60 Days of 60 Minutes of Meditation - Let's Not Do Anything Together

[EatMan]

@MTF Just finished Day 5! I've noticed something others might relate to: A lot of the grudges that my mind had gathered up over time seems to relate to people reacting in ways that I don't want. A coworker doing something harmful to me, arguing with the boss about differing values, friends doing things you didn't expect, etc.

From this, I realized that because these actions are products of their environment (how that person was raised, random things that happened which set their mood for the day), getting mad at people for acting the way they do is similar to getting mad at a rock for falling when you let it go. After realizing this, I can feel myself slowly letting go of a lot of "barnacles" and it feels good.

Question: After addressing a lot of the pent up anger / resentment, I've noticed my mind just thinks about random things that have not happened (going on a date with a friend, swimming in a black pond, etc). I'd like to observe more "barnacles" and remove them, but I also don't want to FORCE my brain to think about something during meditation. Is this a problem?

 

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[Olimac21]

Not specifically just for you, but in general: isn't it weird how hard it is for so many people to simply sit still for one hour?

People would rather be electrically shocked than left alone with their thoughts

That question reminded me of that study. Is crazy but nowadays with smartphones and other devices we are used to be overstimulated.

I am not exagerating when I say the moment I realized silence can be a great asset for mental clarity (somewhere back in 2015), my life has been getting better despite uncertainty, challenges and conflicts.

It is just like in fitness in a way, if we choose to do the hard things it might be super annoying and uncomfortable at first but the moment we start seeing the resultsand appreaciate the value it gives us we become way more resourceful.

 

[MTF]

Day 15 completed.

Went by much faster than yesterday and was more introspective. Also had a brief sensation of time slowing down for roughly 5 minutes after I finished the session. For example, I was pouring boiling water into a kettle and it felt like doing it in slow motion plus the sound of the pouring water was "richer". I guess that's how mindfulness feels.

 

[MTF]

it goes to my internal 2 for 1 philosophy ....... if i can do it at the beginning / end of sleep or while working out, i could schedule it and satisfy my directive to combine things and map one to many.....

to do it on its 'own' seems like i am wasting time ...... which humorously is the whole point, right? it could be the most productive thing i do.....

we have overfilled our lives ........ when i was a kid or in college or working a boring job, had plenty of these 'hours'

now that i push and work to change the world, those hours are very precious......

Every experienced meditator says that their practice is the best part of the day. Naval once said: "Imagine how effective you would be if you weren’t anxious all the time."

This is what meditation can also help with as ultimately, anxiety is the product of our overactive minds. I'm dealing with this all the time so I know it on a personal level, too.

Also an interesting thought from Naval:

To measure the quality of your life, simply do nothing, and see how it feels.

Question: After addressing a lot of the pent up anger / resentment, I've noticed my mind just thinks about random things that have not happened (going on a date with a friend, swimming in a black pond, etc). I'd like to observe more "barnacles" and remove them, but I also don't want to FORCE my brain to think about something during meditation. Is this a problem?

I only had to deal with some difficult stuff on my 15th day. I didn't force it and just decided to explore it when it appeared instead of letting it go. Otherwise I'm mostly observing random thoughts, primarily about the future and random ideas.

It is just like in fitness in a way, if we choose to do the hard things it might be super annoying and uncomfortable at first but the moment we start seeing the resultsand appreaciate the value it gives us we become way more resourceful.

And I guess the hardest part is doing it for possibly weeks, if not months, before we can really see the value.

 

[Olimac21]

Day 20 done.

One of the best so far, it went by fast and had some moments of complete silence. Perfect to start the week.

 

[Olimac21]

And I guess the hardest part is doing it for possibly weeks, if not months, before we can really see the value.

Yes definitely. I was thinking about this yesterday in relation to other topics ( programming and language learning especifically).

People want the instant gratification or the feeling of " If I do not love it or I am super good at it inmediately, then its not for me" when they should know that with these kind of things, especially if you had negative experience in the past, you will feel like a fool for a long time because you are making mistakes or feeling awkward on a daily basis. BUT if you stick around for a while ( it might be 1 month, 3 months or even a year for some people) and you focus on the progress/building an habit you might realize there is more of you than you thought and you can actually master whatever difficult skill you are trying to get good at.

 

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[Mutant]

@Mutant?

Still chugging along.

