Why is meditation so difficult?

[EvolvingPhoenix]

I'm thinking it may be because we are unconsciously putting up resistance to being present because we dissociate from the pain of feelings we would have to be present with.

But that's just a theory, and I'm interested in what others think?

How many hours have you tried total, and how many days ago did your semi-regular/weekly practice start?

Some random thoughts:

1) It's something that is learned as an adult (assuming you didn't do it lots as a child), so it takes time.
2) A main big part of many types of meditation is processing stuff in the subconscious, and also getting access to the subconscious. If we haven't done these things for years, there is a lot of stuff to process and the barrier seems very thick.
3) I believe there is a part of the mind - perhaps a part of the ego depending on your definition of the word - that resists going deep because it feels it will lose control.
4) I believe there is a part of the mind that simply fears what is underneath the surface or believes it cannot handle it.
5) There are also some people who claim they can't meditate, but often but no details are given. For example, do you feel so restless that you can no longer sit with your eyes closed? Do you fall asleep? How long are these meditations where you find it difficult?

Sometimes also your mind seems to guide you into another form of meditation, I know that doing one type of meditation for weeks straight is typically harder and less fruitful than occasionally changing what sort of meditation I do, then I often get much deeper results. So perhaps that's another thing to try - other types.

I would say it probably took me a total of 10-15 hours (half an hour over a few weeks) before I felt anywhere close to actually meditating when I first started. Otherwise, it just felt like I was sitting with my eyes closed wiating for the time to pass, which still occasionally happens to me on a weekly or biweekly basis.

Thanks for answering Xise. And those are very good reasons to give.

I can't say for sure how many hours I've spent or how many days ago I've tried.

I know that I just try to do the first presence building exercise for 5 minutes and find it difficult to maintain.

If I'm lying down, I fall asleep. If I'm sitting straight, I get distracted with thoughts in my head.

When doing the walking meditation, I get distracted with all kinds of thoughts in my head.

I stopped doing guided mindfulness meditation because Agua told me that guided meditation isn't actual meditation, by nature of the fact that mediation is supposed to make you present and remove thoughts from your head and by their very nature, guided meditations are putting content in there. And I'm kind of trusting his judgement.

Still, it might help to try and do traditional mindfulness meditation every now and then with my legs crossed.

MY primary concern is the presence building meditation though.

I only try to do it for 5 minutes a day and I have a hard time concentrating. If I try it lying down, I just fall asleep or get distracted. But I can still get distracted while sitting down.