Meditation in the lying position. How?

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bernd the broter, modified 9 Years ago at 2/14/15 4:55 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 2/14/15 4:55 PM

Meditation in the lying position. How?

Posts: 376 Join Date: 6/13/12 Recent Posts
Hi all,

Here are 2 things I like to do:
1) Lie down.
2) Meditate.

Unfortunately I'm not good at doing both things at the same time.
When I try it, the mind starts to wander off very quickly. Concentrating becomes much harder. Even this works only for a few minutes. After that, usually all my efforts break down and my mind spends much more time wandering than with the meditation object.

I know that Goenka recommends to not do lying meditation for longer than 5 minutes, and his explanation (i.e. "it doesn't work") matches my experience. Daniel, in the MCTB 2 draft, states that for some people it's just easy, and for some it's near to impossible.
I'm obviously in the second category and am somewhat dissatisfied with that.

So here's the question: Have some of you faced the same problem, but actually found a solution?
If you have, I'd be grateful to learn about that.
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Eric M W, modified 9 Years ago at 2/14/15 5:58 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 2/14/15 5:58 PM

RE: Meditation in the lying position. How?

Posts: 288 Join Date: 3/19/14 Recent Posts
I like to meditate lying down as well, but it isn't for everybody. Is there any particular reason that you dislike sitting, standing, or walking?
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bernd the broter, modified 9 Years ago at 2/15/15 3:59 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 2/15/15 3:59 AM

RE: Meditation in the lying position. How?

Posts: 376 Join Date: 6/13/12 Recent Posts
I don't dislike these other forms. It's just that it's often convenient to lie down and then I think "might as well do a little meditation right now" and then I'm disappointed when it doesn't work.

In fact my interest in this question grew, when I imagined lying in a hospital bed for a few weeks and being bored to death. (Which hasn't happened to me yet but can, as I was reminded by recent events around me, happen to anyone with a bit of bad luck.)
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tom moylan, modified 9 Years ago at 2/17/15 7:00 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 2/17/15 7:00 AM

RE: Meditation in the lying position. How?

Posts: 896 Join Date: 3/7/11 Recent Posts
hey BtB
same way you get to symphony hall.  practice practice practice...

or like me...set a timer for every five minutes with a 'ping'  to remind you.  after  while i never needed it again.

metta
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Not Tao, modified 9 Years ago at 2/17/15 11:21 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 2/17/15 11:21 AM

RE: Meditation in the lying position. How?

Posts: 995 Join Date: 4/5/14 Recent Posts
The problem could be if you don't think of meditation as a form of relaxation. When you lay down, your body automatically wants to relax, so if you see concentration as a rigid practice of lazerlike focus with perfect clarity then there will be a mind-body conflict and you'll just get frustrated.

Give this a try - abandon any ideas you have about what meditation or concentration is and just count breaths while lying down. If you suddenly realize you've lost track, just start again from the last number you remember. Don't make any effort to stay focused, just count. You might notice that you keep counting even while your mind wanders, and you're even still aware of it even though it's in the background - kind of like a diffuse awareness. This diffuse awareness is the Witness, or the "I Am" presence. It's very easy to meditate with since it encompasses all experience at all times.

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