It has been so nice today reading your tweets, comments, postings; and sitting myself, feeling how many people were also dedicating themselves to practice. I know some of you have ordered Real Happiness and don’t yet have it, so I wanted to go over some context for the challenge.
I think of meditation as attention training. Concentration, the first skill of meditation, is stabilizing attention, helping us be less distracted, scattered, and fragmented. Sometimes people think of concentration as something quite harsh and horrible, like squeezing your attention down to a point of focus and repressing everything else. The concentration we are talking about is much more gentle, with a basis in balance. We rest our attention (notice the word rest) on a chosen object, like the feeling of the in and out breath, and gently let go of distractions to return without judgment to the breath. Over time we experience much more stability in our attention.
In week 2 we’ll go on to the second skill, mindfulness, which is refining our attention, freeing it from so many habits that affect the way we experience things. Week 2 emphasizes our bodies and physical sensations, and week 3 emphasizes the same skill of mindfulness with our emotions and thoughts. Week 4 we’ll move onto lovingkindness meditation, developing the skill of opening our attention to include all aspects of ourselves and all of life in our field of care and compassion.
Like any kind of training, meditation takes time and practice. Please don’t feel discouraged if you get sleepy, or restless – all of that is perfectly normal. You will see lots of changes over 4 weeks, if you patiently keep practicing.
Remembering balance is the key. Even when you sit down to begin a meditation session, your posture can express some of that balance. We want to have some energy in our body, so see if you can have your back straight. But you don’t want to be stiff or uptight. We want to be relaxed, but not so relaxed that we are way slumped over, bound to fall asleep. Feel your way into that balance. You can set an alarm or timer of some kind if you like, so you don’t have to worry about the time. And have fun. Meditation is like an inner adventure. It’s an inner adventure, but we’ll undertake it together.
Comments
Comments from a beginner
This is the first time I've meditated at home, so how did I get to start? Well, quite by chance really. I went to the Alternatives day in North London last Sunday where I bought the 28-day programme to do...sometime. On Monday I found out about the Challenge and here I am a week later. It all sounds so simple in a way but that doesn't mean that it's been easy. What has motivated me is knowing that I'm not doing this on my own. It is fantastically helpful to be part of this challenge--the blogs are so supportive and have really kept me going.
So, thank you all.
28 days changed my routine
Dear Sharon
Many thanks for your initiatives. Having done and really benefited from you September challenge on Facebook, I committed to meditating and blogging daily in 2012. A 366 day challenge! I'm on day 35. I have all the ups and downs you describe in 'The Power of Meditation' but am inspired by your calm advice on beginning again. I have to remind myself of that constantly, it has really helped me not to be discouraged. I know I'm going to reach the goal, and hopefully will have really ingrained the meditation habit. Already notice changes in attention span, calmness and clarity.
Sincerely,
Róisín
Re-engaging
I have the pleasure/privilege of attending Sharon's monthly class in DC. Two years ago that class inspired me to launch a year of daily meditation, which I then did. More recently, I have meditated most days, but not every day. I signed up for the 28-day challenge to re-engage that daily commitment and am so grateful for the support of Sharon and others everywhere who are on this path. I know without the challenge I would not have meditated on Day 1, a day when I was under the weather, sick, yada yada. But the pull of the commitment got me to the cushion, and, what a relief! Always, I'ms struck by, what was I waiting for? and, Really? I was trying to avoid THIS? Why?? I also want to express appreciation for the book Real Happiness, which I've shared with many clients as they get started on their meditation practice and it has been a tremendous support for them.
Good start!
I've been looking forward to February. The Meditation Challenge and my Florida trip always coincide. I get a mental retreat and a retreat from winter at the same time. Anyhow, I delayed starting day 1 in the morning so did a little 7 minute guided meditation that night. Days 2 & 3 have been 30 minute sits at 8am. I feared 30 minute sits until last year when I also participated a little bit. Still using the crutch of interim bells at 10 and 20 minutes. Expect to try and do a straight 30 minutes (sans bells) while on vacation. Maybe I'll get bold and go for an hour (my mind is already saying "bells at 20 and 40 please!!). Funny how fear of the unknown even reaches into meditation practice!
I'm actually doing it
Sat (okayn only 15 min) but actually sat for all three days.
So happy to have happened upon your 28-day challenge. May we be happy, safe, and at ease!