My main thing from the last few days is I've been letting the time I do this creep later, & it's affecting my practice. I do it in the evenings because I love natural light, & spending an hour of daylight with my eyes closed seems like a waste - especially when darkness starts so early at the moment. Doing it before sunrise seems like a recipe for falling asleep for me, so evenings it is. However too late in the evenings & it's also a recipe for falling asleep, so yeah, need to work on bringing it earlier.

 

[Matua]

Day 15

Just like @MTF and @Olimac21, my meditation went by fast, but time felt slow when you do activities.

For anyone wanting to get into meditation, but anxious about the timer not going off, or uncomfortable meditating for one hour, then think of it as:

"I'm going to meditate all day today"
"I'm going to be in this state for eternity"
"I'm going to get sucked into the void and never come out."

The sentences above sounds like bad news and this is why meditation isn't for everyone.
Because it brings out those "inner demons" and easily overwhelm us in thought.
(Of course this is not to say you shouldn't ignore your daily responsibilities, just the feeling that it's going to suck meditating for an hour.)

The reason why I think like this before going into and during meditation, is that I must acknowledge my fears and accept that I'm not in control of anyone, of the world, or anything beyond me. Could I control my mind and thoughts? To be honest, I don't know, and since my thoughts generate for no reason at all then am I really in control of them? If so, then I absolutely must come to terms with it. And could I cease my thoughts at will? Probably, but I'm nowhere near that amount of self-discipline, so I'm practicing it through meditation.

This is not to say that we shouldn't strive towards goals, because that is something we can control and do, as is proven very clearly on this forum. So far, what meditation is about for me is accepting and being grateful for what we have and recognizing the little pieces of life that go by unnoticed.

In a way, we can treat our ego like a child (Quora post):

"Some of the things we allow our minds to say about ourselves is down right rude, outrageous, unfair, mean, and harsh. Would you talk to a five year old child like that? Then why do you let your mind talk to you like that? Treat your ego like a five year old child, and no matter how it acts or reacts, love it, soothe it, calm its fears, spend time with it. That does NOT mean to give it whatever it wants! But it does mean that you must learn to respect it."

 

[MTF]

"Some of the things we allow our minds to say about ourselves is down right rude, outrageous, unfair, mean, and harsh. Would you talk to a five year old child like that? Then why do you let your mind talk to you like that? Treat your ego like a five year old child, and no matter how it acts or reacts, love it, soothe it, calm its fears, spend time with it. That does NOT mean to give it whatever it wants! But it does mean that you must learn to respect it."

In the Untethered Soul, Michael Singer calls it your crazy neurotic roommate. And it's not really you - the only real "you" there is is the awareness. Every voice in your head - whether positive or negative - it's just a voice, a thought, not you. I'm reading this book now and it's interesting to explore his different perspective on things.

 

[ZCP]

this discussion and the push HAS gotten me to work more on 'centering' ........ couple of breaths and me chanting 'center,center,center' in my head ..... helps me bring calm and focus to the task at hand. so ancillary benefits!

i have 'meditate' on the schedule for 1 hour this week. will get it done.

 

[redshift]

I've been letting the time I do this creep later, & it's affecting my practice. I do it in the evenings because I love natural light, & spending an hour of daylight with my eyes closed seems like a waste

I can relate, especially when the sun's out (gotta get that serotonin!) Just thought I'd mention, you don't necessarily have to have your eyes closed. Zen Meditation for instance, is usually performed with eyes open. You'll soon realize that you'll be dealing with the same stuff and its as easy to get lost in your thoughts whether or not the eyes are open. Maybe try your method in the morning with eyes open and see if it works / makes a difference? You'll get to appreciate the daylight more as a bonus

 

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[XxThelionxX]

Day 10 completed

Did a lot of shadow work. And parts work. I had a lot of fun. Cried a little. My inner child sounded like a football coach *lol* Kind of struggling in the doing part. I guess everything stems from just doing the process. All the healing that's involved.
-This lady teaching a shadow work process on YouTube was saying it's like soul retrieval and jumping from different timelines. Powerful stuff. Very very powerful stuff.

 

[S.Y.]

it goes to my internal 2 for 1 philosophy ....... if i can do it at the beginning / end of sleep or while working out, i could schedule it and satisfy my directive to combine things and map one to many.....

to do it on its 'own' seems like i am wasting time ...... which humorously is the whole point, right? it could be the most productive thing i do.....

we have overfilled our lives ........ when i was a kid or in college or working a boring job, had plenty of these 'hours'

now that i push and work to change the world, those hours are very precious......

Every experienced meditator says that their practice is the best part of the day. Naval once said: "Imagine how effective you would be if you weren’t anxious all the time."

