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Wow! Everyone is going really well here - fantastic results! Give yourselves a big pat on the back, guys. [thumbup]

Just remember that it's okay to think while practicing this discipline - we aren't doing this in conjunction with no-mind yet. Thinking about things may help you to remain still, let your mind wander to all the things that happened in the day - run through the events in your mind and try to visualise details.

I did fourteen minutes this morning before I sneezed. Practicing this discipline in bed when I first wake up is proving rather effective, plus it's allowing me time to really focus on the day ahead.

Today my diet kicked in the wrong way but it was good for practice. After waking up I was so tired that I thought I will give it a go in the morning(and not like I normally do, thats in the evening) and it was easiest 15 minutes. It was after a bath, wanted to chill a little before going to work. I could lay more but work was waiting for me.

I also tried to give it a shot but I couldnt find a comfortable position. Any advice?

I've found the most comfortable positions for meditating are cross-legged on a soft surface with a back, such as a comfortable couch or large chair; and simply sitting on a couch or chair with both feet on the floor.

I prefere laying on my back with proper soft surface under me and something under the neck to keep it relaxed. By proper soft surface I mean not too soft(wigly) but not rock hard floor.

Atzmuth wrote:I also tried to give it a shot but I couldnt find a comfortable position. Any advice?

Dose of uncomfort is good. You won't be able to sleep, and it will be much interesting to practice this. Read Sinichi's fundamental development.

Performed motionless last night. First time was a false start - muscle twitches snapped me out of it and I moved only after a minute or two. Second time I went 20 minutes and I stopped when my timer alarm went off.

10 minutes but because I scared the shit out of myself.

First 6 minutes were AGONY but after that it all seemed well. My mind was racing, and I thought about a lot of things. My computer is turning off the screen in about 10 minutes, so I was motionless in the dark for 2-3 minutes.

I can see in front of myself a window and the courtyard which is lit with some distant street lamps. Suddenly I got tunnel vision, and all went blank. I could see some strange shapes for a few seconds when I returned my awareness automatically to the now. I felt sort of buildup in my abdomen which was warm and nice feeling. I wanted to do this again what happened.

It all went blank again, and I felt sudden surge, like a flames building up across my back and front to the head. I lost orientation, I couldn't feel my body anymore, and I was sort of spiralling uncontrollably. At this moment I couldn't fight it anymore and unpleasantness took control and I returned to myself.

My heart is racing atm [sad2]

EternalReturn wrote:10 minutes but because I scared the shit out of myself.

First 6 minutes were AGONY but after that it all seemed well. My mind was racing, and I thought about a lot of things. My computer is turning off the screen in about 10 minutes, so I was motionless in the dark for 2-3 minutes.

I can see in front of myself a window and the courtyard which is lit with some distant street lamps. Suddenly I got tunnel vision, and all went blank. I could see some strange shapes for a few seconds when I returned my awareness automatically to the now. I felt sort of buildup in my abdomen which was warm and nice feeling. I wanted to do this again what happened.

It all went blank again, and I felt sudden surge, like a flames building up across my back and front to the head. I lost orientation, I couldn't feel my body anymore, and I was sort of spiralling uncontrollably. At this moment I couldn't fight it anymore and unpleasantness took control and I returned to myself.

My heart is racing atm [sad2]

If this happens again, stop the session immediately. I don't want you to freak yourself out - if anything bad happens, go grab a drink, have a break, and try again later.

I did fifteen minutes last night, lying in a foetal position on a rug. I would have gone longer, but my cat came along and sat on my head.

Ahahahah! That is the greatest. I love the kitties. When they decide it's time for attention, you've got no hope of getting on with whatever you were doing. [rofl]

Yeah, 4 cats here. It is hard to find some peace in own house xD I started waking up early(which totaly is not my style) and cause of it I do this lesson in the mornings now. It is quiet easy when I do it early, in the evening last night on the other hand I just could't stay longer that 10 minutes. Today another 15 min noted to my journal.

Praise teh Sun [cool]

I cant even get 5 min. I am a failure [confused]

Don't be sad. I was trying to learn basics when I was younger and didn't had much of patience. Over time my mind matured a little(yeah [cool] ) and now my performence is MUCH better. As I had done lot's of rituals and sigils but I was lacking basic set of skills and my thought process was incorrect in 90% of time my blind faith made me Do stuff(which ended not so good). If I was to give some hints for you: Never make statement like that, it won't help. Try make this feeling in motivation to try again after a break. Make sure you clear your mind before it as negativity will want to plant a seed in your thought process and if that happens you are screwed. It is good to work on your body, you will have better understanding of it which will give you idea why you failed. Itch was my main enemy through this lesson and after Clockwork Knight said that I need to confront it and focus my mind on it I am more capable of dealing with it.(So MUCH "IT", I need to learn english with some teacher not on my own:( ) If you want I can talk with you a little on chat or FB/via mail as I am now reworking everything I was learning when I was younger.

