No room to meditate

Mindfulness Meditation
#1

Hello everybody, I’m new here:)

This may be kind of long.

I was searching up and down for something like this on here and on the web and couldn’t find anything.

I recently started meditating (or trying to) and for the past month I have been doing it every morning when I wake up.

Altho the begining stages are frustrating, I still feel better. I want to keep learning but last week I had to move back into my mothers house and it has been harder than ever to meditate. Its pretty upsetting.

She does’t ever let go of things so theres a just ton of stuff everywhere. I dont have room to keep a lot of my things.

I got rid of all of my furniture but my clothes, dvds, laptop, and school stuff are all here kind of “on top” of all of my mothers things that she hasn’t used in years.

I cant find anywhere to meditate. My room has TWO desks, a bulky night stand thats broken with wires coming out of it, a computer that hasn’t been used for one year and a scanner that hasnt been used for 3 years, wires, an antique coffee table, all of my DVDs are stacked on the window sill, I have no room for about half of my wardrobe, and I have no real door!

I know I will have to accept a lot of these things since I no longer am in my own place but its impossible for me to relax in here and I cant find any room to meditate.

I wish she would let me get rid of some of this stuff but who knows if she will.

I wish I could move out but I wanted to go back to college and my job hours were not flexible enough to stay working there and go to college.

My funds are limited so I cant buy a ton of new things but my new space is the opposite of zen and I am willing to spend a small amount of money to make it more comfortable, meditation friendly, and relaxing to be in.

I appreaciate your helpful suggestions/

#2

How early can you awaken, and is there a safe public park nearby?

#3

I can wake up around 7am or 8am, I can think of a nice park or the beach but its a drive (I guess thats not a problem?)

Everything is a drive around here, there is no where to walk to besides the beach which is a 30 minute walk and involves walking uphill on a drawbridge.

I think the area is safe, but Miami doesn’t have the best reputation for this. I am cautious because I am a small female and as we all know there are sick people out there.

#4

Cheer up! Meditation takes up very little space; you can get away with 3 ft x 3 ft! Perhaps you could clear up a small corner in the room and make this your “sacred space”. All you need is a small mat or blanket plus a cushion to sit on. If you like, you can add a small poster on the wall and add a small table for some flowers, a candle and your favorite objects.

Maybe your college has a meditation room or a quiet corner in the library or in church. There may be meditation groups in your college. Look around.

#5

thanks Willem, that post made me feel better about it. I’m trying to think of where I can clear up… but there has gotta be a way. I like the idea of finding a good poster and a place to put a candle near by.

#6

[QUOTE=Pear Martini;26967]I can wake up around 7am or 8am, I can think of a nice park or the beach but its a drive (I guess thats not a problem?)

Everything is a drive around here, there is no where to walk to besides the beach which is a 30 minute walk and involves walking uphill on a drawbridge.

I think the area is safe, but Miami doesn’t have the best reputation for this. I am cautious because I am a small female and as we all know there are sick people out there.[/QUOTE]

In my opinion the beach is the best place

#7

Hi Pear! I really feel for you, as I went through something similar years ago. My parents’ home is quite small, they’ve always smoked indoors even with the windows shut, and the foods they ate were processed, pre-packaged, and sugar dense.

I came into their home with a bad attitude–upset at the smells and noises (they are early risers and go to bed late), tvs and computers were always left on. The room I had was separated from the kitchen-the entertaining area by a thin paneled wall.

I became very busy with work and school and slowly realized the following would minimize the situation; perhaps one or more of these may work for you:

  1. Offer to cook and clean and do the shopping so as to help out, not just change everything around on its head so quickly;
  2. Invest in inspiring music that you can study with–classical, trip hop, electronica (I used to love writing to electronica), my stepdaughter works to hip hop/rap. If you can do this it will often drown out harsh noises around the house and when it is on, over time it lets other people know that you are busy at work;
  3. Become best friends with your local library and your college library for studying, reading, getting away from home. If you left on good terms with your local high school, you can ask if you can study in their library. My old high school even has former students running the track. This may be a good networking tool, as well, should a part-time position open up their in the future.
  4. If you have any semblance of a backyard/frontyard/sideyard/balcony/deck, etc. start practicing outside. Miami is beautiful even with its humidity–just think of it as Bikram yoga :smiley:
  5. Vary your practice times–wake up earlier than usual; meditate later than usual; challenge yourself to meditate in the midst of a noisy day.
  6. As time goes on, you will feel more comfortable asking for more space and your mom will feel less threatened about you coming back home and trying to rearrange everything. Instead of asking to throw things out that are in your room, seek out ahead of time a spot that they may be placed and ask to put it there.
  7. Always remember how blessed you are to be able to go back to school and have a parent who is willing to support your efforts, even if it looks like something less than to be desired. Stick with it and it will pay off (school, and being gracious to your mother)!
#8

