Your mind does not want you to meditate. On your next solid meditation, when you feel alive, full, lacking nothing, ask yourself: who is it that does not want me to meditate... Pay very close attention to where the answer is coming from. Rest on that emptiness. One glimpse and you will have taken a leap greater than some who meditate for decades. Cheers!
Do it first thing when you get up. It's easiest to slide into from sleep, before you interact with people or devices.
Don't ever skip a day. Do just one minute, even if you're late for your flight. Don't stop. Continuity is important.
The best practice is the one that you'll DO. If you want to do shorter sessions, do shorter sessions and don't feel bad about it. Don't make it a burden. Better to do short sessions than to demoralize yourself and stop.
Came here to say this exactly. First thing when you wake up in the mornings. Before reaching for your phone or allowing your mind to wander off, just lay there for a few minutes connecting with your breath. A beautiful practice.
I convinced myself that if I don't do it - I won't become a better person, my life won't be together, I'll spiral into degeneration, and I'll be a failure. And so, self imposed guilt got me to stay consistent :)
Standard habit formation protocol:
* **Implementation intention.** Select a clear and specific trigger that's already a part of your day after which you immediately start meditating. Write it down formally. "I will meditate sometime today" is bad. "I will meditate as soon as I finish my first cup of morning coffee" is good. (researched by Dr. Peter Gollwitzer)
* **Mental Contrasting.** Freewrite out what you want to get out of this habit. Include emotions. Brainstorm things that can prevent you from discharging said habit of meditating. Figure out workarounds. Protip: This might effect your what trigger you select. (researched by Dr. Gabriele Oettingen)
* **Recording**. A simple google spreadsheet with day, date, and a place for notes will work. I turn a cell green if I've done meditation for the day. Protip: Do your recording at the same time every day using a trigger like it's a separate habit in and of itself. Use the Self Report Habit Index (SRHI), the lab measure for sliding strength of habit strength to track this if you can. (researched by Drs. Orbell and Verplanken).
* **Tiny Habits.** Start your habit ludicrously small. You will feel this is ridiculous and feel like you're wasting time, but remember, the weight of the habit is going to feel light at first, and then heavier after a few weeks. You need it to be so light that on harder days it's easier to default to doing it. Make it small and easy, like just observing your breath for 2 breaths. (researched by Dr. BJ Fogg).
* **Misc**. If you miss a day, don't worry you don't have to start from the beginning, just keep going and make sure not to have a streak of missed days. Habit strength is not strictly attached to consistency, it's still forming up. Do not expand until you're absolutely sure you've got a fully formed habit. The research suggests that on average it's 66 days. Doing all of these previous steps well will reduce that number, but you won't really know unless you take the SRHI. (researched by Dr. Philippa Lally)
If you want more details, [HERE'S](https://tricycle.org/article/hacking-way-consistent-meditation/) an article I wrote on this. In fact, I'm trying to write a book on all of this.
And I'm trying to figure out a way to significantly accelerate this process. [HERE's](https://scienceofselfhelp.org/articles-1/2020/12/9/can-you-form-a-habit-in-a-day) some of my experimentation on this.
1. I Suggest you to mix spirituality with meditation . It will help you to continue it for long time
2. If you are attached to some group or organisation , attend their weekly group meditation event . Group meditation prove to be more effective and once you meet your meditation community experience of group always keep you motivated
3. Meditation should always preceded by Physical and breathing exercises .. we call it Asan and Pranayama in Yoga philosophy
4. Don’t expect any result from meditation . Results are sure but vary person to person . Focus on Meditation only don’t be sidetracked by any experiences
5. Make meditation is your top most priority . The day you miss meditation , don’t eat your dinner . Such things will keep your meditation schedule intact with least disturbances
Habit stacking works quite well for me. As in, if I already have a solid habit of doing A, B, and C, then I try to stack a new habit onto this, so that my new routine is A, B, C, and D.
However, I struggle to do this with meditation. Mostly because of small kids in the house, meditating at home in the mornings is impossible with them in the house. They just won't leave me alone if I "just sit there". I can pretty much only meditate after they are in bed. And then I struggle to fit one more thing into my already packed "free time". (and also to get my partner to leave me alone, he always forgets that I'm trying to meditate and bursts into the room no matter where I try to go hide to be alone).
5-10 min of meditation in the begining is a good start.
For consistency, please do it as first thing in the morning after taking a bath. It's very effective way to build a routine with meditation.
Neuroscience says, if we anything regularly for 6 weeks, it creates a new neural network in our brain, after that doing that thing becomes very easy. Hence, is you meditate regularly even for 5 min a day for 6 weeks regularly it will help you make a habit easily.
I will strongly recommend you to please read [A Million Thoughts](https://www.amazon.com/Million-Thoughts-Meditation-Himalayan-Mystic/dp/8184959451/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=a+million+thoughts&qid=1619775626&sr=8-1), a very good book on meditation. Your all the queries on meditation is being answered in that book. Grab your copy now!
You can also listen to these [learn-to-meditate tutorials](https://www.blacklotus.app/learn-to-meditate/) in addition to the book.
I hope this strategies help you and you drive maximum value from these.
Thanks.
I always read great masters' biographies and my teacher's words to encourage myself to practice more. When I had some progress - a calmer mind, less reactive to unpleasant situations, and much less worries/annoyance, I start to look forward to practice more. So you just need to power through the first stage when you haven't seen much progress.
