Meditation is often confused with meditatIVE activities. Sitting and trying to meditate doesn't mean you'll meditate, but meditation almost always requires you to sit still. When you're in meditation, you'll know - your mind will be in a different state (akin to sleep).
Keep practicing :) it takes a while, but once you get it, I promise it's worth it.
Technically (within the yogic meditation tradition), 'concentration' is defined as 12 seconds of one-pointed thought, ie the mind is fixed in one place. This is considered 1 unit of concentration.
'Meditation' is considered 12 units of concentration, so 12 * 12 seconds which is 144 seconds.
So technically, according to the definition of the old school meditators practicing 1000s of years ago, you are not really 'meditating' until the mind is fixed in one place for at least 144 seconds.
why is there so much pseudo-cultural baggage? seems a signifier that this enterprise has nothing to do with what it portends. people who are into this sub-culture need to check themselves.
"Technically (within the yogic meditation tradition), 'concentration' is defined as..."
Which yogic meditation tradition? There are dozens if not hundreds of them, interpreted in a myriad of different ways by thousands if not millions of teachers across the millennia.
> Which yogic meditation tradition? There are dozens if not hundreds of them.
I am well aware. The interpretation mainly comes from the Raja Yoga Tradition which is more concerned with meditation as the vehicle to some form of enlightenment.
You can be mindful anywhere and at anytime. There are people who find skiing or other physical exercise relaxing because, after years of practice, they are being mindful in all the ways that matters to someone who sits on a cushion and "meditates". This is the end product of the "10,000 hours" thing.
The benefit from formal sitting practice is that you create a ritual container. A timebox. You align with the resolution and intent to practice. You dedicate this space, this time to the practice. However, meditation doesn't end on the cushion. You can realize all sorts of insights on the cushion, but can you integrate those insights when you're off the cushion?
Keep practicing :) it takes a while, but once you get it, I promise it's worth it.