Two Silly Things That Make It Somewhat Difficult For Me to Meditate

Theres a couple things that kind of hold me back from going into a deep mediation sometimes.

1 - Saliva. Yes, I sometimes have to swallow my spit before I start drooling while attempting meditation. I usually lay on my back, but I sometimes sit in a chair or on the ground. No matter what position I am in, I sometimes have to swallow.

2 - Yawning. Even if Im not tired, I will still get the urge to yawn.

I was wondering if this is a common occurance? These things really distract me from attempting deep meditation.

I would still call myself a "beginner" at meditation so Im not sure if there are any tips/tricks to avoid the 2 problems above. Any advice on how to avoid these?

Am so glad you brought up a thread like this. I also have difficulty with meditation.
The only thing that I can sort of answer - is one of the things I was told not to do and that was lay down to meditate - your back should be in an upright position and your head not supported in any way.
That is about all I can give you sorry.

reply to post by buni11687


Line your gums with tampons (plugs).

It might help with the yawning thing too.

reply to post by buni11687


Just swallow and yawn if you need to. Get used to the distractions, just let them occur and such. The times i've tried it, these things never really distracted me. Eventually you'll just "phase out" and not notice you are swallowing automatically.

reply to post by buni11687


You are very new to meditation. Try a few more times and you'll soon get past that issue. I found that I need to keep breathing and just concentrate on that. You are forcing air using your mouth, but your diaphragm already does the work. For me, it;s a good check to see that I'm still concentrating when my throat closes.

You should quickly work past the yawning issue. Soon you will be increasingly aware and awake as you mediate. I don't know what method you're using but the best, easiest and most affective method is to simply watch your breath. You should find that your breath quietens, (causing your problem), and have a "choiceless awareness" about all the goings on, including thought bubbles and sensations.

Changes comes from doing NOTHING. You can do all sorts of visualizations etc, and anchor your thoughts to different chakra's, but it will only make your progress slower. Don't go too deep in mantra's though.

Originally posted by Somehumanbeing
reply to post by buni11687

 

Just swallow and yawn if you need to. Get used to the distractions, just let them occur and such. The times i've tried it, these things never really distracted me. Eventually you'll just "phase out" and not notice you are swallowing automatically.

edit on 30-11-2010 by Somehumanbeing because: (no reason given)

edit on 30-11-2010 by Somehumanbeing because: (no reason given)

What he said.
Get used to the distractions. I didn't mean to come off as arrogant, but you should only need a few hours to get past the initial hangs that I've interpreted from your question.

The body will be rebellious to the end...
fasting helps keep it quiet.

1. Saliva - dont eat or drink anything an hr before you meditate, ideally brush your teeth an hr before also, placement of your tongue can also help experiment with this one to find a sweet spot.

2. Yawning - Once you develop some skill with meditating you can mentally absorb the yawn, you can also physically absorb the yawn by breathing a little sharper/deeper and focusing the energy of the yawn internally.

What you resist persists so unfortunately the more you focus on not salivating or yawning the more you will, chill, relax, enjoy.

I agree with Somehumanbeing. Just do what you need to do to be comfortable. Part of my self-hypnosis routine says: "If you need to make adjustments here and there to increase your comfort, it is okay to do so. It will not disturb you. You will just continue to relax more and more as you empty your mind and drift peacefully with the sound of my voice."

Originally posted by buni11687
Theres a couple things that kind of hold me back from going into a deep mediation sometimes.

1 - Saliva. Yes, I sometimes have to swallow my spit before I start drooling while attempting meditation. I usually lay on my back, but I sometimes sit in a chair or on the ground. No matter what position I am in, I sometimes have to swallow.

2 - Yawning. Even if Im not tired, I will still get the urge to yawn.

I was wondering if this is a common occurance? These things really distract me from attempting deep meditation.

I would still call myself a "beginner" at meditation so Im not sure if there are any tips/tricks to avoid the 2 problems above. Any advice on how to avoid these?

edit on 30-11-2010 by buni11687 because: (no reason given)

Hey there ... yes it is quite common in the beginning stages of meditative practice.

Basically it's your conscious mind trying to maintain control. If you imagine that the conscious mind acts as a sentry on guard-duty or a bouncer on the door ... then you see that it is it's purpose in your life to control what is allowed in and out of your realm of consciousness.

This is very important most of the time because if you didn't have this little guy on duty 24/7 then everything ... and I do mean everything that you had ever experienced with all of your senses throughout your entire lifetime(s) would be jostling around in your head constantly ... that would not only drive you mad ... it would literally kill you because of the overload pressure.

However, that can make it very difficult to give the conscious mind time off for good behaviour when you want to meditate.

The idea of meditation is (a) to switch off the mind-chatter (b) bypass the conscious mind - bouncer - and gain access to the deeper levels of consciousness (sub-conscious and unconscious mind);

The best way to do this is basically bore the 'bouncer' (conscious mind) into submission and the easiest method is repetition ... and monotany ... we do it all the time when we read our children a bedtime story and we inadvertantly use a more monotone voice ... this bores the childs conscious mind until it begins to drift away and the child follows suit by going to sleep.

There are of course many forms of meditation and many methods to achieve them ... but this is the reason you are currently having problems ... just play around with some different ideas eg; try imagining your mouth is really dry ... so much so that your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth. Practice visualizing how that would really feel just for a few seconds. Now I understand that this is taking things to the opposite end of the scale but once you can visualize different reactions and how they would really feel you will notice the problem subsides naturally. It's a bit like the way your mouth automaticallly waters if someone mentions eating an orange ... or you smell citrus tang in the air ... it's all about reaction to thoughts ... words ... and surroundngs.

Good luck and keep practicing. Woody

To meditate is to have utter silence within.
Sounds or disturbance arround you wont distract you if there is silence within, that is being without thoughts.
One can do to begin practicing, to look at clouds or the flame of a candle.
Just look and empty your mind, don't concentrate because that excludes and means you are not in utter silence.
Let it al go and feel the energy flow inside.

reply to post by buni11687


Meditation is a fight against sleep. You must not go to sleep in order to meditate to your fullest ability.

You must also take into account that you are being purposefully distracted to keep you away from meditation.
This should enrage you. Use this anger to fuel your persistance.

As it is, meditation is an art form that you must practice, and do not get angry with yourself when you find yourself distracted. Just still your mind and continue on from there.

Good luck, enjoy your journey!