Meditation - OCD

[SteveP]

Hi, this is a rather strange question involving meditation. I have OCD, and when I meditate I get the impression it is more difficult to focus than it would be for those without OCD. Basically, when I meditate, I can see objects moving in symetrical patterns, and my object is moving all over the place in a rythemic motion. Its very hard to describe actually. I was wondering if anyone on here suffers from OCD and has found that it interferes with their medidation. If so, do you have any advice. For now I am just patient, and if my OCD wants to play tricks, I accept its presence....if I fight it will only get worse.

Steve X

[Dechen Norbu]

I assume you are practicing shamatha, not? What type of object do you use?
Btw, the attitude is correct.

Best wishes!

[SteveP]

Ha - yes, being able to focus attention would be nice. I usually start with a five minute breathing meditation, using my breath as the object. For me this is very difficult as my mind is so erratic, and my mind rarely stays on the object for more than a few seconds. However, it does serve to relax me. I follow this with a ten - fifteen minute contemplation meditation (sometimes longer if I do acheive a sense of inner peace), often on loving-kindness to all people. I find contemplation much easier to focus upon, and this has definatly improved my disposition towards other people. As someone who has suffered bad depression, this excerise alone has gone a long way to generating a feeling of warmth and comfort, and the wish to help others is becoming more present the more times I do this.

Strangly, I can see a positive in OCD, in that I have had to train my mind to ignore some thoughts as irrelevant and not contemplate them...so when contemplating during meditation I seem to have little problem disredarding irrelevant thoughts. Its the breathing part that gets me.....

[Paul]

Have you tried meditating on a visual object like a small stone?

[catmoon]

Have you tried meditating on a visual object like a small stone?

What a neat idea. Might try that one myself.

[Dechen Norbu]

Have you tried meditating on a visual object like a small stone?

This ^

[SteveP]

Thank you for the advice, and appoloigies for my late reponse.

I have tried meditating on an object, I sock, as this is all I had at hand. The problem, is that how wide my eyes are open, becomes the object, and I alternate between that and the object. I will persist.

[Mr. G]

I started out doing Mahasi style vipassana - good and simple:

Try to keep your mind (but not your eyes) on the abdomen. You will thereby come to know the movements of rising and falling, the expansion and contraction of this organ. If these movements are not clear to you in the beginning, then place both hands on the abdomen to feel these rising and falling movements. After a short time the outward movement of inhalation and the inward movement of exhalation will become clear. Then make a mental note, rising for the outward movement, falling for the inward movement. Your mental note of each movement must be made while it occurs. From this exercise you learn the actual manner of the movements of the abdomen. You are not concerned with the form of the abdomen. What you actually perceive is the bodily sensation of pressure caused by the heaving movement of the abdomen.

[SteveP]

Thank you

I have treid this before in the past. but I will try it again tonight. I fear that I will experience the same problems I do when I try to concentrate on my breating. Due to the faulty wiring of my brain, my attention bounces about in a fasion I am sure most people do not experience. I cannot even beging to explain what it is like.

Something I have found usefull, is to simply accept that my object cannot sit still, and that my concentration is like a bullet bouncing about inside a metal container. With this acceptance, comes a degree of lack of resistance, and calm often follows. I can reach some very calm and clear states asfter 15 mins of meditation, but I feel I could so much better if I didn't have this problem.

Anyway, all mediatation is good...so I will continue onwards.......