How often and for how long do you meditate?

[Strat]

I try to be consistent with my meditation but I tend to waver or 'yo-yo', meaning sometimes I'll have a period of consistent meditation followed by a period of less meditation.

I'm just genuinely curious what you guy's meditation practice looks like. I'm trying to get motivated to get back on track, think of it like how people want to get back into exercising so they seek motivation.

As much as I advocate and talk about meditation, the most I've ever done was 15 minutes per day. However the results were incredible, so I'd love to dive back in and take it further. I can only imagine the happiness (or more importantly, contentment) this will bring me in life.

Thanks in advance!

[DeDukshyn]

I do it almost every night, for about 30 minutes - sometimes more, sometimes less.

I find also, that incorporating the body adds immensely. When I was in peak physical condition, in my early 20s, my meditations had far more impact, was easier to get into "deep" states and my body could relax much faster. A relaxed body is required for a relaxed mind.

A good practice is to tense every muscle in your body - every single one (scalp, cheeks, feet, toes fingers, etc.), tightly, for 15 seconds then relax, then spend a minute going through and wriggling all you body parts and relaxing them. Start with your toes - wriggle, then relax, take a deep breath. Move to your lower legs, wriggle then relax, etc - and move through your whole body up to your scalp.

From there, focus on your breath. If run-on thoughts are prevalent, try to add in a mantra to focus your mind; anything will do. Repeat the word "one", find some good hindu or sikh mantras, or make one up that feels right.

Gently close your eyes - you may get visual images in the form of patterns and lights flowing and flashing, you may get bodily sensations or vibrations - try focusing on those and see where they take you.

Plenty of good experiences to be had by meditation - one of the main goals is to have a time to free your mind of linguistic thought patterns. Only then can you experience what occurs beneath that level.

Happy meditating! :)

[Casey Claar]

I try to be consistent with my meditation but I tend to waver or 'yo-yo', meaning sometimes I'll have a period of consistent meditation followed by a period of less meditation.

I'm just genuinely curious what you guy's meditation practice looks like. I'm trying to get motivated to get back on track, think of it like how people want to get back into exercising so they seek motivation.

As much as I advocate and talk about meditation, the most I've ever done was 15 minutes per day. However the results were incredible, so I'd love to dive back in and take it further. I can only imagine the happiness (or more importantly, contentment) this will bring me in life.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Strat

It is good you are finding ways like this to help stoke the fire.

Practice for me has been different at different stages in my life and evolution of Spiritual growth. At first, like you, I was sometimes focusing more into spiritual life, and sometimes more into physical life. This led into a phase where I felt, and very much was inclined to have the presence of the spiritual in some way, shape or form in my life daily. The practice was not always meditation, sometimes it was tratak, or breathing patterns, or asana. Study took precedence over practice in those days. I read A LOT, spiritual classics, the Vedas, Upanishads, Yoga Sutras, etc.. I sought teachers and found those I most connected with ( Sankaracharya, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna ), I studied their words and their works. I learned to enter deep contemplative states and how to bring the body-mind into pratyahara ( a deep state of peace ).

Much more was happening in all this than I realized at the time. It would take me decades to fully cognize what was happening. It was a slow g r a d u a l process. I advanced through the rungs, from a beginning, to intermediate, to advanced spiritual student. At which point I began the process of becoming a teacher myself. This is when learning really accelerated. Practice, meditation, atma vicar ( ie: self inquiry ) became not just daily but the lengths of my practices grew to be extremely long. I would sit or lay myself down, generally preferring the latter, and not feel to come out of the practice until as much as 3 hours later. This led into an awakening, an extended 4 year period of time, during which I began consciously shifting "out of body" and returning with the contents of my experiences still intact, -- and through which the meditative state, the capacity to hold synchronous states began to become my permanent state. Which leaves me where I am today.

Now when I practice I am also 'working'.. I am bringing back data from what we call the dream state, I am working with the crystal to bring through transmissions, I am hosting healing circles and group silent sitting meditations for my group, etc.. It has become my life. Right now, in your life, it probably feels right/comfortable for meditation to be in your life a certain number of days a week, and the length of the meditations may feel best left at a short period of time. It is important to feel for what feels right. So you are more apt to let it continue to be a part of your life. It takes awhile to get to the point where daily practice feels right. I might suggest to combine study and practice, and to find a variety of spiritual practices you enjoy. Gazing practices are every bit as rewarding as formal meditation. As is working with the breath. These may help keep you more motivated as well. For a long while, with me, meditating twice a week, 30 minutes each morning after getting up + 30 minutes at night before going to sleep was really nice. It was achievable long term, and I looked forward to it.

Where do you feel you are right now in the scheme of your own practice?

