Afterthoughts On The 30 Day Meditation Challenge

I'd like to start off by saying I'm actually not surprised that I've made it through 30 days of meditation, since I was very determined. As I have experienced some of the benefits of meditation earlier this year I guess it was easier to really commit. However, it has been challenging considering the conditions under which the sessions took place: increased noise level, screaming kids - need I say more?

In order to get a clear picture of the progress I've made I'll paint a scene from my early days of practice (from about 2 years ago).

The Early Days
I sit down in the full lotus posture, how I ever managed that is now a vague memory. Within just a few seconds of this I convert to the half lotus and so on until eventually I'm seated on a chair. With my timer handy and set for 25 or 30 minutes I begin by taking a few deep breaths (the incorrect way) and continue focusing on the natural flow of my breathing. Soon I notice an itch that starts off subtle and so I'm able to ignore it. Seconds later I've moved my focus from the breath to meditating on the itch. My urge to scratch this itch multiplies and so I give in to it, finding some sweet relief. Back to focusing on the breath, within a few minutes I'm thinking about a number of random things and in between calculating the number of minutes left before my timer goes berserk. Sitting still was possible, but sitting quietly still in my head was near to impossible. In between these rampant thoughts I hear the ticking clock and find myself in a state of boredom. Eventually getting so deep into my thoughts the timer goes off and I almost jump out of my chair, that timer was about the only seemingly involuntary thing that took place. A few days of this was enough for me to make excuses not to bother with even the thought of meditation.

Present Day Experience
I'm happy to say I am having a completely different experience now, it's almost as if I was just writing about someone else. Now that I've put more practice into deep breathing (properly) it's a lot easier to relax. I don't practice seated meditation unless I want to, I prefer lying down on the bed or sofa. My thoughts fade away easily and in a sense my mind feels loosened. I don't plan my meditations anymore and no longer use a timer which only makes me focus more on the concept of time. I often intend to meditate for 10 or 15 minutes but I allow myself to meditate for as long as comfortable. With that said I have had days where I just simply could not focus but those are to be expected, especially as a beginner. In the past I did try too hard and put in more effort. I realise now that meditation is something that requires the least amount of effort. In fact, the basic practice of meditation requires you do nothing which is probably the most difficult task anyone can do because just attempting to do nothing you are doing something. I think that's where the whole focus on the breath or other focused attention comes into play. It ever so slowly but surely guides us into a space of nothingness through which everything is endlessly flowing.

My goals for meditation have changed in that I don't meditate just to astral project or reap it's benefits. I realise that it's one of many tools to help exercise the spiritual muscles and a gateway to the dynamic states of consciousness we have access to.

The 30 Day Meditation has served it's purpose, I feel a lot more peaceful than I had before I started and it also helped as a reminder of my original intention to meditate everyday. I like being in that calm state of mind where I have no worries and nothing to hamper about. Once again it is my intention to meditate everyday with a relaxed approach. I know that with more practice I can only get better at this.

Reach Deep Levels of Meditation

Day 30 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

I practiced 3rd eye meditation really late. I focused between the brows until the energy built up. I almost fell asleep after that but remained conscious when I noticed that my head had shifted to the right by itself and then back. It was a sense of flashing from one position to another and not an actual movement.

Day 29 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Third eye meditation practiced late night. Felt some pressure next to my left temple, the sensation felt like it was travelling down my ear canal. That sharp static sound was present. Meditated for 15 minutes.

Day 28 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Meditated at night on third eye, after meditation fell asleep.

Day 27 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Meditated at 12:20pm for 15 minutes. Had a hard time keeping myself still, the mind chattering was not helping either. Worked on deep breathing. I continued to focus on my breathing eventually being aware of my silent mind, feeling quite peaceful and also like I was floating.

Day 26 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Practiced 3rd eye meditation late at night for 10 minutes. Felt sensations of energy swirling in my head, same as usual.

Day 25 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Practiced third eye meditation - didn't bother with deep breathing and working on relaxing. I think the more concentrated my focus is on something the quicker and easier it is to relax.

This past week I've been experiencing a lot of sensations around the solar plexus, sacral and heart chakras.

The solar plexus and sacral chakra feel like pulsating sensations whereas in the heart chakra I can feel fluttering and sinking sensations.

