“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It’s a way of entering into the quiet that’s already there – buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.” – Deepak Chopra
Hello everyone, right now I am at coffee shop working on my next guide on Meditation and Self Observation. I just got the urge to ask everyone out there, what are some of the main issues you are having with your meditation practice?
- Are you someone who has tried meditation but didn’t really ‘get’ it?
- What’s your biggest challenge in incorporating a daily meditation practice into your life?
- What are you confused about?
- What keeps you from meditating or learning about proper meditation?
In relation to self development:
- What is the biggest challenge that is keeping you from living a ‘blissful’ life?
- What confuses you most about this whole thing of ‘living in the NOW’ and ‘Self-realization’?
- How do you sabotage yourself?
- What keeps you from ‘being’ totally present in your life?
Please leave me a comment with any of your questions, or send me an email to: ivan[at]ivancampuzano.com and I will make sure to address all your questions. Thanks so much for you help. Namaste.
So far I haven’t been successful when I’ve tried to focus on my breathing. I have tried to breathe deeply but it hasn’t done anything. I don’t know what to mentally do in order to meditate or relax. I think I first need to notice my anxiety before I can reduce it. I don’t know how to notice it though.
You need to just learn to watch and notice everything that goes on in your inner world….its like your a watcher on the hill…just observing the clouds go by….eventually in time you will come to realize that any object of your observation is not who you are….but you are just the pure awareness that can perceive these manifestations….the clouds are thoughts…by constantly watching them…in time you will catch a glimpse of the pure blue sky (the gap between your thoughts)…this is who you really are…beyond any label or conceptual understanding….and don’t meditate with a goal in mind, this keeps you stuck in your ego…meditation is good in itself….you can’t force yourself to relax…relaxation is something that is allowed to happen when you learn to get out of your own way…..thanks so much for your contribution….hope you are well…peace
As far as meditation goes. I have tried to meditate but can’t seem to focus on the present because my mind keeps wondering off. I feel that my schedule is too busy in order to be consistent with meditation. I am either waking up in just enough time to get to where I need to be and when I get home I am usually exhausted and feel that if I try to meditate I will just fall asleep. I also having conflicting thoughts as if meditation really works or not because I have heard so many different opinions about it. I guess I can say that’s what I am confused about and also what keeps me from learning how to meditate properly.
On the self development note. I think what keeps me from living a blissful life is me constantly fighting the society norms. I don’t fit the mold that society usually imposes on people (American society that is). I don’t really care for having fancy things or having the highest status, but it seems that everyone around me is that way. Even my family and friends. So that in itself makes me feel isolated and misunderstood. Sometimes I can relate my life to the movie ‘Into The Wild’ in how I just want to escape and live freely without being judged, but I feel trapped and that raises turmoil within myself. All in all I guess I can say that I don’t like the environments that I am in therefore it makes me not want to be in the present moment but in a daze so that things don’t effect me in a negative way.
Each time your mind wonders off, and you notice it, that’s a victory, don’t get down about it, the more watchful you become the more you will be able to not get caught up in your thought process…each time you notice you wonder off just gently bring yourself back….just constantly observe it(mind), but don’t judge it…as soon as you judge it means you are caught in it…
It is important to have a healthy lifestyle, because with out the proper amount of energy, as you know, you will not be able to break the trance of the minds entrenched habits….
In time as meditation begins to help you understand yourself at a deep level, you may feel a sense of harmony…this will open up a whole new communication with yourself…you will be able to have trust in yourself so that you can follow your heart and not be influenced by others as much….
I will be addressing all your points in detail in my guide….sign up for my newsletter to know when it is out….
Hope you are well, thanks so much for contributing….peace
My mind always has a song playing, I’ve tried shutting music out of my life as much as possible (driving ect..) obviousely can’t at work, regardless I cannot hear silence. I crave silence! I also always think in words – everything I think is described in sentences. So for example when I meditate im thinking “okay now picture your chakras” I cannot simply just picture them. How do I train my mind to hear silence?
Tried but did not succeed – too many thoughts. Turned to reading about meditation. I understand when Observation is sustained then one arrives at the door of Silence and it is here that most people become very frightened and “run away”. May I ask you please (a) how can one prepare to enter Silence serenely without being frightened and (b) could one be accosted by evil at that juncture that could be very dangerous psychologically?
Krishnamurti says truth is immediate and ive felt myself enter the zone where i feel now ive just wiped my entire memory bank and reconditioned with his writings in a way, and im caught in a pattern of literal thinking where im thinking if only i could get rid of my frame of psychological time and what not. I entered the gap and, wiped myself clean only to feel i habe to relearn everything…
Does any certain technique work for you?
and do you consider the now a thing you come upon? I feel like you definently
Like my heart got knotted up and my drive of desire is almost like guilty to where i find myself rejecting his teachings even though i know he was onto something, probably should just fall back from over reading really but your thoughts would be great. Also, do you feel you memory retention gets better with meditation?