|
Out of curiosity, why did you stop your meditation routine? Anyway, I agree with you — meditation appears to be able to make that kind of introspection automatic, which is a real boon. That's true in my own experience over the past 3 months as a n00b[1], and seems to be the case for many/most people. It (automatically) changes the "I don't want to do rowing" feeling into an observation like, "Oh, here's the predictable urge to not do rowing arising". It's a subtle difference, but the main point is that it feels different and separate from "I (me, myself) don't want to do X". Obviously, "I don't want to row" isn't accurate. PREVIOUS you wanted to row, or you would not have bought the rowing machine. SUBSEQUENT you will presumably be happier and more satisfied (and a bit healthier!) if you do the rowing. It's just the shard of you in THIS MOMENT that "doesn't want to" — and even that is likely inaccurate if you notice and examine the urge. It is probably just one of several competing thoughts/sensations arising in consciousness. What meditation practice (pretty quickly) makes automatic is something you can also intentionally do on purpose, if you have a lot of energy and your willpower reserves are holding up: enable making the decision of whether to engage with and identify with this thought, and therefore perpetuate it into the next moment (and the next, and the next), or to just let it pass away on its own. [1]: I started by reading the book "Ten Percent Happier", thought the science-based benefits of meditation sounded interesting, and tried a few of the apps available. I settled on Waking Up (and, accidentally, Ten Percent Happier since I forgot to cancel the trial subscription, so now I do both). I think each of these apps might suit one's personality differently, depending, but any of them will do the trick. You also don't need an app; you could just read a book, but app is an easier way to get started. It is like weight-lifting: the gains for n00bs are easy and almost impossible not to get. You just have to do it. You totally don't have to do it well. I "couldn't" meditate at all at first, even with guidance. I couldn't tell anything different was happening, compared to me just sitting there. It took maybe twenty ten-minute sessions before I was like, "oh, I think I just meditated for a couple seconds". As I progressed, I realized my previous self-assessments weren't accurate, but after two months of daily meditation (just 10-15 minutes a day!) I noticed not only that I could now do it (part of this was learning that finding yourself lost in thought, and letting the thoughts dissipate and just refocusing on the breath or whatever the object of meditation is), but also that I was getting IRL benefits from it later, during daily life when not meditating. |