Why is meditating for longer better?

[emind]

Why, if we assume that you're exerting an equal amount of concentration on both, is a 1 hr meditation better than a 30 min one?

[Forestluv]

Who knows? You could find out which works best for you. You could meditate for 30min sessions daily for a month and then meditate for 60min sessions daily for a month. Then see if there is a difference for you.

[molosku]

I would be very suspicious of the one who is finding ways/justifications to avoid the pain of sitting still for a long time. What happens if you put that one on pan and fry it for a bit? 

 

[Hellspeed]

2 hours ago, emind said:

Why, if we assume that you're exerting an equal amount of concentration on both, is a 1 hr meditation better than a 30 min one?

Because the awakened state is a very deep meditative state. 

[Privet]

@emind

Any skill is developed by repetition. The more repetitions - the stronger the skill.

The more times you feed the Pavlov's dog when you turn on the lamp - the more the probability that the dog will secrete saliva when you turn on the lamp again.

Meditation is like that, the more times you get to your object of concentration back after distraction - the stronger your skill of remaining on the object is.

So the question is: when do you get back to your breath more times, when you meditate an hour or a half?

[Rilles]

Its better to cultivate a mindfulness in daily life on top of your practice. How do you react when someone insults you? Are you engaged in endless debates? Endless tangents of thought? How does your body feel? 

[Aimblack]

@molosku Well said.

[ground]

26 minutes ago, Rilles said:

Its better to cultivate a mindfulness in daily life on top of your practice. How do you react when someone insults you? Are you engaged in endless debates? Endless tangents of thought? How does your body feel? 

Hmh ... mindfulness is practice, isn't it? Maybe it's the best of all practices.
Endless debates are no problem if mindfulness accompanies them. Actually the implications of endless debates are enlightening. There are traditions debating since thousand years. Still they do not agree. Their debates are great.
 

 

[ground]

14 hours ago, emind said:

Why, if we assume that you're exerting an equal amount of concentration on both, is a 1 hr meditation better than a 30 min one?

Beware of general rules. Every individual is unique and has different needs and requirements. Also there may be different phases when different types of meditation are needed.
It's trial and error to find the best way.

[Rilles]

23 minutes ago, ground said:

Hmh ... mindfulness is practice, isn't it? Maybe it's the best of all practices.
Endless debates are no problem if mindfulness accompanies them. Actually the implications of endless debates are enlightening. There are traditions debating since thousand years. Still they do not agree. Their debates are great.
 

 

It is practice... but not on the cushion. 

True.

[emind]

@Rilles Absolutely 

[emind]

@Privet Yes. I guess it makes sense that a longer practice would inevitably lead to better outcomes and more improvement, the things is, Ive been finding I daydream a little more when Im doing the 1hr meditation as opposed to the 30 min.

[Privet]

@emind That will pass. Also you may try 30x2 to reenergize your mind in between.

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by Privet

[Arkandeus]

meditate, and feel be conscious of your inner world, feel when you have meditated enough

Edited December 27, 2018 by Arkandeus

[non_nothing]

I found that when I was starting first, 20 minutes were almost impossible, I bear that for a while then It came for me to naturally increase the amount. 30, 45 then 1 hour. But back in those times were I was new, 1 hour sitting was impossible for me due to immense amount of numbness and pain on my knees and legs, so that I found by testing various times (55, 50, 45, 40) I found that 45 minutes is the perfect spot for me before I start to experience knee or bone pains. It went like this for 1 year. Meanwhile I did couple of meditations on sitting near quite shore for extended periods of hours (2 to 3 once for 5)

[Anton Rogachevski]

"Meditation is a medicine not a diet." Allan Watts

It depends where you are at. If you are begining, build dosage up by little increments and see if you resist, don't push yourself unless you want an ego backlash.

I started with 10 minutes, then built all the way up to 5 hours, then gradually went back to an hour. After many years I don't even measure time, I spontaneously sit 5 minutes there 30 minutes there, because at that point mindfulness and a quiet mind are just a part of a normal day, purely effortless. I take the medicine when symptoms are showing and when needed. Also I'm super lazy.

I'm lucky to find many opportunities while commuting to work.

Edited December 27, 2018 by Anton Rogachevski