Just Started To Meditate-am I Doing It Right?

[MARTIN LENNARD]

Hello people. I  just started to meditate a week ago,using the Do Nothing technique. Now,Leo says at some point in one of his videos that at first you are gonna have doubts and all sorts of questions about meditation,and that is  your monkeymind right there,but I am gonna post this regardless.

So I start by sitting alone,in a quiet room  and set a countdown for 1 hour on my phone. I have never managed so sit trough a whole hour,so far I ve sat for around 25-45 minutes. I don t look at the time  until I am done meditating .

And now ,I don t really try to do anything with my mind.I just imagine random things,a lot of times  songs come up in my head and I don t really restrict my mind.

If I want to be mad at someone for doing something to me,I just think at that  and I accept that I am mad. If I wanna cry silently ,I let myself cry . I start to think what I would do tomorrow,about my assignments  and..all sorts of things that you usually think throughout  your day.The only difference is that now I sit still.

So....is this how it s suppoesed to be? Also,what can I do about the numbness of my legs(I sit cross legged on a pillow on a carpet).Should I just ...let it be?

Thank you for your time.

Martin.

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[Azrael]

Yeah, you do it right. But I'd suggest not meditating more then 20 minutes in the first 3 months if you wanna do it consistently for the rest of your life. If you try to go for a hour right in the beginning, you'll quit in about a month. Be assured. Start slow and then increase the time as the habit is rooted in your daily routine. There is no race you can win here by over-doing it in the beginning. You'll just lose motivation.

[ElenaO]

It's great you are noticing the thoughts that come up in your mind. I believe this is how you build the awareness. The way I do it is noticing the thoughts and letting them go. Noticing your own thoughts and being aware of them coming in is probably the toughest in meditation.

[Alex4]

I think you are doing it alright! but Im a newbie too

Edited October 23, 2016 by Alex4

[Bob84]

@MARTIN LENNARD Legs falling asleep, itching sensations, pains in your neck, etc are just sensations. Your mind tends to make them a lot worse then they are (or even panic). I personally sit true them as eventually you realize its just a feeling in the body (and you stop labeling it).

[Jared Gregory]

I meditate 20 minutes each day. Sit up so my back is erect and not slouched. And i allow thoughts to come and go and just observe them without judgment.  

[Chris40]

use the do nothing technique for 3 to 6 weeks, then try guided meditation and see how you do with that...this can be a huge adjustment for people using the  do nothing technique because its a complete 180 from do nothing,, now your concentrating on your thoughts instead of just centering yourself away from your thoughts, and can be very agitating, frustrating, I found when I started guided meditation it was taking me 20 minutes or more to finding  that tranquil restful state..

I had a lot of limiting beliefs that I didnt know I had, meditation made them very clear to me....and I learned that understanding them is one thing, dealing with, coping and finally not resisting was another...and then focusing your awareness on them to breaking the pattern was another thing all together......I see now the artistry of meditation.     

[YaNanNallari]

I personally as Jared said try to simply stay aware of what I'm thinking. I also try to not change them in any way and allow all kinds of thoughts and emotions to go by. I doubt you can go too wrong with what I'm doing.

[avk123]

What if you wake up late in the morning and you have to do something urgently ?

Do you cast out meditation ? 

[TheSophie]

I would advise that it can be hard to distinguish between real 'no nothing' and consciously choosing what you think about, so watch that.

You mentioned the word 'want' a few times and 'I just imagine random things'... I guess what I'm trying to say is that finding yourself thinking about 'A' is quite distinct from realising you can think about 'A' and then choosing to think about it.

Did that make any sense?

And also it seems important (at least to me) to not just apply do nothing to the initial thoughts. For example if the thought of having sex pops into your head then it's not 'job done' now I get to fantasise about sex all I like.

I've had sessions when almost thing popped into my head and it was very tempting to 'force things along' a little bit - the part of my mind that was doing the exercise was kind of like 'aw, come on, you could be thinking about ANYTHING, no rules, no guilt, go crazy!' but my mind was just 'nah, I'm cool, [silence....]'

[30secs]

On 10/22/2016 at 2:16 AM, MARTIN LENNARD said:

Also,what can I do about the numbness of my legs(I sit cross legged on a pillow on a carpet).

hehe..this is one painful  challenge Ive been through, but in my opinion you can stretch your legs for a few minutes to let the blood flow, stay relax and take care of your body.