The_Bibliophile
Newcomer
Hello! I have been inveterately incorporating mindfulness meditation for 2 weeks. I must say that I haven’t felt this much equanimity in a long time, but I still feel that I may not being doing this correctly.
For example: when I focus on my breath and when I get distracted by an image, thought, or emotion related to the traumatic event (that is the chief source of my TMS manifestations), I usually say in my mind: “I accept this event wholeheartedly. I cast no judgements to it, positive or negative. I just let it be. It’s just an event/memory. Objectively observe the emotion, thought, image and be mindful of it.” Now I don’t say those statements verbatim; I use more succinct statements, but you get the gist! I then return to the object of my meditation, the breath, and the cycle begins again.
Is this the right way to mindfully meditate? Am I not supposed to internally “verbalize” my objective observations and mindfulness of the thought, emotion, etc.? Or do I just note the thought/emotion and then immediately go back to the breath?
Also, one more question. I not only incorporate sitting meditation, but also walking meditation. When I do walking meditation, I usually focus on the tactile sensations of my feet hitting the ground rather than my breath. Because I am in a more “stimulating” environment (outside) I hear and see many things that bring thoughts and emotions as distractions. When I hear, for example, an airplane in my vicinity, can I label, objectively, the distraction as “I hear an airplane”? I usually label phenomena that distract me from my object of meditation on an objective basis.
More examples:
“I hear a dog barking”
“I smell something putrid”
“I feel pain on my neck”
“I’m feeling emotions right now”
I would greatly appreciate if someone can elucidate on whether I’m doing this correctly or give me any tips on meditation. Also, I apologize in advance if this type of question has been asked a myriad of times. Thank you! ^_^
For example: when I focus on my breath and when I get distracted by an image, thought, or emotion related to the traumatic event (that is the chief source of my TMS manifestations), I usually say in my mind: “I accept this event wholeheartedly. I cast no judgements to it, positive or negative. I just let it be. It’s just an event/memory. Objectively observe the emotion, thought, image and be mindful of it.” Now I don’t say those statements verbatim; I use more succinct statements, but you get the gist! I then return to the object of my meditation, the breath, and the cycle begins again.
Is this the right way to mindfully meditate? Am I not supposed to internally “verbalize” my objective observations and mindfulness of the thought, emotion, etc.? Or do I just note the thought/emotion and then immediately go back to the breath?
Also, one more question. I not only incorporate sitting meditation, but also walking meditation. When I do walking meditation, I usually focus on the tactile sensations of my feet hitting the ground rather than my breath. Because I am in a more “stimulating” environment (outside) I hear and see many things that bring thoughts and emotions as distractions. When I hear, for example, an airplane in my vicinity, can I label, objectively, the distraction as “I hear an airplane”? I usually label phenomena that distract me from my object of meditation on an objective basis.
More examples:
“I hear a dog barking”
“I smell something putrid”
“I feel pain on my neck”
“I’m feeling emotions right now”
I would greatly appreciate if someone can elucidate on whether I’m doing this correctly or give me any tips on meditation. Also, I apologize in advance if this type of question has been asked a myriad of times. Thank you! ^_^
