What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditating

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
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MarkNZed
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What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditating

Post by MarkNZed »

I've not completed my first year yet. I hope some people who have will share what they would do differently if they had the chance to go back and start again.

The idea of the topic is to share what you would change, not what you would repeat :)
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purple planet
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by purple planet »

My mistakes which im not sure are mistakes if you do a different technique than my own - but if you do mahsi style it might be helpful advice

I would have done the walking meditation only before the sitting meditation
I would have done the walking and sitting meditation exactly the same time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IFvablc6EI
In the walking meditation i used to just moved from secondary object to another - i didnt do the stoping and forgot about the primary object which is important for the building of concentration, what i did was : hearing-pain-itch-worry-planing ect ect
what i should have done for instance when i heared something :i should have labeled (and done) "right stepping" "left stepping" "stopping"*3 -"hearing"*3- "standing"*3 and than continue with the main object - "right stepping" "left stepping"

I would give special attention to changing of poster during the day and label it :"siting" "rising" "standing" "lying"
I wouldnt give so much attention on trying to synchronize the "right/left stepping" so much its good to have in mind that the action should be hapening with the labeling - but i shouldnt have put so much effort in trying to make it perfect - this only harmed my practice

i would meditate from the start on the bed with a pillow behind me which is leaning on the wall - i would have done the procrastination on the bed also - but if you dont have back pain like i do - its best to avoid it so you wont get to sleepy

i would have folded my blanket when mediating in the room so i wont be tempted to stop and go to sleep
Spiny Norman
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by Spiny Norman »

MarkNZed wrote: The idea of the topic is to share what you would change, not what you would repeat :)
I would have explored different methods more widely, rather than just relying on the approach used by the one group.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
MarkNZed
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by MarkNZed »

purple planet wrote:My mistakes which im not sure are mistakes if you do a different technique than my own - but if you do mahsi style it might be helpful advice

I would have done the walking meditation only before the sitting meditation
I would have done the walking and sitting meditation exactly the same time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IFvablc6EI
In the walking meditation i used to just moved from secondary object to another - i didnt do the stoping and forgot about the primary object which is important for the building of concentration, what i did was : hearing-pain-itch-worry-planing ect ect
what i should have done for instance when i heared something :i should have labeled (and done) "right stepping" "left stepping" "stopping"*3 -"hearing"*3- "standing"*3 and than continue with the main object - "right stepping" "left stepping"

I would give special attention to changing of poster during the day and label it :"siting" "rising" "standing" "lying"
I wouldnt give so much attention on trying to synchronize the "right/left stepping" so much its good to have in mind that the action should be hapening with the labeling - but i shouldnt have put so much effort in trying to make it perfect - this only harmed my practice

i would meditate from the start on the bed with a pillow behind me which is leaning on the wall - i would have done the procrastination on the bed also - but if you dont have back pain like i do - its best to avoid it so you wont get to sleepy

i would have folded my blanket when mediating in the room so i wont be tempted to stop and go to sleep
Thanks purple planet. It is very kind of you to share.
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seeker242
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by seeker242 »

I would do it everyday instead of skipping some days :)
Digity
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by Digity »

I wouldn't change anything. Whatever bad experiences I had or mistakes I made were all part of the learning process.
MarkNZed
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by MarkNZed »

Spiny Norman wrote:
MarkNZed wrote: The idea of the topic is to share what you would change, not what you would repeat :)
I would have explored different methods more widely, rather than just relying on the approach used by the one group.
Thanks Spiny. Which methods have you explored so far ?
MarkNZed
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by MarkNZed »

seeker242 wrote:I would do it everyday instead of skipping some days :)
Great point!
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martinfrank
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by martinfrank »

I would do only Anapanasati, no drug-enhanced or Raja-Yoga type meditation.
The Noble Eightfold Path: Proposed to all, imposed on none.
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Zenainder
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Re: What I'd change if I could repeat my first year meditati

Post by Zenainder »

Passive or disengaged mindfulness (which is commonly taught). Bhikkhu Thanissaro's dhamma talks assisted in correcting that for me.
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