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- Hacker News
- Your mind is designed/evolved to wander, it’s a feature, not a bug, So don't worry too much about that. In meditation, especially for beginners, it’s about how many times you catch yourself and bring your focus back to your anchor. More the merrier, every distraction is just another opportunity to practice.by ton618
- I went from being told I'm creepy because I'm too aggressive to being told I'm creepy I react too calmly to their meltdowns and threats of violence.
It's useful in avoiding an adrenaline spike and pausing to think about how to handle something.
I struggle sometimes due to allergies lately.
by firefax - > It's frustratingly difficult to even get through the first lesson in which you are supposed to focus on your breath and minimize the wandering of your mind.
There’s the problem: trying to control your thoughts. Thoughts will come and you shouldn’t beat yourself up when they do. Be patient, keep practicing, and you’ll get better at focusing.
Alternatively consider something like box breathing. I use the iBreathe app and find that works better for me than meditation.
by dabinat - I also started with the Waking up introductory course. I took 10 min of my lunch break every work day and practiced, I wasn't so good on the weekends.
I am not sure if I can give definitive answers to all the ways how It's affected me, but I recognize more often when I've gone into autopilot
I read something that helped me keep going, can't remember the source so I'll paraphrase: Meditation is like showering. You have to keep doing it for the affects to stay
by MSKJ - It seems like longer I practice meditation, more often I can snap out of my thoughts. I like the app name "Waking Up", because that's how it feels - waking up from a dream.
I use an app called The Way. There's a simple daily progression which is really straightforward, and it is tailored towards Zen ideology/practise. If you struggle with Waking Up, I recommend giving The Way app a try.
I think meditation is similar to going to therapy. You can only notice the improvements after you have done the work.
by Maketsuki - I also had my own n attempts at learning to meditate. what I realised is that it wont solve the problem of taming my thoughts or control my stress rather I have to accept that agitated thoughts and stress are part of life and need to live with it. meditation, breathing exercises, walking, running, swimming, cycling or playing games all help to keep body and mind in good condition, meditation alone is not a magical pill.by dgunjetti
- > minimize the wandering of your mind
To paraphrase the wonderful Thich Nhat Hanh, include that in your meditation. None of us, even the most skilled mediators can get to the kind of clarity and simplicity that people expect from meditation.
It's not about emptying your mind, that's impossible, it's about learning to be fully present in the moment. Anchor in your breath, in your senses, in the right now and think "Breathing in, I know my mind is wandering"
I like to imagine it as a clear afternoon day. Some thoughts, some clouds will appear, but my presence is the sky behind them.
by oliyoung - I have no formal training in mediating. But have used recorded audios for most of my life and later streaming videos. Lately this is the most calming meditation I've found so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T9Hb1-skNA
I focus on my breath instead of thinking about anything else. It helps lower my BP too. Like 117/68 or 70 despite having 'uncontrollable high blood pressure.'
I am in no way associated with that creator.
As others have said, the wandering mind is part of the process. Can be frustrating if not use those moments to learn to recognize those moments and accept them. Let them run their course. And then get back on track. Not directly try to fight those moments.
- Sounds like you are trying to tame your thoughts? It will not work, they just don't succumb to effort. Noticing them is all that is required and it's the only thing possible.
Instead of a how-to course, I suggest you look for Dharma talks on the practice of meditation. They can be very, very profound, there is a lot of material available. On just one site, the first one I looked at, spiritrock.org, there are over 100 talks for beginners.
A how-to app is doomed, which fact can be hard to grok. It's not like learning to drive or learning a programming language. A teacher or a retreat can be very helpful to get you past the initial missteps and misapprehensions.
by lazylester - Absolutely agree to this, avoiding is not the solution but surprisingly if you focus on them and they tend to go away.
Mind gets bored very easily with thoughts, but only if you let it concentrate on it, if you are running from it, mind never gets bored.
- > frustratingly difficult to even get through the first lesson in which you are supposed to focus on your breath and minimize the wandering of your mind
Everyone experiences this. Please don't be frustrated by it.
The mind wandering is part of the practice. In fact, that instant where your mind has been wandering and you "snap out of it" is perhaps the most valuable.
That little skill carries over into real life. When someone cuts you off in traffic and you feel that flash of anger, your mind will catch itself and you'll just let it go and get on with your life.
You're probabably already doing things right.
by timoth3y - This is the one thing I remember from my headspace app meditation dabbling.
The catching yourself and recentering is the thing.