meditation instead of sleep

Discuss Qigong, its ideas, theories and practice. Please stay on topic.

Moderators: nyang, Dvivid, Inga

meditation instead of sleep

Postby connor » Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:11 am

I currently have a week off and would like to attempt to meditate instead of sleep. In the past I have not tried thinking there is a large possibility I might not do it properly, that I would end up exhuasted the next day, and would be of no use at work. Does anyone have any tips on this matter?I feel I could progress at a much better pace if this was done. Thankyou
connor
Forum Newbie
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:05 am

Postby yeniseri » Mon Dec 20, 2010 11:59 am

this is a fallacy that has been propagated by many but it is false!
they complement each other wth "meaningful physical activity". mindless activity also figuers prominently in this.

it is an impossibility for meditation to replace sleep!
yeniseri
Forum ÜberGuru
 
Posts: 511
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2005 3:18 pm
Location: USA

Postby Maestromap » Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:09 pm

As the Dali Lama said "Sleep is the best meditation"

This is very true. Sleep allows the body take care of any maintenance issues it can't do while your awake (hence why all you want to do is sleep when your sick). It lets the body relax and allows the sub-conscious to take over for a while. Not only that, but if you work a normal day job chances are good you don't get enough sleep, which can really do a number on your health. Take this time off to catch up on your sleep. Also, a fundamental principle of qigong practice is not to ask for speedy success. By trying to replace sleep you will probably do more harm than good.
Maestromap
Forum Contributor
 
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:59 am

Postby joeblast » Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:50 pm

Its not too hard to supplant a measure of sleep with meditation, if you are well practiced and can focus well. Up to an extent its pretty beneficial; I normally meditate for a couple hours at night instead of getting right to bed. In my experience it is a great compliment to sleep as well as good physical exercise, when your meditations are very good, very efficient, you can definitely feel a deeper measure of regeneration from it - but at the same time, your awareness needs to be maintained and this is an aspect where you will hit a brick wall if you dont gradually work your way there. Trying it a week is pointless, you simply will not be used to maintaining awareness for that long and the foundational mechanism wont be properly cultivated.

Totally supplanting sleep can be achieved, one of my teachers suggested I try it (e.g. work towards it) but really...for most of us its going to be too much, me included at this point - your meditations need to be sincere, your focus unwavering, effective, well practiced, reached with a gently gradual curve there...otherwise you will just wind up tired. Its not something you can just try to do, you have to work towards it - meditate until you get tired but not to the point where you are totally losing focus, gradually you will be able to supplant more as your meditations get more effective. I would absolutely recommend getting proficient with embryonic breathing if you're going to attempt this long-term; it is a great re-charger of a practice!
joeblast
Forum DemiGod
 
Posts: 943
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:20 pm
Location: CT

Re: meditation instead of sleep

Postby DEADLI. » Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:56 pm

connor wrote:I currently have a week off and would like to attempt to meditate instead of sleep. In the past I have not tried thinking there is a large possibility I might not do it properly, that I would end up exhuasted the next day, and would be of no use at work. Does anyone have any tips on this matter?I feel I could progress at a much better pace if this was done. Thankyou

When your chi transforms into shen then the need for sleep is greatly lessened. In fact the daoist saying on this runs - when your shen becomes full you don't think of [or need] sleep. It is a natural process, you can't force it.

In order to accomplish this, first you need to not leak your jing [semen], otherwise no jing means no chi, no chi means no chi channels opening and no chi to shen transformations and samadhi states. In short - no water in the boiler, no steam in the pipes. This is cultivation 101. Ignore this rule and you get no progress. It's all a scientific process. Go check out William Bodri's website www.meditationexpert.com in order to get some good basics under your belt.

All the best
DEADLI.
Forum Addict
 
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 11:40 am
Location: London, UK

Postby DEADLI. » Tue Dec 28, 2010 10:52 pm

Check this connor, it goes into much more detail that i could here. Enjoy!
http://www.meditationexpert.com/Stages2.pdf
DEADLI.
Forum Addict
 
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 11:40 am
Location: London, UK

Postby yat_chum » Wed Dec 29, 2010 5:43 am

Why would you do this? You can not run before you can walk. From my understanding the the transition from sleep to meditation is something that occurs naturally over years of training. There are aspects of training that you can not force.

As a Dad with a eighteen week old baby I would say treasure your sleep it's precious.

"[Sleep is] the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together."
Thomas Dekker (1572 - 1632)
Last edited by yat_chum on Fri Dec 31, 2010 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
yijing zhidong

use stillness to overcome movement
yat_chum
Forum God
 
Posts: 3176
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2004 7:18 am
Location: United Kingdom

replace sleep with meditation?

Postby runestone0 » Thu Dec 30, 2010 5:07 pm

As Master Yang says: "Every day a drop in the bucket; one day the bucket is full." I've never viewed qigong in the way one views external martial arts or weightlifting. One can't overtrain it to achieve quick results. It's not the "blinding white light on the road to Damascus." (except for the Internet guys who sell the "ten minutes of qigong to become a master in a month" stuff). It's an evolution. Overtraining it is a mistake. The article about hsing-i that is on the homepage: Master Yang recommends no more than an hour at a time, as the mind will lost focus and it will become mindless repetion.
Bob Ellal
runestone0
Forum Contributor
 
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 10:55 am


Return to Qigong / Chi Kung

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests

cron