This is my second year for
This is my second year for the challenge.I took Ms. Salzberg`s book out and started reading it again to help me on my way.Good luck to everyone, enjoy and have fun with it.It would be nice if on the last day everyone could sit at the same hour.The peace at that time among so many people would be something to feel.Good luck to everyone.
Unexpected fun during meditation day 3
To Sharon From Sharon,
I sat to meditate at my prescribed time of 6:30 and posted my response before seeing today's entry by you. I was struck by the "and have fun", because that is exactly what happened.
So, I was doing the "not breath" meditation again tonight because I couldn't find my mp3 player with the guided ones. i got my seat worked out better after planning it yesterday evening. but just as i was settling in, my parrot from the living room yelled "wat a ya doin?" I usually answer him but when i didn't answer other than in my mind to say "not breath" cause i heard him and smiled, he said "ya wanta take a bath". so, not breath again... but another smile. i do remember learning when i first did meditation about a very slight buddha smile.
the new thing today, was i was looking forward to the practice. and trying to do it at my set upon time. i knew i had worked out a way to sit and a time and a place. in sitting, though, i realized there is no predicting the experience. and fun can certainly be a part of it.
thank you.
Your Parrott
Forget Buddha smile ... your post brought a big guffaw! Actually cackeled out loud, all by my lonesome!
"ya wanna take a bath"
Thank you!
parrot for caroline
Well, you are lucky you weren't here because the parrot loves to laugh. so if he heard you, he would absolutely guffaw which would make you and anyone within earshot laugh and so it goes for at least 10 minutes.
thanks for the reply. it brought another smile.
Day Three
I broke an old habit of not meditating on a day that I play golf in the morning. I had a great round with an old friend, made a couple of new friends, then went home had lunch and meditated for 20 minutes. Beautiful metta meditation. Thanks for the challenge.
dear sharon, day (night) two
dear sharon, day (night) two was difficult.... thoughts came in vengefully, as though having sniffed my desire to surrender and accept.... your advice, to gently let go, worked, at times, although i confess, even when i went back to my friend the breath, the pain that the thoughts brought remained lurking in the mind.... i was grateful however for the 4, maybe 5, breaths that i truly accompanied.... this morning, all the substance of the thoughts came right back when i woke up, ready to taunt and attack.... letting go of thoughts then, is probably manageable. however, how does one make these thoughts (and the pain that they carry) let go of one's mind, how does one deal with the pain that stays behind?
looking forward to meditating tonight, lets see what the thoughts have in store....
thank you sharon....
I'm really loving the
I'm really loving the structure and support of being able to read all the different bloggers. Thanks for making this happen!
Concentration
I've had some breakthroughs in my concentration this week...
1) My yoga instructor challenged our balance. Two good days! I'm improving and getting back something I used to do effortlessly. I can tell my mind is getting better at assisting me as I continue to work on the scar tissue in my hip and feel more than think through movements. Focus and breathe!
2) Walking my dogs keeps my hamstrings loose. I wear good shoes and focus on my posture. I took full advantage of living in such a beautiful place as Austin with weather in the 70s and 80s and some crisp, cool mornings.
3) Meditation - Day 3. I decided to lay in legs up the wall pose to deal with a trouble spot. I grabbed an ice pack for my sinuses and put a rolled up yoga matt behind my head right in the nape of the neck. Concentration today was so relaxing. I plan to take my strap and wrap it around the column I lean against so I can get an even better stretch which helps me relax even more. I feel like this is something I can do throughout the day. It simply brings me back to basics. Who knew?
So far so good. I'm loving this challenge! And I am so grateful for these little things I can do myself. Looking forward to what Day 4 will bring and developing next week's mindfulness skills.
Thank you!
- Caren Hoehn
http://www.ericandcarenhoehn.blogspot.com
Thanks & Astrophysics
Hi Sharon,
Thanks for your support and guidance in our practice. I really like the structured approach of Real Happiness, and the systematic cultivation of attention, mindfulness, and beyond. Your reminder to be patient and gentle with our selves and our practice is important, too. It reminds me of your talk with Susan Kaiser-Greenland at NY Insight recently.
Susan mentioned that asking our young kids to "pay attention" is akin to asking them to "do math": they don't know how to do it yet. They need to learn how to pay attention, just like they need to learn how to do math. Similarly, as we adults come to the practice of paying attention, it's like asking us to "Do astrophysics!" Most of us don't really know how. We think that we do (or should), but we don't really. So, I appreciate your advice and encouragement. Your input on the normal arising of difficulties and distractions is also well-received (at least in my case).
Best wishes, Jonathan