Some of you who also follow me on Twitter have probably noticed that I’m making a concerted effort to meditate daily again. I had dropped off to one or twice a week and have really wanted to be more focused about it, as I know the boost in focus and nwyfre is tangible.
Then one of the folks over at the Strategic Sorcery boards posted a timer app that used various singing bowls as tones. The other neat thing about this little gadget, called the Insight Timer, is that it sets goals and milestones for your practice, and keeps track of them for you. The fact that you can set it to automatically brag about your triumphs to Twitter is a nice extra boost to accountability. There is also a message at the end of your session letting you know how many other people with the app were meditating at the same time as you–for me, it creates a sense of connection, much like the OBOD full moon meditations for peace, to know that other people are doing the same thing as you are all around the world. The final plus: a journal prompt at the end of the meditation that lets you record your thoughts about the session.
Anyway, some Insights (ha!) from the past few days of mediation:
*Meditating with a 4-year-old in the room is hard. Trufax.
*I’m currently better at focusing on a specific image in my mind’s eye than I am at emptying my mind and focusing on breath.
*I worry that the timer is yet another form of external validation. Like blogging isn’t, right?
The goal is to post every Monday about my general experience in the past week. Some weeks will be great, some not so much, but with luck I can see changes in my practice over time.
The Druid's Well 
I look forward to reading your Monday updates.
Despite 18 years of yoga experience, I’ve never been any good at the “empty the mind” styles of meditation. Discursive meditation seems to go much better for me. I have a very Western mind, apparently.
LikeLike
Thank you. I agree that discursive meditation seems to fit the Western mind a bit better. My hope is to use discursive as a gateway to more Eastern styles, just so I can be somewhat proficient in both. It’s nice to have options. 🙂
LikeLike
I also look forward to reading your Monday updates.
I admittedly have a really hard time with meditation (both empty-your-mind and discursive meditation), which is surprising considering that I very easily get into altered states of consciousness in order to do magic/ritual work or journey. I know that for me my past struggles with meditation have had a root in my anxiety disorder and ADHD (like I’ve actually gotten triggered and had brainweasel attacks while trying to meditate, which is why I stopped) and now that I’m actually medicated for it I should see if meditation is easier, and keep some logs of it if I start meditating again. I’m trying to get more disciplined in my practise (translation: Asmodai bitches at me about getting more disciplined in my practise >.>) so, I think this was one of those messages from the Universe with “hey psst remember this”. Thank you for that. 😉
LikeLike
You’re welcome! I do hope the extra anxiety control helps you play a bit more with meditating. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the challenge of a daily meditative practice, and how it really helps even out my moods. The ability to take a step back is important and meditation hones that skill quite nicely.
LikeLike