In early January, I am taking a course in Vipassana meditation, where there will be no distractions, not even talking. I will rise at 4am to learn this meditation until 9, when I will sleep.
I was wondering what you guys would dedicate all that concentration towards? I intend to think about my goals in life, which I think is quite important for me to do; though maybe you’d think of something else?
Also, I intend to read a book or two before I go, just to get a new perspective on things.
I see that it’s a Buddhist method. I’d recommend you start with thinking about nothing. Try counting your breaths to ten, and then restarting. Just ignore any thoughts that come to you.
This’ll help your concentration for the rest of the time you meditate.
I would focus only on my breathing. If thoughts of anything else came to mind, which would be quite normal, I would gently move them aside mentally and return to focusing on my breathing.
That is what I would do unless instructed to do otherwise.
Focusing on your breathing is a means to an end: focusing on nothing..
Count down the number of seconds until you can leave.
But really, get in touch with what’s important in your life. Review your life from the beginning up to this point. Think about things you can change in your life to make it better. Reduce your wants to a very few. Get rid of all feelings of guilt and regret. Wonder about philosophical things. Try some “wild writing” - just write, don’t worry about what, or whether is makes any sense, or whether the punctuation is correct, just write.
If you’re supposed to be getting instruction in this particular technique, I wouldn’t arrive with any preconceived ideas about what I was going to be thinking about. I would listen to the instruction and attempt to follow it. I believe Vipassana is about attending to the moment and developing compassion. Do you have any information about what to expect? There must be some reason you were willing to sign up for it.
You might read the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness.
For a 10-days chunk of time I would travel somewhere different in the world and think about the new sights, smells, sounds, etc. Walking a lot and thinking about the new experiences would be a form of meditation for me. The usual distractions would be gone, like cell phone, computer, traffic while driving, work, etc. I seriously doubt if I could go somewhere for 10 days, pay money, and do what you just described. However, those meditations might be good for your health.
My mom and several friends have done the 10 day Vipassana meditation. What other posters have said is true. You will be instructed to attend to your breath and to return to the moment by attending to your breath whenever your mind wanders. You will also be sitting in the same position for hours and hours.
Your problem won’t be what to think about. It will be how not to think about the kabillion things that keep intruding.
Those I know who have done this have said it was one of the hardest things they’ve ever done. They also seem to find it extremely rewarding but I am so not tempted.
I’m with some of the other posters, if I’ve got 10 days free to do whatever I want, I am not going to spend it paying good money to sit still, do nothing, and try not to think.
It’s possible I might want to spend 10 days thinking, but I would be doing that thinking with a pencil and paper, possibly several self-help books and breaks for luxurious meals, long walks, and hot bubble baths.
That said, Good Luck BrainFreeze. I hope it is a good experience for you. Post back to this thread to let us know how it goes (or post a note linking to a MPSIMS thread).
P.S. I notice you ask what books one would read. If I were going to do my 10 day thinking, eating, bubble bath retreat, I would definitely take Barbara Sher’s Live the Life You Love
I’ve done Tai Chi and yoga, and tried mediation. The problem I have with it is that it’s so freaking boring. I am sure there’s something I’m missing, but thinking about nothing is utterly impossible for me. My brain goes like:
Brainfreeze you need to start meditating now. The first two weeks of meditating are very frustrating because you can’t quite decide what “following the breath” REALLY means. You’ll keep changing your focus of attention onto different aspects of your breath trying to decide “Is this what they mean?” It only takes two weeks to get out the most basic frustrating kinks and you don’t want to be doing this while on the retreat. You’ll be really glad you
got some practice in first. Vispassana requires some skill with a basic zazen type meditation first. No doubt you will do a form of breath counting before beginning Vispassana each day.
Meditation is not about clearing your mind. It’s not about thinking about nothing. That’s impossible to do. You may eventually think about nothing but you can’t get there by trying. You get there by focusing on one thing and one thing only. The best object of that kind of attention is your breath. Here is what I suggest doing everyday until the retreat:
Find a comfortable, quiet place where you will be free from distractions for the duration. You don’t want to worry that the phone is going to ring or that someone will come busting in the room. Even the possiblity of such will greatly hamper your ability to become involved in the moment.
