Doing Nothing

[Hardik jain]

I just realised I cannot simply sit and do nothing. I'm always doing something or the other thing. Watching tv, using cell phone, talking, gossiping. I don't why but I just cannot fucking sit and do nothing. How do I overcome this problem? I know I'm like this because of the fear of emptiness but what do I do?

[Sir Raz]

Experiment more with sitting & see if you have less tendecy to become distracted. Give it some time, a week or so & If you notice that you check your phone less and less , then it's good! If not, then maybe the exercise is not for you.

Try something else, mindfulness for example. There are many exercises that have the same role of making you more aware....they are just different.

[Frogfucius]

Power through it. The struggle you're having is normal for most people in our society, and recognition of it is the first step toward progress, so don't feel bad.

If it's that tough, then start out light. Try 10 minutes a day, then increase the time the more you're able to sit still in comfort. Just like with any skill, sitting still doing nothing takes practice.

[FindingPeace]

There comes a point after sufficient raising of awareness when you will see how little value and meaning the 'things' that you 'do' have. At this point you will naturally become comfortable and even enjoy doing nothing and will be less motivated to do the things that you do. You will reach a point when you would rather be than do.

Acheiving this level of awareness is the key.

[Eelco1981]

@Hardik jain There is a voice in my head that says: "you have to do something, don't sit still, the work is never done, don't waste your time, doing nothing is a waste of time, clean the house, watch the news, finish the television series, you have to see the latest movie, send him a whatsapp, check your facebook". Whenever I don't do anything i start to do something. Be it watching TV.

I have been meditating for 2 years now and finally a few weeks ago the voice is getting less and less. It is a persistent fathermocker! Now I find that doing absolutely nothing brings forth the most creative ideas.  (I also sold my television, that helps)

[Matthew Lamot]

15 hours ago, Hardik jain said:

I just realised I cannot simply sit and do nothing. I'm always doing something or the other thing. Watching tv, using cell phone, talking, gossiping. I don't why but I just cannot fucking sit and do nothing. How do I overcome this problem? I know I'm like this because of the fear of emptiness but what do I do?

You need to learn a practice called karma yoga, which will assist you in burning up your heavy vasana load so that you are able to naturally sit.

The other thing is, if you want to become enlightened, and by the looks of it nobody in this forum does, you need to stop meditating and start doing a practice called self-enquiry.  

Self enquiry is taking your wandering I thought and letting it rest back into it's source.  If you can hold the I thought in the source and the I thought no longer feels the need to extrovert, the Self will eventually pull it back into itself and destroy it forever.  All that will remain is the Self.

There is an ancient System called Vedanta and it's main practice is something called Self-Knowledge.  This is the teaching that will, in addition to practical self-inquiry, bring about the undoing of ignorance by means of contemplating on the original non dual teachings.

So, there is something to do, but the point is, is the path to liberation something you want to do with your time?  Because only people who have a burning desire to understand who they are walk this path.  

Some food for thought, maybe,  while you sit and do nothing ? 

 

[MIARIVEL]

@Hardik jain I am exactly like you, I don't like having nothing to do and I don't see the point of doing nothing. I can however, sit and read a book for hours or learn something new / study, watching something educational on youtube or the tv but whatever I am doing, I am making sure I am not wasting time just for the sake of wasting time. I like to be productive in what I choose to do. 

Have you tried meditation? perhaps this can be a great start to finding quiet time to yourself without all the chaos?

[Hardik jain]

@MIA.RIVEL Since 12 months I've been meditating everyday for around 40 minutes.

[Gabriel David Gomez]

Have you heard of the quote, "As you think, so shall you be?"

One of the problems with sitting still is the situation within. While contemplating about something hurtful, desire kicks in. Most so-called subconscious movement is actually really quickly made conscious movement. The problem is that people are often unwilling to go through the slightest bit a of suffering. It is true that the cause of most suffering is actually desire. Why else would people mope about the past regardless of the fact that what they desire to take place cannot change because the past is set in stone.

First of all you need to manage your thoughts. I have actually written about this in one of my topics.

here it is in a nutshell: with unwanted thoughts (including the discomfort toward always being active) Be neither for or against them. Do not resist or engage in them. Be indifferent and of non-action.

When trying to be rid of a specific thought, the key is not to resist or engage in them. To resist would be like you pulling away from yourself, because that thing you disown is of you; you would be like a kingdom divided against itself. That would be like pulling your own arm off; your body would follow it unless you caused damage. Also, to engage in unwanted thoughts would only expand upon them. The answer is actually non-action and to step back to the point of observation (still not resisting or engaging in them) and watch it as it deludes if it does not leave immediately. By non-action, you induce a sort of indifference (which you should side with and become neither "against" or "for" the unwanted thought), and by indifference you direct your focus to bigger things. The real dangers are things external to your internal self. Do not treat the internal "you" as the enemy. YOu would then begin a struggle consisting of pointless suspicion and, once again, be a kingdom divided against itself (which will fall if you continue). 

Be neither for or against them. Do not resist or engage in them. Be indifferent and of non-action.

This method I have created is useful to redirect your focus, you know, get your mind off of things. If you give the information a twist and consider the terms' polar opposites, you can find out how to encourage thoughts. I recommend using thought and the mind itself for nothing other than strategy, tactic, and action. Conceptual view, opinions, and bias based on futile traditions and emotionally charged fake justification is useless.