I struggle to get past 10-15 mins!

[bkmac]

I do 10min meditation daily at the start of the day. To me, consistency in making it a habit is more important. With practice, it gets better and easier staying past the original mark (10min) which I set for myself.

[Unseeking Seeker]

***

If you are looking at your watch you are not in meditation

***

[Miss Hepburn]

And yet, we can sit through a 3 hour movie, comfortably in a seat.

So, my advice is always the same..."You can keep your attention on something you love".

We don't know what you are doing in your meditation, if you have some techniques, for example...but,
whatever you are doing is not something you truly are enjoying, could I safely say that?
Or it is not capturing your attention, quieting the mind.

If you are at a buffet of delicious food...do you leave the restaurant in 10 minutes? See what I mean?

So, try this, if you will...this is not meditation but, it helps you to see you can actually
sit for a very long time in stillness with a smile on your face and
get up refreshed and happy, for beginners:
When you get restless from your 'way of meditating'...
sit and imagine.
Imagine some wonderfully happy thing...whatever you would love to picture...and practice just holding these
images and fun, pleasurable feelings.
The images could be memories or something you wish you could be doing.

Once you get the nice, peaceful feeling of sitting still, in silence for 25 minutes, then 45 minutes...
you've broken thru the glass ceiling, as they say....you have overcome restlessness. Yay!

[sea-dove]

Originally Posted by Seren

Hi

I practice reiki buy have been recently incorporating meditation while I reiki which has been very effective. Problem is I struggle to stay in my zone for more than 10 mins. If I make 20 it's because I managed two lots of 10 and just forced myself not to open my eyes so went back in.

Is this a normal struggle for a beginner?

It's better just to relax and not worry about things while doing reiki.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Seren

Hi

I practice reiki buy have been recently incorporating meditation while I reiki which has been very effective. Problem is I struggle to stay in my zone for more than 10 mins. If I make 20 it's because I managed two lots of 10 and just forced myself not to open my eyes so went back in.

Is this a normal struggle for a beginner?

Practically I wouldn't have the time to meditate for hours because I have kids and work to sort, but I feel like I should be doing at least half hour to progress in my spiritual work as that seems to be the norm. I do quite a lot in 10 mins so wonder if that's enough for me right now?

From my own experience it is normal to struggle with meditation as a beginner. The discipline of sitting down every day, even when we really don't feel like it, can be a struggle. Discovering that the mind goes on and on and we have little control over it can be discouraging. Even ten minutes can seem like endless torment.

So most of my first year of serious meditation was a struggle (although I was doing 4 hours a day). But then one afternoon I had no plans and I suddenly thought, why not go and meditate? So I did, and I felt that I had come home. After that it became easier.

Your situation is different as you have other commitments. So do what you can and don't worry if you can't do more at this time.

Peace.

Second and third iamthat.

It's natural to struggle at the beginning. Learn from it and just keep truckin'

[Wally]

10 to 15 seconds is good. I struggle to do even 5 seconds.

[Miss Hepburn]

**Oh for pete's sake, I see I already posted in this thread..I'll leave it tho.
__________________________________________________ ____________
Nice avatar, Wally.

Sometimes people are so ingrained that they must still their thoughts, that they are in stress and frustration.
SOooo what you do is sit and use those very thoughts, that you have not learned to still yet...and think of
fabulous things ...the beach, a woman, hows about ---
God and His wonders, question 'Where are You anyway?" LOL...
Train the mind to think thoughts that you enjoy and WANT ....then
after you get up from your session, after 15 minutes with a smile on your face....you will eventually decide
to quiet your mind and see what everyone is talking about!!! LOL!


The inside scoop is you need something to grab your mind's attention...working on a project does that,
a 2 hour movie does that.....find something you love...focus on that at first with your eyes closed,
later you will find other,
more esoteric, high things to place your concentration on.
Catholics use Christ or the Stations of the Cross as they say the Rosary on diff days of week...
to give you an idea.

[FaithMD]

I go with whatever makes me feel complete in the moment. Sometimes, that's 10 minutes, sometimes it's 45 min or anywhere in between. When you stop worrying about how much time you are putting into it and just allow yourself to enjoy the experience, you'll naturally be able to meditate longer. I have days when I have to force myself to come out of it because I don't have time to continue even though I want to keep meditating. But then I have other days when I just feel more antsy. It won't be perfect every time.

[Flexi-Girl]

Just a thought

The time of day in which you meditate will have a profound effect. Some of us are better early in the morning others in the evening. Find your sweet spot, and you'll find yourself wanting to stay longer and deeper.