This is the first update to the meditation habit I’m currently going through.
The plan was to do 30 minutes every day, however, mainly because I went through a cold and I had some difficulties breathing deeply for too long, I limited to 20 minutes on two days by following a short meditation tape that a friend and reader sent to me.
I have to say that although I have been doing this for just a few days, I can already feel the difference than doing it in a discontinued way.
I have also experimented with several times, in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. For now I’ll try to do it more in the evening just before going to bed, as it’s still too cold for doing it in the early morning. Afternoon does not work well for me because there’s currently too much noise around. My plan is to eventually do meditation at 5.30 am just before my martial arts training.
That’s all I have to say for now. I know a lot of people (including myself) are into holidays, so happy holidays to everyone.
You should check out Osho’s books if you are really interested in meditation.
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Thanks Sudhir, I’m taking note of it.
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Thanks – I just bought the Kindle version of Osho’s book on meditation.
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Keep it up Oscar. Remember the first few days are somewhat easy to keep the habit. Remain focused and committed for 30 days and you will probably stick with it full time eventually. I recently posted about the importance of a morning routine. Now that I am on my own morning routine, I wouldn’t begin my day w’out it.
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Hey Mike, thanks for the encouragement, I’ll keep that in mind.
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Incredible! I am so impressed. I started out with 5 minutes a day and soon stopped. I do like to do some meditation after a long yoga session but it is definitely not a priority. I was so committed for a while. I have got to start again. Keep at it and good luck with the cold. Hope you are back to full health, dear Oscar!
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Hey Farnoosh, not yet but I can meditate without problems now. Thanks for your continuos support Farnoosh!
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I’ve taken a subset of the 30 habits you mentioned in a previous post and I’m taking them through 30 days: wake up early, drinking water on waking, meditating 30m, 30m exercise, 5 fruits/veg, avoiding soda.
http://screencast.com/t/NmZjNzU3NzE
So far, so good. The meditation I’m having a hard time with because I’ve been trying to do it a half hour after I wake up. Even if I’ve gotten a solid 8 I get relaxed enough that I go back and forth between relaxed & sleeping.
Trying another time & location seems to be the next thing to try. Sitting up straight, too. There are just so many noises in the house after everyone gets up.
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Hi Steven, first, congrats for taking massive action. Second, I was already doing meditation before this, although not regularly. The reason I’m doing it in the evening now is exactly because of what you mentioned. Another solution is to do it outside if the weather is nice and enough warmer.
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Thanks – I’ll let you know how it goes.
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Happy Holidays Oscar :)
Still keeping up with two 30 minute sessions a day. The benefits of sticking with it continue to reveal themselves.
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Hey Ryan, you rock! Congrats for doing 2 sessions per day.
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Hi Oscar, long time reader, first time commenting. :)
We seem to be on similar paths. I also medidate (Silva methods) but trying to work it into my day so I can set up a rhythm. What kind of martial arts are you doing? I’ve been doing Aikido here in Japan for 12 years and we have a 6am morning session 5 days a week (plus one 9am session with Sundays off). I love to start my day at the dojo, full of energy. Gives me real balance and prepares me for my day.
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Hey Laurence, thanks for your comment. I do sanda which is a chinese martial art, which is similar to muay thai. Aikido seems very fascinating, although I’ve never tried it myself. 12 years of experience are a lot, congratulations. I hope to be there one day too.
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I tend to force myself to meditate. I could never relax. I am always on the go. I have always been like that since I was little. I am from Miami and everything is fast pace.
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Hey Renelda, I don’t know if meditation is for everybody, but it does take a while to get into it.
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Hey Oscar… I’ve been thinking of getting into meditation myself (since I’ve been reading some rather good things about it) so I look forward to hearing how it works out for you! Cheers.
-Travis
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Hey Travis, so far is going good, I’ll post other updates soon. Thanks for showing your interest
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Seems like I’m doing too many things at once. It would be awesome to get some meditation in. I’ve never done it and wouldn’t mind with starting 10 minutes a day. Maybe even start the day that way.
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Hey Moon, you can start with 10 minutes and see how it goes for you. Maybe you can also do it when you feel stressed during the day.
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Glad to hear it’s going well man. :)
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Hey Bud, thanks for coming here and for your support.
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Hey, Oscar
Keep it up, buddy, don’t let the cold stay in your way. I never did it very consistently but I do meditate every once in a while.
I remember though that a few years ago I started a somehow similar exercise, which lasted about 6 months: I woke up and did some stretching and yoga, combined with what I called positive thinking sessions (in which I was mentally forgiving a lot of people and just visualize my friends and other people happy). It was just before Bianca was born. That, my friend, was a fantastic experience. In a way, although I can’t prove it scientifically, I still feel that the effects of it are still here, after almost 4 years.
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Congratulations on keeping up the meditation habit. I did it for a month too for 30 minutes per day and it was really eye opening. I’d recommend Eckhart Tolles book “The Power of Now”. It’s easily the most like changing book. It is literally on another level to 99% of Self Development books. I quit though because I started a Raw Diet and I’m mentally clear enough at the moment. Have you thought about starting a Raw Vegan Diet?
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That’ something I want to try. I’ll also have to read that book…
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