Praise teh Sun [cool]

Atzmuth wrote:I cant even get 5 min. I am a failure [confused]

Not so! Let's just try a different technique. Which position have you been using so far?

Try sitting in a straight-backed chair, or a couch, if it is comfortable on your back. Sit up straight, looking straight ahead. Position both feet flat on the floor a few inches apart, and rest your hands on your thighs, palms down.

Take a deep breath, close your eyes and try to get into a relaxed state. Focus on relaxing each muscle in turn if that helps, starting with your feet and ending with your face and head. The more relaxed you are, the less inclined you will be to move around.

I think some major factors that cause agitation when meditating are uncomfortable posture, tense muscles and a lot of sugar or caffeine in the bloodstream.

Try again with the method above and let us know how you go. Even breaking 5 minutes will be a solid achievement. Gooooo Atzmuth! [yay]

Just like Eremita says, breaking 5 minutes will be huge succes then! It is not like you have some time limit to learn! Just give it a time and try to train regular. Never let the bad feeling invade your heart!

Thats why we all are here!

Praise teh Sun [cool]

Clockwork_Ghost wrote: If this happens again, stop the session immediately. I don't want you to freak yourself out - if anything bad happens, go grab a drink, have a break, and try again later.

I think I won't do motionless in almost complete dark again. But is there any way of knowing what the hell happened? I had a similar feeling when doing astral projection but I'm not so sure because it was a long time ago.

I just get my legs like a pretzel. And I have put a dot on my wall to concantrate better. I gather my attention on that dot.

I suggest you to leave your thoughts as they are. Try to be "outside", "take a step back" and listen to your thoughts and see yourself. No judgement and no reaction. Just listen, see, be susceptible to information around you. You just collect.

In next exercises you'll control your thoughts and it will be easier when you conquer your physical body and breathing. Also it is good to read Psychonaut from the same author, it explains why you do these exercises in detail by forming a theory of magic for beginners [grin]

EternalReturn wrote: I think I won't do motionless in almost complete dark again. But is there any way of knowing what the hell happened? I had a similar feeling when doing astral projection but I'm not so sure because it was a long time ago.

You may be letting go of your conscious thoughts too quickly, and your subconscious mind is reacting to the complete loss of stimuli by creating a negative physical response. Humans aren't designed to go from stop to complete go in an instant, you ned to navigate your subconscious into a certain position whereby it can accept the transition. Think of such things as being like going down a slide - if you push yourself slowly over the lip onto a steady incline then you give your body a chance to realise that it's going downhill. Stand on one of those plates that just disappears under your feet and you end up with your heart in your mouth. Try to ease yourself into a motionless state, and maintain it at a certain level in your mind - don't simply let go. The reason why no-mind comes after breathing and motionlessness disciplines is because the steady release of focus allows the subconscious mind time to catch up, and to accept that a period of nothingness is about to occur.

Atzmuth wrote:I cant even get 5 min. I am a failure [confused]

No you're not - this discipline is deceptively simple in appearance, but is actually rather hard in execution. We live our lives in almost constant motion, and completely switching off all movement is actually quite difficult. I'm reading a book about general relativity at the moment, and it says that any movement impacts directly on our passage through time. If you can achieve complete motionlessness then you will be perceiving time as an absolute - this is actually rather an interesting idea, as physics would suggest that complete motionlessness slows us down to the point that we cease to perceive space and instead fully perceive time.

I'm now combining motionlessness with breathing, and achieved twenty minutes of breathing today. I led in with five minutes of motionlessness, so therefore achieved a total of twenty five minutes today. Comfort continues to be an issue, but I've found lying in a foetal position on a soft rug to be the best position for me, except when the cat is on the prowl.

I took a day off because, life. But last night I did 17 minutes of motionlessness [yay]

Friday I managed just under 25 minutes motionlessness while sitting in a comfy chair with the cat on my lap, fast asleep. I could have gone longer, but ended up yawning due to being so tired. This morning I had rather a bad headache, and couldn't get comfortable, so I only did three minutes before giving up out of frustration.

Just wasn't in the right head space at all today. Managed twelve minutes motionlessness in the morning, then eight in the afternoon. How's everyone else doing?

I achieved 5 minutes. I stoped meditating becouse I got bored [rofl]

Atzmuth wrote:I achieved 5 minutes. I stoped meditating becouse I got bored [rofl]

Have you tried putting some music on, or maybe doing this in front of the TV? You don't need to do this in isolation, it's perfectly fine to give your mind stimulus.