returning

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering
May you find happiness and the causes of happiness
May your heart be filled with compassion, equanimity, joy and loving-kindness
May Wisdom and peace be with you all of your days

In difficult times study takes a back seat.
Well, in difficult times just about everything takes a back seat.
This is what I have been using for meditation last couple times.  Been working up a rhythm for it.

I don't tend to say them out loud, maybe I'll do that in future, I have tried it and it is a different effect.  So I breathe in and out while repeating half the line in my mind, then take an extra breath between lines (this gets me a little antsy because it drags it out a lot).  Compassion, joy, loving-kindness and equanimity each get their own breath.  They tend to get their order mixed around a lot, I try not to worry about it.  I'll have to make up a sort of rosary for it, since I am repeating it 9 times and don't want to spare attention for counting (or I can just keep using my fingers).  Lot's of "should"s, no appologies for referring to myself in the third person though.    :-)

A huge part of mediation is the set up and especially the return to the world afterwards.  If you don't bother with these then you are probably ignoring about half the benefit of it. 

Heck the stage I am at now I think half the benefit is had by taking proper time to come down.  I spent a good three minutes at it this time, going over what I need to do and for when, and when I will be doing it, and sort of "allowing planning" which isn't the same as planning.   lol

I wish I could find an affordable automatic dinger, the radio alarm isn't always the best choice, since the initial sound could be just about anything.  It is loads better than the eggtimer though,   :-)