I've done it once. I tried a couple more times, but I'm not sure if A) I'm doing it correctly, B) what's supposed to occur at the end of meditation and C) what's supposed to occur while I'm doing it. Help me out! :sunny:
wow a virgin what happened your first time? How did you do it? I have to feel like meditating in order to do it. I like to either run, stretch, or relax before meditating. I sit in a chair and as my meditation happens my posture straightens This is what I do: Any of these can happen but this is the general order and sometimes I only get the chance to do a couple things before I feel satisfied or I run out of time. When I first started meditating I just started by trying to breathe in my car while driving. Then I did sitting meditations and sometimes I just try and relax, just do what you want. In the begining I close my eyes and feel my entire body - Once that's accomplished or during I breathe deeply for 10 repititions Then I try to add some protection Then I connect to my higher self Then I allow myself to be open to whatever comes Then I come back down to my body And then I wiggly my extemitties and then open my eyes and move slowly getting up Then i'm usually hungry! chow time:sunny: these links may help you out http://www.swamij.com/kundalini-awakening-1.htm I learned not necessarily meditation but spirit guide contact -i'd really recommend this book: http://www.drbrucegoldberg.com/spirit_guide.htm Meditation is a holistic discipline during which time the practitioner trains his or her mind in order to realize some benefit.[1] Meditation is generally an internal, personal practice and most often done without any external involvement, except perhaps prayer beads to count prayers. Meditation often involves invoking or cultivating a feeling or internal state, such as compassion, or attending to a specific focal point. The term can refer to the state itself, as well as to practices or techniques employed to cultivate the state.[2]
Their are different types of meditations. I have two, one were I try to achieve a state of nirvana, two were I just want to relax. I close my eyes and just focus on the nothingness. Thoughts arrise constantly but I do my best not too chase them. Let them come up, but do my best not to contemplate them. Eventually (if you can make it) after a several minutes (maybe alot more) your mind starts to be at ease. You achieve clarity, a state of being, rather then a state of thinking. You connect with the energy around you. If I just need to relax, I close my eyes and let the thoughts arrise. If they are good thoughts I follow them. It gives me a chance to think about things, think about life. It's a good way to exercise the imagination and be at contentment with myself. To be honest it's hard to achieve the first state. My mind is always chattering and won't shut the fuck up. Most of my thoughts are just repeats of previous patterns. Thinking the same shit over and over. But if you dedicate time and patience you achieve a brief state of serenity and enhance your focus.
I would strongly advise everyone to start with a serious course in meditation in a centre or group under the guidance of an experienced teacher, preferably at least with a few days in silence. This should give you a genuine feeling of the effect that meditation can have on the mind.
Meditation is amazing. There's nothing that's "supposed" to happen per se, and sitting down with the expectation that something mystical will happen only causes attachment to strengthen and further hamper your progress. I often find it best to just sit comfortably, straight up, breath deeply (not chest breathing), watch my breath, and let my mind just roll with noise. It eventually shuts up and the deep quiet happens. Sometimes my mind is very persistent, and I find that trying for the calmness just upsets me more. I let go, and things just move in whatever direction they move in, if that makes sense? Eventually my mind shuts up, eventually hahahahaha.
I learned a really cool meditation practice back in 2008 that has completely changed my life. These tools or techniques can be used with the eyes open or closed. You can be sitting up, lying down or any other COMFORTABLE position. You do not have to focus on your breath or work at all to still your mind, it all just happens as a result of using the techniques. When your eyes are open you can use the techniques in ANY activity in your life that brings the stillness you gain with your eyes closed forward into your life. It is so cool! You have to learn the techniques from a qualified teacher over a weekend course...but then you are skilled enough to use them on your own. The cool thing is that once you take the class you can audit the class anywhere in the world again for free. And if you want to connect with the teachers you can by calling them, or emailing or talking to them on their forum. So after you learn, you could do it all on your own if you want...cause it's so simple...or you can keep up with a group if you want. It all comes down to you.
hmmm...good point. If you want to learn more about the teachers or the practice...go to www.theishayafoundation.org There are also free e books on this site, should anyone be interested in reading in greater detail than the website provides. http://devabookstore.org/books-msi.html
Great job. Really meditation is not an easy task. A lot of concentration power is required for this. I would like to try it.
Here's a link to one of my blog articles where I discuss the broad categories of meditation. It might help to use these to determine the direction you want to go and then you can drill down within a category to find a technique that's right for you. Here's the link: meditation techniques
Great advise...I need to get back into a meditation class. Its been a few years since I have done anytime of meditation or yoga. Such a stress relief.
Warning Warning - you cannot learn meditation from or through the internet. Human interaction and explanation is of crucial import.
I'm always getting yelled at at work and it's really fast paced and just negative, i'm a slow peaceful person so it makes me feel negative and gives me headaches but after work I sit somewhere comfy and picture rain cleaning away all the negativity and just get back to the quietness and peace. either that or I picture a waterfall in a secluded area
I would look on the internet for a course in meditation that is (a) free, and (b) not proprietary. In other words - look for a course which isn't the Iyengar/Silva/Iesha/LamaGurpanam/SwamiYogastita/TinyTim_meditation, but instead -shamatha-vippassana-japa-etc.... A small course fee is acceptable. You do not want to have to convince yourself of something to be able to meditate. You want to find a course which doesn't require a new set of beliefs.
