How to Meditate.

[george w]

yep. it takes a little practice. concentrating on your breath helps.

another trick i've learned is to keep paper and a pen next to you in case you have something come up that is really important. you can just write it down and not worry about forgetting it.

[adsman]

Good to see you back,

[ QUOTE ]
Hey adsman thanks for the thread, a few questions. I've tried meditating two ways, one where I just focus on my breathing, and then also qigong. I think it's called 'microcosmic' qigong, breathing in focus on a spot on lower back, and breathing out focus on 'dantian' spot near stomach and feel energy flow up and down legs to and from those points. I can feel it in my stomach and moving in my legs but not my lower back, thoughts? Also what is the energy, bio electricity I read somewhere has any research been done on how this stuff works?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never heard of these two terms. The energy that you're referring to is known as kundalini energy. It can be quite powerful indeed. There is a meditation technique where you move this energy around your body. The points where you can feel it spark are your naval and the roof of your mouth. You need to keep your tounge pressed against the roof of your mouth for this to happen.

[ QUOTE ]

Does it really matter which meditation I do?

[/ QUOTE ]

Do whichever one works best for you. When I runa course I give out 4 different techniques. People go with the one that they are comfortable with.

[ QUOTE ]
they both seem like the same thing on relaxing the mind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Meditation is not about relaxing the mind. It's about giving yourself a break from your mind.

[ QUOTE ]
What are your experiences with meditation? A lot of the time when I meditate I just get tired/sleepy/bored a friend said that she and her mom can't meditate before bed because they'll have too much energy and can't sleep how do I get to that point?

[/ QUOTE ]

Stay alert while meditating. You need to be aware. Also, make sure that you're not meditating close to your bed. This can induce sleep patterns.

[ QUOTE ]
Can you go a full 20 minutes without thoughts arising?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wish. 5 minutes is my record.

[ QUOTE ]
How much has meditation affected your calmness and daily attitude in life?

[/ QUOTE ]

I become very quiet and calm. I am a very good listener, in the sense that I really listen, I'm not working out what I want to say while the other person is speaking. I see the world from a detached viewpoint. I tend not to get emotionally tied up in things that are happening to me. It's much easier to see a clear decision, as if I were giving advice to a friend.
Also, things tend to drop into my lap when I need them. That's the syncronicity thing I was talking about earlier in the thread.

[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]


another trick i've learned is to keep paper and a pen next to you in case you have something come up that is really important. you can just write it down and not worry about forgetting it.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not meditation, this is going through your thoughts. Watch your thoughts as you watch the street traffic. People come and go; you register without response. It may not be easy in the beginning, but with some practice you will find that your mind can function on many levels at the same time and you can be aware of them all. It is only when you have a vested interest in any particular level that your attention gets caught in it and you black out on other levels.

You need not stop thinking. Just cease being interested.

[george w]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


another trick i've learned is to keep paper and a pen next to you in case you have something come up that is really important. you can just write it down and not worry about forgetting it.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not meditation, this is going through your thoughts. Watch your thoughts as you watch the street traffic. People come and go; you register without response. It may not be easy in the beginning, but with some practice you will find that your mind can function on many levels at the same time and you can be aware of them all. It is only when you have a vested interest in any particular level that your attention gets caught in it and you black out on other levels.

You need not stop thinking. Just cease being interested.

[/ QUOTE ]

when i said something important, i meant stuff like oh, [censored] i need to remember to visit my sick granny in the hospital tonight not something like hmmm, i guess mind is emptiness afterall.

[swede123]

I opened this thread hoping to learn how to mediate. Now I'm quite disappointed. Perhaps someone can start a mediation thread.

Swede

[bobbyi]

Those of you who do lucid dreaming should try meditation during it; basically just ignore what was happening in the dream and go for it. I find this much easier than meditating while awake.

[cambraceres]

Has anyone looked into any possible ill-effects for light to moderate participants?

How healthy, on the average, are the monks and masters who practice this as a way of life?

[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone looked into any possible ill-effects for light to moderate participants?

How healthy, on the average, are the monks and masters who practice this as a way of life?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have never seen anyone suffer ill-effects from meditating.

I haven't hung a lot around monks and masters but the ones that I have met tend to be very healthy indeed.

edited to add that my intitial teacher was somewhat of a slob.

[raisins]

[ QUOTE ]
it's hard to move away from thoughts that arise without the new thought arising "okay stop thinking about that"

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not much for techniques and visualizations. In my opinion, these cross the line from meditation to hypnosis.

Sitting meditation need not involve anything more than just sitting. Don't think or daydream or plan or weigh options or whatever just sit. If you keep this one pointedness to your activity of the moment throughout the day then you can be meditating all day. Doing visualizations or breathing exercises or whatever for long periods of time will probably have strange, not necessarily beneficial, effects on your personality.

Charlotte Joko Beck, a Zen teacher, describes practice as labeling thoughts and noticing bodily sensations. I have found this to be a helpful guide. So, when you notice yourself thinking, label the thought, "thinking about going for a walk" and return your attention to whatever sensory information is in your awareness. Giving yourself commands like, "stop thinking about x" isn't helpful. If the thought, "stop thinking" arises notice it and keep paying attention. There is a subtle distinction between noticing what is going on in your sensory fields and looking at something or listening for something but I'll leave that for you to discover.

raisins

[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]
Doing visualizations or breathing exercises or whatever for long periods of time will probably have strange, not necessarily beneficial, effects on your personality.


[/ QUOTE ]

FWIW, your personality is your ego. They're both bound up together. True meditation is about freeing yourself from this condition. As far as your ego is concerned the effects from meditation are most certainly not beneficial.