Namaste toujour,
thank you for the post.
the practice of meditation, within the Buddhist context, is quite important.. as you are well aware.
what may not have been explained to clearly, however, is the time requirements and frequency and so forth.
without being overly pendantic (hopefully)... have you heard of the Antidotes? within the context of Buddhism, there are specific things which we are encouraged to cultivate, depending on the situation we need help with.
for a mind prone to torpor, there are specific antidotes, for a mind prone to excitement, there are specific antidotes and so on.
with this in mind, if you are interested in an "orthodox" answer to the query, i can point you to the appropriate Sutta/Sutras.
now.. for my answer
it is my view that all beings undergo various cycles in their practice, alternateing between zealous and apathetic and usually titled towards one or the other. as Buddhism is the Middle Way, we would be well served to avoid either extreme.. however, humans are humans and we are often pre-disposed towards certain ideas, at least it seems that way to me.
holding a view of the Middle Way, we should try to strike a balance in our practice with our ordinary life and our other obligations. i find that this is somewhat difficult for me in many instances.
one of the things that helped my own meditation practice was (pardon the pun) liberating it from the cushion
it was my experience that making the time to sit on the cushion wasn't always possible and i am interested in incorporating as much meditive practice as i can so... i use a Vajrayana method called "sky gazing". this is a meditive practice that you can do in your normal, everyday activities and, as such, you are able to continue with your practice even whilst attending to your obligations and duties.
sky gazing is meditation with your eyes open whilst engaged in your task. it is, in a very real sense, the Zen Koan "chop wood, carry water" made tangible and accessible.
we could talk about that more, if you are interested.
overall i would say this.. meditation is a skill that we aquire and hone through practice. that we miss some practices shouldn't produce a negative feel or emotional state since we are not doing this for someone else. there is no one to be let down if we miss sessions and no one to impress if we attend them all.
in my own case, when i was feeling apathetic towards sitting meditation, i tried to compell myself to sit for the requisit time. i often had a poor experience as a result. consequently, i changed my sitting times to correspond with my inclination at the time. some sessions, i am only able to sit for 2 or 3 minutes before i must get up... other times, it seems like hours and hours. it may not feel "right" but sitting for 2 minutes in a correct way is better for us than spending hours sitting incorrectly
of course, my response is predicated upon my own experience and understanding.
metta,
~v
