All posts tagged “better”

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gordon — 12 years ago — permalink

This is a great question. For me, I don't believe that any meditation session is better than another. When I sit it is with a willingness to sit with whatever arises without turning away from it. Yesterday I began my sitting and then the dog started barking incessantly yet I simply made the dog barking the focus of my meditation and allowed the waves of anger to course through me without reacting. Often, with the busyness of school, my sittings are restless and not pleasurable but if I believe that my sitting is supposed to be a certain way than maybe I would stop. As well, we miss seeing that things don't need to go according to plan for it to be acceptable or good. A bad sitting might engender the thought that I should go back and do another 7 day retreat but then I would get into the retreat and be sitting for long periods and then think I wish I were back home with the tv and distractions because this practice is driving me crazy. I hear from a lot of people that their meditations are peaceful and that meditation is something very calm and nice and I have become better at just allowing my practice to be what it is. I have calm meditations but I also have turbulent meditations. It is important to keep meditating even though you may think that you aren't feeling the way you want to feel. We have a good day and we feel great so we don't sit then we have a bad day and we feel awful so we sit for long periods to try to fix it. This misses the point of tuning in to everything without attachment. Meditation isn't just something you do to become calm it is something you do to see how you are at all moments and to be with the experience as it arises.

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Lullabyehaze — 12 years ago — permalink

I like the question, and I really like the reply from gordon. My first thought at reading the question was yes, definitely. I definitely have sessions that are calm and peaceful, and in which I am very present. Sometimes a great idea or solution will come to me during meditation, or I will slowly work through a negative feeling that I am experiencing. 
But other sessions, like gordon says, are full of anger or impatience. Or maybe they are full of positive emotion like excitement about something that is happening later in the day. Sometimes I have sessions where I think, "does that even "count" as meditation?" Maybe that was just thinking or planning. All of this goes to show that I definitely have the tendency to want to evaluate the quality or content of my sessions.
So, sessions are each different from each other, but I agree that the point is just to see what happens. I am working on this non-attached and non-evaluative attitude.

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