8-week course : too soon for me?

[Cheesus]

Or maybe the mindfulness hamper...?

Might not have quite the same ring.

[JonW]

"We ought to call ourselves the mindfulness rebels."

I like to think of myself as the rebel without a clue.

[JonW]

For anyone who is new to mindfulness and finding it a challenge, here's a quote from Ezra Bayda's wonderfully wise book Beyond Happiness:
"It's sometimes tempting to judge meditation periods as 'bad' if we can't focus or if we don't feel good. But one of the great benefits of meditation comes from persevering anyway, regardless of how we feel. Eventually, a learning and a settling with begin to take place. And gradually, the sense of presence and equanimity that is cultivated through a daily meditation practice begins to be infused into our everyday living."
Don't strive. But persevere and gently cultivate. That's the message.

[FeeHutch]

Excellent quote, really sums it up.

I'm always up for some mindful rebellion, it is the week of saying yes after all

[rara]

I haven't really been able to 'get anywhere' with it even after 3 months

Just wondering what you mean by this...

And yeah, I scoff chocoate mindfully on a nightly basis. You gotta live, right?

[monkeymind]

Just wondering what you mean by this...

Oh I just meant that I sit, but I struggle to be mindful. Sometimes I'm agitated and find it impossible to sit, or I'm exhausted and want to give in to drowsiness, or else my mind wanders and never comes back.
I'm never mindful outside of my formal practice, and I don't feel like I can relate to the things that our mindful friends here experience or think about.
Also formal practice feels like a bit of a chore at times - something I must remember to fit into my day at some point.
I don't feel like I'm any more mindful, or any better off now than I was before I knew anything about mindfulness

But having said that, I'm still hopeful that I'm making some progress somewhere, even if only at a level so deep that I can't see it.

Actually, I decided that as per my concerns below, I did not feel ready to make these 8 weeks the weeks in which I embark on my 8-week journey. I will continue for now on my own path, and I'll take on the 8 weeks when I feel more ready to do it justice.
For all those taking part in the group journey, have fun.
And save some chocolate raisins for me

[JonW]

Just wondering how you get along with the body scan or the yoga, monkeymind.
Some people warm to those practices more than sitting meditation.
Either way, I wish you well.
Cheers, Jon

[monkeymind]

I haven't done too many body scans to be honest, but of the half-dozen or so that I've done, they have been hit and miss.
I think a couple or guided scans have been quite good and where I've had a go by myself, I've daydreamed myself off on a tangent.
I've had a couple of good 10second quick scans but I haven't tried to body scan in lieu of sitting.
I will look forward to learning more about the body scan in my 8-week journey.
I might be wrong but for now I have the idea that a sitting practice is the daddy.
I haven't ever tried any yoga. Is yoga even a component in the 8-weeks?

I've heard good things about both body scan and yoga, and walking meditation, which I am now experimenting with a little, when I remember to do so. And I look forward to exploring them more at a later date. But I'm still happy to persevere with a daily sitting practice and see how I get on.