Meditation doubt

The biggest challenge in the practice is to start a daily practice. Personally, I recommend reading to find some inspiration in the path.

I could tell you to just have resolve and see where your mind gets lost, but this won't work unless the mind is convinced that this is the path. E.g. we must take refuge in the triple gem (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha)

I would recommend chanting in the morning and night (https://www.dhammatalks.org/chant_index.html). What this will do is keep in mind why we are doing this and what exactly we are trying to realize.

Chanting:
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/ChantingGuide/Section0007.html

Jarā-dhammomhi jaraṁ anatīto.
I am subject to aging. Aging is unavoidable.
Byādhi-dhammomhi byādhiṁ anatīto.
I am subject to illness. Illness is unavoidable.
Maraṇa-dhammomhi maraṇaṁ anatīto.
I am subject to death. Death is unavoidable.
Sabbehi me piyehi manāpehi nānā-bhāvo vinā-bhāvo.
I will grow different, separate from all that is dear & appealing to me.
Kammassakomhi kamma-dāyādo kamma-yoni kamma-bandhu kamma-paṭisaraṇo.
I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions,
related through my actions, and live dependent on my actions.
Yaṁ kammaṁ karissāmi kalyāṇaṁ vā pāpakaṁ vā tassa dāyādo bhavissāmi.
Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.
Evaṁ amhehi abhiṇhaṁ paccavekkhitabbaṁ.
We should often reflect on this.

When chanting this, take time to really feel each point. You will die, everything you find dear will become seperate from you, and all your actions will bear fruit later. We have an extraordinary set of circumstances in this life - we are born into the human realm and in a time when the Dhamma is present for us. Death will be on us very soon and this may be our only chance to practice for many births.

Books:
Food for the heart by Ajahn Chah
Mindfulness in plain English by Bhante G
When Awareness becomes Natural by Sayadaw Tejaniya

Further:
Please ask me if you have any questions. Once you realize the necessity of this practice. You must try to maintain a continuity of awareness. Every time you walk, feel your feet under you -- How long do you spend on each foot? How does your hip engage? How does your knee swing? How does your body sway? Every time you defecate, feel the toilet under you. How does it feel when you pass excrement? What does your mind go off to? How does your face change when you are having trouble?

Find activities in your daily life that you can use to bring your awareness there. Maybe this is getting up from a chair, opening a door, walking stairs. Whatever it is, find it and don't let it go. Everytime you do this activity, do it mindfully and observe where the mindfulness is lost.

 

Hi, Poetic fool.

I very much agree with capdindass, and I, too have encountered serious difficulties while trying to remain mindful as I use my computer or smartphone. I saw an interesting video by a member of nofap who described his experiences with "monk mode" - I wish I had saved a link to it because it was quite good. Essentially he explained that smartphones, computers and the internet had saturated his brain with too much dopamine on a daily basis and he became less able to benefit from meditation, mindfulness, and going out to interact with other people in "real life" (while attempting to maintain awareness during those interactions). He then cut his use of computers and smartphones from his life except for a short, scheduled time in the evening, and found that as his awareness grew from enhanced mindfulness practice he also became more efficient and effective in his use of technology.

Here is a great collection of excerpts from Buddhist scriptures pertaining to Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ānāpānasmṛti), meaning "mindfulness of breathing."

https://breathmeditation.org/the-buddhist-tradition-of-breath-meditation

I hope you find this information to be helpful. I am just a beginner, but I was so impressed by the above web page that I felt emboldened enough to finally begin my own meditation practice today, after long study.

Good luck, Poetic fool... please keep us "posted!"

 

I have a slightly different view on this bro.

For me the purpose of my meditation is to be able to live a life with an open heart in the present moment and respond to life more effectively.

While i do appreciate your intention to be mindful all the time, I do not think to avoid smartphone and technology is the answer for me - even though periods of detox and using it consciously is definitely the way.

I dont think it is good to be afraid of any thing and if i am afraid of using my smartphone from fear of losing my mindfulness it is not worth it.

I believe that is an illusion and it is very well possible to live a dharmic path and pure path while making the most use of our human life for becoming free from sufffering while using our smartphone, generally speaking for us householders.

 

I remember reading that Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche said that spending time in front of screens is the best way to make the body and mind separate from each other, because our bodies are slumped in comfortable positions and our minds are completely mesmerized by the screen. I find this to be true in my experience.

So, I would say, less screen time is better, especially for beginners. Of course, we don't have to cut it out completely but it's good to try to only use screens for meaningful pursuits, not just for entertainment or distraction. Easier said than done, I know.

More advanced meditators can keep their awareness while engaging with screens so for them it's not as much of an issue.

You can also experiment with it a little. Make it an exercise to bring your mind back to your breath/body whenever you engage with screens and see how often you can do that.

Formal practice is vital though, if you want to train in meditation, you need to make time for it and just practice meditation for periods of your day. Then, it will also become easier to maintain your awareness in all your activities. But that's the essence of the whole path really, so patience is also important. Just keep practicing and do your best.

Good luck!

 

@Poetic fool

Maybe you can also just practice meditation for 5-15 minutes or so after screen time, to become more mindful again.

 

There could be different reasons based on the OP - which was a while ago but I think the topic is worth discussing.

There may be both a psychological component as well as more behavioral one, like Pavlovian response. The truth of the matter is tech companies does a lot of research just into the notification sounds it makes, there's an entire field called captology or "persuasive technology" where Stanford has a lab.

Anyway, if one finds oneself conditioned at that level naturally you want to break the association, that would be ideal.

It's also generally understood we only have a certain amount of attention, thus the idea of the attention economy. They don't do this for nothing, they know the more "eyeball hours" they can harness from the public the more they can sell that attention to advertisers. So it is a good idea to treat our attention as valuable. People think all the online services are free but what they don't realize is they pay a lot of attention, and it IS a limited resource.

Herbert A. Simon

 

Good food for thought!