This is what meditation can also help with as ultimately, anxiety is the product of our overactive minds. I'm dealing with this all the time so I know it on a personal level, too.

Also an interesting thought from Naval:

To measure the quality of your life, simply do nothing, and see how it feels.

Steve Jobs changed the world. He was meditating regularly. I remember reading an article that said that his brain was 30 years younger when he died (Vs his chronological age) .

And we should not forget. Meditation has been studied scientifically. They have shown that it increases grey matter and improves neuroplasticity. It also reduces stress and improves focus.

It looks like nothing. But it literally changes the brain.

Edit
So say you work 8 hours, and each hour has 1 unit of output. That is, 8 units of output in 8 hours.

If 1h of meditation make you 25% better, then you produce 8.25 in 7 hours.

Now if you still work 8h, then output is 10...

 

[Barracuda]

@Sheens, @ZCP, @Barracuda, @Ma.Gico, @S.Y., @Mutant, @EatMan?

I travelled. The reception was terrible.
The feeling of being part of a community is amazing. I was away a while, and i felt it. The way we motivate ourselves is just great. I skipped the meditation in the morning and did it in the evening. Does it count?

 

[MTF]

I skipped the meditation in the morning and did it in the evening. Does it count?

I think the only reason why Naval says do it in the morning it's because that's when you're rested and less likely to fall asleep. So I think it counts.

 

[Olimac21]

Day 21 done.

One of my favorites so far, almost not wanting it to end lol I was visualizing the beach and going through some stuff I read yesterday.

I was wondering, since we are entering 2021 soon, what kind of habits do you have to "center" yourself? Do you do things like visualization or journaling besides meditation?

 

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[MTF]

Day 16 completed.

Went by relatively fast even though it was almost constant mind chatter.

I was wondering, since we are entering 2021 soon, what kind of habits do you have to "center" yourself? Do you do things like visualization or journaling besides meditation?

Not specifically for 2021 as I don't care about resolutions - reading philosophy and (sensible, though-out, not BS) spiritual stuff.

 

[Olimac21]

Not specifically for 2021 as I don't care about resolutions - reading philosophy and (sensible, though-out, not BS) spiritual stuff.

Philosophy and spiritual cool! Which books are your favorites in those categories?

 

[redshift]

Philosophy and spiritual cool! Which books are your favorites in those categories?

If anyone is more interested in learning about the spiritual path, I would suggest reading "The Surrender Experiment" by Michael Singer. It's one of my favorite books and is what got me started with meditation in the first place. Plus as a bonus he ends up building a billion dollar software company in the process which I'm guessing would appeal to the fastlane crowd here 😀 His other book which MTF mentioned (untethered soul) is really good too along with his online lectures and courses.

 

[MTF]

@Olimac21 I'm only starting to dip my toes into it. For now:

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer - reading now
The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer

Then possibly:
A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
Awareness by Anthony de Mello
The Way to Love by Anthony de Mello

Finished reading:
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

Also want to check Eastern stuff recommended by Naval, for example Krishnamurti (Think on These Things sounds interesting). I read several books on Stoicism in the past so now I want to go beyond that.

As for philosophy in general, to give myself a better understanding of the entire field, I started listening to Philosophize This! which, after two episodes (starting from #1), I find both educational and entertaining (by the way, what a fun solopreneur business to run).

 

[Croaker]

Day 1.

So the experience felt like being in a place between sleep and awareness. Similar to a state just before you fall asleep. Went through some thoughts of what I have to do for the day, some for the future planning. A lot I can't remember though I know I didn't fall asleep. Feels like a part of my brain that is responsible for memory formation just shut off.

Two thirds of the way through had to scratch an itch, change my leg position, got really bored and had a feeling that said "you don't want to do this anymore". Got a couple of mind-images of a smartphone screen, but the brightness was too high and had to squint in my mind as the image dissapeared.

Fell into the state of trance again. Confirmed that I think in images and connect them with words and I don't fully form a thought-sentence in my mind because it's pointless, as I already know the crux of the thought.

No regrets came up, felt no strong pull in any direction, no puzzles to solve and no mails to open. No emotional play, no idea formation, but at least didn't feel strongly like a time waster - that's that anxious feeling I'm talking about.

Let's do it again tomorrow, see if it'll be any different.

 

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[Matua]

Day 16

Today was a little chattery and I had some visual thoughts as well, but it was mostly calm and bearable.
I had been interrupted a couple times during meditation and I resumed afterwards.
I honestly didn't want the meditation to end either, so I meditated a little longer than usual to resolve a couple thoughts and be at peace.

