After several days of participating in meditation, it is evident that it has some positive effects on the mentality of people, particularly teenagers participating in the International Baccalaureate program. I say this because I have experienced greater mindfulness, relaxation, and focus. However, I must also state that this may also be caused by my prior decision to improve these experiences. Before meditation, I increased my attention to controlling my actions and thoughts and attempting to be healthier mentally. This prior effort to achieve much of what I would like to achieve through meditation may affect the observed effectiveness of my meditation. However, I do believe that meditation has played a significant role in improving my mindfulness and relaxation.
I would like to point out that, while I believe meditating has helped my mindfulness, it cannot make me achieve mindfulness. What I mean by that is that mindfulness is something that must be actively pursued. One cannot simply meditate and expect that that is a ll he must do to be more mindful of his thoughts, actions and reactions. Mindfulness can be made easier by meditation, but by no means do I believe that meditation will improve mindfulness on its own. Bottom line: mindfulness, along with many other mental functions affected by meditation, are not produced by meditation, but rather made easier by it.
I am intrigued by the potential experiences of the meditation practices which I am participating in, but I feel like I am falling into a mindless practice. It is beginning to feel like an experience which I am used to. However, I would prefer to experience something new and creative every time. It is my belief that diverse experiences will provide more interesting and effective meditation experiences than mindlessly repetitive practices. It is for this reason that I decided that I will experiment with different types of meditation. I want to experience the maximum effects and therefore I will diversify my meditation practices. Additionally, I feel much better when I am experiencing new things rather than repeating the same old things over and over again; it keeps me sharp. I enjoy change, so I will begin to experiment with different meditative practices. Hoping this goes well.
While reading this entry, I got the feeling that you are still skeptical about the benefits of meditation. It almost sounds like you are reluctant to give it too much power or credit for its role in generating mindfulness. Meditation as a practice is always secondary (or tertiary, or...) to the process of becoming mindful. It is never about the meditation, because it is always about the mindfulness. That is like saying that it is not about the knot-tying lessons; it only matters if the knot you tie does its job when it is needed. Generally, people do not work on mindfulness, hoping instead that someone will create a TV show, play, movie, mall or park that will make the likelihood of mindfulness easier for us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply. I like what you said about meditation being secondary/tertiary to the process of becoming mindful. I believe that I am somewhat skeptical of meditation, but I do recognize that after my meditation, I generally feel more relaxed and mindful. What I am most concerned with is the type of meditation I am partaking in. I feel as if there is something I could do to make it more effective, but I haven't found it yet. However, rather than becoming frustrated, I tell myself that I have only been meditating for less than a week; it would be irrational to believe that I should have meditation figured out by now, especially considering the time and effort that various groups and individuals have put into this for millennia (e.g. some monks spend their entire lives meditating, and I'm sure that they still find new ways to benefit from meditation).
ReplyDeleteYes, you are part of a throwaway culture that demands results now, whatever the cost. I am convinced that is why people do not work on improving their minds systematically. What many people want to do is live however they want (no matter how unhealthy it may be or how much damage it does) and then buy their way out of it later. Wisdom is hard work. Walmart does not sell it yet.
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