Kevin,
The guideline for meditating 15 minutes twice a day is just that, a guideline. It may not apply to every NSR meditator.
In your case, the first 13-14 minutes of your meditation, when you are aware of lots of stress release, is the most valuable part. Even if you stop at this point (and come out slowly, of course), you will be getting the full benefit of the session. But if you begin to experience bliss, it is okay to continue with it for a little while more, as you are finding yourself doing. It is so attractive to the mind.
The goal is to enjoy happiness and fulfillment all the time, not just moments of bliss in meditation. We reach that goal by diving within and allowing the stress to dissolve, not by encouraging the bliss. In fact, it is more valuable to challenge the bliss by engaging in dynamic activity between our meditation sessions. That way we strengthen consciousness, and therefore bring strength to all our thoughts, emotions, and actions.
It is like the old way in which cloth was dyed, before permanent dyes were available. The cloth was dipped into the dye solution, then dried in the sunshine, which would bleach the color out of the cloth. Repeating this process would gradually leave more color in the cloth, until finally the cloth would become colored permanently, and no further exposure to the sun would affect the color.
In general (this part is not aimed at you, Kevin, but is meant for other readers), there are two things we want to avoid when we allow our meditation time to lengthen.
First, we don't want to encourage sitting in bliss for hour after hour, because this may tend to make the mind dull and bring laziness to life instead of increased alertness and improved functioning. We always seek a balance of meditation and activity.
Second, we should never extend our meditation time if we sense that stress release is continuing. Some people may only need five or ten minutes of NSR to release their current stresses; if they spend more time, they get increasingly uncomfortable due to too rapid stress release. Overmeditating can produce discomfort that can continue after the meditation session in daily life.
David Spector
Natural Stress Relief/USA
|