Hi,

Do you ever feel dependent on meditation? Like you really can't "do" your day if you haven't meditated?

Because I know/feel that my highest wisdom isn't accessible to me until I have meditated, I often hesitate to do things like make phone-calls, write letters, talk to people, make important decisions, etc. before I've gotten to meditate.

This becomes a problem, because sometimes (more than I would like to) I find myself procrastinating on getting my meditation practice started and done so I end up in a kind of limbo- not able to do anything, because I haven't meditated yet but not yet able to get myself to meditate.

So, two questions: (and please don't glibly criticize and tell me that the simple answer is more "discipline.")

1) Do you have the same issue of feeling like you can't do your duties to your utmost, perform well, and interact wisely and well with people- therefore getting good results, if you haven't cleared your mind- reached nothingness first? How do you handle this?

1b) What if you've meditated, but not satisfactorily enough to reach a state of true "non-attachment" do you just continue on with your day?

2) How do you handle yourself when you tend to daydream and walk around, do email, etc. rather than just buckling down and getting your meditation practice done?

Thanks, and remember I did not post this to be criticized. I posted this for help.

Thanks!

1. Meditation has come to mean many things depending on whos speaking... there have been periods in my life when i have practiced alot then other periods where practice has been less so... either way meditation for me, is a practice of trancendance... its result can often be advers to lifes responsibilities let alone social obligations.
Surely meditation can not be reduced to a tool for achieving better proficiency within our work and play... of course it may indeed, but also , it may not. In many cases meditation calls for a retreat from worldly affairs and social interactions...sometimes indefinatley! Once we begin to saturate ourselves with the more core energies at work within, it is often found that those energies can disrupt the structures of our lives that are largley based on time and space and measurement and catagories and comfort. Many adepts have cautioned that contrary too popular belief, our core energies do not play by the same rules as the one we've been taught to play by!

1b. The experience of true non attatchment is fleeting even for the most adept meditators...Non attatchment in a dose any greater than fleeting, would no doubt result in packing up our day jobs altogether!!

2. I have always favoured morning for meditation... befor the day begins... also i have found that physical exercise of the right kind is a huge aid to meditation and also can burn off the energy which is pehaps the cause of our procrastination to attend to our meditation. Classes can also be a motivation and guidance for some people.

It is something I have to do as part of a day's routine. Sometimes, I might miss a day or two because I am on holidays, and then, I start doing it again because I need to. Now, I bring some books with me and I will get up and do some tai chi somewhere quiet!!!

Well I think this depends on your definition of meditation. Meditation doesn't mean you have to sit down in a quiet place and concentrate on something. Meditation can be done anytime and anywhere. This means, you can meditate while at work, while with your friends, etc. In fact, try to meditate 24/7! I call this "open-eye" meditation. It means that whatever happens during the day, no matter what the situation is - you're always meditating. Stick with positive thoughts, and spread the love. Don't let other people affect you in any way. That's also called meditation! Just be yourself and meditate on that throughout the day.

- driftking24
Meditation Teacher

I love to meditate. It is not, must to do thing. I use mindfulness meditation during drive to work its about 35 min. Then I try to meditate almost all the time (mindfulness technique). At eavnings I meditate without to try mindful, just consentrate to my breath about 1 hour - 30min. First this was like duty, I must meditate, but after little practise meditation is natural thing, without anything negative, only positive things.

Originally Posted by matrix

I love to meditate. It is not, must to do thing. I use mindfulness meditation during drive to work its about 35 min. Then I try to meditate almost all the time (mindfulness technique). At eavnings I meditate without to try mindful, just consentrate to my breath about 1 hour - 30min. First this was like duty, I must meditate, but after little practise meditation is natural thing, without anything negative, only positive things.

I think that is amazing and you must be very disciplined in mind. I can have days when I have consistently meditated during the day, and then, something else- some other interest or distraction pulls me away, and I totally forget to meditate and have to start from square one again. Being in the moment is such a challenge amongst all the challenges of life. Good on you!

How long meditation has affect to your way of behave? Are you like other person? Has your friends / Wife etc. noticed that? Can you take stress more than earlier, are your social communication skills better? Do you love more and just don't care many things?

Originally Posted by matrix

How long meditation has affect to your way of behave? Are you like other person? Has your friends / Wife etc. noticed that? Can you take stress more than earlier, are your social communication skills better? Do you love more and just don't care many things?

I meditate for my benefit- so I don't ask anyone if I am more calm or nicer to them. I know I am more centred and focused and if i have a major worry, I do more meditations which also help me to find solutions from a calmer, deeper place. Certainly, life is calmer because you look at it from a different place. I think it does make me more mindfully compassionate towards others. If there are difficult people I am going to meet, I meditate to prepare myself for their insensitivity or negativity. I get to the place where I can just centre on my own positivity and emanate that, and things become easy.

Meditation is a way of life. It is something I do everyday in different forms.

Yesterday I did meditate all Mental and "physical" pain away. Before meditation: mind was really stressed, confused and physically terrible headache and pain in my eye muscles and neck. After an 20 min meditation (consentration to the breath, and try to be mindfull, in stopped car) all these symptoms were gone and peace in my mind. This "physical" pain was Mental! Many things depends on your mind.

NO, I am not dependant on meditation ... but for me, it's alot like eating sleeping or breathing ... it's just a part of my day. If something happens and I can't get that time, then I don't stress about it.