Meditation, hypnosis and bizzare benefits...

[Milgrim]

this is a problem that ive had recently.

ive done basic mindful breath meditation for a few years now. there are a few times where i sort of reach this out of body feeling. i also become extremely happy for seemingly no reason. its a cool experience. BUT....reaching that state is not the point of meditation, and ironically, TRYING to reach that state prevents me from doing so.

long story short, i have this underlying goal-oriented attitude when i meditate lately and its been less meaningful. hopefully this will go away with time.

That is actually one of the reasons I started meditating. I was too goal oriented and always unsatisfied until I accomplished what I set out to do. When I did, I just added a new set of goals and started over. Meditation is helping me get past that, which basically means living in/appreciating the moment - enjoying the journey rather than being fixated on the destination, if that makes sense.

I hope it becomes natural. I just feel like if I am not exerting myself then I am not getting the benefits compared to when I do. But then again exerting my attention requires more discipline as oppose to just closing my eyes and giving in to passivity. I don't know, maybe I should have an element of passivity with the element of work and discipline for long term effect.

That ties into what I said above. The first hurdle I had to get over was being to goal oriented about meditation. Putting in effort to make it work becomes the distraction that makes it not work. Focus is important, yes, but 'discipline' is a bit of a judgment - 'I should be able to do this if I try harder'. It's counter-intuitive, but it comes more easily when you don't push for it. That has been my experience (and my hurdle to clear), anyway.

 

[Ogata]

That is actually one of the reasons I started meditating. I was too goal oriented and always unsatisfied until I accomplished what I set out to do. When I did, I just added a new set of goals and started over. Meditation is helping me get past that, which basically means living in/appreciating the moment - enjoying the journey rather than being fixated on the destination, if that makes sense.



That ties into what I said above. The first hurdle I had to get over was being to goal oriented about meditation. Putting in effort to make it work becomes the distraction that makes it not work. Focus is important, yes, but 'discipline' is a bit of a judgment - 'I should be able to do this if I try harder'. It's counter-intuitive, but it comes more easily when you don't push for it. That has been my experience (and my hurdle to clear), anyway.

For sure I am incorporating deep breaths during mundane tasks or visualization during passive stretching.