Happy With My First 20 Minute Meditation

[spicy_pickles]

I attempted to meditate today for 20 minutes. The monkey mind was a lot different than I expected. I thought my mind would wander into problems, issues, fear, stress, etc. It did a few times, but I was able to bring it back. I pictured clouds passing through the sky. The monkey mind actually thought of peaceful things such as meditation on the beach, rain drops against a window, fall leaves on a tree  

I might have had a total of one minute where I wasn't "thinking" about anything. 

I did meditate to background binaural music. It helped clear my mind. I don't know if this is wrong or not. It felt wonderful though. 

 

[cetus]

@spicy_pickles Great start. Any amount of time that you punch a hole through the noise in your mind to get to the stillness is good. With practice that time will extend itself. Also that silence will become more familiar and easier to attain. Here is a nice guided meditation you may find useful also.

 

[spicy_pickles]

Thank you!

[spicy_pickles]

Day 2. Phone was charging so I attempted a completely silent meditation. Not as productive as yesterday but still managed to get some calm moments in there. 

I noticed that every time my mind clears of the crazy monkey, I have a visualization of a clear sky at a park from my hometown. It's like I'm there, in the soccer field to be exact. Back when I lived there, I would walk the track around the soccer field. To me this signifies peace and calm. I'm not thinking, it's just that this image comes into my mind when everything is quiet. 

On a positive note, I have decreased my drinking habits significantly in the past three days. Used to have a good three drinks a day. I had one beer today and honestly I could have done without it. Whether the meditation has anything to do with that, I'm not sure. There's been stressful moments pop up that would usually cause me to reach for a drink. But I just don't feel like it.