All posts tagged “stuck”
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Question for June 22, 2014: Stuckness in Meditation
Medivate — 12 years ago — in Question of the Week
Medivate — 12 years ago — in Question of the Week
Do you feel — or have you in the past — felt stuck on a particular obstacle to meditation?
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davidbhayes — 12 years ago — permalinkLately I've been feeling a bit dull and bored. I should really go do some research & advice-seeking on it. Anyone have anything to recommend?▲
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davidbhayes — 12 years ago — permalinkHuh. I'll have to hold that question for a bit. Seems like a good one.
To answer immediately, my mind seems to eagerly seek anything novel and not the object (typically my meditation object is the breath) to attach to a be able to play with. As though what it is experiencing isn't sufficient. I'm reading that as boredom.▲
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davidbhayes — 12 years ago — permalinkI've been sitting with this question for a few days. It's brought clarity on a few different things.
The most concrete is that a lot of the time when I'm looking for distraction — which I thought was caused by "boredom" — is actually a drive for comfort. I want to adjust my posture to be more comfortable, but I also want a place for my mind to land to keep it comfortably active. I'd not noticed the latter part — grabbing the phone and checking email is typically a seek for the "comfort" of the distraction of email.
The other more broad point I'd not realized was how much the label I give to a bundle of things allows me to safely avoid needing to investigate and be more attentive. This is a thing I feel a bit like I should have known, but it surprised me. The power of this or any question — that at first I was like "what a dumb simple question..." — is that it makes you see more clearly and accurately all that's really there.▲
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PurplePotato — 12 years ago — permalinkGood to hear. I was originally going to post something much longer but then had a feeling that that wasn't the best idea, and thought of the simple question. I also wondered whether it would look like too simple a question - I'm glad it worked!
You can use this sort of inquiry on just about anything that comes up: How do I know x is true?
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Question for June 5, 2016: Stuckness in Meditation
Medivate — 10 years ago — in Question of the Week
Medivate — 10 years ago — in Question of the Week
Do you feel — or have you in the past — felt stuck on a particular obstacle to meditation?
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Question for April 15, 2018: Stuckness in Meditation
Medivate — 9 years ago — in Question of the Week
Medivate — 9 years ago — in Question of the Week
Do you feel — or have you in the past — felt stuck on a particular obstacle to meditation?
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Question for March 1, 2020: Stuckness in Meditation
Medivate — 7 years ago — in Question of the Week
Medivate — 7 years ago — in Question of the Week
Do you feel — or have you in the past — felt stuck on a particular obstacle to meditation?
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NEBULABUFF — 7 years ago — permalinkSure. Obstacles both minor and major impact meditation. I suppose the most common is missing a session, or just feeling unable to make it through your time goal for each session. Other times, householder duties make it really difficult to meet one's goal of meditating twice, or even once each day.
I like Shantideva's advice on obstacles. He was an 8th century Buddhist Monk. He said when talking about the problems of being human, "Don't worry about it! Let it be How can we understand it all in one day?"
The point is that, things will come up that impact our lives and our intent to meditate. It's only natural. But, don't worry about it. Forget about it and carry on doing as best you can. Certainly don't beat yourself up about it. That only serves to make our
meditation, when we can do it more of a dreaded chore. Don't worry about it! Let it be.
Blessings to you.