Meditating Makes Me Anxious!
Got this question in an email from Marc. “Hi Roger … I recently started meditating and frankly, I find it makes me even more anxious than I usually am. But I persevered, and… Continue reading
Tag Archive: meditation
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‘It’s Sensations, Stupid!’
Got this question: “Roger, I keep losing myself in daydreams while meditating. I get so lost sometimes I even forget I exist, and the more I try to focus, the more intense the… Continue reading
Enlightenment
I keep getting emails about enlightenment, or nibbana, or nirvana, and how it happens, and what it is, and how long it takes. And though I’ve written about it before, I figure it’s… Continue reading
Can Positive Thinking Work as Powerfully as Meditation?
Another Quora question, which prompted the 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 and negative.… Continue reading
Why Do Monks and Nuns Meditate?
I’ve been getting lots of interesting questions on Quora. And usually, though I avoid talking about enlightenment, I decided to address this one. Question was: ‘What are monks longing for? Why do they… Continue reading
Excitement from Meditation?
Got this question from someone on Quora, and I thought it might make an interesting post. They asked: ‘How do I get an exciting experience from meditation?’ And my reply?Put simply, you don’t.… Continue reading
The Unthinkingness of Not Thinking
Got this interesting question on Quora: “If during meditation you reach a point of no thoughts, then how do you recognize that state without thinking?” You know it. You see, what we call… Continue reading
Clinging
Clinging creates tension because it flies in the face of change. When we cling, we presuppose its possible for things to always stay the same. We want things to stay the same –… Continue reading
Depression and Anxiety
Yes, I know, I’m posting like a mad thing. But now I’ve finished my book, I have the time, so here we go. I’m trying for a post a day. Recently, maybe because… Continue reading
Happiness Schmappiness
Got this question from Barry – he says: “Roger, I’ve been meditating for weeks now and I’m still unhappy. I’ve been unhappy all my life, and I’m losing hope that it will ever… Continue reading
Making Love With Yourself
Now, aside from the obvious sexual connotations of this heading, I think the notion of ‘making love with yourself’ is intensely important when it comes to meditation practice. As I said in the… Continue reading
Making Mindfulness Part of Life
This question came up on my Quora feed, so I thought I’d share it to this blog because I think it’s an important aspect of meditation practice: “How should the practice of meditation… Continue reading
Checking In
‘Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?‘ – David M. Bader One thing that makes meditation easier is if you blend the practice into your day. And, aside from… Continue reading
The False God of Happiness
‘If only we’d stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time.’– Edith Wharton Got this question today, and thought it might be worth a post: ‘Roger, I’ve been meditating… Continue reading
Routine
‘The big things that come our way are the fruit of seeds planted in the daily routine of our work.’– William Feather One of the biggest problems people have with meditation is it… Continue reading
Practicing Mindfulness
‘Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it.’ – Sharon Salzberg Mindfulness gets a lot of media attention these days. Everybody’s talking about it, books have been written about it,… Continue reading
Going On Silent Retreat
If you’re as fascinated with meditation as I am, at some point you’re going to want to do it more intensively – to go into silent retreat and meditate for some days or… Continue reading
The Skill of Being Still
As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve not been posting over the last year, largely because I’ve been preoccupied with other things – but also because the answers to most of the questions I’m getting… Continue reading
Just Sitting
“Do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not expect any praise or reward. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot,… Continue reading
Windmill Stumblebum … and Other Creatures
Sorry I’ve been absent for so long, but I’ve been writing a book, and considering most of the 100 or so posts on this blog answer most questions I receive, I took a… Continue reading
Dealing with Dukkha
This post came is response to a question that came in from one of my other posts, ‘Why Does Meditation Make Me Angry’– which, without fail, is, along with another similar post, ‘Why… Continue reading
Siddhârtha’s Gift – The Middle Way
Essentially, meditation is about finding balance. For example, obviously, to meditate, we must use effort – but we find that if we use too much effort, we create tension and anxiety – and… 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