Aim low. Start small. All the science suggests that if you tell yourself you’ll do just a minute or two, daily Ish, it’s the best route toward an abiding habit.
When do you inevitably fall off the wagon, give yourself a break. It happens to all of us. Nothing’s been lost. You can always start again.
I will give it a try. I let my subscription to 10% Happier go when meditating became a box to check (I was a slave to the streaks built into the app). I miss easy access to the quality guided practices, so I might give them another shot at some point.
The suggestion to say “welcome back” after getting distracted is going to shift things in a positive way. Sharon Salzberg was the first person I heard say that you *cannot* fail at meditation because everyone loses focus. That never stopped me from criticizing myself, of course. A simple way to extend myself a bit of grace in that moment is an awesome gift. Thanks, Dan!
"To be changed without the slightest effort on your part, to be transformed, believe it or not, merely by waking to the reality that is not words, that lies beyond the reach of words".
So here’s what I’ve noticed from meditating daily to less than dailyish. When I was meditating daily I was able to be in a room full of people and hold my concentration while engaging in a conversation, something that was challenging for me in the past. I’m somewhat of a scatter brain - ADHD - and would try to listen in on other conversations while in one! I’ve noticed over the Holidays at party’s and get togethers this is coming back and I attribute it to not meditating dailyish. I want that focus back and happy to participate in the challenge.
That’s a huge insight. Once you see clearly and viscerally how much it sucks to stop meditating, you may have way more intrinsic motivation to keep up the practice. Congratulations.
Aside from your personal mentors, meditation retreats, and small group sanghas, are you part of any ongoing local Buddhist community like a temple? If so, what is that experience like? Curious how to find local folks who come together in person around these practices, without the most religious aspects that I assume (maybe wrongly) might be part of a temple.
I'm a very sporadic visitor to a local temple. Yes there are non-secular practices like chanting and bowing, and the dharma talks are usually related to the sutras or other Buddhist writing, but I haven't found it challenging to participate. The chanting feels nice, and the stories from the sutras can be related to modern life fairly easily. I do my best to be respectful of the staff, members, and guests, and follow any instructions provided. The people there have been very welcoming.
I enjoy the experience because there's something different about meditating with a sangha, in a meditation hall. And I get all the modern science stuff I need from Dan's podcast!
Alisa & Annette - this is something I did only one time years ago! A walking meditation in a circle with a lovely bell to indicate begin and stop. It did feel good as part of the group and it’s something I haven’t thought about ages. Wow. Your comments have inspired me to join this group once again. Thank you for sharing your experience! ✨
Hi Lisa, I am fortunate and very grateful to live only 30 minutes from a center. The center does not focus on religious practices, but rather on Buddhist practices such as taking refuge, taking precept vows, book studies, offering practices such as Chenrezig and Full Moon. But, none of these are required. I don’t tend to call myself a Buddhist instead, I practice Buddhism. Our center has a Buddha Pavilion, a Reliquary, a huge Stupa with eight smaller Stupas (added just this summer) around it. We had a resident teacher who led meditation every Sunday for years, now he leads once per month and leads retreats. We have visiting teachers, mostly Lamas and Rinpoches but we have many wonderful western visiting teachers also. It has been the one place I have never felt pressured in any direction. I visited one other center a bit further away before finding this one and I just knew it wasn’t for me. I hope this somewhat answers your questions.
I love these responses. In my experience, being part of a community, even if it’s explicitly Buddhist, is extraordinarily helpful.
Personally, even though I’m agnostic/atheist, I am very comfortable with most of the Buddhist practices, even if they feel “religious.”
I always try to remember that the Buddha said we should never take anything on faith value, even if he himself proclaimed it. His motto was: come see for yourself.
As a slight tangent, one of my mid to long rage goals for this little community is that we can help people create their own meditation groups, locally. I’m not quite sure how to do that yet, though.
ooo... I like this idea a lot! Being a former atheist who has aged enough to recognize nothing is for certain, I'm now a bemused, slightly befuddled agnostic with a yen for a sangha. Buddhists are thin on the ground in my neck of the woods. Thanks Dan.
Thank for this meditation challenge and today was perfect to get back on track! My favorite thing to hear is when you refer to the back and forth between distraction & awareness as “biceps curls for the brain”! It’s such a relatable way to explain meditation practice and the benefits one can achieve therefrom!
I was doing well until I heard “you can never clear your mind, that’s impossible. Unless you’re enlightened or….. you die. I started laughing and could not stop. Great way to end a meditation session.
Thanks for this challenge Dan! I have not been able to create a daily-ish practice yet but as I sat at my computer today trying to do some training I noticed I had more focus. Could meditation be helping?! lol I like to think so!
I really appreciated this simple start today to the New Year’s Challenge and am very grateful you’re offering it this week…. together and in community with some of my favourite meditation instructors. 💜
A nice kick-off the the series. Looking forward to this week being a meditation reset/nudge to a more regular practice and a healthier addition to my morning routine. Thanks, Dan!
Happy New Year, thank you for this. Such a great way to get in touch with our body, mind and soul. Getting ready to take my walk and listen to the podcast. ♥️
Thanks for this practice. I know I don’t suck at meditation, but I do suck at making practice a priority. Something to work on for’25.
This is an incredibly common issue.
Two thoughts:
Aim low. Start small. All the science suggests that if you tell yourself you’ll do just a minute or two, daily Ish, it’s the best route toward an abiding habit.
When do you inevitably fall off the wagon, give yourself a break. It happens to all of us. Nothing’s been lost. You can always start again.
