I want to talk about unintentional effort - when you are putting effort into your meditation even though you don’t want to put in effort.  What do you do about this?  Nothing, the goal is not to stop the effort, it’s to accept that you are putting in unintentional effort.  So what’s the point of saying anything else about it?  Sometimes if you understand it better, it’s easier to accept it.  

So where does unintentional effort come from?  The first place is when you want things to be different in your meditation.  This can cause you to unintentionally put in effort to change what’s happening, which is a natural reaction to wanting something to be different from what it is.  There are two reasons you might want your meditation to be different:

1. Your meditation is unpleasant at the moment: Your mind has preferences built in (e.g. it likes country music; it doesn’t like calamari.)  When something is unpleasant, your mind can resist or try to change it.  This is one type of unintentional effort.  What do you do about it?  Nothing.  Just endure it.

2. You think your meditation is supposed to be a certain way, and right now, it’s not that: Although I have mentioned that it doesn’t matter what is happening in your meditation at the moment, that concept can be difficult for many people - especially if they have learned other types of meditation.   I get it.  I have versions of the thought, “this should be different” arise in my mind at times.  What do you do about it?  Nothing, just keep meditating.

The other thing that can lead to unintentional effort are dominoes falling.  Remember the example from last week how a spontaneous thought can be like a domino causing other dominoes to fall?  

Am I doing this meditation right    —> THOUGHT

Anxiety about doing it wrong          —> FEELING

Analyze if I'm doing it right            —> MENTAL ACTION (effort)

I shouldn’t be analyzing                   —> THOUGHT

Attempt to stop analyzing              —> MENTAL ACTION (effort)

I can’t stop analyzing                        —> THOUGHT

Notice how the third and fifth dominoes in this example involve effort.  That effort isn’t intentional, it is the result of the domino before it knocking it over.  So spontaneous thoughts and feelings are the third source of unintentional effort.  This source is the one that feels closest to intentional effort.  What do you do about it?  Nothing, just keep meditating.

Now Meditate for 20 Minutes.  You can use the timer below if you like it, but that's not necessary.

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