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Buddha gave his disciple Moggallana a sequence of advice on how to overcome drowsiness during meditation. Moggallana was however continuously meditating for 7 days without sleep when he received this advice.
Well then, Moggallana, whatever perception you have in mind when drowsiness descends on you, don't attend to that perception, don't pursue it. It'...
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As one Tibetan lama explained in one lecture I attended, this type of anger comes from attachment to a certain form of clarity.
Because in meditation you experience clarity born of unification of mind (lack of inner conflict), when in post-meditation a conflict between "is" and "should" arises, attachment to clarity leads to suffering, rejection of which ...
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Meditation is not something made to clear our thoughts, it is impossible to do so, thoughts come and go, they will never stop, maybe you can increase the gap between thoughts, that is possible, however this is not the main goal of meditation.
What you need to do is be mindful of your thoughts, be aware, see than as if you were anothet person, awake, dont ...
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You should use the 5 faculties and 5 powers to balance you mind to dispel some the niwarana.
When restless this is because your have become too energetic but lacking in concentration. Best is to do Anapana to increase concentration
When sleepy this is because you have high concentration but lack energy best is to practice Satipatthana, or instruction in ...
answered Sep 12 '14 at 18:33
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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Actually Buddha called that the Lazyness. It is a one major factor that prevent us from getting in to the path of Nirvana.
Don't eat too much, if you eat until you get the feeling it is full that's wrong.
In order to stay alert drink more water, actually a major factor of being APHOO
Keep a good hi-gene that will make you good
Also maintain a posture, so ...
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The effects of meditation are similar to the effects of brushing your teeth: If you don't brush your teeth for one day nothing will happen but if you do for one week... you will suffer the consequences in the dentist, so what I'm saying is that what you lose for not meditating will have a price in the future specially when you face a bad situation, stress ...
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It is an experience, like any other, so you have to face it and recognize it clearly as it is. In our tradition we describe the experience of catching up the fatigue in one's awareness and reminding oneself "tired, tired"; if one's mindfulness is sharp, it will either disappear completely or, if the body needs sleep, one will fall asleep.
As the Mahasi ...
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The feeling of pride is okay in the sense that it is conditioned so long as you do not act following that feeling.
That you are able to notice the arising of the feeling shows some mindfulness and restraint.
Conceit is one of the 10 fetters to be abandoned by an Anagami, the last stage of the practice.
So long as you are not holding on to that pride or ...
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It's really important to do wise and healthy things even if they take a bit of effort to get the ball rolling. Very fortunately, we can use habit to overcome our habits, which is something very beautiful.
Personally, on days when I do not formally sit I cultivate many aspirations and cast the thought (joyously) "How good it would be to sit and meditate, to ...
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One of the problems you're going to find with answering this is that most published studies focus on short duration meditation -- 4 to 8 weeks and the like. I personally have an ADHD diagnosis (although I'm not convinced it's a real pathology), and an issue I've faced is that my ADHD (if that's what it is) is an obstacle to actually getting a practice ...
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If you have thoughts that are repeating in a loop, most likely you are focusing on them or obsessing over them, intentionally or unintentionally, rather than "not resisting" them.
My understanding of not resisting thoughts is this. If you are practising mindfulness on the breath, then when any thoughts appear, just take note of the fact that the thought ...
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A few excerpts from suttas concerning this (I recommend their full reading):
[...] As I abided thus, diligent, ardent and resolute, a thought of [sensual desire, ill will, cruelty] arose in me. I understood thus: 'This thought of [sensual desire, ill will, cruelty] arose in me. This leads to my own affliction, to others affliction, and to the affliction ...
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I've seen meditators of many different schools talking about the importance of not walking away from a "bad" sitting. All books I've read reflect this commitment. All monks I've heard too. Conversely, I never heard or read a single meditator to take this issue lightly as in "well, if you are not much up to it, sure, maybe some other day".
There are ...
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I can relate to your question. I too come from a software background and have had a similar set of experiences.
Even though we have had similar experiences, the underlying cause could be different. I'll share with you why I think I have had these experiences; perhaps some of my thoughts/insights might be useful to you.
You mention being interested in a ...
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What books address various difficulties that may arise during various stages of meditation practice?
The Five Hindrances disturb one's path in meditation and practice. The canonical description can be found in the Nivarana Sutta.
Here are some useful resources:
Book entitled Unhindered: A Mindful Path Through the Five Hindrances by Gil Fronsdal.
A selection of texts and their commentaries on The Five Mental Hindrances and Their Conquest by Nyanaponika ...
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To let go of the sensations of pain in the body or of memories of pain, we must practice loving kindness, towards our body and towards our mental contents.
Whenever pain affects us, we must be like a loving mother consoling her crying baby by cradling it. We pick up the pain, and love it. We care for it, we acknowledge it, we understand it, and we put it ...
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There are many kinds of meditation, and as many ways of explaining them as there are people. After years of study and practice, here is a meditation I recommend. I call this "the coming to one's senses meditation" :)
Sit any way you want, as long as it's not too uncomfortable nor too comfortable as to put you to sleep. You can change your posture any way ...
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Is it a good idea to expose yourself to situations that trigger fear and anxiety and use meditation to get through it [?]
Maybe -- and it depends on what you mean by "meditation". But since the context is about CBT, I'm not sure this would be advised, specially without professional assistance.
or is the desire to overcome fear and anxiety "bad" because ...
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What do you mean your practice has plateaued?! Are you perfect? Don't you have day-to-day challenges?
Practice is not just meditation. Your "personal issues" are practice too. See if you can trace your personal issues to improvement opportunities. Take responsibility. Stalk your ego patterns. Reconcile with "enemies". Break through your fears, stereotypes, ...
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In principle, many contemplations that are part of satipatthana don't require our bodies to be still. In fact, a good portion of it are "24/7" practices to be developed whatever we are doing wherever we are.
On the other hand, all of these practices are immensely helped by concentration1 -- thus, the satipatthana sutta opens with concentration practice (...
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In the book "The Way Of Mindfulness" by Soma Thera it's described how to overcome to the hindrance of Sloth and Torpor. Here he writes about the perception of light. I have made highlights in the quote:
3. Sloth and Torpor
Through wrong reflection on a state of boredom and the like, sloth and torpor come to be. Boredom is just dissatisfaction. ...
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I did my first longer vipassana retreat while I was a postdoc researcher (applied math and numerics), and did many more since then. I found it beneficial to have days/weeks dedicated for intense practice (which are tough, but you're in a protected environment) and then off-retreat time for work & other stuff. After retreats, I was mostly much more ...
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Tibetan Buddhism recognizes following "five faults" arising during meditation:
laziness (kausidya) -- with 3 subtypes;
forgetting the instructions (avavadasammosa) -- aka losing the object of observation;
non-identification of laxity (laya, with three subtypes) or excitement (auddhataya, with three subtypes);
non-application of antidotes (anabhisamskara);
...
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What you are describing is an experience of impermanence (that your energy doesn't last), suffering (that your experience isn't as you wish it to be) and non-self (that you can't make the lethargy go away for real). This is to be expected and suggests proper practice of insight meditation. Congratulations :)
Over time, this will lead to disenchantment, ...
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