Do You Meditate?

Hanley

I mentioned elsewhere that my only goal for 2016 is to meditate daily.

The downstream effects I've noticed over the last 2 weeks of doing it consistently have been incredible.

I don't want to say "transformative" yet, but I think I'll be bumping this to say it.

So, if you practice any sort of meditation or mindfulness, what are you doing? And what effects have you noticed?

I worked my way thru the free 10 days / 10 minutes of headpsace you can download from the app store, and have moved on to their paid package now.

I've had rough days where I can't quieten **** all, and days like today where it felt like I was almost thinking on a different level.

Would love to hear from people who've done the same, and the experiences you've had.

..we might even manage to convince some non believers to do it too!

Penny Tration

I tried it when in school for a few months, and in my early twenties, using techniques recommended by a therapist. It did nothing for me :pac:

However, I've started using those mindfulness adult colouring books and they're class so far for relaxing me and taking my mind off things that stress me

Manach

Does murmuring a non nobis prayer after a gym session count ...

syklops

I meditate to suppress anxiety. The only problem is sometimes I forget to do it when anxiety is building. Its like learning self defence and forgetting to block when someone goes to punch you. I'll research headspace.

I also have taken to meditating when I can't sleep which for someone who often has difficulty sleeping is very beneficial.

jeff bingham

Been meaning to get into this.Hopefully help with some anxiety issues. Ill give that headspace app a go seems as good a place to start as anywhere. Il let ye know how it goes.

Hanley

syklops wrote: »

I meditate to suppress anxiety. The only problem is sometimes I forget to do it when anxiety is building. Its like learning self defence and forgetting to block when someone goes to punch you. I'll research headspace.

I also have taken to meditating when I can't sleep which for someone who often has difficulty sleeping is very beneficial.

Random thought on this one, may be bunk.

One of the big things in NLP / CBT is creating "anchors". A phsyical action that you use to elicit a certain state, in your case, this would be calm.

Theoretically you could create this state when you've finished meditating (eg "i'm at my most calm, i am not anxious" by squeezing your index finger and thumb together, for example)

And then any time you need to bring back that state of calmness, you just squeeze your thumb and forefingr together and it'll create that state automatically without having to meditate.

Obviously you'd need to invest a lot of time in creating those states in the first place and anchoring them down, but I think it's something that could help a lot.

I know I have some anchors from various times that I still use that make A LOT of difference.

(FTR - we can create negative anchors too)

[DISCLAIMER: I'm still finding my way thru all of this, but I think it's osmething worth investigating]

syklops

Hanley wrote: »

Random thought on this one, may be bunk.

One of the big things in NLP / CBT is creating "anchors". A phsyical action that you use to elicit a certain state, in your case, this would be calm.

Theoretically you could create this state when you've finished meditating (eg "i'm at my most calm, i am not anxious" by squeezing your index finger and thumb together, for example)

And then any time you need to bring back that state of calmness, you just squeeze your thumb and forefingr together and it'll create that state automatically without having to meditate.

Obviously you'd need to invest a lot of time in creating those states in the first place and anchoring them down, but I think it's something that could help a lot.

I know I have some anchors from various times that I still use that make A LOT of difference.

(FTR - we can create negative anchors too)

[DISCLAIMER: I'm still finding my way thru all of this, but I think it's osmething worth investigating]

That is very useful. Thank you. I need to look into NLP. Of the people I know who use it, all swear by it.

deadlybuzzman

What sort of effect do you find it has? Is it that it calms and quietens a noisy mind?

Hanley

deadlybuzzman wrote: »

What sort of effect do you find it has? Is it that it calms and quietens a noisy mind?

The best analogy I've heard is this;

Your thoughts are like cars on a busy motorway. Once the road is flowing, there's no problems. But if cars jam on the breaks and hang around you're going to have tail backs and crashers.

