Drink this to meditate better!

[MrDmitriiV]

The 2 biggest challenges I faced during meditation is physical pain and sleepiness - until recently.

I meditate in the cover of night, when everyone sleeps in the other rooms. Leaning my back on the chair's backrest will make sleepiness kick in, if I don't lean my back, physical pain will start to distract me. How I solved this?

By slowly drinking 750 ml of very strong Black Tea 15 min before the practice, my meditation session effortlessly skyrocketed from 20 min to 120 min in one night! 

Here's how it went:

0-31 min - Concentration Meditation: (on breath): I noticed how the ego will use different kinds of distractions (positive, negative and neutral thoughts) to keep me in the Great Illusion, this made me slightly angry at the my ego's nature. I also felt waves of gratitude and slight euphoria wash over me at the end.

short break- to pee and just stand up (it's extremely bad to sit for more then 30 min without standing up, read google)

35-67 min - Do Nothing: I managed to enter some deep "nothingness states" in short bursts, I wasn't sleeping nor "present".

short break

70 min-102 min - Neti-Neti Self Inquiry: During this practice I noticed anger build up, as though the ego didn't want to acknowledge it doesn't exist. At the end of this practice I opened my eyes and looked at my hands: 1 sec they felt mine, the other sec they didn't feel mine, then again mine, not mine, mine, not mine. During this I "felt" my consciousness "quickly shift" from duality to non-duality. This lasted for about 30 sec. Mind Blowing!

short break (just laid on the floor contemplated on the experience)

110-135 min - Concentration Meditation: Now I started to feel the effects of tea wear off (fuck), so sleepiness started to kick in. Still meditated though.

I slept extremely deep. My dreams were unusually vivid and long. 

May Infinity Bless You!

 

 

 

 

[peanutspathtotruth]

With caffeine, for me it got to a point very quickly where I get dependent on it. - > What do you do in formal practice when you don't have caffeine? What do you do in your everyday life when you want to be fully aware in every moment but sleepiness kicks in?

When aiding with those substances, I find it difficult because I don't really face the sleepiness. It's a way of trying to escape it. But it's a part of experience, same as pain and everything else. Whether in concentration, do-nothing or inquiry, there IS a way to deal with sleepiness and even make it a useful tool to enter deeper states of relaxation. There are even monks (in Tibet I think) not sleeping for days on end to use this. Shinzen Young talked about this in one of his reatreats. Moreover, it's a good way to find out why one is sleepy in the first place (not enough sleep, nutrition, no exercise etc.)

That being said, it's still a legit way to sharpen your focus with tea of course, although I also think a side effect might be a faster monkey mind. I heard it often mentioned that caffeine (even in green tea) desensitizes your sensory perception over a prolonged time of use and I have to agree. I'm still in the habit of green tea but I really want to stop this soon or at least use it very rarely.

Just my thoughts, I'm not saying it's wrong or anything.

[Colin]

Thanks for sharing. You have inspired me to try this right now!

[Nahm]

@MrDmitriiV Happy for ya! Great share man. Some cardio / exercise right before meditation early in the morning works well too. ??

[pluto]

Try Strong Matcha or Cacao or both.

[Moreira]

According to indian tradition black/tea and coffe are RAJAS that promoto the Ego and desires. I dont think they are a help in meditation but add more dificulty.

[iamme]

Ego is the sum total of your programming, not an entity separated from you. If anything is sneaky, that's not your ego, it's you

[MrDmitriiV]

@Outer Please read about effects of black tea on the body. 

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-997/black-tea

I drunk tea my entire life and never felt any "dependence" develop to it. That might be the case with coffee but not tea.

[ChimpBrain]

Caffeine has a terribly negative effect on my meditation sessions personally. Nothing but 60 minutes of Monkey Mind lol.