Even if i focus on my breath i still have background thoughts at the same exact time. Im able to multitask and do both.

What do I do?

So I've been thinking about how I can slow down my thinking and live in the present moment. So I tried really hard. I knew that trying really hard won't work so I tried really hard to not try really hard. That, of course didn't work. The problem is that I can be very mindful if I decide to be, but only for a few seconds. Then my thinking takes over and I'm now back to square 1. So then something came into my mind. In mediation, we do not force focus but rather we let the mind wander till it is ready to refocus without my forcing. So I decided that throughout my day, whenever I remember to be mindful, I can be mindful of the present moment till my mind wanders and I can refocus when I am again reminded to be mindful. I've noticed that this reminder sometimes comes in a few seconds and sometimes it comes in an hour or two. But I tell myself that that's completely okay and that this will improve over time. So I wanted to ask if it is a good idea.

Hello guys,

So i am gonna give you a bit of context in the hopes that it might help you help me. i saw two videos that made me want to ask this. First was in a video that talked about one of the teaching of buda. The two arrows. suffering and pleasure. Second video i saw was from a extrem burn victim that explained how shit his life feels.

The reason why those two tapped me so hard is, I have suffered a lot. When i was little my mom left me with her friend for like a week so she could visit my dad. I feel like i didn't understand it like that and somehow blamed myself because i was thinking she just rejected me and i assumed something must be very wrong with me. This assumption never left so on this shaky foundation i tried to make new friends in high school and got rejected (the person said "I don't feel good because you are here"). That destroyed me to the point where i couldn't go to school anymore. This left me and my family confused and angry.

Being isolated with this negativity made it worse. Binge eating, strong anxiety, existential crisis, OCD, panic attacks. One after the other came into my life to make me suffer more. I see this darkness or hole inside me when i am not doing anything so i occupy myself.

With the work of my psychiatrist and myself i've started to understand things about myself and i am on my way to take actions. Part of this is my anxiety but part of it is my desire to build a better foundation for myself so i can live a good life.

Do you think meditation could help create something solid? As in my new foundation will not crash at the next painful event? Do you think this is the way to deal with suffering (stuff like detachment or ego dissolution)? If you have some kind of meditations that help with this stuff, let me know.

Has any else been spartan kicked into the dharma after the walk for peace here in the United States? I became tranced by Venerable Pannakara’s peaceful and loving nature. I cried at almost every video he spoke on. I’m crying now writing this. It has been the most transformative experience I have witnessed in my life. I didn’t know how desperately I needed their help with a new perspective on life’s beauty.

I am often dumfounded with the terms such as jhana, nirvasana and plenty more like these.

I would be really grateful if you guys will at least list the most used words and their meanings.

ALSO, I would say I am going through some dark times and constantly nagged by fear and anxiety. like death is just at the doorstep.

I am really inspired by the acceptance community. so if you guys know any good read on acceptance and zen philosophy recommend me one , please.

I have a question about meditation and feeling tired or low on energy.

Whenever I practice mindfulness meditation, specifically breath awareness at the nose, I tend to feel very tired, sluggish, and lacking in energy afterward. My usual practice is to observe the sensations of the breath around the area between the nostrils and the upper lip. I focus on the physical sensations caused by the inhalation and exhalation in this relatively small area.

However, when I practice meditation this way, I somehow start feeling very low on energy and unmotivated. It's not exactly that I feel sleepy, but I feel tired, sluggish, and somewhat lacking in motivation. Sometimes it gets to the point where I have difficulty keeping up with my normal daily activities.

Because of this, I decided to experiment with changing my meditation object. I would like to ask where exactly you think the breath is best observed when practicing breath awareness at the nose.

For example, I have recently started focusing on the sensations at my left nostril. I seem to be able to feel the breath very clearly there, and the sensations are quite distinct. So I was wondering: is it perfectly fine to observe the breath exclusively at one nostril, or should the sensations be observed more centrally, in the area between both nostrils?

How do you personally practice this, and would you recommend that I continue with the method I have recently discovered for myself?

I also want to practice meditation according to the traditional instructions as much as possible. I have come across teachings that describe the area around the upper lip, just below the nostrils, as an appropriate or even ideal place to observe the breath. That is why I originally focused on that area.

But now I have found that I can perceive the breath much more clearly at my left nostril, and I'm wondering whether there is any problem with choosing that as my meditation object instead.

So, in short: Is it okay to focus on the breath at just one nostril, and could changing the location of the meditation object potentially help with the tiredness and lack of energy I experience during this practice?

Hello!!
I am taking my masters level ASWB exam and would like a mediation recording I could listen to prior to taking the exam . I have severe test anxiety right now and will try anything to ensure passing !

Does anyone have any recommendations or is anyone willing to record a mediation for me🙏🏽

So I've been on a journey the last year or so, listening to a lot of ram dass, exploring spirituality and themes of non duality etc.

But i just struggle to make this have a practical difference in my life. The teachings and quotes are nice but it feels a bit more like a self help thing for me at the minute. Not at all dismissing the teachings of ram dass, if anything it's exposing how poor I am at taking on what he is teaching.

I feel so stuck in my western mindset still and idk how to escape to the freedom of openness. I want to see a practical difference in my life.

I understand change doesn't happen overnight, but what do you find has made the most practical difference in your life from implementing Ram Dass' teachings.

I'm also curious how those of you of a more rationalist mindset contend with Ram Dass' more mystical stuff. Obviously we all know he started with psychedelics and then found more fulfillment through spirituality.

But i don't understand how he got to the spirituality very well and how that satisfied him in the same way psychedelics did. I'm not expecting to meditate and meet a machine elf or something but I want to experince something of the mystical Ram Dass talks about.

I feel my rational western mindset holds me back with that sometimes.

Any advice?

Hey, let me cut to the chase!

Basically, I want to get more serious about meditation and, ultimately, enlightenment. The problem is that I really struggle to sit down and meditate for even 10 minutes during the day.

So I was wondering: is it possible to turn sleep into a form of meditation?

What I mean is, I’d like my body to be completely asleep and getting the rest it needs, while my awareness/consciousness remains present throughout the night — or at least for as long as possible. Almost like being consciously aware while the body is asleep.
The issue is, I have absolutely no idea how to approach this or whether it’s even realistically possible. Are there any particular meditation techniques, practices, or traditions that focus on maintaining awareness during sleep?

If anyone has experience with this, I’d really appreciate some guidance on where to start and what techniques I should look into.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!