Xx
I will give it a try. I let my subscription to 10% Happier go when meditating became a box to check (I was a slave to the streaks built into the app). I miss easy access to the quality guided practices, so I might give them another shot at some point.
The suggestion to say “welcome back” after getting distracted is going to shift things in a positive way. Sharon Salzberg was the first person I heard say that you *cannot* fail at meditation because everyone loses focus. That never stopped me from criticizing myself, of course. A simple way to extend myself a bit of grace in that moment is an awesome gift. Thanks, Dan!
Glad it helps! It definitely helps me.
Just to say, when you notice yourself criticizing your practice, that’s just another thing to be mindful of! Everything can be co-opted.
So cool.
I love Anthony De Mello
"To be changed without the slightest effort on your part, to be transformed, believe it or not, merely by waking to the reality that is not words, that lies beyond the reach of words".
So here’s what I’ve noticed from meditating daily to less than dailyish. When I was meditating daily I was able to be in a room full of people and hold my concentration while engaging in a conversation, something that was challenging for me in the past. I’m somewhat of a scatter brain - ADHD - and would try to listen in on other conversations while in one! I’ve noticed over the Holidays at party’s and get togethers this is coming back and I attribute it to not meditating dailyish. I want that focus back and happy to participate in the challenge.
That’s a huge insight. Once you see clearly and viscerally how much it sucks to stop meditating, you may have way more intrinsic motivation to keep up the practice. Congratulations.
Aside from your personal mentors, meditation retreats, and small group sanghas, are you part of any ongoing local Buddhist community like a temple? If so, what is that experience like? Curious how to find local folks who come together in person around these practices, without the most religious aspects that I assume (maybe wrongly) might be part of a temple.
I'm a very sporadic visitor to a local temple. Yes there are non-secular practices like chanting and bowing, and the dharma talks are usually related to the sutras or other Buddhist writing, but I haven't found it challenging to participate. The chanting feels nice, and the stories from the sutras can be related to modern life fairly easily. I do my best to be respectful of the staff, members, and guests, and follow any instructions provided. The people there have been very welcoming.
I enjoy the experience because there's something different about meditating with a sangha, in a meditation hall. And I get all the modern science stuff I need from Dan's podcast!
Alisa, I always think I’m marinating in “good juju” when meditating in a group at a center.
Alisa & Annette - this is something I did only one time years ago! A walking meditation in a circle with a lovely bell to indicate begin and stop. It did feel good as part of the group and it’s something I haven’t thought about ages. Wow. Your comments have inspired me to join this group once again. Thank you for sharing your experience! ✨
Hi Lisa, I am fortunate and very grateful to live only 30 minutes from a center. The center does not focus on religious practices, but rather on Buddhist practices such as taking refuge, taking precept vows, book studies, offering practices such as Chenrezig and Full Moon. But, none of these are required. I don’t tend to call myself a Buddhist instead, I practice Buddhism. Our center has a Buddha Pavilion, a Reliquary, a huge Stupa with eight smaller Stupas (added just this summer) around it. We had a resident teacher who led meditation every Sunday for years, now he leads once per month and leads retreats. We have visiting teachers, mostly Lamas and Rinpoches but we have many wonderful western visiting teachers also. It has been the one place I have never felt pressured in any direction. I visited one other center a bit further away before finding this one and I just knew it wasn’t for me. I hope this somewhat answers your questions.
I love these responses. In my experience, being part of a community, even if it’s explicitly Buddhist, is extraordinarily helpful.
Personally, even though I’m agnostic/atheist, I am very comfortable with most of the Buddhist practices, even if they feel “religious.”
I always try to remember that the Buddha said we should never take anything on faith value, even if he himself proclaimed it. His motto was: come see for yourself.
As a slight tangent, one of my mid to long rage goals for this little community is that we can help people create their own meditation groups, locally. I’m not quite sure how to do that yet, though.
ooo... I like this idea a lot! Being a former atheist who has aged enough to recognize nothing is for certain, I'm now a bemused, slightly befuddled agnostic with a yen for a sangha. Buddhists are thin on the ground in my neck of the woods. Thanks Dan.
I love the idea of somehow creating local groups from this community!
I like the idea of creating small, local meditation groups. Maybe they can be satellites of this community!
Thank for this meditation challenge and today was perfect to get back on track! My favorite thing to hear is when you refer to the back and forth between distraction & awareness as “biceps curls for the brain”! It’s such a relatable way to explain meditation practice and the benefits one can achieve therefrom!
I was doing well until I heard “you can never clear your mind, that’s impossible. Unless you’re enlightened or….. you die. I started laughing and could not stop. Great way to end a meditation session.
Thanks for this challenge Dan! I have not been able to create a daily-ish practice yet but as I sat at my computer today trying to do some training I noticed I had more focus. Could meditation be helping?! lol I like to think so!
Thanks Dan!
I really appreciated this simple start today to the New Year’s Challenge and am very grateful you’re offering it this week…. together and in community with some of my favourite meditation instructors. 💜
A nice kick-off the the series. Looking forward to this week being a meditation reset/nudge to a more regular practice and a healthier addition to my morning routine. Thanks, Dan!
That was awesome. I great way to start my week. Thanks!
Thanks Dan and team. Happy 2025!
Great way to start this meditation challenge. Thank you Dan
Thank you, Dan. A good way to start the week. Appreciate it.
Happy New Year, thank you for this. Such a great way to get in touch with our body, mind and soul. Getting ready to take my walk and listen to the podcast. ♥️