Starting to Meditate

[Sara]

Hi All, 

One problem I have is meditating consistently. I meditate every so often whenever I need it. Is it necessary to meditate every day? If so, how do you encourage yourself to do so? Thanks for your suggestions and tips!

[Stoica Doru]

I also had a long time before actually begun to do it. This ritual is like any other must-do activity, like brushing your teeth or going for a walk. Try to comprehend it like any other activity, giving it high priority at the same time. 

[the dream]

I did it on/off for months before I got fed up and decided to brute-force it.

It really is like a muscle, and I typically compare it to working out. When you start out 1 minute of meditation is like 10 push-ups. I believe you have to do it daily to get the "real" benefits.

I've just passed my 4th month marker of meditating every day, and I feel that it's really starting to become pleasurable now.

[Azrael]

48 minutes ago, Sara said:

Is it necessary to meditate every day? If so, how do you encourage yourself to do so?

If you do not meditate every day, it has not sense whatsoever. Actually stop it, you waste your time.

What you need is a vision for yourself. Sit down and close your eyes for 20 minutes and just visualize what your life can be like when you completely let go of your inner voice, every thought and every perception. When you get right down to the root of things. Try to imagine the peace of it and also try to see that you can have not even a remote idea of how beautiful it really is.

And then think about this for some time and finally make the decision that you will meditate for the rest of your life. You will learn the "How To" on the way and just surrender to the mastery.

In the beginning it's something you have to remind yourself to do. After some time it is the place that provides the deepest kind of pleasure and emotional energy that you could picture.

Words really just can point to the phenomenon and never fit its integrity.

[Hatfort]

Yeah, it seems consinstency is important. We have to do it everyday, it's difficult for me too. Something that helped me, even if it's not necessary, I started to light a candle in every sesion, so I can have a sense of progression, seeing how it's consuming day by day.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Mako

[Brazilian]

1 hour ago, the dream said:

I did it on/off for months before I got fed up and decided to brute-force it.

It really is like a muscle, and I typically compare it to working out. When you start out 1 minute of meditation is like 10 push-ups. I believe you have to do it daily to get the "real" benefits.

I've just passed my 4th month marker of meditating every day, and I feel that it's really starting to become pleasurable now.

Do you see any benefits yet ?

[Emerald]

My advice is to make it a part of your daily routine, just like brushing your teeth. Start with 10-20 minutes at first, and once you've made a habit out of that you can add more minutes to your daily practice as you progress. Don't go into it with the mindset the you have to sit for at least an hour. Unless you're like Leo, this will likely be a recipe for failure because it's too big of a commitment too soon.

[Sara]

1 hour ago, Mako said:

Yeah, it seems consinstency is important. We have to do it everyday, it's difficult for me too. Something that helped me, even if it's not necessary, I started to light a candle in every sesion, so I can have a sense of progression, seeing how it's consuming day by day.

Thank you Mako! This is a great idea! The candle will definitely help me see the progression! Thank you

[the dream]

1 hour ago, Brazilian said:

Do you see any benefits yet ?

Increased self-esteem

Increased self-confidence

Increased ability to focus

Reduced stress levels

- to mention a few. But most significantly it has helped me release some of the negative feelings I've harbored against people who have wronged me in the past.

[Leo Gura]

It takes faith in a larger vision for your life.

I decided to make a 100% commitment to meditate every day for 1 hour, no exceptions EVER! I made that decision because I could not run Actualized.org congruently without it, nor could I realize my life purpose without it. That was almost 3 years ago.

Have not missed one day since.

It was one of the most important decisions I've made in my life. TOTALLY worth it!

Just go for it.

As Jack Canfield says, "100% commitment is a breeze, 99% commitment is a bitch."

[marting]

You have to believe that it is important to you. Let's say someone would give you $1000 for every day in the month where you meditate for 20 mins but you lose it all if you miss a day. How many days would you miss a month? Probably not many. It is quite obvious that $1000 per day is very beneficial to you and therefore important. But I would say that the benefit you get from the 20 mins meditation is worth more than $1000 per day, as long as you do it consistently.

Edited February 8, 2016 by marting

[Damien]

A good strategy i implemented to get my meditation habit going was starting at 20 min a day and adding five minutes every month. Another thing I realized is that at the beginning i usually did it late in the day, mostly right before bed. And as time passed i naturally started to do it earlier. I think the experience becomes more enjoyable and i kind of rely on it to have a productive and fulfilling day. Hopefully that helps someone.