December 29, 2013

In a recent Seedlings I talked about change and intention.  To reiterate, the change I want for myself is more consistency with my meditation practice.  My intention is to create a habit of getting my butt on the pillow on a daily basis.

Here’s the plan.  I’m adding an accountability factor.  I invite you to join me whether or not you’re a first time meditator and want to start a practice, want to increase your consistency with a practice you’ve already established, or simply want to experience a sense of community with your existing daily practice.

We’ve all heard the truism that it takes 21 days to change or create a habit.  So beginning on January 1^st I invite you to meditate with me on a daily basis for 21 days, for as little or as long as you’d like each day, and to do a check-in (the accountability factor).

I’m adding a private group page on Facebook for the check-in.  I’ve also added a meditation instruction on my website www.piml2.wpengine.com, and you’ll find the instructions here.  Of course feel free to meditate in whatever tradition is familiar and/or comfortable for you.  The basic instruction is to sit still on a chair or a cushion, focus your attention on your breath, and watch what happens.

The check-in is literally just that.  An opportunity to hold yourself accountable for a daily meditation practice.  No one is going to monitor whether or not you do it every day, or ask how long you sat, or comment on the quality of your sit, unless it’s you.  And you can feel free to comment on any of those things. Whether you meditate and then check in one time or 21 times over the 21 days you’ll have joined with a community of like-minded people, people who are interested in improving the quality of their lives.

Your comment can be short as in,  ‘Yes’ or ‘Did it today’ or it can describe your experience.  Others will be able to respond to your comments.  This is a group endeavor.  Everyone is equal.  I won’t be moderating and I will be checking in just like everyone else.  And if no one else checks in, I’ll still be checking in on the days I meditate and I’ll be a community of 1 :).  If more than one person (me) joins the group, at the end of the 21 days we’ll talk about whether or not we want to keep the group page or put it to rest.

I want to reiterate that the page will be completely private.  If you want to participate you will need to let me know via email at robyn1001@comcast.net and I’ll add you to the group page and send you an acknowledgement that ‘you’re in’, after which you will be able to check in as often as you’d like.  Also feel free to email me if you have questions about any of this.  And if you have a friend that you think would like to participate, just have them email me and I’ll add them to the group.

I’m pretty excited!