user16668: I find that the biggest block in my practice is the will to reach a good state. There's constantly an expectation from the experience to be good. I found that only by letting this go you can truly reach a good state, but its very hard to let this go. Countless sittings are wasted on this.
How can I learn to let go of this need?

user14104: Great question ,this is actually a fallacy that ,I myself experienced after reaching long periods of bliss during meditation .What you are experiencing is called rapture,you  started off well in meditation without expectation then when the blissful feeling came, instead of meditating on it, you became enchanted by it and thus wanted to have it back but you cant have it because you started desiring it,falling back in the loop of desire> attachment> suffering.
What I had realized on the experiential level,is that there is no where to go in meditation ,I am already there ,all what I need to experience ,I am already experiencing.I realized that each experience whatever it is can be an object of meditation , a door way to end suffering.....Now If I cannot reach a certain state then the reality is ,,that I cannot reach it :).. knowing that right know and meditating on this reality by itself solves the problem.The quality of not reaching you cannot accept, you have an attitude towards it.When you accept not reaching the state you will transcend this thought.Then the state will come out of no where,its a state of connection with existence. 
See the issue meditation is trying to solve is not to keep you in a spiritual high,but to make you less possessed by things as well as not making you disinterested in life.Thus if you totally accept life as it is ,with its bad states as well as its good then you have understood the way.
I recommend Vipassana meditation.Don't try in it to reach any state ,whatever you experience is your reality.No need to go anywhere or force any action.

user16632: Great question, one that I struggled with for years as well. The fact that you recognize this issue means that you are already well on your way, sadhu.
What eventually worked for me is this: 
Simply be present with what's actually happening, and be mindful of any thought that arises, any feeling, any subtle pushing, any subtle leaning in, any expectation, etc. 
Once mindfulness touches these things, they lose their power and dissipate with your wise attention. See them, and upon seeing know they are not worth clinging to, they are impermanent, unsatisfying, and not you. They will fade on their own. Watching these objects rise and fall, you'll realize deeply that clinging to past or future experience is suffering. It's just another object to let go of.
In your next sitting, see if you can note the arising expectations. See with the lense of the Three Characteristics, and then letting go happens naturally. 
Accept today's meditation as it is, there are no failed meditations. Surrender with Equanimity to all objects.
Another trick is overcome your attachment to piti. Once you are feeling good in meditation, reset, unplugging the rapture. Reinforce that getting lost in "good experiences" is just like being absorbed in a wandering mind. Return to your primary meditation object. 
Do not stop within. Sharpen your mindfulness. Once reasonably still, increase your mindfulness power and see reality at a finer grain. With wise attention even expectations can be let go of. 
Sadhu & Good Luck.
-with Metta

16668: <p>I find that the biggest block in my practice is the will to reach a good state. There's constantly an expectation from the experience to be good. I found that only by letting this go you can truly reach a good state, but its very hard to let this go. Countless sittings are wasted on this.</p>

<p>How can I learn to let go of this need?</p>
 14104: <p>Great question ,this is actually a fallacy that ,I myself experienced after reaching long periods of bliss during meditation .What you are experiencing is called rapture,you  started off well in meditation without expectation then when the blissful feeling came, instead of meditating on it, you became enchanted by it and thus wanted to have it back but you cant have it because you started desiring it,falling back in the loop of desire> attachment> suffering.</p>

<p>What I had realized on the experiential level,is that there is no where to go in meditation ,I am already there ,all what I need to experience ,I am already experiencing.I realized that each experience whatever it is can be an object of meditation , a door way to end suffering.....Now If I cannot reach a certain state then the reality is ,,<strong>that I cannot reach it</strong> :).. knowing that right know and meditating on this reality by itself solves the problem.The quality of not reaching you cannot accept, you have an attitude towards it.When you accept not reaching the state you will transcend this thought.Then the state will come out of no where,its a state of connection with existence. </p>

<p>See the issue meditation is trying to solve is not to keep you in a spiritual high,but to make you less possessed by things as well as <strong>not</strong> making you disinterested in life.Thus if you totally accept life as it is ,with its bad states as well as its good then you have understood the way.</p>

<p>I recommend Vipassana meditation.Don't try in it to reach any state ,whatever you experience is your reality.No need to go anywhere or force any action.</p>
 16632: <p>Great question, one that I struggled with for years as well. The fact that you recognize this issue means that you are already well on your way, sadhu.</p>

<p>What eventually worked for me is this: 
Simply be present with what's actually happening, and be mindful of any thought that arises, any feeling, any subtle pushing, any subtle leaning in, any expectation, etc. </p>

<p>Once mindfulness touches these things, they lose their power and dissipate with your wise attention. See them, and upon seeing know they are not worth clinging to, they are impermanent, unsatisfying, and not you. They will fade on their own. Watching these objects rise and fall, you'll realize deeply that clinging to past or future experience is suffering. It's just another object to let go of.</p>

<p>In your next sitting, see if you can note the arising expectations. See with the lense of the Three Characteristics, and then letting go happens naturally. </p>

<p>Accept today's meditation as it is, there are no failed meditations. Surrender with Equanimity to all objects.</p>

<p>Another trick is overcome your attachment to piti. Once you are feeling good in meditation, reset, unplugging the rapture. Reinforce that getting lost in "good experiences" is just like being absorbed in a wandering mind. Return to your primary meditation object. </p>

<p>Do not stop within. Sharpen your mindfulness. Once reasonably still, increase your mindfulness power and see reality at a finer grain. With wise attention even expectations can be let go of. </p>

<p>Sadhu &amp; Good Luck.
-with Metta</p>