Have lots of thoughts running thru your head isn't necessarily good or bad, but when they hang around for too long and clutter your head up, then you've a problem.

Meditation teaches you how to let the traffic flow, while still observing the cars as they pass.

Transform

Hanley wrote: »

The best analogy I've heard is this;

Your thoughts are like cars on a busy motorway. Once the road is flowing, there's no problems. But if cars jam on the breaks and hang around you're going to have tail backs and crashers.

Have lots of thoughts running thru your head isn't necessarily good or bad, but when they hang around for too long and clutter your head up, then you've a problem.

Meditation teaches you how to let the traffic flow, while still observing the cars as they pass.

TM learned from the school of philosophy which i highly recommend

have done an ton of work with the guys over at NLP.ie very useful

but like everything no point in having the tools when you dont use them or talk about intentions.

Nervous Wreck

I have literally no idea what meditation actually is. Like, I know what it looks like it is (sitting quietly, possibly repeating a mantra and thinking...?). But I don't know what it actually is. Friend of mine meditates pretty much daily and gets huge benefit from it but I don't really know anything about it tbh...

Hanley

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

I have literally no idea what meditation actually is. Like, I know what it looks like it is (sitting quietly, possibly repeating a mantra and thinking...?). But I don't know what it actually is. Friend of mine meditates pretty much daily and gets huge benefit from it but I don't really know anything about it tbh...

My understanding of it is that you focus on something and eliminate all other thoughts from your brain.

In doing so, you better learn how to let go of cluttered thought processes, anxiety and stress.

For example:

_ You spend some time focusing on your breath
_ Then some time focusing on your body "scanning" it for any areas of tension
_ Then you spend time focusing on the contact of your body with the chair and how that feels
_ Then you come back to your breath and really focus hard on that
_ You finish by focusing on the sounds and smells in the room, to bring you back to your space
_ Then you reflect on how it all felt

That's just one example - I'd love to hear from some people more practiced than I tho.

Alf Veedersane

My Dad is a big fan. I burned one of his cds onto the mp3 player so gonna try and make some time for it to give it a go and see how it helps.

Between that, the colouring and the carving ridiculously intricate mandalas, I really need to pick his brains more.

Dtp1979

Hanley wrote: »

My understanding of it is that you focus on something and eliminate all other thoughts from your brain.

In doing so, you better learn how to let go of cluttered thought processes, anxiety and stress.

For example:

_ You spend some time focusing on your breath
_ Then some time focusing on your body "scanning" it for any areas of tension
_ Then you spend time focusing on the contact of your body with the chair and how that feels
_ Then you come back to your breath and really focus hard on that
_ You finish by focusing on the sounds and smells in the room, to bring you back to your space
_ Then you reflect on how it all felt

That's just one example - I'd love to hear from some people more practiced than I tho.

How long does it take usually?

syklops

Dtp1979 wrote: »

How long does it take usually?

In many cases, until I fall asleep.

Two hours is my 'record'. When I build my house Im putting in a sound proof room. Between dogs, kids, electrical noise and slamming doors...

Less than 10 minutes I dont think is very beneficial, so 10 minutes plus?

Hanley

syklops wrote: »

In many cases, until I fall asleep.

Two hours is my 'record'. When I build my house Im putting in a sound proof room. Between dogs, kids, electrical noise and slamming doors...

Less than 10 minutes I dont think is very beneficial, so 10 minutes plus?

Longer has been better for me as well.

I've only done 15min at this stage.

Buuuut it's like running.

You gotta start small and build up.

10x 10min a day for 10 days is better than 2x 40 minute stints in a week.

TM recommends 2x20min sessions per day.

jenizzle

I use a podcast called the Daily Meditation Podcast quite often.

Find it really useful for calming anxious thoughts. Have found that I'm most likely do meditate just after a workout as I'm lying about on the floor stretching, and it's in my list of goals for 2016 to do this more often.

