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Question for July 27, 2014: Supporting Practice
Medivate — 12 years ago — in Question of the Week
What factors — people, ideas, etc — support your meditation practice?

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davidbhayes — 12 years ago — permalink
  • My desire to always be able to take the action I'll later know is right. This one is huge for me. Mindfulness practice has really clicked for me because I've seen in my life so many times that I did something at the time that seemed right and then later realized it was wrong. I've heard this gap of when one takes an action to when the wiser action is clear as a "refractory period", but whatever you call the idea the point is that I find that as I practice I'm much better able to ask "What's the wisest response in this situation?" before I respond, rather than hours later. And that difference, being seen, feels so powerful and useful that it keeps me practicing.
  • Medivate helps, but in a way I doubt it does for other users. Because I'm a cofounder of the site, I feel pretty dedicated to using it, paying attention to it, and using its log to track how I'm doing. I don't think we've got it sticky enough that it has had the same effect for any other users as well as it does for me, unfortunately.
  • Dharma talks. I've never sought or found a local sangha, but I regularly listen to podcasts, and listening to some specific podcasts of dharma talks is hugely supportive to me. The diversity of perspectives I get from Audio Dharma and Dharma Seed really keeps me interested, and regularly drops a new idea into my practice and life that makes me remember why I'm doing the practice and what my goals are.
I'm quite certain there are other supportive influences, but those immediately came to mind.