What feels right for you right now?

[Forever]

As a long time practicer of TM I tend to meditate once a day (early evening) for about 30mins. This is my own sort of adaptation of the two 20 mins sessions that most TM teachers recommend. I sometimes also swap out a meditation for a mind-machine session using an audio visual stimulation device. For me the latter is a more “lazy meditation” requiring less concentration offering a different result but one that comes with its own set of benefits. Like other posters here, I can go through periods where I don’t meditate. In the past I berated myself for this but now I see this as a sort of black and white thinking which I try to avoid. The feeling I get after returning to mediation following a hiatus is usually enough to convince me to resume a regular routine.

[ZenBaller]

What really matters is the drive behind the meditation. One can meditate every day for years but with an ego which constantly seeks to achieve things. Others can meditate on and off because they are too absorbed in every day life, hence using meditation as escapism. Some people have no other option by doing it every day because they have experienced enough pain to only find solace in meditation.

[Johnnycomelately]

I don’t meditate as you folks describe, in dedicated instances at intervals. IMO, sounds like you’re ‘war gaming’ life, when those attentions could be better put to your day. Each day given to us is a measure of our worth, our soul, I think and feel. Rates answering, in earnest and in full. Everything else is a selfish pursuit, IMO.

[TravelerJim]

Binaural beats have made the difference for me over almost 25 years. All you need are stereo headphones. I realize what I do is not traditional meditation in the eyes of some, but I am forever grateful to Bob Monroe whose work introduced me to this modality...

[Strat]

From there, focus on your breath. If run-on thoughts are prevalent, try to add in a mantra to focus your mind; anything will do. Repeat the word "one", find some good hindu or sikh mantras, or make one up that feels right.

Gently close your eyes - you may get visual images in the form of patterns and lights flowing and flashing, you may get bodily sensations or vibrations - try focusing on those and see where they take you.

Plenty of good experiences to be had by meditation - one of the main goals is to have a time to free your mind of linguistic thought patterns. Only then can you experience what occurs beneath that level.


Yeah this is where I'm at, stripping away thought patterns. I've been to 'the next level' in to the past and that's what I find amazing. I'm following basic Buddhist meditation (I'm not Buddhist) and the 'places' in meditation they talk about are interesting to arrive at. It sounds like bs, but then following the practice I hit different stages one by one.

Anyway, I'm out of practice so I'm just picking back up. What do you think of this: I've read (from said Buddhist's) that you're not supposed to force anything, if your mind is swimming with thoughts then just step back and observe, don't force it to be quiet. So I try to do that, but sometimes when it's 'quiet' I'm not sure if I'm forcing it or not.

The focus or "what's going through my head" at the time is what I call a hunters mindset... I've never hunted but I've played paintball in the woods with my friends a lot when I was younger lol. Point being, it's a kind of mental state where I am just listening extremely intently to everything around me, but I don't focus on anything. I try to just 'be.'

TBH I'm not sure if I'm forcing that mindset, it doesn't always seem 'clear' if that makes sense. So.. whatcha think?

[Strat]

I try to be consistent with my meditation but I tend to waver or 'yo-yo', meaning sometimes I'll have a period of consistent meditation followed by a period of less meditation.

I'm just genuinely curious what you guy's meditation practice looks like. I'm trying to get motivated to get back on track, think of it like how people want to get back into exercising so they seek motivation.

As much as I advocate and talk about meditation, the most I've ever done was 15 minutes per day. However the results were incredible, so I'd love to dive back in and take it further. I can only imagine the happiness (or more importantly, contentment) this will bring me in life.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Strat

It is good you are finding ways like this to help stoke the fire.

Practice for me has been different at different stages in my life and evolution of Spiritual growth. At first, like you, I was sometimes focusing more into spiritual life, and sometimes more into physical life. This led into a phase where I felt, and very much was inclined to have the presence of the spiritual in some way, shape or form in my life daily. The practice was not always meditation, sometimes it was tratak, or breathing patterns, or asana. Study took precedence over practice in those days. I read A LOT, spiritual classics, the Vedas, Upanishads, Yoga Sutras, etc.. I sought teachers and found those I most connected with ( Sankaracharya, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna ), I studied their words and their works. I learned to enter deep contemplative states and how to bring the body-mind into pratyahara ( a deep state of peace ).

