A Beginner's Questions About Meditation

I have a few questions about meditation.

First - is it scary, the sensation? I sometimes have a feeling of hyper-awareness, and it's scary. Is this the same thing as meditation?

Second - last night, I started thinking about the house I grew up in (and I dream about it often). I started remembering details and I felt as if I took one more step forward I'd be there. It scared the hell out of me, that near sense of out of body. Was this meditation? Astral travel? Because the house was sold years ago and I can guess it doesn't look anything like what I remember.

Third - what does it all feel like? Are you super aware of yourself? Are you just relaxed and thinking about nothing? Do you feel an energy, other souls, God?

Thanks for reading.

 

Knowing oneself is the opposite of fear, and hence, this is why peace is born of meditation, not fear. Once someone asked Maharishi if there was a spell on him, and M replied, "There is no spell but the spell of ignorance." And for me also it's true, "If there is no place for death, then where can the tiger's claw enter?" (Chang Tzu). When one knows themself for deathless pure awareness, unwet by water, unburned by fire, not trampled by death, then where is there room for fear? - Upanishads. "Learn that one thing by which all other things are known" - Maharishi.

 

Meditation is not about times of great emotion or feeling, but rather, the times in between when the real, and often boring regular awareness creeps in. However, meditation done right is not boring, because ones own awareness is like folds of light which can be directly perceived. The light is bliss.

Nowhere else in the world is there refuge like there is merely in oneself. Other knowledges look outside oneself for the answers, but in meditation there is no question or answer because the truth of immanent life is immediate. Only here is a refuge free of the changes of the mind. Only here in the mind is freedom from bondage. Because only in the mind is limitation, or expansion. And to expand and uncondition the mind's limitations right now is nirvana. All produced as a side effect of meditation.

Other things produce the same results like pilgrimages, and retreats and so on. Whatever frees the mind from its limits.

 

Thanks for replying. I *think* I know to what you are referring.

 

Wow, that sounds pretty interesting how you were in your old house. I havn't really astral travelled before. I do love to lucid dream tho!

If you're thinking of starting to meditate the most common way to do it is to follow your breath. Sit in a comfortable, relaxed position with a straight spine and focus your attention on your nostrils. Don't try to control your breath, just feel the sensation of the air as it passes through your nose. Sometimes its hard to feel this when you're first beginning to meditate.

If you're having a hard time locating the sensations of air passing your nose, then another way to concentrate on the breath is to concentrate on your belly or chest. When you inhale, know you are inhaling and feel it rise. When you exhale, know you are exhaling and feel is fall. It might help to hear a quiet voice in your head label these as such.

The most important thing about meditation is this: training a mind to become silent takes time. The first time you try you might only be able to concentrate on your breath for a couple minutes. Thats ok. If you keep at it you can slowly work your way up to maintaining focus and awareness of your breath for longer periods of time.

When focusing on the breath your thoughts will try to interrupt you and tell you what it thinks about whatever may be going through your mind. This constant chatter will keep coming. The way to meditate and keep focused is that as soon as you notice your mind wandering from the sensations you were supposed to be concentrating on....bring your concentration right back. If you are concentrating on the sensations at the tip of your nose from the air and you hear some thoughts getting in the way, refocus.

This is the essense of meditation. It will probably feel very uncomfortable at first because the mind has never been trained in such a way. I've heard "it is like training a puppy." A puppy will become unfocused, but instead of getting angry at it you need to treat it as your friend (your mind) and bring it back to focus.

If there is a pain in the body that you can feel, don't be discouraged. Allow the sensation to enter your awareness. Being conscious of such things can help get rid of back pain....any pain for that matter.

After sticking with meditation for some time there will inevitably be some healing between the body and the mind. Meditation will help your body and mind become one. You will feel an openness and ease in the body, and your mind will gradually become clear...intuition sharpens.

When you meditate, don't be discouraged if you don't see results right away. In fact, you should not be expecting ANY. Just meditate. Just focus on the breath. Just....and see how it works for you.

I hope this helps...if you have any more questions I will try to help

Peace & Namaste