Day 24 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

I practiced the 3rd Eye Meditation at night time for 10 minutes. It seems the more I practice this the more the energy sensations intensify inside my head.

Day 23 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

I meditated at 8:15pm for an unexpected 25 minutes. The first 5 minutes I focused on relaxing by breathing deeply. The muscles in my face, especially around my eyes, felt incredibly tense so I focused on relaxing these tensions. As I relaxed more I felt tingling sensations around my feet.

Eventually I became aware of being in a calm, peaceful state where I had no awareness of my body. I remained in this state for a few minutes before I opened my eyes.

Day 22 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

I practiced concentration meditation by simply focusing on the breath, at 5:10pm for 10 minutes. I rested my head on a bigger/higher pillow during this session.

A few minutes in a calm state I felt forceful upward sensations several times and a few jolts. These sensations were very different from usual and I think they were a result of changing a flat pillow for a higher one. Maybe my spine wasn’t straight enough, of course, I’m just making assumptions. It could really be any number of things.

I have a tendency to end my sessions when I experience these sensations excessively. During these IBMs or odd sensations I become too alert that my awareness is back on my body. However, I do feel calm and relaxed enough to meditate a bit deeper. I don’t plan on increasing the time I spend on meditation, 10-15 minutes is more than plenty, at least for now.

Since my recent astral experience I’ve been hearing a persisting static sound in both ears, mostly in the right, throughout the day. Thankfully, it’s not as loud and sharp. I experienced this before and it was during a time when I was practicing meditation. It might be that my sense of hearing is becoming sharper.

Day 21 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Third Eye meditation practiced at 9:15pm for 15 minutes. This time prior to meditating I made an effort to practice deep breathing until I felt relaxed. The pressures and energy in my head and around my forehead were building up in intensity. I actually wanted to meditate for a bit longer but got interrupted by a knock on the door.

Day 20 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Third Eye meditation practiced once again night time, only this time I practiced it for 5 minutes since I felt far too sleepy to continue.

Day 19 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Third Eye meditation practiced at night time for 10 minutes. I couldn’t quite focus today.

Day 18 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

I practiced third eye meditation at 9:00 pm for 10 minutes. A short while later I fell asleep until around 12:30am.

Day 17 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Meditated at night time for exactly 15 minutes. I used the third eye meditation. Initially I felt energy sensations in my head and eventually, there was an intense pressure between my brows, which I'm quite familiar with since practicing third eye meditations.

15 minutes later I almost jumped out of bed alarmed by an unusual sound. Upon returning to normal waking consciousness I realised it was the sound of me snoring or struggling to breathe.

Day 15 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Practiced night time, seemed like I was putting too much effort and did not even bother with breathing technique.

Day 14 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Meditated late at night again and drifted off to sleep. I had a few problems with relaxing prior to the meditation. I'm going to try meditate a bit earlier in the day.

Day 13 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Meditated very late at night. I had a lot on my mind which made it difficult to relax.

Day 12 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Started meditation at night time. After breathing exercise I intended to connect with my higher self/inner being. I spent a few minutes asking for this connection and for some assistance in my spiritual development. I also asked for some lucid dreams and help with becoming more aware in my dreams.

During the meditation there was the usual sensations and movement in my head. I went deep enough to the point where I became conscious of my body slowly going in to sleep mode. Eventually fell asleep and had some incredibly disturbing dreams - next post.

Day 11 of 30 Day Meditation Challenge

Meditated early morning, although I was still a bit groggy. Entered SP state, while in this state I sensed a presence at one side of my room. From the corner of my eyes I was able to see the shape of a person sitting down. I did not panic, instead I tried to see if I could somehow get out. I moved my fingers and snapped out, wide awake.

Meditated a second time in the evening. During this session within a few minutes my right arm raised up and flopped back down. I think I became aware of my body falling asleep, noticed changes in my breathing which became much slower. Eventually I began gasping for air in fear that I had stopped breathing. I ended the session after 10 minutes and decided to try it again. This time I felt some very pleasant fuzzy sensations in my head. This meditation lasted 20 minutes, I think I could've gone deeper but was interrupted by the phone ringing. When I got up the sensations were present for a few minutes.