18 minutes

I spent 18 minutes in meditation today. I started by doing the salutation au soleil twice, then some candle meditation. I was having trouble focusing on the candle, so I closed my eyes and chanted the Ong-na mantra: "Ong-na gu de ong." I used to know what it meant, but now I just use it as a focusing tool, and it seems to work.

I experienced a few brief instants of stillness while I was chanting. Less than a second each, I think (it can be hard to tell how long a stillness has lasted) but that's still better than yesterday, when I tried to meditate for five minutes and stopped because I got bored.

I think that starting off my meditation period with something familiar and peaceful like the salutation au soleil is a good idea. It helps me to quiet my mind so that I can focus on acheiving my stillness.