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psysaucer
India
44 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 08:33:58 AM
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If you were to meditate for an entire day, close to maybe 7 or 8 hours, what type of meditation would you prefer to do? Or would you rather switch between different types of meditation instead of sticking to one the entire time?
Also, given no external disturbances and a mind prepared for the ordeal, would you say there are substantial advantages to meditating long hours over the usual 1hr in the morning and another hour at night routine?
For people who have had glowing experiences in the course of a long sitting, could you share your experiences?
Thanks in advance  |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1730 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 08:55:12 AM
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HI psysaucer
The rule of thumb is: The more shallow/less effective a meditation method is, the longer you can meditate in one go.
Mantra meditation is the most powerful type of meditation I've come across, that is why 20 minutes twice a day is usually recommended. The timing varies a lot between meditators however. Everyone needs to find out that their limits are and stay within those limits.
Meditation with a script or guided meditation are a lot less efficient (they keep pulling your attention outward, or keep the thinking mind going) so you can meditate for hours on end and you won't max out. Neither will you get maximum possible benefits from these meditations unless you invest inordinate amounts of time. |
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kumar ul islam
United Kingdom
791 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 09:45:56 AM
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for me the whole of life becomes a meditation a devotion given to love /god /ishta for me as my meditation becomes established so does the action in the world reflect my state of meditation ,i renounce all during my practice hoping to to bring this form of service into my day today interactions a long way to go still and still many bricks to remove from my wall of separation but one by one they fall |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 12:16:23 PM
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Hi psysaucer,
it very much depends on what you are attracted to. If you are not already into some hours, starting from zero to 8 hours will not work anyway. Your body and mind takes time to get used to types of movement patterns, in this case no movement :P
Among those meditations which scale with practice time well, you have all types of concentration based meditations and awareness based ones. Remain aware of your own being and melt into what is always here, within some days you will already bliss out to death and this for the rest of your life. The only problem may be, that your body-mind will not be able to cope with the bliss. To keep the system balanced, increasing its capacity to operate within eternal best is important, unless you really are ready for melting in truth paradise :)
The different aspects of yoga are for that. If you really want to work up to 8h per day and still have responsibilities or other desires, adding asanas and pranayama into the mix will both help out with the meditation and keep you on your feet :P
Sometimes blissing out to death is also required, so whatever suits your inner core most ;)
Happy practice and happy now :) |
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roboto212
USA
56 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 12:34:29 PM
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Vipassana meditation and specifically a mahasi sayadaw style noting technique is a method that is rely most effective when you commit all your waking hours to.. Going about your day you would be noting all your sensations that you are experiencing... Reinforcing the mindfulness..
I believe this technique particularly is one that doesn't quite work unless there is a certain momentum.. To gain liberating insight into the nature of phenomena and self one had to have also a certain level of concentration...and this concentration gets developed by being one pointed and consistent with the noticing of sensations. Mangy as
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roboto212
USA
56 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 12:43:26 PM
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If you research mahasi noting technique on Google or the progress of insight you'll get an idea about vipassana, the various states and stages that you'll likely encounter if you begin to really commit yourself to meditating in that manner. By training in concentration style practices you are more likely to encounter really bliss , serene, rapturous, equanimous states of mind sooner, as these style of meditation are all about cultivating a settled mind. Say your doing a breath concentration practice, eventually your mind settles down on the sensations of the breathing, and the various factors of the jhanas or mental absorption states come into the picture.
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kumar ul islam
United Kingdom
791 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 2:18:17 PM
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| less is more |
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ak33
Canada
229 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2015 : 6:07:57 PM
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You need to first describe what your goals are: mental stability, insight into reality, or something less serious. 8 hours a day is something you cannot sustain without prior practice and buildup. While you may not want to hear that, I have excellent advice for you: go on a meditation retreat. In a meditation retreat (take the 10-day Goenka vipassana as an example), you are meditating 10-11 hours a day with no external distractions (as your described in your post). Going on this retreat will allow you to judge whether this is something you are ready for at this point in time. AYP is a powerful meditation that does not require momentum as much as vipassana does, but I must say that the goals are different. Concentration medition, specifically the jhanas, are something you can look into if you fashion sitting long hours.
So to sum it up, go on a retreat and see if you're ready to handle that kind of intensive practice. If you don't want to, start off slower otherwise you'll end up generating immense aversion/resistance trying to sustain a nigh impossible routine. |
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psysaucer
India
44 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2015 : 08:22:40 AM
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Thanks for all the replies!
I have been meditating on and off for close to 15 years now. It has mostly been an hour of basic pranayama in the morning after cold shower and a mix of samayama and shoonya at night before bed.
My big concern for going long hours was if I would be able to maintain posture and resist the urge to just stop meditating. I guess alternating with meditative walking every hour would work...Also, regarding the noting meditation...are we supposed to label and nane the sensations as and when we feel them? If so, I'm not sure if it wouldn't create too much confusion when you are deep into meditating...how has your experiences been with it?
ak33, what I am looking for is to get a conscious peak into karmic dissolution, clearing up of thoughts and all sorts of processes behind entering a meditative state I guess...with my usual meditation practice, all the fruits it has reaped has not been accessible to direct perception if that makes sense....ive always had to be speculative about exactly what the results of meditating might be...i guess im trying to be conscious of tjat |
Edited by - psysaucer on Jul 14 2015 09:57:15 AM |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2015 : 10:53:53 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by psysaucer
Thanks for all the replies!
I have been meditating on and off for close to 15 years now. It has mostly been an hour of basic pranayama in the morning after cold shower and a mix of samayama and shoonya at night before bed.
My big concern for going long hours was if I would be able to maintain posture and resist the urge to just stop meditating. I guess alternating with meditative walking every hour would work...Also, regarding the noting meditation...are we supposed to label and nane the sensations as and when we feel them? If so, I'm not sure if it wouldn't create too much confusion when you are deep into meditating...how has your experiences been with it?
ak33, what I am looking for is to get a conscious peak into karmic dissolution, clearing up of thoughts and all sorts of processes behind entering a meditative state I guess...with my usual meditation practice, all the fruits it has reaped has not been accessible to direct perception if that makes sense....ive always had to be speculative about exactly what the results of meditating might be...i guess im trying to be conscious of tjat
Hi psysaucer,
I can recommend a meditation retreat to you. I did one last year, silence for 4 day's and nights. Every day from 06.00 am till 10.00 pm 30 minutes sitting meditation / 30 minutes walking meditation, all day and one asana class in the morning and evening. Zen Buddhism. Four day's complete silence 12 persons in a monastery. It was wonderful....but not for everyone I guess. It gave me deep insights in myself and in life.
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What meditation is best suited for long hours?
