Struggling to 'get into' mindfulness

[FeeHutch]

When I first started and struggled with boredom I did find it hard not to give in. Two things helped (and continue to help) the first thing was realising I could sit sit and just be for 5 minutes and it was not a waste of time. This was because I was so used to always being busy and stressed.
Secondly the fact that if I really wanted too, I could stop and that it wouldn't constitute a failure to practice 'properly' took the pressure off.

[monkeymind]

Hello friends,

What a lot of great replies so far, none of them boring!

To anyone who has been quietly hiding outside my bathroom window listening to me in the shower, and has not enjoyed my singing, please accept my apologies. If you liked the singing, then it has been my pleasure. And to anyone that has not yet had the opportunity to listen, I will be selling matinee and evening tickets online from next week

I thought I would fill you in on how things have been going since my original post.
I had a few little strategies that I had planned to try, and I was also wondering what other people might say or suggest. I certainly got a lot of great tips and ideas, so thanks very much. Feel free to keep them coming in.
I had already started to try counting. Although it wasn't really helping by itself, I have decided to stick with some counting for at least a few months to give it a chance and see how it goes. But I'm using it in conjunction with some other ideas.
The next thing I've added is an extra bell during my meditation session. I use a timer, and rather than sounding a bell at the start and at the end, I now have one in the middle too (sometimes more than one) which I use to interrupt any train of thought that I'm lost in and bring me back.
I had also planned to try guided meditations, and also shortening my sessions if the above didn't start helping, but I found that they did help relatively well, so I'm seeing how it goes for now.

I am keen to mention one extra difference that I've picked up too. I'm sure I read it very recently but I'm afraid I forget exactly where. I suspect it was either somewhere on this forum, or possibly in Oli's excellent book which I've also been reading lately.
In any case, it's to notice the in breaths ('now I'm breathing in') distinctly from the out breaths ('now I'm breathing out'), although without the words, just noticing.
This has really helped me to keep my head more on my breathing and less in the clouds.

Regarding the labelling of types of thoughts.. is there a well defined set of labels? I read about labelling in a previous book but when I tried it I was scrambling around for just the right label to apply each time and found it a little disruptive so I stopped doing it. Do people stick with a short list of 5 or so labels, or is there a recommended list?

[JonW]

Glad to hear it's all going well.
Some books suggest labelling the thoughts and feelings that come up as "past", "future", "sadness", "regret", "anger" etc.
I'm not a fan of that approach myself. Especially when difficult thoughts or emotions come up I prefer to lean into them, as it were, gently exploring them with curiosity, trying to feel the texture of them, examining the way they are made manifest in my body.
But it's what works for the individual that really matters.

[Vixine]

I am a beginning meditator (and have been for years) but I have just recently found that labeling is very helpful to me. I think the labels may be very personal but I find that it is helpful to be pretty general with labels, so you don't spend time categorizing them too much, as you said. My labels tend to be thinking, planning, grasping, remembering.... these are the main ones. Getting the label just right isn't really the point, for me at least it is getting that distance or objectivity from the thought or sensation, so you are able to look at it and then go back to the breath, or whatever you were being mindful of.
Glad to hear you are trying lots of new things and they seem to be helpful for you.

[Gareth]

The previous two post show us what a personal experience mindfulness is. I have never really gone in for thought labelling either, but I understand how it can help the practicioner to distance themselves from their thoughts which is a very valuable thing.