You need more than a few times to see it work. It takes time. In the future you will se that you can be in peace with yourself.
Hi all, Chosing the correct meditation technique/practice is trial and error. It took me quite awhile for me to settle in to a daily practice. I guess that's why so many give up early on. I finally settled on insight (mindfulness) meditation as taught by Henepola Gunaratana in the book Mindfulness in Plain English One of the best pieces of advice I ever had come from the book The Quiet by Paul Wilson (review here) and I quote it often to anyone who will listen or in forum posts. Quite simply TURN UP That’s all. Just turn up, sit down, every day. Put aside the time – time you devote entirely to yourself – and don’t give another thought to what’s meant to happen. Peace :sunny:
If you've got the time the best way is to go on a course as it enables you to get properly into it without the stress of day to day to life. I went the Vipassana route which worked nicely for me as it's not religious (although buddist). It's a ten day course which at the end you pay what you think it was worth. Would put up a link but apparently I'm not allowed.
How to meditate ABCs. Basic meditations: sitting breathing concentration point mantra chanting mindfulness mindfulness on physical action (tai chi,walking,etc) yoga Notice I list them from inactivity to activity. Sitting is basic. Sit. Chose an hour and do this. Just sit. Still. The mind comes and goes in waves, so silence and noise compliment each other. You will find greater silence after increased thought. Just sit. Doesn't need to be lotus but should be where head is erect, if bedridden, should be reclined so head is up. This is to differenciate in mind different between sitting for wakefulness and sleeping. You will notice benefits of these when at times, naturally, your mind clears in action and you can 'just be.' Do not concentrate in this method, since there's nothing to concentrate on. The mind stills if the body is sat comfortably erect. Never underestimate the value of 'to be.'In sitting meditations one should work their kinks out before they start and sit on a space that is comfortable. Sitting with a manifestation of Buddha such as on the Earth, or on grass, or near a waterfall, river, and so on are all bueno. Breathing techniques center around watching the breath. This is also a sitting meditation where one sits erect. Also one doesn't concentrate the mind. Even though one is bringing the mind back to a type of attention - the breath, one doesn't concentrate upon it. Again the mind gets busy and forgets the breath, the mind grows still, one brings it back to the breath. One notes the in, pause, out, pause.... The more focus on technique is better for the noisier mind which may have issues. A lot of times our minds are so noisy that we can't concentrate or grow silent enough for silent meditations which is when the next techniques are important. Concentration point is like staring at candle. Better than candle is a spot of favorite color on a piece of canvas and hang about ten feet away at eye level. Also fine are mantras in you favorite language - I really mean a letter and not a mantra, but I am thinking of Sanskrit, where every letter is a mantra, so one Sanskrit letter is perfect for concentration. Again, concentration doesn't mean holding still until one shakes and looking without blinking at something until sweat breaks out on ones brow. One holds oneself erect and allows the mind to still using the object of concentration to gradually allow the mind to still. It may take some time. But stillness is inherent in motion, just as the ability to sit is inherent in the ability to run. We get used to running and forget we can sit. Here, you're giving your mind a chair to sit upon and to rest itself. Everything I say for any technique holds true for the others. They are all just differing in adjustment. But the aspects of the mind which are impacted by meditation are similar in all regards. Just as two persons are not sitting on two types of butts, two meditators are not using two types of minds. Differences in meditation can range into the millions now when one considers mantra. Mantra meditation is concentration like using sight, sound, taste, smell, touch as technique. Mantras are utilizable for an array of purposes. One can chose mantras to balance out their prakriti (nature). Mantras used in meditation in Sanskrit are called 'Shanti' mantras, which mean 'peaceful.' Peaceful mantras have the added benefit over the previous examples of having a power which flavors the meditation experience to a small part. Remember in meditation that because you're dealing with yourself, who are a quantity/less and quality/less being, you will not see anything of quality or quantity difference when you change in quality or quantity. Thus expectations are the death of meditation. One should have none. One should know basic research and good sense should confirm that one will maintain a more attuned machine of mind and body with a confirmed daily meditation. Silent mental mantra repitition is common (a la TM), but the basic qualities of mantra are its invocation and its motion. It should rock one. An excellect mantra should plummet to the bottom of your mind. Advanced meditation is where one can see to the very bottom of their mind while watching the ripples as thoughts on the surface. Deepest investigation into meditation teaches that there is no seperation between anything and anything thus this is why one doesn't concentrate against thinking or emotion or anything. If you are having trouble settling down then tantricism teaches you to use as many techniques as you need to assuage the conniptive mind. Chanting is great for basic meditation especially for those who can't sit still. You can rock back and forth during your own private practice. Get a mantra and speak it out loud. Learn to count with beads. Or fingers if you must. You can switch mantras after 140,000. I say 140,000 because the number is usually 125,000 but them one also does 12,500 with ahuti (fire pit), and 1,250 with water. So we're rounding out. Take a year to do this at three malas a day. Maintain that simple practice. Again, the mind comes and goes in stillness and noise. Allow it. Fun chanting mantra is Red Tara - A Buddha of Attractive Nature. Can't hurt much to chant on something attractive can it? Written by Chodpa 2011 for 'Hip Forums.'
medition is like learning to play guitar.You have to practice and it gets easier and you get better at it :sultan:
