Hello

[aumaum]

Hello

I wanted to introduce myself I joined yesterday. I found the site after searching for something about judgement.

A little about me:
I'd been interested in all matters of a spiritual nature for years. Then I did a MBSR course in 2013 and was a regular meditator till one year ago. I felt my meditation had plateaued. I felt like I was sitting on the sea shore watching waves. I didn't have a regular group and discussions which I like so that didn't help matters. My life too wasn't progressing as I'd like.

Recently I met a TM practitioner, a famous individual, and was inspired to look into it. I researched and thought it worth a go. I particularly liked Maharishi's clear explanations. Unfortunately, I couldn't justify the price. So I gleaned what I could and started my own mantra meditation. The results were astounding. I felt more clarity, more efficient and more centred in my being. But I had more thoughts and am forever wondering if I'm doing it right. I never had any such effects from mindfulness.

I'm now a bit confused, I'd love to hear about other people's experiences with different techniques and how they decided on the best approach. Also if anyone has TM experience, what did they like or dislike.

[Eric A.]

Hi! Welcome to the group.. Long ago I did TM (1972-1979) - but more recently MBSR (1999-2019). I felt unsupported socially doing MBSR solo too - so I just joined Thich Nhat Nanh's sangha, but i really preferred the totally non-judgemental nature of MBSR so i usually tended to do that instead. Mindfulness Meditation leaves you plenty of room to adapt the practice to yourself. It's less prescriptive than TM, in my humble opinion. Recently I started going to a meditation group that meets at the local Unitarian church, i think they rent the space for evening meetings. I'm happy to answer any questions.

"My life too wasn't progressing as I'd like." What does that mean??

[Matt Y]

Hi aumaum,

You say you are "forever wondering if I'm doing it right."

I'd like to suggest that you can't really do meditation 'right' (or wrong).
That supposes that there is an ideal, or best, or correct way to meditate.
But every person is different and every person has different goals and needs.

So you don't need to think of meditation as an exercise in following instructions correctly.
It's not a test!

It may be more helpful to think of meditation as an experiment.
You're just trying things out, being creative, exploring — and evaluating the results on the basis of your own experience.