I want to start a 4 hour meditation routine

[fridjonk]

I've been longing to take my meditation practice to the next level. Longest I've gotten to are 1 hour sits which I did for about 1 month; that was in October. I've been slowly starting again, by doing 30 minutes for the first week, then 1 hour for another week. I want to take it to a higher level now, and shoot for 2-4 hours. I believe i can do it, and i'm interested to see what comes out of it. 

• So my question is: Are there any of you who have done 3-4 hour sits daily ?  Do you have any input or advice that could prove useful.  

[TDW1995]

I'd love to get to that point too.  My New Year's resolution was to do a one hour strong determination sit each day.  This has pushed me, especially around minute 40 as I get sore from sitting and experience boredom.  

I feel like gradually increasing your meditation time is the way to go.  If I were to go from one hour sits to four hours all of the sudden, I feel like I'd be losing my mind (even though sitting through this would be quite purifying).  Not saying that this is impossible to do, but even shooting for two hours first might suit you better.  However, it would be quite interesting to hear how a four hour sit would go after consistently doing just one hour or thirty minutes consistently.

[cetus]

@fridjonk Today I had an MRI and it was quite grueling not moving a muscle for 2- 1/2 hrs. Try emulating that sometime. No adjustments. No movement of any kind.

[fridjonk]

@TDW1995 Yeah i'd probably do one week where i do 2 hours, then 3 etc. Maybe i'll document it here in the journal section. I'm very tempted to see if i'd be able to do it without dying of boredom?. But mostly interested in seeing if i'd be able to have some deep insights. 

@cetus56 hahaha that sounds insanely tough. I've been having some itches during my meditation sessions the past days - Ignoring them is hard enough; can't imagine 2 and a half hours of no movement. 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by fridjonk

[cetus]

30 minutes ago, fridjonk said:

Ignoring them is hard enough;

It can be done with enough discipline. But the question is are you disciplined enough? Say you set a time. Maybe one hour for starters. If you move one muscle you start over. And no cheating. Even your breath must remain shallow.

[fridjonk]

@cetus56 Zen style, might give it a try. I usually achieve waiting the itches out and they pass soon enough. But it's becoming a habit when I'm deep in the meditation, that I automatically start waving around like a flower in the wind. So resetting the timer every time I moved would sure be a patience test. 

[Codrina]

I usually mediate between 40 - 60 min. Sometimes I go an hour and a half.

But I will sit in half- lotus, and my legs go numb/hurt sometimes, it depends on my initial positioning, I guess. 

 I keep bringing awareness back into the body, and I have to straighten my back a couple of times during the meditation, because it slightly lays back.

Will try lying down on my bed, like for an MRI. See how that goes

[Raptorsin7]

@fridjonk Are there float tanks in your area. For the past 3 days i've done 3 hour floats each day. It's been really great. I find the tank allows for easier relaxation and depth compared to a normal sit. I also recommend using affirmations for at least some part of the meditation. Bringing attention to the present moment is great, but when you got lost in thinking it's better if you've conditioned yourself to think positively in the time you're lost in thought.

[Stakres]

@fridjonk  I wonder why do you want to meditate for 3-4 hours per day? What "higher level" do you think it will bring you to?

[fridjonk]

@Codrina Sweet! I kind of sit cross-legged on my bed with my back up against a wall; seems to work best for me. 

@Raptorsin7 Unfortunately there are no float tanks i know of in my area, wish there were, I've always wanted to try them. Do you think affirmations would work better than mantras ? 

@Stakres Same states I've reached on psychedelics, but more calm and easy going. I kind of want to hit that ocean of love, ecstasy and peace. I've only been able to get there through meditation like 5 times out of like 300 sessions. But when you reach that state you never want to return. That's mainly why. 

 

[Raptorsin7]

@fridjonk Yeah I think so. Throughout the day the types of thoughts we have are influencing how we live our lives. Our thoughts are the driving force behind what is actually playing out in our reality. Most people, myself included, spend a lot of time meditating but we are fluctuating between the object of meditation like the breathe and our typical thought patterns. The issue is most of our typical thought patterns are unhealthy because of societal conditioning and upbringing so we are thinking our selves into happiness with unconscious thinking patterns. Affirmations change the wiring so the default is positive thoughts. Basically brain wash ourselves into thinking healthy and happy thoughts.

It works with meditation because rather than making the breathe the object of meditation, or the object of awareness. We turn our attention to positive affirmations as the object of meditation. The more frequently we do this, the more our typical thought patterns become positive rather than negative. And thus the more positive emotion and experience we get in life because we changed the core component of experience, our pattern of thinking.

[fridjonk]

@Raptorsin7 Like reprogramming the sub-conscious so to speak. I may try that for week or two, then mantras the other week for comparison.

Thanks!