| Recently, I've been able to meditate for 2 hours per day for a month. Before that I maybe meditated for 10 minutes per month for years on end. What I did have going for me is that I had about 600 hours of meditation experience already. So I knew what to do when I hear the words "just meditate". I knew something had to change, and I knew that I wanted to do 2 hours as I know I need a lot of it. I made a challenge with a friend of mine who felt simirlarly: for each hour that we don't meditate, we pay the other person $100 or we lie and have to face ourselves in the mirror over that. Other than the penultimate day, where I was struggling with severe sleep issues (meditation doesn't solve that right out of the gate), I didn't miss a single session. Through this challenge I learned what motivates me. I've seen similar things in videos and blog posts but now I found it out through my own experience. So learning that more deeply is an amazing bonus. Also, having a good streak going now, it's easier to keep on going than before (still not easy though!). What meditation does for me: - I understand my autonomous nervous system better (it does help indirectly with sleep) - I crave things less (with mindfulness) - I feel more joyful inside my body (with mindfulness) - I can focus better (if I do enough breathing meditation) - I love people more unconditionally (with loving-kindness meditation) There are many more things, but that's what I'm seeing for now. |