Also found some breathing and bodyscan techniques really beneficial when I'm trying to sleep but I can't. e.g. how do my heels feel against the mattress, how do my toes feel against the duvet etc etc.

Transform

syklops wrote: »

In many cases, until I fall asleep.

Two hours is my 'record'. When I build my house Im putting in a sound proof room. Between dogs, kids, electrical noise and slamming doors...

Less than 10 minutes I dont think is very beneficial, so 10 minutes plus?

i beg to differ, i use pausing between actions daily (5-10secs pauses between working with clients, between moving on to different parts of work im doing etc) and they make a huge difference.

Its how i also started learning TM

LuckyLloyd

Is it akin to the feeling of lifting? i.e. getting under a bar to squat. You have to clear your mind, and focus everything on bracing yourself and the small mental checks involved in executing a set of lifts correctly. When I'm performing a lift I'm not thinking about anything that stresses me - is it something like that only elongated?

guile4582

i used the ten days of headspace too. but have found best not to use any app at all now after getting the basics
i need to work harder at doing it daily but found places like the sauna after my swim is a place i can do it too.

everyone breathes heavily in there anyway haha

but it defo clears the head. i love that feeling when you open your eyes and connect back into the world after having 10min of bliss.

Transform

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Is it akin to the feeling of lifting? i.e. getting under a bar to squat. You have to clear your mind, and focus everything on bracing yourself and the small mental checks involved in executing a set of lifts correctly. When I'm performing a lift I'm not thinking about anything that stresses me - is it something like that only elongated?

yup lifting and training should be moving meditation, flow state

Jimmy Iovine

I tried the Headspace app this morning and found it to be good. I might give the month a go and try to find out more about it myself in the mean time.

Are there any recommended books out there?

My dad has a mini library at home and I'm sure he'll have some on meditation.

Transform - am I imagining it, or have you mentioned "Flow" by Mihaly ... before on here or your site? My dad definitely has that book. Does it tie in with meditation or is it something else entirely?

Transform

yup good read and very tied into meditation alright.

two good primers on meditation - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wherever-You-There-Are-Mindfulness/dp/0749925485/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345894016&sr=8-1

this podcast does a good job of taking all the woo woo stuff away from meditation and breaking it down simply - http://www.richroll.com/podcast/light-watkins/

i did 3 seminars before xmas and it was mainly coaches that showed up. in the business and personal development section this was a really really important point in an extensive article i wrote for it -

"Your enthusiasm for the job and your passion to help people will be challenged because fitness is an extremely tough industry to make as your life’s work so we will break down what has worked for us as a guide but this by no means is a presentation on what’s ideal but just what’s worked for us because this is a continual evolution in which we will adjust as our process and systems develops and evolves. You character can and should be molded by what we present here"

Becoming an indispensable employee that your company treasures or being a trainer that never want’s for clients has at it’s core a person that helps people with their problems, you do your job while fully engaged in the task or the people you’re working with face to face and you always over deliver, when ever possible, on the customers expectations.

To do all of this successfully you need to constantly work and develop your own sense of worth and gratitude (start a gratitude journal), understand your value system, carve timeout to recharge and learn to meditate so you can become fully aware and open to what your work and your clients truly both want and need".

cloudatlas

I've been using the head space free trial for a while now, just repeating it. I have a free 20 minute guided meditation podcast for my mp3. It's definitely beneficial, not incredibly easy but it calms me down before stressful events.

Hanley, Is there any point in subscribing to head space. What extras do you get?

Hanley

cloudatlas wrote: »

I've been using the head space free trial for a while now, just repeating it. I have a free 20 minute guided meditation podcast for my mp3. It's definitely beneficial, not incredibly easy but it calms me down before stressful events.

Hanley, Is there any point in subscribing to head space. What extras do you get?

You get longer programs. Different things to focus on. Different types of meditation and stuff. Very glad I upgraded.