Much more was happening in all this than I realized at the time. It would take me decades to fully cognize what was happening. It was a slow g r a d u a l process. I advanced through the rungs, from a beginning, to intermediate, to advanced spiritual student. At which point I began the process of becoming a teacher myself. This is when learning really accelerated. Practice, meditation, atma vicar ( ie: self inquiry ) became not just daily but the lengths of my practices grew to be extremely long. I would sit or lay myself down, generally preferring the latter, and not feel to come out of the practice until as much as 3 hours later. This led into an awakening, an extended 4 year period of time, during which I began consciously shifting "out of body" and returning with the contents of my experiences still intact, -- and through which the meditative state, the capacity to hold synchronous states began to become my permanent state. Which leaves me where I am today.

Now when I practice I am also 'working'.. I am bringing back data from what we call the dream state, I am working with the crystal to bring through transmissions, I am hosting healing circles and group silent sitting meditations for my group, etc.. It has become my life. Right now, in your life, it probably feels right/comfortable for meditation to be in your life a certain number of days a week, and the length of the meditations may feel best left at a short period of time. It is important to feel for what feels right. So you are more apt to let it continue to be a part of your life. It takes awhile to get to the point where daily practice feels right. I might suggest to combine study and practice, and to find a variety of spiritual practices you enjoy. Gazing practices are every bit as rewarding as formal meditation. As is working with the breath. These may help keep you more motivated as well. For a long while, with me, meditating twice a week, 30 minutes each morning after getting up + 30 minutes at night before going to sleep was really nice. It was achievable long term, and I looked forward to it.

Where do you feel you are right now in the scheme of your own practice?

What feels right for you right now?

How has your mind evolved after so much meditation? Does anything really bother you anymore? I remember when I was practicing everyday it was unbelievable how things just didn't affect me as much. I had lots of 'space' to react to life, so whereas I used to have a temper I would literally giggle at the things that used to set me off.

I can only imagine what it's like after so much time as a practitioner.

And maybe offtopic, have you ever practiced yoga? I've been doing this lately but for the physical health benefits.

[Sunny-side-up]

Nice post Strat.
Going back 35 years ago I spent 3 years or so meditating solid for days on end.

Then wavered between 1 to 3 times a day (for as long as)

Now, this time period I haven't meditated for many years.

On the whole I'm sort of a meditative mind all day, unless I've let frustration and upsets disrupt me.

I do lots of pondering throughout every day.

I'm not very physically healthy now so I should switch on my mediation mind again :)

:sun:

[Strat]

What really matters is the drive behind the meditation. One can meditate every day for years but with an ego which constantly seeks to achieve things. Others can meditate on and off because they are too absorbed in every day life, hence using meditation as escapism. Some people have no other option by doing it every day because they have experienced enough pain to only find solace in meditation.

Why do you meditate? What drew you to it in the first place?

I started to look into meditation when I was in my late 20s because life was terrible. I wont demonstrate the resume of misery I had, it doesn't matter but I needed something. It changed my life and I'm grateful I found it.

[Sunny-side-up]

Me again.

Original posting by:
Special thanks to Dr. Santos Bonacci. Subscribe to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MrAstrotheology


Watch this newer version of this information.
PS: don't be put off by Elons face plastered over the vid, he is just one of many associating with this knowledge.

So once watched you can gain the best time period and daily (life) practices to meditate

C-7L5ZxCUCc

Sauce: https://www.youtube.com/@MrAstrotheology

[Ernie Nemeth]

I meditate every day now for over twenty years.

At least a body scan.

If things come up, I might spend more time to 'process'.

[ExomatrixTV]

https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/618398e6742566677cfd063a/62adae2a4b532a6723c42704_PsyNFTxyz_HakanHisim%20(1).jpg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=figkoXZA7i8)


...
Thank you so much @Strat (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/member.php?596-Strat) for bringing this excellent topic to our attention :)


--o-O-o--


Himalayan Sanyashi Teaches How To Meditate Properly:

c9Z5HSu-N9w


As a "Near Death Experiencer" I was aware of the same insights in the above video ±30 years ago, I discussed the same principles via one of my "Exposure" Radio shows in Amsterdam early 1990s.


When I started to do Martial Arts (TaeKwonDo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taekwondo) & Wing Chun) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Chun) in late 1980s early 1990s I became more & deeper interested to study multiple different meditation methods that is beyond "Yoga meditation techniques" that I learned as a young child in the 1970s


Transcendental Meditation (TM) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation) (did it for couple years) but the most powerful for me is:



Rebirthing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathwork#Description_and_sub-types) "Circular Breathwork" when breathe out you "let go" of all things (physical notions, mental notions, emotional notions etc.) without assuming it will happen "just because you want it to happen" ... they key is not to have any judgment >>> just observe your "thoughts" or "worries" or "emotions" or "physical sensations" and breath towards it like giving it "Oxygen & Parana" and allow the transformation happen spontaneously without having expectations ... just trust that you are always more than any "thought" you had, have and will have (past present & future) combined!



