'This is boring'
This thought pops up, unprovoked, during at least 50% of my
sessions. It happens regardless of length of time I'm meditating for or what
mood I'm in. The reason it is totally fine: it kind of is boring. Sitting there
when you could be watching TV, reading a book or having a glass of red wine is
hardly going to fill you with a sense of excitement. The best thing to do when
boredom strikes is to try and forget about it, acknowledge you've had the
thought and try to bring your attention back to your breath.
'It’s so busy in here, I'm doing this wrong'
I've been meditating for about 6 months now and it took me a
long while to accept that some days my brain will be busier than others, and that
it is perfectly fine to feel that way. Meditation isn’t about blocking out all
thoughts and sitting in utter silence, it’s about watching your thoughts pass
by and letting them come and go rather than dwelling and allowing them to grow
into whole stories.
'I'm so tired'
I'm guilty of starting a mediation in bed and falling asleep.
Sometimes I'm so busy thinking of nothing that I lose track of what I'm
supposed to be doing and just fall asleep. It’s a great way to relax the whole
body and mind, and I do often use meditative techniques to get myself to sleep
- moving through the body slowly and noticing everything I can in a certain
area. There are certainly benefits to falling asleep through your practice - at
least you know you can use it when suffering from a bout of insomnia. The easy
way to avoid this is to sit up, either on a chair or cross legged on the floor.
'Oh god, that mistake
I made today/yesterday/last year is haunting me'
As a massive stress ball I often find myself recounting the
day’s mistakes, particularly when I have nothing else to think about. The best
thing about meditation is that when these “bad” memories pop it becomes a
chance to focus on feelings of compassion, for yourself and for others. It
allows you to learn to not dwell on these thoughts but to, to allow them to
pass without attaching any emotion to them. Noticing, but not focussing on
these thoughts allows more room for the feeling of compassion to grow from the
inside.
I really needed to read some of these...thank you
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