learn to meditate

I’m looking forward to learning how to do this effectively tonight from an Indian guy in my Toastmasters class who meditates religously.

i found some online lessons and i think i’m gonna try it out.

I was trying to cheer sarainparis on this goal, which is her challenge goal, and instead I adopted it as my goal. Not that I don’t want to learn to meditate. I believe that there are many different methods of meditation, and it’s good to learn about them. However, I’ve discovered this much so far: the way to really learn meditation is to try it, to do it, to practice it, and not to just read about it. And since I’ve already got a goal for that, practice mindfulness, I’m going to go ahead and mark this one as “DONE.”
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Best wishes on completing your challenge goal, sarahinparis! I think it’s a worthwhile goal.

Someone in my Toastmasters club is giving a speech about meditation next week. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick up some good tips on how to get started.

My desire to experience peace and contentment has led me to this goal. My drive to be productive has kept me from it. In an effort to slow down enough to get started, I have scheduled a personal retreat at the Mt. Angel Abbey. I plan to fast and continue reading “Christian Insight Mediation: Following in the Footsteps of John of the Cross”. It is based upon Theravada Buddhism as a means of self-emptying and purifying action leading to a more meaningful life. Although I am neither Catholic, nor Buddhist, I want to learn from those who have been there.

My best friend showed me the proper way to breathe this weekend. More specifically, she showed me “belly breathing”.....probably also known as “cleansing” breathing. I started to believe it was part of my life purpose when the very same day, I read an article about proper breathing (related to meditation and quieting the mind). Figured it’s something I should work on.

Trying to find the time to do this is my next step. I have a plethora of books about this very topic…..”Wherever You Go, There You Are”, “How to Meditate” (by a female Buddhist monk, no less), “Awakening the Buddha Within”......I haven’t read any of them yet. Some of these books I’ve had for years.

I won’t promise anything right now. Wouldn’t want to set myself up for disappointment. But, I do have the goal in mind, and that’s a start.

To make progress on this I think I need to track it.

Today I did 8 minutes of a 10 minutes guided meditation. It’s a start.

I’ve tried to adopt this goal a few times but it always gets lost in the shuffle because I’m so busy all the time.

I was less stressed and could concentrate easier when I was meditating all day, but because I only stuck with it for a month, I think I’m missing out on even more benefits.

Wow, it was 3 years ago when I gave up this goal!

I’m reopening and I’m looking up zen centers, retreats and regular classes. This isn’t something I think I can do alone, but something that I’m very inspired to do.

I went to the library today and picked up a couple of books by Osho (“The Everyday Meditator” and “Body Mind Balancing”), hoping that it can put me on the right track. I’ve been doing daily meditations almost every day for about a month now and I’m up to 7 minutes. I started at 3 minutes and have been adding 1 minute every week. I guess it’s a process that takes time, but up to this point I’ve had only one really good experience (it was great, though, and it gave me an idea of where I want to be). I’m hoping to be able to do that again.