Doing art work can be meditational ... doing the dishes can be meditational ... listening to music can be meditational ... playing any musical instrument in a group-setting can be meditational ... running 5 Km straight in nature (which I did many times) can be meditational ... and I can go on and on ... Key is letting go of the past & future >>> being 100% in the now and have no judgment towards anything, "just Be" ... We are surrounded by people who will judge one way or the other and when someone does not, you can feel/sense he or she doesn't ... because it is the ultimate peace energy from within ... noticing different things than having tons of projected assumptions.



So how do you let go of things that keep you in a (almost) permanent "high alertness state" or "judgmental state" including towards yourself especially perfectionists ... How do you let go of "wanting to let go" is even a deeper question ... there is a mechanism of letting go that is beyond doing "techniques" it is called "trust" your core-self completely ... not having (bad) assumptions of any kind to begin with ... Especially when it deals with: feeling "misunderstood" or feeling "not worthy" or feeling "not good enough" or "feeling incapable" or "feeling not ready" or "feeling depressed" or "feeling constant pessimistic" and on and on and on ... all of it will certainly generate all kinds of often useless thoughts not helping you ... It will broadcast so loud it will overshadow almost everything that is uplifting or positive or helpful >>> in short: "self-sabotage mechanism" ... Knowing it exists within you having "blind spots" becoming visible through among others: "letting go of all the noise you are making to distract you why you do not want to see that part of you". So the whole: "letting go process" will often start with seeing so much more hurdles/obstacles preventing you to transform or to move on or to go beyond all that ... That is why it is called "breathe work" ;)



When you inhale deeper and exhale deeper and do it about 50 to 100% faster than "normal breathing" (not hyperventilating) and connect the breath in with the breath out this circular connected breathing is combined with effortless intent not forcing anything ... have the right conditions: well ventilated fresh air in your sleeping room lying comfortable in your bed having no Wi-Fi or anything "electricity" near your head, no sound pollution ... no one that can disturb you is a must ... and I know, so many may have not that luxury which is really sad.



During this "enhanced circular connected breathing technique", it is important you feel what rhythm is best for you, not expecting to find the perfect timing immediately but trusting you do not have to worry about it nor focus on it, as it will adapt automatically to your needs ... being aware it may slow down or speed up depending on what is happening ... When you breathe out and "let go of everything" that stands in the way of being in the 100% now should not be seen as an "effort" especially if you understand the concept of the "neutral observer" that everyone has within >>> It is the awareness that is beyond language beyond spoken word beyond any dualistic thinking ... Some call it "the higher self" some call it "God within" some call it: "your Multidimensional Soul" that is older than the Earth having a temporary physical experience.

https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/618398e6742566677cfd063a/62953456a15c11d991bb2b05_Social_2254.jpg

<--! updated edit: -->


Of late I started to do a new "made up" exercise that is to be 100% aware where I am ... noticing all kinds of 5 senses reality coming in ... being aware without giving it any labels >> no thoughts >> no words in my mind >> no "chatter" in my brain >> only awareness of the 5 senses input ...



When a baby feels cold or warm sensations, it does not need any language to be aware of it, thus there is something that is beyond language & labels. Being in that state when being an adult seems "impossible" right? ... Because we assume we always have to "label things" ... Can you remember, bring back, know things, recall, being aware of things without using any labels, let's say for the past 1 hour of this new "made up" exercise? ... The answer is yes and so much more, as your brain will work differently if done correctly.



This new exercise will be perfect to remember much more details of your dreams as you finally "get it" that labels & judgments will blast away what is in front of you because your projections will only "muddy the waters" creating unnecessary distortions ... Lucid dreaming is so much more fun if you are free from (projected, self-generated) fears!


To answer your question, I meditate every day without putting too much effort as it happens naturally by default ... it becomes part of me ... without it, I would not be able to handle so much what is thrown at all of us 24/7 in this totally insane world gone mad.There is so much more I can write about this topic, but that is for another time.

@Strat (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/member.php?596-Strat) I hope my contribution is helpful in your quest "how to meditate better".

https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/27474914.f5b631e7.160x160o.f6c78faaf102@2x.png (https://whynotnews.eu)

cheers,
John Kuhles (https://whynotnews.eu) aka 'ExomatrixTV'
February 1st, 2023 🦜🦋🌳


related topic:


Before you Judge... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?120132-Before-you-Judge...)

[DeDukshyn]

From there, focus on your breath. If run-on thoughts are prevalent, try to add in a mantra to focus your mind; anything will do. Repeat the word "one", find some good hindu or sikh mantras, or make one up that feels right.

Gently close your eyes - you may get visual images in the form of patterns and lights flowing and flashing, you may get bodily sensations or vibrations - try focusing on those and see where they take you.

