I just close my eyes and lie down. Then the visions come. Today, I saw steam all around me (I had no body, just consciousness). The steam was cool, very real, not like CEV from drugs. Wispy too. Sometimes I see other stuff. I like it. It's peaceful and neato. Don't have to leave the home to enjoy it, buy anything, or anything. Just chill, you will pick up the signal. Don't focus on your movement and you can focus on... breathe
The moment you try 'not to think' is the moment you intensify the thought process. The moment you reach to 'get something' from meditation is the moment you push it further away.
Not if you calm your thoughts correctly. The thought process intensifies when you try to calm your thoughts incorrectly. Only if you reach for something incorrectly. If you reach correctly, it is not pushed farther away.
Of course not: "The moment you try 'not to think' is the moment you intensify your thought process." If you are trying 'not to think' and you intensify your thought process, you are not doing it right. "The moment you reach to 'get something' from meditation is the moment you push it further away." This is because your focus is on the reaching, not on the attainment!
I'm not trying not to think. However, the fact is that what I say is the experience of many who do approach meditation. I actually haven't even indicated that I am a meditator. You are making assumptions - However, the Buddha himself famously said that he 'got nothing at all from full and complete enlightenment', and my comment was along the same lines. As the Zen people say, there is nothing to be attained.
Yeah. If you are trying unsuccessfully, perhaps you are not (yet) strong enough to lift the stone. It's wierd, I remember the first time I did it, I ran out and told me room-mate "Dude, I've attained enlightenment or nirvana or something!!! This is so awesome!!!" because I 'lifted the stone'. Now it is second nature, but back then, it took hours of effort to reach the place. I can do it with my eyes open now, in a crowded airport. Actually, I really like doing it in airports for some reason. Silly... You do meditate. This is one of those "don't you know that you do this" type of things. The Buddha said this is to calm those on the journey. You must both desire enlightenment (or whatever, I'm thinking a bubble bath) and be satisfied with what you have.
Quite honestly I don't these days do much that would be thought of as meditation. I have done some in the past, but these days I don't really meditate in any formal way. I just live my life and that is my meditation. I sit quiet sometimes, but it's not with any intent other than to get some peace. The inner realizations and experiences come anyway, and often in unexpected contexts.
Formal way. Makes me smile. lol.. formal meditation.. I just sighed. Why did I just sigh? That aggravates me for some reason. Hmm. I feel sorta wierd. Like I ate the purple fungus and it was an Aggravator fungus and all the monsters are going to attack me.
I'm sure you're tough enough to repel the monsters. I can't see why the idea of some obscure englishman sitting quiet for ten minutes would irritate you.
It is quite strange, isn't it? Never thought I'd have a problem with that either. Generally, it is the wierdest things that set off my temper. My girlfriends mom laughs because I get frustrated with glue. My girlfriend thinks it is funny that I get pissed when she says "Ohh, doesn't that hurt?" And now I find out that the idea of an obscure englishman sitting quiet for ten minutes aggravates me. Must be the consequence of... ass. That's it. It's your ass communicating with me. It wants you to not sit on it, go climb Mt. S.. something.
No pussyfooting here I'll give it to you straight mate. I think it irritates you because maybe you should try the same thing. Just chill. 10 mins. Just let everything go. But only if you want to.
