattery, and 2) Your impeccable taste never declines. Joking aside, sometimes not always I feel a certain allure from the wisdom of the crowd. If I read something online a few times, or spot a story in a few different outlets, I'm far more likely to give it a shot on my own. Maybe it's a weakness, a lack of inner resolve, but following the chorus of voices has brought me outside my self in the past. I wonder what the ratio is, favorable outcomes to unfavorable ones when following the wisdom of the crowd. Anyway, there is a lot of people recommending Bhante G's MIPE, here and elsewhere online. At this point it's probably safe to say whatever MIPE is, it's no fad by any means.

This is day four for me of my meditation challenge. I am making my practice daily, meditating for a specified time (30 min), and trying to do it with sincerity. On the promising side I am experiencing significant relief from the intellect's reign of terror. It feels like I've removed that one offending piece of furniture that's ruined the feel of the entire building inside and out, up until now. Now that the intellect is on its way out I get the feeling of greater mental space. The sense of narrowness and constriction as dictated by my old habit ways is giving way to a newfound liberty. I'm now presented with alternatives in situ, as opposed to the same old choice: to react in predictable anger and lashing out, or suppress my disapproval of the situation.

Now for the challenging side. For the life of me I cannot complete a sitting session of thirty minutes without fidgeting. There's like an ingrained tendency to stretch halfway through the sitting. Call it my seventh inning stretch. And it's not subtle either, not nit-picking here over wiggling my toes. Each time I'm faced with a conscious choice to stand up, stretch my legs out, and tilt my neck from side to side. And each time I've made the choice to do this, breaking my concentration. This is new for me. When I first started sitting practice in February '10 I found restlessness didn't even figure into the equation. I could sit for hours absorbed. Tonite I'm going to sit still. Not to achieve a goal, but to pay a visit to examine this vexation of the mind-body complex.

Thanks. This is a really awesome resource. I'm lucky to share with you all. I wish everyone a nice morning, afternoon and evening wherever you should be.

[Ben]

Greetings locusphor

It appears to me that you are experiencing the effects of "the hindrance of restlessness". Overcoming any hindrance is not found in giving in to it.
My recommendation to you with regards to your sitting practice is to follow your instructions precisely. Not being familiar with the works of Bhante G, I would be surprised if he doesn't have some excellent advice for you in your current situation.
Good luck with your meditation "challenges".
kind regards

Ben

[locusphor]

Hello to you Ben and the rest of the community,

Thank you for the words of encouragement. It's nice to know that others have been through this, and made it out in one piece. Usually I use my cell phone alarm to aid in timing my practice. Last night I couldn't find the phone so I tried sitting without the use of a timer. Wow. Noticeable difference in terms of the hindrance of restlessness.

The honesty I'd been striving for just happened. I sat patiently with each breath in and out. It felt like I closed the distance between myself and the present moment. Last night was the realization that minutes are devoid of meaning. Words, ideas, values, they pale next to the raw energy lying dormant below the surface.

I'm going to keep eyes peeled while flipping through MIPE for what Bhante G says about the hindrance of restlessness.

Unless it's totally out of order I'll continue posting my random musings here.

In moil and toil.

[bodom]

From MIPLE on Agitation/Restlessness:

Agitation:States of restlessness and worry are expressions of mental agitation. Your mind keeps darting around, refusing to settle on any one thing. You may keep running over and over the same issues. But even here an unsettled feeling is the predominant component. The mind refuses to settle anywhere. It jumps around constantly. The cure for this condition is the same basic sequence. Restlessness imparts a certain feeling to consciousness. You might call it a flavor or texture. Whatever you call it, that unsettled feeling is there as a definable characteristic. Look for it. Once you have spotted it, note how much of it is present. Note when it arises. Watch how long it lasts, and see when it fades away. Then return your attention to the breath.

[Guy]

I'm going on my first ever 9-day retreat tomorrow...should be good.

It was really really really really ... good. I will go back again in June for another 9-day retreat. I didn't get enlightened this time, but hopefully I will next time.