I was wondering, since we are entering 2021 soon, what kind of habits do you have to "center" yourself? Do you do things like visualization or journaling besides meditation?

I absolutely love journaling, but it can be a double-edged sword for action-faking and action-doing.

It is extremely easy to pity yourself in journaling, or set goals and not do anything about it. Though at the same time, you can study & improve yourself by using the right system to knock down any goals you set for the day, week, month, year.

It's because of journaling that New Year's Resolutions are still kind of important, but not as important as consistency.

Not specifically for 2021 as I don't care about resolutions - reading philosophy and (sensible, though-out, not BS) spiritual stuff.

I like a bit of philosophy here and there. I read a bit of Discourses - Epictetus, but it wasn't an easy read for me personally. If you're able to sit through the difficult reading, then it can be an enjoyable experience.

 

[Sheens]

DAY 16!!

Man, I love how difficult this challenge is!

Haven't been on the internet for days by choice and circumstance.

It was refreshing! Being back is similar to a tastebud reset after a water fast- I see the mindless habits that can be improved and save the time for what matters most.

I've meditated in so many different circumstances now ( vehicles, darkness well before sunrise, last hour of the day.. ) and though each hour session has not always been my best, I'm stronger. I notice the small moments that take little effort to give someone and something full attention.

It's such a compliment to receive full attention that this is changing relationships as well!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

In the Untethered Soul, Michael Singer calls it your crazy neurotic roommate.

Not sure if it was Singer or Tolle, but what struck me was the notion that if your inner voice was a friend who was always with you, like an invisible Siamese twin, would it be your friend? A good friend? Or would you punch him/her in the face?

When you recognize this inner voice's neurosis, you begin to move toward awareness.

I would suggest reading "The Surrender Experiment" by Michael Singer. It's one of my favorite books and is what got me started with meditation in the first place. Plus as a bonus he ends up building a billion dollar software company in the process which I'm guessing would appeal to the fastlane crowd here 😀 His other book which MTF mentioned (untethered soul) is really good too along with his online lectures and courses.

The Surrender Experiment was eye-opening -- not just for the "surrender" aspects, but because it was very entrepreneurial related, specifically, watching a productocracy go from nothing to billions. Several times. Not sure if anyone caught that.

However The Untethered Soul is what I consider to be a biblical type of work, something I've listened to hundreds of times. It is something you need to listen to over and over to make it part of your life. One read is like dropping a seed and hoping. Several reads is dropping the seed and adding water and sunshine.

 

[S.Y.]

The Surrender Experiment was eye-opening -- not just for the "surrender" aspects, but because it was very entrepreneurial related, specifically, watching a productocracy go from nothing to billions. Several times. Not sure if anyone caught that.

However The Untethered Soul is what I consider to be a biblical type of work, something I've listened to hundreds of times. It is something you need to listen to over and over to make it part of your life. One read is like dropping a seed and hoping. Several reads is dropping the seed and adding water and sunshine.

I was surprised by how entrepreneurial it was. I have listened to it twice but I have that feeling that I still have to grasp it.

But I think his willingness to take risks and do the best he can has a lot to do with his success. Like his software company, he took the chance and wasn't willing to compromise on the quality. And he also listened to the market feedback.

I was wondering, since we are entering 2021 soon, what kind of habits do you have to "center" yourself? Do you do things like visualization or journaling besides meditation?

I am sticking with deepening my understanding of stoicism and living stoic values.

The only change with this thread is to deepen my mindfulness and extend it to the whole day. Rather than just one hour.

And maybe picking up Nietzche and Daoism.

 

[MetalGear]

Not sure if it was Singer or Tolle, but what struck me was the notion that if your inner voice was a friend who was always with you, like an invisible Siamese twin, would it be your friend? A good friend? Or would you punch him/her in the face?

When you recognize this inner voice's neurosis, you begin to move toward awareness.



The Surrender Experiment was eye-opening -- not just for the "surrender" aspects, but because it was very entrepreneurial related, specifically, watching a productocracy go from nothing to billions. Several times. Not sure if anyone caught that.

However The Untethered Soul is what I consider to be a biblical type of work, something I've listened to hundreds of times. It is something you need to listen to over and over to make it part of your life. One read is like dropping a seed and hoping. Several reads is dropping the seed and adding water and sunshine.

Thanks for the recommendation, I am on vacation and will book binge The Surrender Experiment

 

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[MTF]

So say you work 8 hours, and each hour has 1 unit of output. That is, 8 units of output in 8 hours.