Thanks zo. I like everything you said esp. number 7.

Miami certainly is great for bikram :smiley:

#9

Pear, Remember the little Pear Martini when young, you could anywhere! Sit like this crossed legged in the lotus position amidst the ‘Clutter’ Focus on a piece of ‘Clutter’ and think on nothing… Meditate on that ‘Clutter’ for as long you can without wandering off to somewhere else, remember- always stay here :wink: Do this as many times as possible throughout the day and your dreams ( actually pictures of your future ) come true…

#10

Hehe… thats true. You can do it anywhere, the key is to just not get negative about it.

#11

Make your future… Train your mind through focus and give it direct and specific instructions of what should happen, just before you go to sleep is the best time. Your sub-conscious mind will is quite capable of working on this and is awaiting more instruction :wink: Psychology show’s these technique’s work amazingly fast…Make your life little Pear…:wink:

#12

I just wanted to add an update. Recently I have been trying to meditate everyday. Sometimes I do it in the morning (in bed or on the floor), sometimes I do it while stuck in traffic (traffic can be pretty bad in Miami), today I meditated at the nude beach.

It felt amazing. I notice myself starting to get distracted and I will start thinking about random stuff, but I try to dram my attention back to my breath as much as possible.

Thanks for all the support

~Erica

#13

That’s what I did today and every day…) I go to Blacks here in La Jolla often… Humans have been sitting in the sun nude, meditating, and partaking in the Holy Herb since the dawn of our kind…Still a big practice in India. Keep you focus on the now, very important, train your eyes to see only now and nothing else, make your pictures of your future before you go to sleep, give direct commands to your mind and then wake up smiling, that should be command 1…:slight_smile: Much Love.

#14

Personally, I don’t care for meditating inside. When possible, I much prefer to do so in sunlight, and on occasion late at night(not in winter :wink: )

#15

The biggest organ is our skin, the sun is where we get our energy from, so we should sit outside and meditate with maximum skin showing, makes sense to me…safely of course, as Frank Lloyd Wright said “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature, it will never fail you” :slight_smile:

#16

How about morning poses or meditation before you step out of bed. Sounds like something I will try tomorrow.

Thomas

#17

honestly i just sit right next to my bed on the floor. that i feel is the best place. and its my little secret spot.

#18

Breeze and gurumeet: Meditating outdoors sounds amazing, but is it unsafe? I’m a 115 lb female living in a large city with a high crime rate. I love being in nature though but I wonder if I will be able to let my guard down enough outdoors to meditate.

Th0mas: I like the idea of meditating before stepping out of bed, hopefully I wont fall back asleep. What do you mean by morning poses?

#19

I’m not really sure, I’ll ask my Yogi person on Wednesday. How about piegon pose? I’m a total nube. There are times when we’ll strike a couple poses in the sitting down position. I guess your bed would have to be firm.

There are a lot of good people and ideas floating around here. I bet if you started a thread on morning poses before your eyes open, you would get a lot of replies. You might want to throw a piece of gum before all that breathing. Just kidding.

So to get back on track, i read some where that performing yoga on a empty stomach is better. So first thing in the morning would be the optimal time.

Thomas

#20

Walking meditation (of any type) can teach you a lot about meditating in the middle of things.

Great for learning how to meditate when lots of distractions are around.

**You don’t have to use walking meditation methods when walking, you can use the same methods when sitting, and it’s great for meditating in the middle of distractions.

It’s actually very good to learn how meditate in the presence of distraction (will strengthen your practice). However don’t meditate while driving! LOL!