If Meditation Tires You, Try This
I have a bad habit of trying to meditate, getting distracted and giving it up right away, just to try again six months later. So, this observation from Redditor Subduction really amazed me:
For me, saying, “I gave up meditation because my mind goes into crazy deviations,” is like saying, “I gave up training because my heart rate increases and I start to breathe heavily.”
When you start meditating, you may feel “bad” because you cannot clear your mind for more than a couple of seconds. In a post recently posted on Reddit’s best stuff section , Subduction offers a way to make this easier. They say that in the first week, don’t try to clear your mind: just sit down and listen to your own inner monologue.
Try not to guide him, try not to take mental notes of what he says, try not to tell yourself that you will have to remember this later, just sit quietly and listen.
Then, when the alarm goes off, get on with your day. If you can, try not to process what you hear – don’t think, “Wow, I’m really obsessed with work.” Just let go of this ten minute session and get on with your day.
In the second week, Subduction says, you can start trying to focus on your breath or mantra, or calmly count to three over and over. You will constantly lose concentration, but that is normal, that is perfectly normal, and you will learn to observe it without beating yourself up.
The Subduction post sparked one of those really great discussions on Reddit where everyone has great tips and stories to share. Moremoistplz commentator quotes Simply Pray by Eric Walker Vikstrom:
This three-part movement – distraction, observation of the distraction, and the decision to let go of the distraction and come back – is essentially the practice of meditation. Moments of silence are one of the by-products of meditation, not the practice itself.
So if you are constantly distracted – well done! Don’t change anything.