Help with motivation

roosh

Hey guys,

In the past few months I've really let my practice slip; I've gone from sitting every day, to pretty much nothing.

It's a classic case of never seeming to have time, even though it's more a case of not taking the time.

I'm sure others have found themselves in a similar situation before, I'm just wondering what you did to reinvigorate your practice?

conor.hogan.2

I have never meditated* so I am of no help.

*in the proper sitting sense, anyway.

18AD

I wish I had some good advice, but I don't.

What has stopped you from continuing practice?

Being a hard nose (amateur) Zen addict, I would say that there is no solution to motivate you. Simply do the sitting. As long as you're looking for motivation outside of meditation itself you're actively seeking distractions.

That said, anything you may find useful would be helpful as a stepping stone.

I've only being doing it for a few years and haven't hit a slump in my practice.

Sit and count.

A short routine is better than no routine at all. 10, 50 or 100 breaths.

Actually, maybe I do have a little bit of advice. Incorporate meditation into the things you are busy with. Do it on the bus, in the wind, before bed, waiting for the kettle, in the shower or eating an icecream.

Edit: You could also start a public meditation log. Peer pressure is useful.

A lot of these things are merely a question of habit. And of reminding yourself why do you want to do this in the first place? Do you do it just for the sake of it or just because you think you should?
If you break the habit of not doing it, remind yourself frequently why you want to do it in the first place, that will be a good step for mindfulness also

conor.hogan.2

I "sit just to sit" but I have never sat to meditate, the one major thing (besides re-incarnation) I have never really understood with Buddhism is meditation in the traditional buddhism sense of the word.

This is what I meant in my above post. This would still be meditation for me anyway.

mccoist

your reply attracted me
like others i sit to sit as you put it
i have let it become my practice
sitting or struggling to sit or meditate is far more interesting
than really comfortable meditation periods for e
the other bit of your message is your query on re-incarnation
i also found this a difficult idea
to grasp or comprehend
i sat one time in galway with a thai buddhist
monk who explained that re-incarnation is a hindu concept and being re-born is more how buddhist view the world

roosh

cheers guys. Part of the reason I fell out of practicing was bcos I was in a situation where one of the "three jewels" was missing - the sangha.

I've talked to a few people and found they would be interested in meeting regularly to do some practice, so hopefully that will help to get me back on track.


The reason I want to practice is because of the benefits I know it can have. Since falling out of practice I've noticed how subtly the mind lapses back into old habits. Hopefully I can get back into it again. And if I don't, I don't I suppose.


As for the idea of re-incarnation - more in the hindu sense than the buddhist, as was mentioned above - I've tried to think of it in terms of the universe being continually re-born, as opposed to "me" or "us".

An analogy I found somewhat intuitive was that of a tree. A tree grows from a seed, from sapling to a great oak; the oak produces a seed of it's own, which falls from the tree and in turn grows into another tree; the first tree can die, but the second tree lives on and prodcues a seed which goes on to become a tree itslef.

From each tree comes a new one, but nothing that didn't exist before is ever created; "the tree" continues to be re-born, but everytime it is a "different tree".

randomchild

I find myself in a similiar situation op. I keep putting off attending to my practice thinking i'll do it late and later each day and never finding the time. Really poor on my part.

I think I'm going to push myself to just get up earlier and make sure I do not do anything at all during the day until its done!

bonzo_k

Personally, I find the following points help maintain a consistent daily practice

Sit for at least for 5 minutes daily.
Try to increase that daily time over the months and years, but at the least do your 5 minutes.
Sit at the same time daily to establish a routine, however if your daily schedule doesn't allow that, you should sit whenever an opportunity arises.
Dont be hard on yourself if you don't manage to do your daily sittting. Just move on and try and do your 5 minutes the next day.

I wish you the best.

D