4 Tips to Bolster Your Meditation Practice

 4 Tips to Bolster¹ Your Meditation² Practice

As knowledge of meditation has grown, more and more people have turned to this ancient spiritual practice as a way to reduce stress, increase their happiness and enhance their concentration. We now have access to a wide array of meditation guides, in formats³ ranging from blog posts for beginning meditators to full-length books. However, for many novice⁴ meditators, the true challenge is not getting started, but keeping their meditation practice consistent. Here are four fundamental tips that have helped me cultivate my meditation practice over the years.

1. Set Realistic Goals

When we are first developing our meditation practice, there can be a temptation to set unreasonable⁵ goals. We may be so entranced by our first few meditation sessions that we want to turbocharge our progress by meditating⁶ for extra long sessions and devouring⁷ every book on the practice. In doing so, we risk the potential for a metaphysical burnout.

Instead, consider starting with small goals, such as sitting for five minutes in the morning, and then work up incrementally⁸. If you add an extra minute a day, you’ll be up to a half-hour within a month. Remember that meditation and mindfulness are lifelong practices, so try to refrain from life-changing expectations at the beginning.

2. Reduce the Temptation to Be Critical of Yourself

One of the things that many novice meditators, including myself, struggle with at the beginning of their practice is the temptation to become their biggest critic. Although we strive to keep a consistent, daily meditation practice, it is inevitable⁹ that we will at times fail to sit. Additionally, we will have meditation sessions where our concentration will be poor and our focus muddled¹⁰. We may have to stand up, readjust our positioning our even abandon our session due to some implacable distraction¹¹ of the mind.

When these situations occur, it is natural to grow frustrated¹² and to want to castigate¹³ oneself for a lack of discipline. We may feel that we are even reverting¹⁴ to poor practices that we thought we had abandoned in the past. However, if we put too much weight on setbacks, if we place too much emphasis on a momentary¹⁵ lack of discipline, we risk damaging our practice through our own criticism.

Remember that setbacks are natural part of a meditation practice, just like they are in life. Instead of getting down on ourselves, we should use these tough moments to help strengthen our practice by watching and observing–with an detached awareness–the ebb¹⁶ and flow of our distractibility.

3. Look for Opportunities to Practice Mindfulness off The Cushion

Let’s face it, we’re not going to live our lives on the meditation cushion, nor do we want to. The goal of meditation is to be able to integrate the skills that we learn on the cushion into our daily lives. Some of this will come naturally, but often it is beneficial to exert extra mindfulness in certain situations that may be conducive¹⁷ to frustration¹⁸.

Good examples are when sitting in traffic or in a line. Instead of letting our frustration and impatience¹⁹ get the best of us, we can take note of the fact that we’re in a potentially stressful situation and accept that reality. Hopefully, alongside that acceptance will be the realization²⁰ that generating feelings of anger and stress are futile²¹, as getting angry won’t move the line or decrease traffic. Then, we can do some breathing meditation to create a feeling of harmony where a feeling of frustration used to be triggered. In doing so, we’re slowly rewiring our brain in a positive way.

4. Find a Sangha

Sangha is a Pali word meaning “assembly or “company” and typically refers to a group of people who meet to meditate²² once or twice a week. I’ve found participating in a sangha to be hugely beneficial to my practice and many others feel the same. A regularly scheduled meditation session helps you carve out time for your practice. Additionally, a group of fellow meditators can be a great resource for questions that you may have about your practice.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

3 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

4 novice   

adj.新手的，生手的

参考例句：

• As a novice writer,this is something I'm interested in.作为初涉写作的人，我对此很感兴趣。
• She realized that she was a novice.她知道自己初出茅庐。

5 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

6 meditating   

a.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 devouring   

吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
• He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。

8 incrementally   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• Incrementally update the shared dimensions used in this cube. 增量更新此多维数据集中使用的共享维度。 来自互联网
• Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. 辉煌的目标令人鼓舞，但一定要逐步实现。 来自互联网

9 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

10 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

12 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 castigate   

v.谴责；惩治

参考例句：

• The principal castigate the student who have insult their teacher.校长谴责对老师不敬的学生。
• Marx never lost an opportunity to castigate colonialism.马克思抓住每一个机会严厉谴责殖民主义。

14 reverting   

恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还

参考例句：

• The boss came back from holiday all relaxed and smiling, but now he's reverting to type. 老板刚度假回来时十分随和，满面笑容，现在又恢复原样了。
• The conversation kept reverting to the subject of money. 谈话的内容总是离不开钱的事。

15 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

16 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

17 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

18 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

19 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

20 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

21 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

22 meditate   

v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想

参考例句：

• It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
• I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。