Ruu

I use Insight timer app (free and you can listen to hundreds of different types of meditation). I have been meditating at least 10 minutes but nearly always longer, for just over a year now. I use it to acknowledge the tough moments in life, but knowing I can access these tools deep down and live with it instead of trying to change. Right now, I love sound mediations with singing bowl, find the vibrations very soothing.

+1 for colouring books as well!!

Precious flower

I'm going through anxiety at the moment - it's a right fecker between the physical symptoms outside of the panic attacks. One book recommended, besides exercise, is to take 3 minutes a couple times a day, especially when anxious/stressed just to focus ourself and do a mini mediation if you find it a struggle to stay focused or you're new to mediation. One think is not to try to think of nothing when you're mediating or forcing yourself yourself to empty your mind because you'll achieve the very opposite. Acknowledge how you're feeling and just go with it. Same with panic attacks, the more you fight it, or force yourself to calm down the worse it gets. Same with anxiety symptoms.

Ruu

The important thing to remember is there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Yeah, your mind will wander and there will be other distractions but the goal is to let it happen.

Transform

Ruu wrote: »

The important thing to remember is there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Yeah, your mind will wander and there will be other distractions but the goal is to let it happen.

agreed and i would say there is no goal, its just to observe thoughts like a passing cloud when they happen and return your attention back to what you are using to focus your mind i.e. a sound, image etc

Hanley

Transform wrote: »

agreed and i would say there is no goal, its just to observe thoughts like a passing cloud when they happen and return your attention back to what you are using to focus your mind i.e. a sound, image etc

Just don't get stressed about meditation!

guile4582

Ruu wrote: »

The important thing to remember is there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Yeah, your mind will wander and there will be other distractions but the goal is to let it happen.

...and you dont necessarily need an app. it is all within.

apps are good to get yourself started and quick started and reading books like The Calm Technique are helpful. but meditation is about you. you need to work at achieving that state, and you know it already, it is natural, you have experienced it many times before although fleeting.

i see aswell some people are trying to make a buck off classes too. i'm weary of mediation being bought and sold, it is not a commodity. (although i do agree with retreats! they obvs incur costs)

(these are my personal observations, i do not mean to derail this conversation, but felt this needs to be said, just in case anyone thinks they must get an app, must get a library etc)

Hanley

guile4582 wrote: »

i see aswell some people are trying to make a buck off classes too. i'm weary of mediation being bought and sold, it is not a commodity. (although i do agree with retreats! they obvs incur costs)

How do you feel about education?

Or fitness?

What about cookery classes....?

If you can't do something, but someone specialises in teaching other people to do it, and you don't have the time, energy or inclination to invest in trying, and possibly failing, yourself - some sort of financial exchange is a rationale economic decision.

Better than blowing out your arse on pints and shots anyway!

dastardly00

I've been exploring/practicing/learning mindfulness for a couple of years now. I've been using Headspace for over a year. I enjoy it.

guile4582

Hanley wrote: »

How do you feel about education?

Or fitness?

What about cookery classes....?

If you can't do something, but someone specialises in teaching other people to do it, and you don't have the time, energy or inclination to invest in trying, and possibly failing, yourself - some sort of financial exchange is a rationale economic decision.

Better than blowing out your arse on pints and shots anyway!

why compare everything to spending money on alcohol? like that is the only alternative to spending your cash cos the masses do it?

i am just saying it doesn't sit easy with me. that is all (I tend to come at this from a Buddhist standpoint I must also state)

this is a good read: http://www.economist.com/news/business/21589841-western-capitalism-looking-inspiration-eastern-mysticism-mindfulness-business

what did you make of the final scene of Mad Men

Different people look at things in different ways i suppose.

scrumqueen

I actually downloaded the app there a couple of weeks ago and have been meaning to find the time to start it but havent got around to it.

Got one of the mindfulness colouring books as a Christmas present which I have been using a bit after turning the phone off for a couple of hours before bed.

