The Immaculate Inbetween
Question: ‘Hi Roger … In stories of the Buddha that I’ve read, enlightenment seemed very easy to people. Just by listening to the Buddha, they used to suddenly become enlightened. Is this just… Continue reading
Category Archive: Psychology of meditation
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What Are You?
Everywhere I go, in various iterations, I keep hearing the same question: ‘Who am I?’ People pose this question as if somehow, if only they could find an answer, it would solve all… Continue reading
Keep It Simple
Meditation is very simple – just sit still with your attention resting lightly on the breath. Notice what arises in the mind and body, accept that it’s there, let it go and return… Continue reading
Spiritual Or Delusion?
This question came thru today, and it’s an interesting one. ‘Roger, why is your view of meditation so unspiritual? As far as I know, meditation has always been a spiritual practice, yet you… Continue reading
It’s Not About Relaxation
I think for this post I’ll get back to basics. It’s in response to a question a friend asked me the other day … a very, very … very … basic question which… Continue reading
The Main Game
A while back, while sitting in a café having a coffee, I overheard a group of people arguing about meditation. It seemed as if they’d been to some kind of meditation retreat, and… Continue reading
Meditating Without Faith is Like Breathing Without Air
It occurred to me today, that one thing I’ve neglected to write about on this blog is perhaps, one of the most important requirements of efficient meditation. And that is the notion of… Continue reading
Can Positive Thinking Work as Powerfully as Meditation?
This was another Quora question, which prompted my following reply. There’s a problem with positive thinking – and that is, your mind is not an idiot. It knows all of you, both positive… Continue reading
Struggle Creates Success
One time in Sri Lanka, while on a long silent retreat, I complained to the teacher that I was having a particularly difficult time with a block that had arisen in meditation. I… Continue reading
Yoga and Meditation Can Change Your Genes, Study Says
By Amanda Macmillan, time.com View Original June 16th, 2017 Yoga and meditation may do more than just help you feel relaxed in the moment. A new scientific review suggests that these and other… Continue reading
Sensations and Suffering
A wonderful, and quite forensic breakdown of the how sensations become suffering., and the role our conditioned reactions play in that transition. Essential viewing if you’re as fascinated by the processes within Vipassana meditation.… Continue reading
Fail Gladly to Succeed
Just found this wonderful interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates on the writing process, in which he says: “I always consider the entire process about failure …” Like with any skill, I also believe this to… Continue reading
Alan Watts – The Mind and Worrying
I’ve always found Alan Watts inspiring to listen to. When he speaks it sets off little explosions of insight in my head that feed my practice. In this video, he’s speaking about worry,… Continue reading
Love Your Pain!!
Most people, as they go through the process of learning how to meditate, pass through a number of stages, some pleasant, some unpleasant. And my view is, no matter whether pleasure or pain,… Continue reading
Making Friends with the Bird
Hi Roger, I have gotten a lot out of your audio course, especially the exercises which I use most days, and I’ve had many peaceful moments meditating. And this is what provokes my… Continue reading
Beginning To Meditate
Recently I sent out an email to all the people who bought the Practical Meditation Audio Course, asking them if they had any questions, so i could post my replies for everybody. Since… Continue reading
Letting Go of the Void
MEDITATION QUESTION FROM AUDREY:I had only been meditating for a short while before I entered “the void”. I was meditating in my back yard one night and I guess you could say that… Continue reading
Stillness is Not Stopping
A lot of people have a mistaken view that when they meditate, in being still, everything should stop – thinking, sensations – everything. They have the impression that stillness is a state in which… Continue reading
Meditation is More than Calm
Interesting question came in during the week. “I started meditating recently. Today was my fourth time actually, about 20 minutes long. I was fine afterwards, calm, like I had been the 3… Continue reading
Surfing the Storm of Our Self
I received this question from an audio course user, and it reminded me of a very important point to be made, so here goes: “Hi Roger … been using your audio course and… Continue reading
Acceptance is Everything
An audio course participant wrote: ‘Hi, I’ve just begun meditating and I’m finding it quite a hellish experience. I can’t seem to find the calm I imagine should be happening. I end up sitting… Continue reading
Stillness Heals Everything
As I’ve said before, meditation can be summed up in one sentence: ‘Meditation is the skill of being still.’ The stillness I’m speaking of is not the comatose stillness we can find ourselves… Continue reading
Clearing Away The Crud
Hi Roger, Sometimes when I’m meditating and my mind is running away with itself and I find myself sitting with my mind all over the place. But I’ve noticed during these times, though… Continue reading