Plenty of good experiences to be had by meditation - one of the main goals is to have a time to free your mind of linguistic thought patterns. Only then can you experience what occurs beneath that level.


Yeah this is where I'm at, stripping away thought patterns. I've been to 'the next level' in to the past and that's what I find amazing. I'm following basic Buddhist meditation (I'm not Buddhist) and the 'places' in meditation they talk about are interesting to arrive at. It sounds like bs, but then following the practice I hit different stages one by one.

Anyway, I'm out of practice so I'm just picking back up. What do you think of this: I've read (from said Buddhist's) that you're not supposed to force anything, if your mind is swimming with thoughts then just step back and observe, don't force it to be quiet. So I try to do that, but sometimes when it's 'quiet' I'm not sure if I'm forcing it or not.

The focus or "what's going through my head" at the time is what I call a hunters mindset... I've never hunted but I've played paintball in the woods with my friends a lot when I was younger lol. Point being, it's a kind of mental state where I am just listening extremely intently to everything around me, but I don't focus on anything. I try to just 'be.'

TBH I'm not sure if I'm forcing that mindset, it doesn't always seem 'clear' if that makes sense. So.. whatcha think?



What you refer to as "hunter's mindset" I would call moving to a secondary point of awareness. This is can be extremely beneficial, and is a more appropriate state for a human to be in. There was a psychiatrist, or psychologist who dabbled into these sorts of things and created a whole regime for creating and maintaining a "new point of consciousness" where you would simply observe everything from a 3rd party, or objective perspective - especially yourself, your reactions, your thoughts, your emotions. This was intended to be a 24/7 operation, and he claimed the benefits were astounding.

Eventually you want to have the ability to get to a place where thoughts are absent, but there's no rush to get there - it can take months of practice. Its easier to move in this direction from a secondary point of awareness.

If thoughts start to pervade, you can allow for a break in thoughts and gently push them away in your mind - a visual, maybe like a broom sweeping them away might help. But yeah don't force anything, as force causes tension and that's the opposite of what you want.

There's many types of meditations, many practices, and tools, and there are many goals. Sometimes I use meditation and personal mantras to assist in behavioural augmentation and brain re-wiring, sometimes I use it to induce lucid dreaming / astral travel, sometimes to just relax my body, and sometimes to receive inspiration / answers / messages, sometimes to just connect with the Oneness, so there's no one "right" method or way - it depends on the goal, and what tools work well for you.

Sometimes I just objectively listen intently to my surroundings, or when I am relaxed enough, listen to my heart beating and feel my blood flowing through my veins - you have to be quite relaxed and focused for that, but to feel you blood coursing through your veins and arteries is a neat experience.

[DeDukshyn]

Me again.

Original posting by:
Special thanks to Dr. Santos Bonacci. Subscribe to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MrAstrotheology


Watch this newer version of this information.
PS: don't be put off by Elons face plastered over the vid, he is just one of many associating with this knowledge.

So once watched you can gain the best time period and daily (life) practices to meditate

C-7L5ZxCUCc

Sauce: https://www.youtube.com/@MrAstrotheology

Thanks for this post Sunny. :)

To those interested: For vastly detailed information on this topic and more things related, the mysterious 100 year old book "God-Man: The Word Made Flesh" is a great resource.

This book won't be for everyone - its sort of an interesting mix between sacred human biology, "alchemy" (in a sense), and metaphysics, based around ancient scripture and hidden religious meanings, but covers what the video relays and associated information in astonishing detail.

Here is download link for those interested: https://ia600202.us.archive.org/9/items/godmanwordmadefl00carerich/godmanwordmadefl00carerich.pdf

[palehorse]

My words are:

be mindful and everything arises from it.

Mindfulness is not in the best interest of governments/authorities.

It is an every day sort of thing, at all times, meditation does not mean seat our asses on the floor for half an hour or even one hour and meditate, this is the meditation style taught mostly in the west where time and money comes first.

We are talking here about mindfulness, contemplation and meditation are both mindfulness forms. Maintaining focus and concentration and at the same time observing it without resistance (passively) or resisting taking control (actively) but maintaining the same focus and concentration always in whatever you are doing passively or actively.

You can meditate when going to work, when in the shower, when going to bed, when eating, when taking the commuter.. the possibilities are endless. You don't need a ritual for that, Buddha was against any sort of ritual or ceremony, or images or candles, flowers, incense, name it.. he was not in favor and never encouraged such activities, those who did are the institutions of man.

Just keep it simple, because that is exactly what it is, a simple path.. a very humble one.

