Hi. I'm new here and to meditation and was hoping to get a little guidance. I am a pretty stressful individual and have been studying about and practicing meditation to try and relieve my stress. The book I read answered some questions but I'm not really satisfied with most of the information I have gotten out of it. I've been focusing my mind on my breathing. I usually sit semi lotus style and keep the lights off because my eyes will sometimes flicker open. What I have been doing seems to help because before, I wasn't able to get a good night sleep because I would wake up and worry about stuff. However, I've noticed lately that my mind starts wondering a lot. Either daydreaming or thinking about problems at work. I've also noticed that I'm not sleeping as well as I was before. I believe it's because I am getting bored while I meditate. I'm in a rural area so I don't really have any meditation places around me that I know of. So I'm trying to learn what I can from other sources... I have noticed that I have yoga places around me so maybe that would be an option to get more help with my stress? (Is yoga like meditation?) Anyway, thank you for the answers.
It just came out of my fingers. Thay is one4 of my favorite teachers. What's special about him is that he is very universal and non-dogmatic. His approach is simple, beautiful and strong. And it is very good at anchoring students to the present. I feel Thay is the right person. Also the fact that his teachings are so freely available in the US.
You might also enjoy reading "Turning the Mind into an Ally" by Sakyong Mipham (he's a leader in the shambhala meditation tradition). He addresses breathing, distractions, getting bored, etc., in an easy-to-read manner and keeps your attention. Also, do some research on the internet for different meditation techniques -- different things work for different people, so experiment with some different methods. There are a lot of resources out there (MP3s, reading material, etc.) -- keep looking til you feel yourself connect with something. Don't beat yourself up for getting bored or distracted, it happens to everyone, even the most experienced meditators, and each meditation experience is going to be different. Just keep trying, that's all that you can do. Just stick with it, the benefits will come!
You really need meditation right now. Yup yoga is meditation for me. I just read some books about it and self-help, I don't need a teacher. __________________________________________ the way you think.......it's just the way you are cool Pranayama and yoga for your daily exercise.
Whenever a beginner asks someone about meditation, the first reply he's like to get will be "observe your thoughts' or something implying the same. But how exactly do you do that? I have never been able to do that since when I try the thought I try to observe gets replaced with the thought of 'try to observe' itself. Do you have to be a good meditator to be able to do that?
Excellent question, megavan. It's tricky. Observe the thought. Then the hought becomes "I am observing the though." Observe that thought also. Any thought that comes up, watch it. By which I mean, distance yourself from it. Don't become the thought, become that entity which illumines the thought. As you thus separate ytourself from the thoughts, the mind will become silent. To remain in that silence is meditation. This is how koans also work, or the contemplative statements. They turn the mind inside out and push it to its very limit, at which point it can do nothing but shut up.
1 Choose a tranquil location - one free from distractions. 2 Decide whether you'd like to have meditation music in the background. 3 Select a comfortable chair or place to sit, and assume a sitting position with your spine relatively straight. 4 Close your eyes. 5 Breathe in, allowing your rib cage and belly to expand as you inhale. 6 Exhale slowly. 7 Concentrate on your breathing. Be aware of each breath and the feelings of deeper relaxation. 8 Allow thoughts and feelings to enter your mind. Acknowledge them, allow them to pass, and refocus on your breathing. 9 Open your eyes after you feel more relaxed and centered.
