We keep reading about it; the most important endeavor one can undertake is self knowledge – “Know thyself” as the inscription reads at the Temple of Apollo – and what better way to start that examination than practice of meditation?
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The Lab Report – 005 – “Meditation:
The First 100 Days”
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The meditation style I do is Zazen. This first phase of the experiment is about establishing the habit of sitting everyday (I prioritize consistency over duration) and building up my capacity concentration.
I count each inhalation and exhalation starting from 1 and going up to 10, then repeat. Its easier said than done!
This meditation is done with open eyes. I started with 8 minute sessions and I’m now at ~20 min sessions and I’m gradually increasing the duration.
Short term effects: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
– It can be quite frustrating to observe when one’s mind wanders off.
– I dose off all the time.
– Observing one’s thoughts and “monkey mind” creates a gap between Me and my thoughts.
– Outside of meditation I feel that it is easier to catch myself when getting lost in thoughts and snap back to presence.
Long term effects: ❓❓❓
– Still unknown. I’m aiming for doing 365 consecutive days in this experiment, so it’s still to early to tell.
Sustainability: ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
– I find activities like this one, that should be performed everyday, to be tricky. I only missed 1 day out of 100 so far. But the only way for me to achieve that was to make meditation my number one priority during this period. So that’s what I did.
FINAL VERDICT: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
It’s still the early days but I’m happy to have established a solid habit. But it can be a frustrating practice. I guess Being is hard when you are used to Doing. Still, I love taking a few minutes out of my day for self care!
Tell me about your experiences with mediation? 🤔
Find more experiments in the Experiment archives.