I am studying Buddhism, and practicing meditation. I'd like to hear your stories of how meditation has changed your life. Do you see the world more clearly now?
How has meditation changed your life?
In 2005, I was working as a correctional officer. I was becoming increasingly angry and embittered. I would lash out at coworkers, family members, and so on. I would carry this environment home with me, and I couldn't let go. One especially difficult night (my journal describes it as a very bad day), I had a book with me on Buddhism, and I had the opportunity to browse through it. I read about the Four Noble Truths, and I could see right there: THIS is suffering! Enough of the pieces fit that I decided to give Buddhism a try. It was only going to be provisional--to see if I could get some insight into the anger and hate, and to see if I could find a way past it.
So I started very basic meditation practice for short periods of time. Nothing fancy. I joined an online Dhamma group and asked a few questions; got some feedback on meditation and ethics and so on. For about a half hour a day I practiced mindfulness of breathing or the Charnel Ground Contemplation.
I didn't see any major change at first, and only in retrospect, I can see what I was looking at. I took precepts in July 2005, and left my job in corrections in March 2006 because I could see how destructive the enivronment was. I found a better job that didn't require violence, even though it was a pay cut. At some point, and I can only suppose this is a recent development, I could see how tightly I was grasping the illusion of control: I want it to be THIS way, and no other way. If it was any other way, I would get angry. So I started practicing another way: I started practicing simply acknowledging the way things are, without attempting to take control of them: %26quot;sitting is like this today.%26quot; %26quot;Work is like this.%26quot; Slowly surrendering things that I really have no control over.
Gradually, I started noticing an openness, a spacious quality of mind. My meditations became more peaceful. I could sit and watch the fluttering thoughts and feelings, no matter what the content, without getting too worked up about it. Meditation is just this way right now. It doesn't have to be anything else.
Then I started noticing how many things I really do enjoy: sunsets, sitting by the water, autumn days, a cool breeze, sunrises, small moments of intimacy and connection with other people. I started writing them down as an act of mindfulness. I started noticing more and more (this is where I'm at now...noticing all these things that bring me happiness, joy, peace, etc.). So the anger has lost a lot of its hold.
I know myself a little more now: what is truly MY response to things, MY thoughts, as opposed to someone else's feelings and thoughts. I can rest easily in that. Most importantly, there's nothing to defend. I still get caught in the illusion sometimes, but all I have to do is return to that center: %26quot;It's like this. This is what it is right now.%26quot;
My wife thinks the change is drastic. She can connect with me now in a way that she never could before. We're both happier for it, even though I'm still exploring, learning, and discovering.
How has meditation changed your life?
It has shown me that %26quot;The Life%26quot; is the only thing that is un-changing.....
Energy. Lack of nervousness in all situations.
Calm. Confidence.
Concerns instead of worries.
A sense that it's okay to stop and think before acting.
...
it helped my martial arts training quite a bit.
yes,i tend to look at the positive aspects of life,instead of dwelling on the negative.
Meditation, through praying the rosary, has definitely changed my life:
http://www.medjugorje.org/rosary.htm
The fifteen promises of Mary to Christians who recite the rosary:
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in Paradise.
9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only Son, Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
Peace!
Dave
Confidence, Patience. It has also tuned me into information I wouldn't otherwise have. the Anima Mundi, or Collective Unconscious, if you will.
Meditation is a practice to cultivate mental pleasure. The pleasure we are enjoying in everyday life is physical pleasure or physical based pleasure.
Meditation will tell us that there is something exist better than physical pleasure. So, we will be less attached to physical pleasure and as a consequence we will have less greed.
It is nothing to do with the view on the world.
Buddhist medition (insight meditation) is a different ball game.
Meditation alone doesn't little to change my life. It's the practice of Falun Gong that change my life and my final destination. My personal life has changed a lot and as much as I remember today includes:
* good body immunity against sickness
* drug free for the last few years and less visit to the doctor
* feeling energetic
* being truthful to others
* loving other people
* tolerate the situation in conflicts
* give up trading on stocks (to reduce the stress)
* learn to live frugally (becoming detached to materialism)
* quit reading pornography in the web
* passing the lust test in the dreams
* stop taking advantage of others or hurting others
* learn to work as a team member in cooperation
* stop being jealous of others
Falun Gong is a unique Buddhist School, found in 1992 by Master Li Hongzhi in China. It's practiced in over 80 countries worldwide. Falun Gong is an ancient practice for the body, mind, based upon the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. Falun Gong consists of five sets of powerful exercises.
Falun Gong, Tibetans, Buddhists, and Christians have been persecuted in China. The most offensive human right violation is the organ harvesting from the Falun Gong practitioners in China. Can you kindly sign a petition to stop persecution of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners in China, please ?
http://cipfg.org/en/news/petition.html
Explore http://www.meditationsguide.com/ for more info...
