Three sessions a day (and hopefully my last new timetable for a month or so)
‘I’’ve decided it’s time for a bit more meditative discipline moving into August.
I’ve been feeling a bit restless of late, I think it must be a combination of moving into my late 40s, a time of life best characterised as ‘just shit’ -and thinking about having to (sort of) emigrate, which feels both unreal and daunting at the same time.
The perfect time to ramp up the meditation, and put my stoopid little mind in its place.
I’ve opted for breaking my days up into three sessions, each topped with a formal meditation session, and the day tailed with a session too: thus
I’ve never done this specific type of timetable before, which is saying something as I do like to draw up timetables to structure my days (and then occasionally stick to them too).
I really, I mean really like the look of this structure – it’s so simple and gives me two hours of meditation every day, plus an additional 1.5 hours of ‘soft meditation’ – which isn’t too bad, in the morning that means a walk –which includes a trip to the supermarket 2 days a week, which can be soft-meditative (hell, anything can be soft-meditative, but basic physical tasks lend themselves especially well to this).
I’m also giving myself the option or working or meditating in the evening. I’ll need some flexibility to maintain this!
Overall, I’m very happy with this 16-item timetable, NICE and SIMPLE!
I've seen Zen retreat timetables that are more complex than this, so that's giving me a nice little ego-boost, which would defeat the object if I were anywhere near 'Base of Infinite Space' zone of self-transcendence, which I'm not, so down here in the 'material realms' a little bit of (ironic) self-motivation is useful.
Wish me luck, and feel free to join in or share how you reign in your shitty-mind.
p.s. I think I might be addicted to writing timetables (NB I do tend to stick to them most of the time!) - I'm going to try and get through August without writing another one, at least after I've written my August 'mega to-do Timetable).
Ha I love your timetabling. At least you are creating an intention, which is more likely to produce results. The more you meditate, the more time you have, weirdly enpugh!!! It frees the clutter in your mind.
Yes I agree, intention is a nice way of putting it!
Sometimes, though, that's about as far as I get, except when it's Friday and my intention is to get down the pub.
The mind is a powerful thing.. and so is the pint!!!
And the mind is considerably less powerful after the pint, especially after 6.
It's great to see more people get into the habit of meditating. I recently started a 21 day abundance challenge. To help others get some kind of routine when meditating but also to force myself to join in. It works wonders for me.
Do you know where you want to immigrate to yet? I'm very much in the same boat. I have a few decisions to make. Not sure where we're going yet, hence the meditation to figure it out!
Staying here is not an option...
Anyway, I hope you are well. Who would have thought, back in November that this is where we'd be now? It sure made me appreciate the more carefree life we were able to enjoy in Thailand!
I'm very well cheers! Glad to hear the abundance challenge is working - I guess you have to get into it yourself, sounds like a win-win - it can be hard to sit some days, but it's always worth it!
I find the evening sessions the hardest to settle into.
I'm planning on Portugal, but I'm not really emigrating as such - I'll rent my house out, stash my now much reduced belongings at my Dads, and thus keep UK residency for now, then go rent in Portugal. The plan is to buy some cheap land, and I mean cheap, stick up a Yurt and live off grid - I'll have to see how switching residency goes, something to be revisited in a few months time.
I think if we'd have stayed in Thailand it might have been a little bit crap, given Covid, one thing I've been very glad of the last few months is my own house!
Yeah, I'm glad we moved to our new house in March. Just in time before the lock-down. We're close enough to town but still in the middle of nowhere (forest). We were lucky. However, a friend of mine was in Thailand at the time of the lockdown. There were different rules everywhere. He and his family were in Koh Phangan, and they were lucky because they could still go to the beach etc. Just no restaurants would suck hehe. I miss the papaya salad!!!
Yeah, Portugal is high on my list too. Also Croatia. But we'll have to see what comes up.
Good luck with all the planning and your meditation!
There's a nice balance between work, meditation/chill time and movement.
I wish you the best of luck and I hope there will be an update on how it went. :)
Oh I hadn't even thought of updates TBH, I'm not sure they'll be that much to report, although I have got some stuff written already on 'calming an over-active mind, well it's planned, rather than written!
Enjoying your Summer series BTW, that's chill!
Thanks, glad to hear that! :)
I've never actually written down a timetable but inwardly, I always have it because it helps structure my days. Sometimes I get bored of the monotony and just try some random shit for excitement but for the most part, I stick to the script.
I do the soft meditation thing whenever I go for a run and it sort of helps me clear my head. While running I make schedules and stuff like that.
Sounds all good to me.
I don't find timetables dull at all, there's sufficient variety within each task to keep things varied enough.
Walking I find great for thinking things through, Running - I can't think while I'm running, I think I push myself too hard for that!
Oh I take it easy when I run. It is hard work but I feel thinking of other things actually distracts me from the discomfort my body feels while in motion.
On a much smaller scale, I'm thinking about downsizing, both daunting and exhilirating! I always wonder how you manage to contain your food preparation and cooking - I find this sometimes takes up an entire evening!
My food prep?
It's pretty simple - it's basically porridge at around 12.30 and then typically fish, rice and roast vegetables around 17.30, with some coffee and fruit thrown in!
I see. It's the stuffed tomatoes that are tripping me up :D
OMG stuffed tomatoes, peppers, time consuming.
I am making pearl barley stew this evening - with a lot of mushrooms. So that's really mixing it up for me!