image courtesy laszlo-photo
I’m 3 days into a 30-day commitment to meditate every day. I’m following the advice that Roger is posting on his blog, A Content Life. Although I’m not a novice to meditation, I believe in the wisdom of “the beginner mind”:
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” - Shunryo Suzuki-Roshi
Since reading and pondering these words, I have found this approach to life to be enriching. {Hmmmm… maybe future post topic?}
Here’s how it has been so far:
Day 1: Just home from vacation for a day and saw Roger had posted his second post in the series. Reminded me to get started. I read about each of the positions. The beginner’s mind paid off! I’ve always meditated on the floor but realized sitting in my office chair that it is perfect for seated meditation. I also found that the Equanimity Project online timer suits me perfectly. I love those bells.
However, when I tried to actually meditate, I didn’t last 2 minutes before I got sick. Brushed teeth, rested a bit, tried again. Sick again. Brushed, rested, sat and realized I hurt. Not sitting hurt but sick hurt. Went to bed. Day 1 was informative but no meditation really took place.
Day 2: Ahhh… much better. I thought I’d start with 5 minutes, and it went by very quickly. I’m finding the Monkey Mind mostly thinking about what my body feels like. Wow, stomach growling… maybe should have had a few bites of that breakfast cooling in the kitchen. Ugh, those pepitas tasted good but I never realized the aftertaste. Wow, I smell funny. I know I showered before bed but eww - guess I sweated in my sleep? There goes my tummy again…
Feels good to be trying it again, like sitting in that favorite comfortable chair at grandma’s house after not visiting in a long time.
Day 3: Another good day of meditation. It is easy to reach 10 over and over, but in the beginner mind spirit I am sticking with this for a few more days. I realized that I breathe a lot different than I used to, when I was younger and (ahem) weighed a little less. Hmmm… never noticed that before now. 5 minutes went by FAR too quickly. Think I’ll try 10 minutes tomorrow.
I’ll post another update next week…. this feels good so I think it will be easy to stick with. Someone tell me why I stopped meditating?
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Ann Elise,
Congratulation on starting your 30 day meditation trial and thank you for the link!
You are off to a great start! I’m glad you found a good posture. Many people don’t realize that you can effectively meditate in a chair.
I hope you do a future post on Beginner’s Mind. I think it would be useful.
Roger, in the Buddhist sangha where I learned, everyone did seated meditation. It is comfortable for me, but I feel more balance now, both physically and metaphysically, seated in my office chair. The back is angled away just perfect that I can maintain my posture unsupported. Plus the arm rests are just the perfect height.
[...] week, you studied and practiced insight meditation. Ann Elise at Ann Elise Mitchell has begun following this tutorial with a 30-day mediation commitment. Jay at Porsidan has continued following this tutorial and has posted his latest experiences. [...]