Another New Years resolution, another attempt at getting somewhere with meditation. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve tried over the years.
Using mantras, mindfulness, contemplation, visualisation, chanting, nature, just sitting and probably some others I can’t bring to mind, I’ve had varying success.
I think my main problem is that I have a busy mind, and I get a lot of colds, neither of which make meditation easy. So 30 minutes of meditation once a day, for instance, doesn’t seem to make any inroads into my everyday state. After a few weeks or months, I inevitably get disheartened and jack it in for a while.
I’d at least like to get to a stage where my everyday mind is considerably calmer and clearer than it is at the moment. The only times I’ve had glimpses of that have been at the end of week-long retreats but then it’s back to everyday life, and the feeling is lost.
My plan this time is to start with 30 minutes of meditation twice a day, with the odd intermediate session when I have time. So I’ll be getting up earlier from now on to get the first session out of the way when it’s quiet. I just hope I don’t sleep my way through it!
I’m going to be doing mindfulness of the breath, focusing on the breath going in and out of my nostrils, as it’s a simple technique and I’ve used it before. Hopefully, I can remember the little tricks I’ve done before to keep my mind focused.
I think I need to make sure I do enough meditation to have a beneficial effect on my everyday mind. If I start to experience positive changes through the day, it will give me the encouragement to carry on meditating.
So, in the words of Pink Floyd, “Set the controls for the heart of the sun” – I’m on my way – again!