Is meditation making me boring?

[YummyPanda]

I've been meditating for several weeks and have achieved, or so it seems, a calmness of the mind. I am beginning to see thoughts at a distance, instead of being controlled by them. My mind is beginning to become more and more calm and the bombardment of thoughts lessens everyday.

This is great and all but I am finding that it hinders me in social situations. Before, in social situations, I was completely hyperactive: I would speak very quickly and humorously, not thinking about anything I was saying. I would always make people laugh, and they would follow me in whatever I did. I made people happy, and I found great joy in this.

Over time the meditation began to change me, I started to become more and more quiet. I would analyze the situation and feel sorry for them for all the desires that they spoke of. This has, I'm afraid, made me rather boring...People ask what has happened to me, why have I become so introverted?

I feel inclined now to stop meditating. It feels as if it is taking the best part of me away. I am conflicted though, because I do believe that the ego is a bad thing. I believe that it detracts from true art.

I'm sorry for the long post, but what do you guys think? Should I stop meditating?


Oh, and I have been meditating on and off for several years with concentrated meditation. It is only now that I am seeking mindfulness. It seems to be making me dull though...

[decas]

I would say it's just wrong people with whom you are spending time. Of course, it might sound weird as they were friends all the time, but now, when you have calmness of your mind, you begin to see the truth. Our society is sick and as you want to be a part of it, you have to be one of them. I hope this doesn't sound too harsh and you can relate it

[Optimist]

Hi YummyPanda,
I’m not a regular poster here as there are some incredibly knowledgeable people, (maybe one day I might feel adequate to reply to some questions without necessarily having had to have a similar experience).
Being mindful is a wonderful way to live and meditation definitely helps on many fronts. But you speak of the fear of becoming introverted. Mindfulness does not necessarily mean analysing social interaction, it is more about being present with your friends, and yes having a laugh, rather than judging them for their desires. It’s more about accepting everyone for who they are irrespective of whether they come from an entirely different view point from yourself.
I think when we first become aware of the ability to be mindful, for the first time we see huge differences which we weren’t aware of before. Let them happen, accept them. Celebrate that you have diverse friendships and enjoy yourself. Mindfulness is not about being all serious and introverted, it is about simply becoming more aware of the thoughts, feelings and interactions we have with the outside world. To think that we are on a higher path of awareness than our friends is actually ego. Go back to being the life and soul of the party if that is your natural way of interacting, it sounds fun to me! The difference being now, is that you can become more aware of having fun!
Hope this has helped, Kind regards, Rose

[Ramai]

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate

A new monk arrived at the monastery. He was assigned to help the other monks in copying the old texts by hand. He noticed, however, that they were copying copies, not the original books. The new monk went to the head monk to ask him about this. He pointed out that if there were an error in the first copy, that error would be continued in all of the other copies.

The head monk said, 'We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son.' The head monk went down into the cellar with one of the copies to check it against the original.

Hours later, nobody had seen him, so one of the monks went downstairs to look for him. He heard a sobbing coming from the back of the cellar and found the old monk leaning over one of the original books, crying.

He asked what was wrong.

'The word is 'celebrate,' not 'celibate'!' sobbed the head monk.

[needhops]

I used to worry about this too. I'm not an expert or anything, but I have been meditating for a few months now. It probably isn't you becoming boring. For me, I noticed that I wasn't necessarily talking as much or trying to say funny things as often, but I took this as a good thing. I wasn't trying as hard anymore, I was just being myself. THis isn't to say that i've accepted being boring. I still love talking to people and I still joke around all the time with my friends, but its different. Its more natural. Its not forced I also feel more respected because i'm not trying to hard anymore. It might get some taking used to but don't quit on it yet.

And yea to respond to a previous poster, maybe you'll realize you don't like certain people anymore. It sucks but it happens sometimes