Can't stay awake during meditation...please help...

[StarShine]

Hi, I have practiced meditation many times before, I try to do at least a 5 min session a day now which is the most I can usually manage. I am trying to improve my telepathy, its very weak and most days I am lucky to get even a few words. Before it was better but It seems to have somehow reset back to the beginning..my problem is I could meditate better then up to a half hour or more successfully..now it is so hard I fall asleep nearly a few minutes into meditation and I dont know why this is happening. I have tried sitting up while meditating which helped me before but not anymore. I try hard to force myself awake when I realize I am going under but I can't hold off the sleep for long...I get too much sleep a day and am not ever tired until I start closing my eyes. My two roommates have the same thing effecting them, they sleep all the time. I hate this I feel like I am under a curse or something and I can't control my body and mind to stay awake no matter what I do.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by StarShine

Hi, I have practiced meditation many times before, I try to do at least a 5 min session a day now which is the most I can usually manage.

I think you are selling yourself short there, and with just a little determination you could quite easily increase that time significantly.

I am trying to improve my telepathy, its very weak and most days I am lucky to get even a few words. Before it was better but It seems to have somehow reset back to the beginning..my problem is I could meditate better then up to a half hour or more successfully..now it is so hard I fall asleep nearly a few minutes into meditation and I don't know why this is happening. I have tried sitting up while meditating which helped me before but not anymore. I try hard to force myself awake when I realize I am going under but I can't hold off the sleep for long...I get too much sleep a day and am not ever tired until I start closing my eyes.

If you fall asleep and can't stay awake then you are tired. You might not feel tired because we sometimes run on excitement energy, but then, as soon as we settle to relax we nod off.


Sleeping a lot is usually not good quality sleep, and is a sign of being somewhat run down. That could be any number of things from poor nutrition, life stress, social life, erratic sleeping patterns, low activity levels, intoxicants/caffeine etc etc etc, or any combination of things.

My two roommates have the same thing effecting them, they sleep all the time. I hate this

Don't hate it or be overly emotional. Calm as you can, look at things objectively and honestly, so you can be focused and purposeful and have some clarity in seeing what you can do to make life more orderly and less distracting and chaotic

I feel like I am under a curse or something

No good will come from imagining curses - it will only make life more stressful. It helps with meditation if we start identifying our unnecessary thoughts, especially distressing thoughts.

and I can't control my body and mind to stay awake no matter what I do.

What I can say is, when considering meditation it is best to analyse your whole life and go about making life more orderly, organised and peaceful. I think this is best started with sleeping patterns - having a set bedtime and a time to get up. A sleeping pattern enhances high quality, restful sleep, and having set hours allows you to organise your daytime schedule.


If there's anything you'd like to talk through, I just love talking about meditation.

[ArrJay]

Originally Posted by StarShine

Hi, I have practiced meditation many times before, I try to do at least a 5 min session a day now which is the most I can usually manage. I am trying to improve my telepathy, its very weak and most days I am lucky to get even a few words. Before it was better but It seems to have somehow reset back to the beginning..my problem is I could meditate better then up to a half hour or more successfully..now it is so hard I fall asleep nearly a few minutes into meditation and I dont know why this is happening. I have tried sitting up while meditating which helped me before but not anymore. I try hard to force myself awake when I realize I am going under but I can't hold off the sleep for long...I get too much sleep a day and am not ever tired until I start closing my eyes. My two roommates have the same thing effecting them, they sleep all the time. I hate this I feel like I am under a curse or something and I can't control my body and mind to stay awake no matter what I do.

Try sitting up against a wall with a cushion under your butt and maybe an additional cushion protecting your lower back from the hardness of the wall. You could also try lying on a hard floor on your back with a cushion under your head. 5 minutes is an awfully short time to gain any benefits from meditating, so it's worth experimenting with different forms of uncomfortableness, to get your meditation on track.