I would love to get some conversations going about #meditation. I'm not sure how well this platform supports such things, but the best way to find out...
I started a practice some time in the mid 2000's. I kept it to short (10-15m) sits, but managed to make it a consistent habit within a year or two. I like Headspace and similar meditation apps as a starting point, and recommend them to people if the topics comes up.
Around 2018, I started with [The Mind Illuminated](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMindIlluminated/wiki/index/), which is a more structured approach based on the book of the same name. This involved longer sits (20-60m), with some clear guidelines. I feel that my sense of equanimity improved dramatically around this time, and many facets of my day-to-day life along with it.
While I did reap significant benefits, I did not progress through the stages outlined in the book. This led me to a more metta-based practice called Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation or [TWIM](https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/wiki/twim-crash-course/), which is my core practice now. This has raised my baseline level of happiness quite noticably, and has also driven more "moral development" in terms of how I see the world and my place in it.
Does anyone else here follow one of these practices? Anything you'd care to share about your practice?
@IAmErik I personally think meditating in a group is more important than the specific practice you follow. The group encourages you and supports your development. I am personally involved with meditationchapel.org, an interfaith platform that supports more than 150 groups meeting virtually at no cost to either groups or meditators. Many languages, many faith traditions all sharing a common stillness. #meditation
@RogerSessions
I have only participated in a couple of ad-hoc group sits, and they were work-related. (Think, "let's bring in a meditation coach to talk to the team to improve productivity!")
I have been considering finding a meditation teacher if my progress slows again, but perhaps an online group would make sense. I'm looking at the site you shared now. Thank you!
@RogerSessions @IAmErik there are so many great online sanghas now. I don't have a local group, online is how I get my teaching and community.
@IAmErik I sit with the same group of people from all over the world at 7:00 CT every morning. This has become my main spiritual community. If you need any help finding a group, let me know.