I did do that breathing thing when trying to get to sleep before and it worked great (breath in for X, hold for Y and exhale for Z) but it doesn't seem to be working for me anymore maybe because my head is too buzzy!

syklops

i see aswell some people are trying to make a buck off classes too. i'm weary of mediation being bought and sold, it is not a commodity. (although i do agree with retreats! they obvs incur costs)

Bizarre comment. Classes are no good but retreats are fine? Whats the difference, aside from one of them taking longer?

scrumqueen

scrumqueen wrote: »

I actually downloaded the app there a couple of weeks ago and have been meaning to find the time to start it but havent got around to it.

Got one of the mindfulness colouring books as a Christmas present which I have been using a bit after turning the phone off for a couple of hours before bed.

I did do that breathing thing when trying to get to sleep before and it worked great (breath in for X, hold for Y and exhale for Z) but it doesn't seem to be working for me anymore maybe because my head is too buzzy!

Try listening to white noise, it's unreal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArwcHjmsw3A

guile4582

Retreats i have attended are often in isolated areas with very little noise allowing you to focus more easily. It is all encompassing. You don't talk to anyone bar the instructor, who is available on a one to one basis for discussion and aiding you strengthen your practice. It is usually over a couple of days too, giving you time to settle in away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I currently live in a very busy city, hence why "retreats are fine"

I highly recommend attending.

of course you can say, yes you can grab a tent and find somewhere in the west of ireland and do all this for free yourself, which is true. but at retreats meals are also prepared for you and needs catered for, which is a great stress reliever. I think retreats and what one can achieve at home in peaceful surroundings, classes pale in comparison to this.

paying for something like this through classes for example gives people an expectation, an expectation of a certain result, this i feel can cloud things. again much like fitness classes but of course it can work for people, but for me, it goes against the very nature of the exercise. but i could be 100% completely wrong. like another poster said, there is no right or wrong way. there just is.

again my opinion.

syklops

Do I respond and completely derail the thread or just smile and nod?

Retreats i have attended are often in isolated areas with very little noise allowing you to focus more easily. It is all encompassing. You don't talk to anyone bar the instructor, who is available on a one to one basis for discussion and aiding you strengthen your practice. It is usually over a couple of days too, giving you time to settle in away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I currently live in a very busy city, hence why "retreats are fine"

guile4582

syklops wrote: »

Do I respond and completely derail the thread or just smile and nod?

feel free to pm me

Alf Veedersane

guile4582 wrote: »

Retreats i have attended are often in isolated areas with very little noise allowing you to focus more easily. It is all encompassing. You don't talk to anyone bar the instructor, who is available on a one to one basis for discussion and aiding you strengthen your practice. It is usually over a couple of days too, giving you time to settle in away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I currently live in a very busy city, hence why "retreats are fine"

I highly recommend attending.

of course you can say, yes you can grab a tent and find somewhere in the west of ireland and do all this for free yourself, which is true. but at retreats meals are also prepared for you and needs catered for, which is a great stress reliever. I think retreats and what one can achieve at home in peaceful surroundings, classes pale in comparison to this.

paying for something like this through classes for example gives people an expectation, an expectation of a certain result, this i feel can cloud things. again much like fitness classes but of course it can work for people, but for me, it goes against the very nature of the exercise. but i could be 100% completely wrong. like another poster said, there is no right or wrong way. there just is.

again my opinion.

But that's kinda bypassing the point where people get to working out how to meditate properly. Or how to. Yeah, you could sit in silence somewhere and let it happen but there's more to it than that.

There are ways to bring yourself to the point where you're meditating that people can be taught.

So retreats and classes on how to meditate are often very different.