Set a timer to let you know that your meditation time is up. Better than looking at a clock every few minutes.
Take a few deep breaths, let your eye lids relax but not necessarily close.
Begin inhaling while counting one (in your head), extending the word over the entire duration of the inhalation. When you exhale count
two. Keep doing this until your reach 10 at which time you should begin again at one. Inhalations will be odd, exhalations even and all breathing should be done through your nose.
When your mind wanders start back at one. No need to chastise yourself when your mind wanders. What’s important is that you recognized that your mind wandered and brought it back to the task at hand. No prizes are awarded for getting to 10 either.
Be sure to breathe into your lower abdomen. This is why posture is important because you want your hips pitched slightly forward to give your diaphram room to extend.
8 In zazen you generally concentrate on the physical feelings in the abdomen. In vispassana, attention is typically directed at the feelings in the change of temperature at your nose when the air rushes in and out. Both have their advantages. Concentrating on your abdomen seems to center your mind and also ensures you breathe from your belly. However, focusing on where your breath meets your nostrils gives a very clear point of concentration. Zazen is particularly frustrating at first because you don’t know quite where in your belly you are “supposed” to focus. At this point I would still recommend focusing on your belly until you know for sure that you are breathing into your belly.
Try and meditate twice a day for 15 minutes.
I am the poster boy for ADHD and I don’t find meditation “boring” though I do find it often frustrating. Once you get into “samadhi” time just warps. After your first few attempts you will wonder how anyone could ever meditate for 20 minutes. Then you’ll get your first glimpse of what its like to be completely absorbed and you’ll get it. Of course when you do get absorbed you will inevitably say “Holy shit! I’m absorbed” and then lose it again.
If you have any questions, just ask. If you don’t have the discipline to do the above then I suggest you put of the retreat until you do.
another vote for nothing, you will most likely get some instructions, but if not, or if it is open, try to clear your mind of all thought. This ‘nothing’ might lead you to places you really want to go.
The only person here who sounds like they’ve actually done any meditating is jjimm. You can’t think of nothing. You can’t clear your mind. You can achieve what people mean when they say that by focusing your concentration on one thing. Thinking about only one think for any length of time is nearly impossible if you haven’t done it. Thinking about nothing is a lesson in futility.
I don’t do any sort of eastern meditation. The only thing I can do is try and meditate while praying the rosary. For me, it’s not about emptying my mind. If I try to empty it, the more things distract me. (“If I refinance my mortgage, can I afford to buy more land? Did I finish my paperwork at the office? Darn! My nose itches. If my dog farts one more time he’s sleeping in the guest room.”) The beauty of the rosary is that you can lose yourself in the rythem of the prayers. You focus on each decade, saying your prays while concentrating on the mystery for that Decade (Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries) Sometimes, when I’m really in it, time seems to stop. I’m not thinking about the prayers…it’s almost like I’m there, in the Mystery. I don’t quite lose my place so much as I take the time I need to explore that internally. It’s hard to explain and is probably not what you’re interested in anyway.
Sometime, when I can find someone to look after my animals and can take some time from work, I’m planning to go here on a retreat to a Trappist monastery. This is from their website:
I don’t think I have it in me to be a true comtemplative, but the things I’ve experienced while trying make it worth the effort.
I wouldn’t think about anything…I’d just sing Nena’a 99 Luftballoons (in German) over and over and over again. Of course, I am trying to make myself insane just to see how long it would take…
“Hast du etwas Zeit fuer mich
Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer dich…”
With all due respect, you certainly can think of nothing - also called ‘just being’, it is the goal of many meditations, but it was early and I suggested to do that which is incorrect. To think of nothing, you have to usually get there by a back door. Either by the suggested focused meditation (explained above) or a open meditation (being aware of everything at once {as much as you can}). The 2nd one is better suited for people with attention difficulity (ADHD like).
Also may I suggest ‘Meditation for dummies’ which is more focused (no pun intended) on the focused type, but does mention other types along with thinking of nothing, or ‘just being’
