Not the OP, but have a similar story. According to my goal-tracking apps, I meditate about 65% of days, and I average about 10 minutes a day. (So, not a ton, but pretty consistent.)
The most common way that meditation changes me is to help me identify that I'm in a rumination cycle and to break out of it, and to be more present in certain moments. For me, it's not that I have noticed a baseline change, but rather that it's a skill that's super-helpful in key moments. Some examples:
- When my mind is racing while trying to sleep
- In moments of anger or frustration when I'm ruminating about some slight or when someone has reneged on a committment
- Noticing that I'm distracted or anxious when out with friends or at a concert
> The most common way that meditation changes me is to help me identify that I'm in a rumination cycle and to break out of it, and to be more present in certain moments
I'll add that as someone on the autism spectrum, this has been one of the most valuable benefits of meditation. I'm pretty sure that I'll always have an unusual tendency to get fixated on things, whether particular topics, or particular problems in my life (often social ones). If it's something unclear, my mind just picks at it incessantly at the expense of everything else.
In some cases this can be beneficial. Leaning into an 'obsessive' interest in a new programming language or topic can be wonderful. But in other cases (often social problems), it becomes pointless rumination.
When I meditate, it becomes easier to 1) decide whether the fixation is useful or not, and 2) snap out of it when I should, rather than days or weeks later.
I've discovered other benefits to meditation that might be particular for people with ASD, such as being able to notice physical needs and emotional states. But being able to snap out of 'thought loops' has been the most beneficial by far.
Of course, actually doing the meditating is incredibly difficult when I get myself tangled up in thoughts, and it's an ongoing struggle to remind myself of its value time and again, and to make a habit of it, but it's probably in my top three priorities to make sure it becomes part of my daily routine, because it makes everything else easier.
It makes me think that meditation could just be practicing to put your mind in a quiet place. Whenever you are in a bad place, if you’ve trained well, it’s easy to grt back to that quiet place of your mind.
Yep, the skill is "refocusing." I thought it was going to be the skill of "focusing" at first, but as the parent notes you first have to develop the skill of noticing that your mind has wandered, or is locked on something you don't want it to be, then you expend effort to refocus and then maintain that new intentional focus. I also had no idea how damn hard it is.
The most common way that meditation changes me is to help me identify that I'm in a rumination cycle and to break out of it, and to be more present in certain moments. For me, it's not that I have noticed a baseline change, but rather that it's a skill that's super-helpful in key moments. Some examples:
- When my mind is racing while trying to sleep
- In moments of anger or frustration when I'm ruminating about some slight or when someone has reneged on a committment
- Noticing that I'm distracted or anxious when out with friends or at a concert