[ExomatrixTV]

https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/618398e6742566677cfd063a/6394c9b58a7e8da23244ac18_Calibration_KamoraLaRoyceJones_2022.jpg


seedabstractions.io (https://seedabstractions.io)


Is it possible, that the real reason we have no "Full Alien UFO Disclosure (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/forumdisplay.php?38-Ufology-Extraterrestrial-Contact)" on a massive scale is because the vast majority do not know how to meditate in such a way that you are beyond dualistic thinking and perceive things as they really are >>> not as you project them to be ... that "vibration" works like a mirror >>> and yes, you get what you give https://projectavalon.net/forum4/images/smilies/wink_animated.gif

cheers,
John 🦜🦋🌳

[rgray222]

I have never been able to meditate in the traditional sense. I have read everything I could get my hands on and spoken to so-called experts and my results were less than stellar. I was bitterly disappointed because it seemed to be so beneficial for everyone. After fairly serious surgery left me with a lifetime of pain I would go on long walks and contemplate the pain and how to control it. After a short period of time I not only learned how to control the intensity of the pain l started to learn how to eliminate the pain. It eventually dawned on me that I achieved this through meditation, not in the traditional sense but no less mediation. From there I learned I could meditate almost at will and at anytime as long I was involved in a singular activity. I have never been able to sit still and quiet my mind to meditate but I do it almost every day while engaging in my normal life.

[Strat]

You can meditate when going to work, when in the shower, when going to bed, when eating, when taking the commuter.. the possibilities are endless. You don't need a ritual for that, Buddha was against any sort of ritual or ceremony, or images or candles, flowers, incense, name it.. he was not in favor and never encouraged such activities, those who did are the institutions of man.

Just keep it simple, because that is exactly what it is, a simple path.. a very humble one.

This was the first thing mentioned in my favorite documentary, Amongst White Clouds. There is a Zen master gardening along side his students. It's a lot of work and he said something along the lines of what you're saying.
pH2ozq65yHQ
This is the entire documentary, click at the 6minuite mark if you're curious of his exact words.

Basically he says what you said, it's not just sitting down. I just recently bought this on Amazon, it's been remastered and with better subtitles anyway...

I believe it, but this is something I have not yet been able to apply in my life. When I garden it's caffeine (sometimes beer) and talk radio. I would like to be at the point where I'm just content doing what I'm doing with a clear mind and contentment. Do you (all) think this is something I have to work up to so to speak, or should I just do it.

I'm thinking like when exercising, you don't try to lift heavy right away, or get the fastest mile time without practice. It's best to work up to it or you can do harm than good.

[Casey Claar]

I try to be consistent with my meditation but I tend to waver or 'yo-yo', meaning sometimes I'll have a period of consistent meditation followed by a period of less meditation.

I'm just genuinely curious what you guy's meditation practice looks like. I'm trying to get motivated to get back on track, think of it like how people want to get back into exercising so they seek motivation.

As much as I advocate and talk about meditation, the most I've ever done was 15 minutes per day. However the results were incredible, so I'd love to dive back in and take it further. I can only imagine the happiness (or more importantly, contentment) this will bring me in life.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Strat

It is good you are finding ways like this to help stoke the fire.

Practice for me has been different at different stages in my life and evolution of Spiritual growth. At first, like you, I was sometimes focusing more into spiritual life, and sometimes more into physical life. This led into a phase where I felt, and very much was inclined to have the presence of the spiritual in some way, shape or form in my life daily. The practice was not always meditation, sometimes it was tratak, or breathing patterns, or asana. Study took precedence over practice in those days. I read A LOT, spiritual classics, the Vedas, Upanishads, Yoga Sutras, etc.. I sought teachers and found those I most connected with ( Sankaracharya, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna ), I studied their words and their works. I learned to enter deep contemplative states and how to bring the body-mind into pratyahara ( a deep state of peace ).

Much more was happening in all this than I realized at the time. It would take me decades to fully cognize what was happening. It was a slow g r a d u a l process. I advanced through the rungs, from a beginning, to intermediate, to advanced spiritual student. At which point I began the process of becoming a teacher myself. This is when learning really accelerated. Practice, meditation, atma vicar ( ie: self inquiry ) became not just daily but the lengths of my practices grew to be extremely long. I would sit or lay myself down, generally preferring the latter, and not feel to come out of the practice until as much as 3 hours later. This led into an awakening, an extended 4 year period of time, during which I began consciously shifting "out of body" and returning with the contents of my experiences still intact, -- and through which the meditative state, the capacity to hold synchronous states began to become my permanent state. Which leaves me where I am today.

