Getting up and not completing a meditation session

Most if not all the meditators I know plus many posts I read on this list have the problem of sometimes breaking off a meditation session due to some internal thing. I thought it would be a good topic to discuss. I certainly don't have an answer but I have tried some things that has worked at times. The best and most productive for me is to be very interested in and investigate that force that comes up that wants me to break it off and get up. If I can find a corresponding physical sensation, attention to this sensation lets it go away. Other times the force seems mysterious and I can't pin it down. This last one is the one I have the most problem with. Noting resistance if it is there also helps a lot. The most prevalent way I deal with it is to accept it, get up, quit meditating and be cool with it. I don't treat it as a problem.

Other ways I have used: Play a guided meditation I have downloaded off the web. Play a CD in the background with nature sounds such as summer rain or babbling brook. Ping pong note with a partner. Switch to walking meditation.

jack

I think those are all good suggestions and I've used most of them at one time or another. I've found on occasions where I have given up and gotten up due to some resistance, restlessness, fear or other difficulty, that the same stuff is still there next time, so I don't miss anything, I just postpone dealing with it for a few hours or a day. I think that can be okay, too, as long as it's not your regular reaction. Sometimes talking to a colleague or teacher, reading something by a teacher, etc has been helpful in getting my determination back and trying again.

When I was employed I had regular sitting times - now I realize that really added a solid base to the practice. Now sit times are irregular and if i put off the sit until late at night it is often difficult to finish. If it is getting late I'll go to audiodharma dot com and listen to a dharma talk before the sit. Sometimes that gives me incentive to be vigilant of subtle mind states that try and coax me to sleep.