Your mind does not want you to meditate. On your next solid meditation, when you feel alive, full, lacking nothing, ask yourself: who is it that does not want me to meditate... Pay very close attention to where the answer is coming from. Rest on that emptiness. One glimpse and you will have taken a leap greater than some who meditate for decades. Cheers!
Do it first thing when you get up. It's easiest to slide into from sleep, before you interact with people or devices. Don't ever skip a day. Do just one minute, even if you're late for your flight. Don't stop. Continuity is important. The best practice is the one that you'll DO. If you want to do shorter sessions, do shorter sessions and don't feel bad about it. Don't make it a burden. Better to do short sessions than to demoralize yourself and stop.
Came here to say this exactly. First thing when you wake up in the mornings. Before reaching for your phone or allowing your mind to wander off, just lay there for a few minutes connecting with your breath. A beautiful practice.
Same here, came here to say exactly this.. do it just after waking up.. even before taking a sh*8 just wake up and do it ✔️
I do it before sleep, it’s a little ritual, i think i should change it to morning
Stick to that routine and add the morning
I convinced myself that if I don't do it - I won't become a better person, my life won't be together, I'll spiral into degeneration, and I'll be a failure. And so, self imposed guilt got me to stay consistent :)
Standard habit formation protocol: * **Implementation intention.** Select a clear and specific trigger that's already a part of your day after which you immediately start meditating. Write it down formally. "I will meditate sometime today" is bad. "I will meditate as soon as I finish my first cup of morning coffee" is good. (researched by Dr. Peter Gollwitzer) * **Mental Contrasting.** Freewrite out what you want to get out of this habit. Include emotions. Brainstorm things that can prevent you from discharging said habit of meditating. Figure out workarounds. Protip: This might effect your what trigger you select. (researched by Dr. Gabriele Oettingen) * **Recording**. A simple google spreadsheet with day, date, and a place for notes will work. I turn a cell green if I've done meditation for the day. Protip: Do your recording at the same time every day using a trigger like it's a separate habit in and of itself. Use the Self Report Habit Index (SRHI), the lab measure for sliding strength of habit strength to track this if you can. (researched by Drs. Orbell and Verplanken). * **Tiny Habits.** Start your habit ludicrously small. You will feel this is ridiculous and feel like you're wasting time, but remember, the weight of the habit is going to feel light at first, and then heavier after a few weeks. You need it to be so light that on harder days it's easier to default to doing it. Make it small and easy, like just observing your breath for 2 breaths. (researched by Dr. BJ Fogg). * **Misc**. If you miss a day, don't worry you don't have to start from the beginning, just keep going and make sure not to have a streak of missed days. Habit strength is not strictly attached to consistency, it's still forming up. Do not expand until you're absolutely sure you've got a fully formed habit. The research suggests that on average it's 66 days. Doing all of these previous steps well will reduce that number, but you won't really know unless you take the SRHI. (researched by Dr. Philippa Lally) If you want more details, [HERE'S](https://tricycle.org/article/hacking-way-consistent-meditation/) an article I wrote on this. In fact, I'm trying to write a book on all of this. And I'm trying to figure out a way to significantly accelerate this process. [HERE's](https://scienceofselfhelp.org/articles-1/2020/12/9/can-you-form-a-habit-in-a-day) some of my experimentation on this.
1. I Suggest you to mix spirituality with meditation . It will help you to continue it for long time 2. If you are attached to some group or organisation , attend their weekly group meditation event . Group meditation prove to be more effective and once you meet your meditation community experience of group always keep you motivated 3. Meditation should always preceded by Physical and breathing exercises .. we call it Asan and Pranayama in Yoga philosophy 4. Don’t expect any result from meditation . Results are sure but vary person to person . Focus on Meditation only don’t be sidetracked by any experiences 5. Make meditation is your top most priority . The day you miss meditation , don’t eat your dinner . Such things will keep your meditation schedule intact with least disturbances
Habit stacking works quite well for me. As in, if I already have a solid habit of doing A, B, and C, then I try to stack a new habit onto this, so that my new routine is A, B, C, and D. However, I struggle to do this with meditation. Mostly because of small kids in the house, meditating at home in the mornings is impossible with them in the house. They just won't leave me alone if I "just sit there". I can pretty much only meditate after they are in bed. And then I struggle to fit one more thing into my already packed "free time". (and also to get my partner to leave me alone, he always forgets that I'm trying to meditate and bursts into the room no matter where I try to go hide to be alone).
5-10 min of meditation in the begining is a good start. For consistency, please do it as first thing in the morning after taking a bath. It's very effective way to build a routine with meditation. Neuroscience says, if we anything regularly for 6 weeks, it creates a new neural network in our brain, after that doing that thing becomes very easy. Hence, is you meditate regularly even for 5 min a day for 6 weeks regularly it will help you make a habit easily. I will strongly recommend you to please read [A Million Thoughts](https://www.amazon.com/Million-Thoughts-Meditation-Himalayan-Mystic/dp/8184959451/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=a+million+thoughts&qid=1619775626&sr=8-1), a very good book on meditation. Your all the queries on meditation is being answered in that book. Grab your copy now! You can also listen to these [learn-to-meditate tutorials](https://www.blacklotus.app/learn-to-meditate/) in addition to the book. I hope this strategies help you and you drive maximum value from these. Thanks.
I always read great masters' biographies and my teacher's words to encourage myself to practice more. When I had some progress - a calmer mind, less reactive to unpleasant situations, and much less worries/annoyance, I start to look forward to practice more. So you just need to power through the first stage when you haven't seen much progress.