Now when I practice I am also 'working'.. I am bringing back data from what we call the dream state, I am working with the crystal to bring through transmissions, I am hosting healing circles and group silent sitting meditations for my group, etc.. It has become my life. Right now, in your life, it probably feels right/comfortable for meditation to be in your life a certain number of days a week, and the length of the meditations may feel best left at a short period of time. It is important to feel for what feels right. So you are more apt to let it continue to be a part of your life. It takes awhile to get to the point where daily practice feels right. I might suggest to combine study and practice, and to find a variety of spiritual practices you enjoy. Gazing practices are every bit as rewarding as formal meditation. As is working with the breath. These may help keep you more motivated as well. For a long while, with me, meditating twice a week, 30 minutes each morning after getting up + 30 minutes at night before going to sleep was really nice. It was achievable long term, and I looked forward to it.

Where do you feel you are right now in the scheme of your own practice?

What feels right for you right now?

How has your mind evolved after so much meditation? Does anything really bother you anymore? I remember when I was practicing everyday it was unbelievable how things just didn't affect me as much. I had lots of 'space' to react to life, so whereas I used to have a temper I would literally giggle at the things that used to set me off.

I can only imagine what it's like after so much time as a practitioner.

And maybe offtopic, have you ever practiced yoga? I've been doing this lately but for the physical health benefits.


Hello, again, Strat.. Wow that is a really great question.

My tendency, for as long as I can remember has always been toward a meditative mind ( a neutral non-judgmental mind ), it is the more natural state for me in this incarnation. The tendency has always been toward solitude as well, toward the experience of the immediate felt presence of life itself. And, yes, that which would 'disturb' the experience disturbs me, lol. I have to work at it constantly. With age can also come pain. -- pain can also 'disturb' the experience. Such as the arthritis in my fingers, which can act up now when the weather is anything but temperate. I have what might be called an advantage over most, but for as long as we are in body we will be tested. There is no growth otherwise. The tests tend to be more, rather than less challenging. Only this will stretch us beyond our current limits. At the same time, we get better, we improve, the quality of our practice becomes increasingly more refined. We begin to notice things such as what you are. But the road is long, and there is a great stretch of it out in front of us. It begins to become alright, though, doesn't it? We begin to know it is the way home.

Have I ever practiced yoga?.. In the way you ask I think you mean asana, the body postures. Yes I discovered this when I was very young, still in the single digits, through a television program in the early 1970s called Lilias, Yoga and You ( quite well known in its day ). I began practicing the postures at that time, it was a part of my spiritual development. It is a part of what I began teaching when that time came. I was in my late 30s, approaching 40. I taught classes for years until through my awakening process, deeper consciousness states brought me to begin teaching the conscious shift, which I continue to this day. Yoga - including asana - will always be a part of my life. I never put away my yoga mat, it has a forever home laid out right where it is. This is a regular part of my life. I congratulate you for having found it. If you allow, it will carry you far.

[Strat]

I try to be consistent with my meditation but I tend to waver or 'yo-yo', meaning sometimes I'll have a period of consistent meditation followed by a period of less meditation.

I'm just genuinely curious what you guy's meditation practice looks like. I'm trying to get motivated to get back on track, think of it like how people want to get back into exercising so they seek motivation.

As much as I advocate and talk about meditation, the most I've ever done was 15 minutes per day. However the results were incredible, so I'd love to dive back in and take it further. I can only imagine the happiness (or more importantly, contentment) this will bring me in life.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Strat

It is good you are finding ways like this to help stoke the fire.

Practice for me has been different at different stages in my life and evolution of Spiritual growth. At first, like you, I was sometimes focusing more into spiritual life, and sometimes more into physical life. This led into a phase where I felt, and very much was inclined to have the presence of the spiritual in some way, shape or form in my life daily. The practice was not always meditation, sometimes it was tratak, or breathing patterns, or asana. Study took precedence over practice in those days. I read A LOT, spiritual classics, the Vedas, Upanishads, Yoga Sutras, etc.. I sought teachers and found those I most connected with ( Sankaracharya, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna ), I studied their words and their works. I learned to enter deep contemplative states and how to bring the body-mind into pratyahara ( a deep state of peace ).

Much more was happening in all this than I realized at the time. It would take me decades to fully cognize what was happening. It was a slow g r a d u a l process. I advanced through the rungs, from a beginning, to intermediate, to advanced spiritual student. At which point I began the process of becoming a teacher myself. This is when learning really accelerated. Practice, meditation, atma vicar ( ie: self inquiry ) became not just daily but the lengths of my practices grew to be extremely long. I would sit or lay myself down, generally preferring the latter, and not feel to come out of the practice until as much as 3 hours later. This led into an awakening, an extended 4 year period of time, during which I began consciously shifting "out of body" and returning with the contents of my experiences still intact, -- and through which the meditative state, the capacity to hold synchronous states began to become my permanent state. Which leaves me where I am today.

