I'm struggling a little with my meditation at the moment.
For a few years, I've meditated almost daily, though admittedly, I've fallen off a bit recently. Perhaps that's the problem, although I think it's only part of it. While the motivation for meditation's often to calm the mind and ease stress and suffering, most teachers suggest not seeking goals; if a byproduct of your practice is a quieter mind then great, but if it isn't, that's fine too. The aim is to accept what's happening at the present moment and move on.
The reason I do it is to create space; for me, it's a breather. It's so easy to allow things to build to the point where you can't see the wood for the trees, and it's then I tend to step away from what I'm doing for ten minutes or so to restore clarity; it's not about creating false serenity so much as returning to now.
Sometimes, distraction plagues your head, and when it does, you're meant to acknowledge your mind's wandered and go back to your focus, be it your mantra or your breath; it doesn't matter how many times you cycle through this as long as you keep doing it. That's one of the hardest things to remember when you're in the midst of it, as a constantly frazzled brain makes you feel like you're getting something wrong.
I think the main reason it's been difficult lately is my vestibular migraines have been back in force. In laymen's terms, I'm dizzy as fuck, and when my head's spinning, it's hard to stay focused. I feel like I'm in constant motion and with that comes tiredness; there's barely any let-up, which impacts my concentration and generally drags me down.
All I can do is remain patient and wait for it to pass. And even though my dizziness impacts my meditation, I'll still do it as it's helpful either way. I hope my vertigo goes soon, however, as it's exhausting, not to mention my eyes are more sunken than a cartoon Peter Lorre.
For a few years, I've meditated almost daily, though admittedly, I've fallen off a bit recently. Perhaps that's the problem, although I think it's only part of it. While the motivation for meditation's often to calm the mind and ease stress and suffering, most teachers suggest not seeking goals; if a byproduct of your practice is a quieter mind then great, but if it isn't, that's fine too. The aim is to accept what's happening at the present moment and move on.
The reason I do it is to create space; for me, it's a breather. It's so easy to allow things to build to the point where you can't see the wood for the trees, and it's then I tend to step away from what I'm doing for ten minutes or so to restore clarity; it's not about creating false serenity so much as returning to now.
Sometimes, distraction plagues your head, and when it does, you're meant to acknowledge your mind's wandered and go back to your focus, be it your mantra or your breath; it doesn't matter how many times you cycle through this as long as you keep doing it. That's one of the hardest things to remember when you're in the midst of it, as a constantly frazzled brain makes you feel like you're getting something wrong.
I think the main reason it's been difficult lately is my vestibular migraines have been back in force. In laymen's terms, I'm dizzy as fuck, and when my head's spinning, it's hard to stay focused. I feel like I'm in constant motion and with that comes tiredness; there's barely any let-up, which impacts my concentration and generally drags me down.
All I can do is remain patient and wait for it to pass. And even though my dizziness impacts my meditation, I'll still do it as it's helpful either way. I hope my vertigo goes soon, however, as it's exhausting, not to mention my eyes are more sunken than a cartoon Peter Lorre.