Is it hard for you to meditate?

[Parma]

I have a hard time mastering meditation. Is this the experience of most people, or do most people find it fairly easy? I am easily hypnotized however. I wonder if there is any sort of correlation between the two. Though I suppose not if one is easy for me. and one is hard. I guess it is easy to be hypnotized because someone else is performing the hypnosis.

[loamm122]

It's very normal for many people when they try meditation at first... specially if you are hyperactive like I am. In my case though, it's all about breaking that initial resistance (boredom basically), the more you meditate the easier it comes. Once it's a routine, it REALLY is much easier than when you got started. Your mind almost asks you for it.. you crave that mental tranquility you get after a good session..

[wstein]

Originally Posted by Parma

I have a hard time mastering meditation. Is this the experience of most people, or do most people find it fairly easy? I am easily hypnotized however. I wonder if there is any sort of correlation between the two. Though I suppose not if one is easy for me. and one is hard. I guess it is easy to be hypnotized because someone else is performing the hypnosis.

Most people have a hard time getting proficient at meditation. Many give up because of this.

If you have tried 100 or more sessions and still don't feel like you are getting the hang of it, then either you need better instruction or meditation is not for you.

Some say you can never truly master mediation. I would expect it to take a decade or more of consistent practice to feel fully competent.

[bees]

Originally Posted by Parma

I have a hard time mastering meditation. Is this the experience of most people, or do most people find it fairly easy? I am easily hypnotized however. I wonder if there is any sort of correlation between the two. Though I suppose not if one is easy for me. and one is hard. I guess it is easy to be hypnotized because someone else is performing the hypnosis.

In my experience there is a secret to meditation. And that is when you do it, it is already producing effects, that may not yet be obvious to you. You ask about proficiency and mastery, but this is the mindset of the intellectual frame. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received on meditation is "good sit, bad sit, fearful sit, crying sit, silent sit" just have faith and persevere. For example, if you were to grow a tree, and you watered it a few times but don't see the branch and give up, you wouldn't realize that the process is happening. Try not to have expectations..

I don't know if you follow a particular school but my own is Zen, and therefore proficient guidance can be valuable too if one is fortunate enough to meet a real guide.

[The Elven Knight]

Don't judge it, just do it. Whether you meditate for thirty minutes or thirty seconds, you still meditated.

[Starman]

Approach meditation as though it is sacred and you are about to commune with the sacred divine; meditation, in my opinion, is as worship, and I can not approach it as though it is some mechanical exercise that I want to accomplish. For me, prayer and humility allows me to have wonder-filled meditations.

But my first few years of meditation practice was a struggle; those years were supplemented by me listening to spiritually oriented music and reading religious material while doing my meditation practice; doing this kept me focused even though my meditation experience was minimal.

I have been doing quiet meditation for more than 40-years and have known many who practice meditating; some quit because they became discouraged and others persevered an got beyond their struggles.

The key to a successful meditation practice is surrender; you do not do meditation rather you let go and the meditation experience is already there washing over you. People have a hard time letting go and many do not even know what that mean; they ponder the concept of surrender. Human beings, in general, have been holding on for so long that we think it is normal; meditation tells us to let go inside, for most the more they let go inside the deeper their experience.

Hang-in there, for this too will pass if you keep at it. The path of meditation is a learning experience on every level.

[Sarian]

Oddly enough, I was thinking about this today and wondering if some people just weren't cut out for it (like me)...I want to and I try to but I get lost, or bored or lose focus. My mind wanders far too much...the only time I realized I was meditating is when I'm out walking or running...If I'm just sitting, it's a struggle at best.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by Sarian

Oddly enough, I was thinking about this today and wondering if some people just weren't cut out for it (like me)...I want to and I try to but I get lost, or bored or lose focus. My mind wanders far too much...the only time I realized I was meditating is when I'm out walking or running...If I'm just sitting, it's a struggle at best.

I agree with what you just said; some people are not cut out to do meditation, and that does not make them any lesser, or better, than those who do meditate, similar, those who do meditate are no better than those who do not.

There are many ways to commune with the sacred divine; God if you will, and for many their way will not include meditation. Bhakti yoga, or the study of spiritual literature works for many, as does karma yoga, or selfless service to others. There are many ways to experience what people experience in meditation without doing meditation, and there are many different forms of meditation.

Guided imagery is a form of meditation where you do not need to quiet your thoughts, and there are other methods as well. Sometimes we choose a path and other times a path may choose us; if you don't feel chosen by meditation than maybe that is not your path. There is no better or worst there is only what works for you in working on your self.

[Sarian]

Thanks, Starman. I really would like to be able to and I enjoyed your previous post about it. Making that time and making it a priority to practice daily seems to be very hard for me. Lack patience I suppose but I know it would be beneficial to me.

[sandalwood]

MASTERING meditation takes a lifetime
But in the practise of meditation
It is simple
Even for you
Except for your mindset
Meditation is no narrow path
Rather
It is a destination
To which there are many paths
Even if all throughout it
You fire off hundreds of thoughts
Embrace that
Let your meditation be that sacred space
In which all those thoughts can be released
Better in that space than out into the world
Simply hold one intention
Don't engage the thought
Don't follow into it
They may seem endless
But do this daily and I guarantee
They will slow to a trickle

Only never restrain them