I Stopped Timing My Meditation
My practice changed since there’s no alarm going off
In almost all meditation instructions, there’s the timing element. Set the timer so you don’t have to think about how long you meditate.
It made sense to me. If I wanted to meditate for 30 minutes daily, the easiest way was to set an alarm on my phone. That’s what I did for years.
But a few days ago, I had an idea. I’ve been seeing my meditation stagnating for months. I started treating it as a chore and judging myself for the perceived lack of progress.
“Now with the coronavirus” (a phrase that’s king in my dictionary now), things are changing so much anyway. Why not change my approach to meditation, too?
I always intended meditation to be my solace, not a burden. A time when I relax, not contract. A space for undoing, rather than achieving.
And you know what? Meditating without an alarm going off to end it seems to be serving those purposes very well.
Here’s what I noticed since I stopped timing my meditation.
1. I am more invested in my practice.
Setting an alarm used to encourage me to enter meditation mindlessly. I can’t fully explain why — but my habit was to postpone…