If 1h of meditation make you 25% better, then you produce 8.25 in 7 hours.

Now if you still work 8h, then output is 10...

What a fun way to put it. @ZCP's engineering mind will love it 😀

So the experience felt like being in a place between sleep and awareness. Similar to a state just before you fall asleep. Went through some thoughts of what I have to do for the day, some for the future planning. A lot I can't remember though I know I didn't fall asleep. Feels like a part of my brain that is responsible for memory formation just shut off.

Awesome, thank you for sharing that. Welcome to the "challenge." (it's not really a challenge, it's just daily self-reflection)

I like a bit of philosophy here and there. I read a bit of Discourses - Epictetus, but it wasn't an easy read for me personally. If you're able to sit through the difficult reading, then it can be an enjoyable experience.

IMO difficult reading = shitty writing (or in this case, translation). As a writer myself, I pay a lot of attention to using simple words, sentences, paragraphs, etc. If you can't explain something simply, you don't understand the topic well. Moral letters to Lucilius are much more accessible.

Or to make it super easy, A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine.

I've meditated in so many different circumstances now ( vehicles, darkness well before sunrise, last hour of the day.. ) and though each hour session has not always been my best, I'm stronger. I notice the small moments that take little effort to give someone and something full attention.

Love it! No excuses - just doing it wherever and whenever you can to keep it up. Great "work". (in quotation marks because it shouldn't really feel like "work")

Not sure if it was Singer or Tolle, but what struck me was the notion that if your inner voice was a friend who was always with you, like an invisible Siamese twin, would it be your friend? A good friend? Or would you punch him/her in the face?

Singer offers this fun exercise to imagine spending a day with your inner voice. Imagine this guy/gal sitting with you on a sofa and behaving the way it behaves in your head. You'd be running away from this psycho instantly LOL.

The Surrender Experiment was eye-opening -- not just for the "surrender" aspects, but because it was very entrepreneurial related, specifically, watching a productocracy go from nothing to billions. Several times. Not sure if anyone caught that.

I'm very much looking forward to reading it but want to finish The Untethered Soul first. I don't get certain chapters but some are incredibly well written and well reasoned.

 

[redshift]

The Surrender Experiment was eye-opening -- not just for the "surrender" aspects, but because it was very entrepreneurial related, specifically, watching a productocracy go from nothing to billions. Several times. Not sure if anyone caught that.

Yup, totally. I re-read it once just for the business side of things. His earlier ventures (the construction company etc) were all built on the same principles as well and would likely have grown big had he decided to pursue those instead. Also, his lifestyle was a great illustration of living below your means while exploding income.

However The Untethered Soul is what I consider to be a biblical type of work, something I've listened to hundreds of times. It is something you need to listen to over and over to make it part of your life. One read is like dropping a seed and hoping. Several reads is dropping the seed and adding water and sunshine.

Yup, exactly the same qualities as your books By "listened to" do you mean the audiobook or the course ? If you mean audiobook, I would highly recommend his course "Living from a place of surrender - The Untethered Soul in Action". That was even more eye opening and valuable for me and gave a lot of deep insight into the teachings of both the books. It's available on video format (on sounds true) and audio format (on audible).

 

[Olimac21]

Day 22.

So so today, I focused more on body scan exercises and breathing exercises.

And I think is time for me to read Michael Singer! Should I start with The Surrender Experiment or The Untethered Soul?

 

[MTF]

Day 17 completed.

That was by far the deepest session I've ever had (except for one or two sessions in a float tank but that's different). I lost sense of time for the majority of the session so it also went by fast. I found a position that allowed me to largely forget about my body and that was also very helpful as before, I often struggled because of some bodily discomfort.

I envisioned sitting further back in my head, the real me (the awareness) watching what was in front of me (my inner voice, thoughts, emotions, etc.). It was fascinating because even when I was thinking about stuff (what to do later, what to do in case X happens, etc.) I was like "okay, so my inner voice thinks is."

In other words, I wasn't identifying myself with whatever my mind came up with. I was just watching it, knowing it's an object of my consciousness, not me.

Reading The Untethered Soul (I'll finish it today and then start reading The Surrender Experiment) has definitely influenced this session a lot because it helps me understand on a deeper level what I'm trying to "accomplish."

And I think is time for me to read Michael Singer! Should I start with The Surrender Experiment or The Untethered Soul?

The Untethered Soul was written several years before The Surrender Experiment so I think it's best to read it in order.