My name is Nicolas, I am 28. I have been trying to meditate for couples of month but I have not felt the progress neither the connection with this practice and over time I gave up and stopped practicing. I want to do a fresh start and commit my self with this path; I really want to develop that side of myself. I do not have a deep knowledge of meditation and mindfulness theories and my practice has been solely focus on counting my breaths.  I understand there are many meditation techniques and I am not sure where to start, if someone can point to me what could be a good starting point, I'd help me a lot.

Regards, 
Nicolas

Hi Nicolas,

Welcome to the forum.



So was breathing meditation good for you? Or do you think it was too soon to tell?

If you're not sure, do you have someone who inspires or inspired you in the practice whose practice you want to mirror for a few months because the person inspired you?

Me, I benefit from being in non-word and non-conceptual meditation, so breathing meditation is a perfect attentional object to both calm and make alert the mind to observation. It took about nine months to a year to become mentally loose, alert and basically proficient with it, also passing through clinging to certain events as well as being discouraged by occasional head tension.

I chose to start meditation because years ago I was sort of overwhelmed by negative mentation and I was having a hard time thinking outside of the negative mentation. So I wanted to figure out how to turn mind/memory off; it was a hard period.  It turns out, I learn to sit with a through strong mental phenomena and this in turn contributes with daily life-- as a learner through trial and error and experience with peers. 



In time, if you want to talk about this point it can help other people know if they have a shared experience and/or motivation to yours and perhaps another way to share your thread. But it's definitely not required.

howdy nicolas,
read this first
http://integrateddaniel.info/book/

welcome

Hi Katty,

Thanks for your response. I have tried with breathing meditation couple of months (two different periods), but at the beginning I stay focus on my breath but as the time passes instead of improving my concentration, my mind wanders for longer periods, and sometimes I feel that I just sit there to think about million things and the time that I focus on my breath is minimal. When this starts to happen I feel frustrated and stop practicing (this has happened twice). In your process did you experience the same?? What would you do if this was happening to you??

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the link!!

I have found some people have better luck starting off with a noting practice. You might be one of those. I have also found that mantra meditation seems easier than breath meditation for some people..

So a good sign, apparently, that we're learning something new is none of what we're doing feels comfy. It feels like effort and maybe frustrating.

Still, it'd be nice if you natively liked/admired what you are doing. Because then you'd be maybe frustrated but pleased to keep trying.

I love breathing meditation, but then again, I've been laying down in the grass, looking the sky and loving it as far back as my earliest memories. And there is just breathing, cool earth and wonder doing that. Sooo, anapanasati is my cuppa tea. (That said, yes, I was frustated on and off for the better part of two 1.5 years. I have no idea why I stuck with the forum, the practices-- oh, yeah, I was encouraged that mental miserable feeling could end, via posts by DhOers in various depths of their own practices).

If you like Tom's link to IntegratedDaniel you may like Daniel's practice techniques. If you do, i cannot think of a more concentrated, skilled person to follow in the footsteps of (if you resonate with his techniques) till the moment you know for yourself you'll be preceding alone activated/engaged by your own solo/autonomous study and efforts. 


At times, some practitioner's sometimes hopscotch around practices, because they don't feel skilled, they do feel bored/lame and they have no perseverence cultivated. 

This is like neither becoming a good darts thrower, nor a good fussball play, nor a good chess player, because of dabbling too much in all without repetive effort in one (with a nod to SKS for huge skill in all three).


So I'd say after some experimentation try to find a method you like and then consider digging into it and its community of your peers.


Best wishes.

Thank you Jack!

Hi Katty
Yes, I might need to practice even more before feeling comfortable with the breathing technique. I will keep reading and practicing, hope at some point I get more concentration.

Thanks for all the advices