What do your family/friends say about your meditation?

[Steve]

I wonder how others find their spouses/other halves/children/friends react to their interest in meditation and the time spent meditating.

I made no secret of the fact when I went to meditation (and yoga) classes and a lot of the books I read (although many in private) are about meditation but my family were slightly amused and gently ribbed me by adopting meditation poses and going ommmmm!

Generally, I see my meditation practice as a private thing and my formal practice is usually in the privacy of my room so whether the others know about it I don't know (although my meditation stool is not hidden).

I wish sometimes that I could persuade my wife/children to try it especially when they get uptight and stressed out about things - but I suspect this would be counter-productive. I'd like to think that if I am seen to be calm and get less stressed out this might be seen as a partly due to my meditation - but I'm not sure if this is happening. The others sometimes ask 'what planet am I on' - I think this is partly because I try to avoid getting caught up in strife rather than because I'm seen as detached from 'real life', but I'm not sure. I'd be interested to hear how others find those closest to them react to their meditation.

Steve

[FeeHutch]

My friends and family just accept it as being a part of me. Maybe because it happened after such a massive life changing event. I don't mean this in anyway flippantly at all but I was nearly dead but I'm still here so anything that helps me look after myself and accept my life now can only be good.

[JonW]

There were a fair few raised eyebrows among my friends when I began meditating. I suspect most of them assumed it would be a short-lived fad. They now accept that it's an integral part of my life. A few friends have since taken up meditation and that's heartening to see. I'm currently looking into options available for teaching training and my friends have been very supportive in that. My long-term aim is to teach mindfulness in prisons, both here and abroad.

[rara]

At first, questions from parents saying religion this, religion that blah blah blah. My partner was supportive (she even suggested it at first as a type of therapy!)

Eventually I just stopped talking about it and just got on with it. without other people on my mind, I could focus properly...then I became awesome...then everybody came to me with their problems because I was the only one that could help them solve them lol.

Just do your thing bro...become more awesome, naturally. Then, no one will care what the hell you do in your spare time!

[rara]

There were a fair few raised eyebrows among my friends when I began meditating. I suspect most of them assumed it would be a short-lived fad. They now accept that it's an integral part of my life. A few friends have since taken up meditation and that's heartening to see. I'm currently looking into options available for teaching training and my friends have been very supportive in that. My long-term aim is to teach mindfulness in prisons, both here and abroad.

Cool...so it's starting to sort itself out then! As for your prisons idea...very interesting. I wonder if you would be given restrictions though. I've never been in prisons, I only know from films stories about brainwashing to make them think a certain way haha

[monkeymind]

...then I became awesome...

Ha ha ha.. That's awesome!

[Steve]

Jon

I think my original mindfulness tutor Kate Carne taught mindfulness in prisons. Her contact details are here

http://www.mindfulnessworks.co.uk/page8.html

Steve

[JonW]

Thanks for that contact, Steve. Much appreciated.

[Gareth]

It really is a conundrum. I am still me of course, but mindfulness has improved my life beyond all recognition, in a way that is difficult to convey to my friends and family. In fact, it is impossible to convey to someone who hasn't practised, or at least studied mindfulness. So the only way that we can promote mindfulness is by letting ourselves become examples.

To most of the people that I mix with, meditating makes you a 'weirdo,' but this thing is too powerful not to share, and I can cope with the weirdo look that people give me.

I too wish that my wife would meditate, not just for her, but for my children too; I know how much of a better father it makes me. Mindfulness tells us to accept the world as it is, rather than how we would like it to be, so I will never put pressure on her to meditate.

[JonW]

"The only way that we can promote mindfulness is by letting ourselves become examples."

That's an excellent answer to the questions I raise in this morning's Thought That Counts post.
Regarding your wife, maybe gift her this Kabat-Zinn book for Xmas...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everyday-Blessi ... +parenting
Just a thought.