Jimmy Iovine

Transform wrote: »

yup good read and very tied into meditation alright.

two good primers on meditation - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wherever-You-There-Are-Mindfulness/dp/0749925485/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345894016&sr=8-1

this podcast does a good job of taking all the woo woo stuff away from meditation and breaking it down simply - http://www.richroll.com/podcast/light-watkins/

i did 3 seminars before xmas and it was mainly coaches that showed up. in the business and personal development section this was a really really important point in an extensive article i wrote for it -

"Your enthusiasm for the job and your passion to help people will be challenged because fitness is an extremely tough industry to make as your life’s work so we will break down what has worked for us as a guide but this by no means is a presentation on what’s ideal but just what’s worked for us because this is a continual evolution in which we will adjust as our process and systems develops and evolves. You character can and should be molded by what we present here"

Becoming an indispensable employee that your company treasures or being a trainer that never want’s for clients has at it’s core a person that helps people with their problems, you do your job while fully engaged in the task or the people you’re working with face to face and you always over deliver, when ever possible, on the customers expectations.

To do all of this successfully you need to constantly work and develop your own sense of worth and gratitude (start a gratitude journal), understand your value system, carve timeout to recharge and learn to meditate so you can become fully aware and open to what your work and your clients truly both want and need".

I went to the library and took out the Kabat-Zinn book. I'm going to try and get through it over the next few weeks. Many thanks.

I used Headspace for the second day in a row today. I had the most amazing feeling at the end of the 10 minutes. My mind felt so uncluttered.

I know about NLP through reading about it and talking to my dad. Has anyone ever used it, or another method, to clear your head when an issue arises.

I felt enlightened at 8:30 this morning. That was replaced by a feeling of rage and contempt for the world by 10:30 after I finished the last episode of "Making a Murderer" and got a phone call from the car garage to say that my car needs to be fixed at a cost of €1,250.

I needed to do work but my head wasn't fully clear until after lunch. I wasted an hour or more simmering away.

cc87

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdcXKrpbnrM

Robert T

cc87 wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdcXKrpbnrM

I received the Andy Puddicombe Guide To Meditation and Mindfulness book for Christmas and would highly recommend it to anyone using Headspace, it helps give some further information on the purpose meditation and why the app's sessions are designed the way they are.

Hanley

Robert T wrote: »

I received the Andy Puddicombe Guide To Meditation and Mindfulness book for Christmas and would highly recommend it to anyone using Headspace, it helps give some further information on the purpose meditation and why the app's sessions are designed the way they are.

Sweeeeeeet that 'll be my next read.

Jimmy Iovine

I did day 4 of the Headspace trial there and I almost nodded off completely when I was supposed to be counting my breaths. Don't know if I was doing it right with that. I had my headphones in and I couldn't tell if it had finished or if it was still going.

Precious flower

Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube is quite good as well, I really enjoy her style of yoga.:) Eating well, exercising and mediating are all things I am trying at the moment to lessen my anxiety symptoms.

pinkstars

Just signed up for Headpace subscription - love to hear how people are getting on!!!

pinkstars

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

I went to the library and took out the Kabat-Zinn book. I'm going to try and get through it over the next few weeks. Many thanks.

I used Headspace for the second day in a row today. I had the most amazing feeling at the end of the 10 minutes. My mind felt so uncluttered.

I know about NLP through reading about it and talking to my dad. Has anyone ever used it, or another method, to clear your head when an issue arises.

I felt enlightened at 8:30 this morning. That was replaced by a feeling of rage and contempt for the world by 10:30 after I finished the last episode of "Making a Murderer" and got a phone call from the car garage to say that my car needs to be fixed at a cost of €1,250.

I needed to do work but my head wasn't fully clear until after lunch. I wasted an hour or more simmering away.

Do you mind me asking what Jon Kabat Zinn book?

Hanley

pinkstars wrote: »

Just signed up for Headpace subscription - love to hear how people are getting on!!!

Think I'm 40ish days on the trot now. Brilliant decision

pinkstars

Worrying now that I spent too much money on subscription and feeling bad. Urgh