I am inspired. I have been dancing around the notion of starting a meditation practice for a couple of years now without actually committing. The rewards and benefits you’ve found are compelling. The benefit of better sleep is not one I had heard before. That alone.....! Thank you for sharing your experience. If you have any advice for beginners, about fitting that half hour into a full life, or about anything you deem helpful, I am interested. Thanks again.
Hello @ducksaplenty, So glad this is useful for you! I do have a few thoughts to offer -
firstly, for beginners support can be important so finding a teacher or a class can be ideal, OR simply using an app is great too. There are so many different types of apps that offer guided meditations, or mindfulness guidance that you can then use on your own. I've heard good things about the 10%happier app and headspace too.
the second thing is how to find the time in an already full life. I feel like everyday I need an extra 3 hours so I completely understand! And I know that all of these great benefits are hard to remember when carving out the time. I remind myself that 20 minutes of meditation is worth 3x the same amount of sleep so I tell myself that I can go to bed later if I need that time. I also allow myself to only do 10 minutes if in a real pinch or even to do it at another time of day (as long as I actually show up for this self-promise) so as not to miss it entirely. I've found that for me the everyday consistency is more important than the actual amount of time meditating.
I hope that helps @ducksaplenty!
Hi @natureofbeing! Yes, your comments were very helpful. Especially the notion that some is better than none in your daily practice. Gentleness with oneself is a good idea in so many areas.
I did try headspace during one of my forays into meditation, and I liked some things about it. One thing I liked was the attempt to make the concepts more accessible. Ultimately though, an app wasn't a fit for me.
I'm an audiophile though and like to listen to Pema Chodron and use her meditation techniques. If you are in Oregon as your pictures seem to indicate, say hello to that lovely place. I am an Oregonian transplanted to the Midwest. Thanks for the response.