Thread: Meditation Breakthrough!!

First of all, a very SPECIAL thanks to MasterMind for pointing me in the right direction. Seriously, your explanation really really helped.

I've been dabbling with meditation for the last few months on and off, but today I realized this is something I'm going to be doing for a long time. My main focus is mindfulness (via vipassana methods). I knew that there was something to this meditation thing, but didn't really grasp it until today.

So, my realization: Before, I had always focused on the breath with the intent of quieting my mind. There was some minor success but nothing crazy. After reading MasterMinds meditation tutorial, I took away that you should meditate for the sake of meditating, not to reach some goal. I transposed this idea to the breathing exercises. It didn't really hit me until I tried it... instead of focusing on my breath to settle my mind, I focused on it just, well, for the hell of it. And WOW did it work! Ten minutes in I started giggling, and finally got a taste of that infinite peace and euphoria that I hear about so often, but always seemed out of reach. And still have a wide wide grin on my face.

Meditation. Is. Awesome.



(His tut: http://www.dreamviews.com/meditation...appy-free.html)

I am glad that you found your peace. It's such a wonderful feeling when you realize how much your own thinking mind affects your state of mind and whole life and that you now are free!

Now transfer this mindset to other areas of your life and make the meditation mindset a lifestyle.

Dabbling is the start, because who could go 100% from the get go? Failing is the lesson, because you learn what you should work on.
The last step is doing without trying and that is when you practise for real and where the real fun begins.

The result is your bonus.

Taking action and going through the process is your enjoyment.

The state of mind is your happiness.

The experience is your wisdom.

What I describe above is true both in the short-term and the long-term perspective.

I sound like some spiritual buddha, but when your mind is still and present, everything above is just an obvious truth.

Peace!

Just wondering, how well is the mindful route working for you?

Mindful route? I am as I said in my guide not meditating to become some enlightened being or for any reason at all for that matter. I am meditating for the purpose to learn and re-learn the most powerful mindset for anything in life even for life itself. To enjoy the process.

Some examples of processes I focus on you can read about here: Week 17 Notes - Deep Presence Activities - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

When you enjoy being on your journey more than the actual goal that motivated you from the start, you forget the goal completely and a year later you will look back and see that you achieved your goal and went beyond simply because of the fact that you stayed on the path. You also realize that the result didn't give you happiness, the happiness is in the doing.

People even do the misstake of looking for happiness as an end to seek in life, result oriented life. But even for life itself, it's about enjoying the living in itself. The end result is always a let down.

In this example it's even death.

I meditate in line with Buddhist teachings with the goal of purifying my mind and abandoning my mind's defilements (ie harmful states of mind- some people are averse to the word 'defilement' when applied to their mind). However, I have learned that it is not beneficial to focus on this goal during meditation. Rather, I simply let go of all striving and release all of my mind's desires. This allows an instant shift into deep peace, contentment, and concentration. I don't believe it is wise to completely abandon your goals for your meditation. There is nothing wrong with understanding the benefits of a meditation practice and wanting to cultivate them in one's own life. It's more about your relationship to these goals, when where and how to think about them, and directing your mind as skillfully as possible during the meditation practice itself to bring the most optimal results.

Mastermind, you sound like quite the Taoist: wu wei as the heart of all actions. I certainly agree, though of course I do too often find myself trying rather than just doing and being.

It actually started from a point of pure result oriented rational thinking.

I mean if you want to learn to be something rather than doing something (mastery) then what is the most effective way to do so?

To do it and practise it thousands of times.

The problem with that though is that it is easy in theory but very hard in practise, because you get frustrated when you don't achieve the result you want or improve at the rate you wish to.

So the solution to that is to stop doing it for the result and in a way brainwash yourself to love the action in itself and when you genuinely love the action more than the result, the result come fast.

It's a paradoxical way of thinking but the most effective in my experience.

What's interesting though is that when you get the desired result over and over, you realize that it is not the result that brings happiness, it's the process and that consists of action.

So love the action and the process!

There was one good motivational quote I read that made me seek out this kind of mindset before I found the eastern philosophy and that went:

If you focus on result you will never take action, if you focus on taking action you will get result!

Some examples of practises that I have used this mindset to achieve consistency and skill.

Flirting and socialising with girls: I love the act of approaching random girls, before I used to be afraid of being rejected or got mad when I didn't got sexual. But that is an ego and self-image frame, when I genuinely loved to socialise and go outside my comfort-zone I got more result, I was not necessarily better than anybody else at flirting, but I talked to more girls and therefore got more chances. And of course in the long run I got better social skills.

Working out: I love the act of pushing through pain when my body says no, my mind says keep going! Before I used to compare myself to other dudes and celebrities but that is again just ego and self-image, when I made the focus on pushing myself and love to do that one extra set and focusing on what's within my control, that's when I got the body I desired. I don't have better genes or anything but I was consistent in my workouts! And over time I built my body piece by piece.

Meditation: I love to become present of the now and enjoy the dull, boring, quiet reality for what it is and not being affected by my thoughts and emotions. Before I used to be frustrated when I didn't achieved the result of pure peace of mind (ego, result oriented) when I meditated, but then I did the act of accepting whateveer that came my way and was just happy for taking action and that made me more present. I am not better or special in my meditation I have just practised it everyday for 20 min for a long time now. And over time I got a better sense of how to do it.

And I do the same for lucid dreaming. (Which is a much slower practise to reach mastery in because it is a very advanced one.)
But even if I haven't achieved mastery yet, I am further ahead than what I would have been if I didn't practise, and that's enough to keep going!

So lesson to be learned, do not compare yourself with other or strive to become better than anyone else or do things because of your ego's reasoning.
Focus on finding ways to enjoy the ACTION in itself and then focus on practising with consistency. Change is slow, but as long as you enjoy what you are doing and endure the process with a smile you're good. And by the way meditation is the best way to practise this mindset.

Peace!

The OP is similar to how I meditate. The act of turning attention inwards can be enough to satisfy every need and that gives a sense of euphory.

It doesn't always work this way. I'm not sure why, sometimes there is just nothing there. I'm either distracted, or rather, i'm not utilizing energy to the right extent. But that's not important. What I do with this is simply re-arrange and furnish my mind. This is satisfactory at the moment. And it's a long long process i'm not hardly begun on yet.