Now when I practice I am also 'working'.. I am bringing back data from what we call the dream state, I am working with the crystal to bring through transmissions, I am hosting healing circles and group silent sitting meditations for my group, etc.. It has become my life. Right now, in your life, it probably feels right/comfortable for meditation to be in your life a certain number of days a week, and the length of the meditations may feel best left at a short period of time. It is important to feel for what feels right. So you are more apt to let it continue to be a part of your life. It takes awhile to get to the point where daily practice feels right. I might suggest to combine study and practice, and to find a variety of spiritual practices you enjoy. Gazing practices are every bit as rewarding as formal meditation. As is working with the breath. These may help keep you more motivated as well. For a long while, with me, meditating twice a week, 30 minutes each morning after getting up + 30 minutes at night before going to sleep was really nice. It was achievable long term, and I looked forward to it.

Where do you feel you are right now in the scheme of your own practice?

What feels right for you right now?

How has your mind evolved after so much meditation? Does anything really bother you anymore? I remember when I was practicing everyday it was unbelievable how things just didn't affect me as much. I had lots of 'space' to react to life, so whereas I used to have a temper I would literally giggle at the things that used to set me off.

I can only imagine what it's like after so much time as a practitioner.

And maybe offtopic, have you ever practiced yoga? I've been doing this lately but for the physical health benefits.


Hello, again, Strat.. Wow that is a really great question.

My tendency, for as long as I can remember has always been toward a meditative mind ( a neutral non-judgmental mind ), it is the more natural state for me in this incarnation. The tendency has always been toward solitude as well, toward the experience of the immediate felt presence of life itself. And, yes, that which would 'disturb' the experience disturbs me, lol. I have to work at it constantly. With age can also come pain. -- pain can also 'disturb' the experience. Such as the arthritis in my fingers, which can act up now when the weather is anything but temperate. I have what might be called an advantage over most, but for as long as we are in body we will be tested. There is no growth otherwise. The tests tend to be more, rather than less challenging. Only this will stretch us beyond our current limits. At the same time, we get better, we improve, the quality of our practice becomes increasingly more refined. We begin to notice things such as what you are. But the road is long, and there is a great stretch of it out in front of us. It begins to become alright, though, doesn't it? We begin to know it is the way home.

Have I ever practiced yoga?.. In the way you ask I think you mean asana, the body postures. Yes I discovered this when I was very young, still in the single digits, through a television program in the early 1970s called Lilias, Yoga and You ( quite well known in its day ). I began practicing the postures at that time, it was a part of my spiritual development. It is a part of what I began teaching when that time came. I was in my late 30s, approaching 40. I taught classes for years until through my awakening process, deeper consciousness states brought me to begin teaching the conscious shift, which I continue to this day. Yoga - including asana - will always be a part of my life. I never put away my yoga mat, it has a forever home laid out right where it is. This is a regular part of my life. I congratulate you for having found it. If you allow, it will carry you far.

Thank you for your reply, very interesting!

I've mentioned from time to time my past, it wasn't nice. I had/have a loving family but things happened along the road of life where I became an unhappy person (to put it gently). If I tried yoga as a child I surely would've been punished. My family, my culture (specifically where I live) encourages things that are counter intuitive a meditative mind like, drinking, fighting, drugs, etc. I wish I was like you in this sense.

I'm genuinely embarrassed and a little ashamed to say I'm basically a 'fear biter' in life. My upbringing was challenging and I still have demons that pull my strings when they get the chance. Anger, rage, deep despair, sadness, etc. In life, people don't want to hear this so I 'wear a mask' so that I can go out and live a normal life. If you met me in life, I appear to be another happy go lucky guy. Honestly that's not too far from the truth, I suppose I'm like a rubik's cube in some ways.

In the past, with my short 15 minutes of sitting quietly, all these things were gone. And they stayed away. I can't articulate how powerful this is, most people take SSRI's for this. This is what I was saying earlier, things that would bother me in the past became something where I could actually choose how I wish to react. It's great. It reminds me of something Sadhguru said (I know, I know, everyone thinks he's a clown). He said that meditation is like a toolbox with lots of tools for different applications. If you want to get to higher planes, you can do that, but if you just need relief in life all you need is a basic screwdriver and you can fix it.

EDIT: Oh and yoga. Yes I've started it a bit, I have an old book from like the '60s or '70s that a friend recommended. I think it's mostly for physical benefits, but I'd be happy to move into spiritual practice as well.

[Strat]

Another question for everyone:

Do you guys have like a set time you meditate? Exercise is so easy for me I don't have to think about it I just do it. Meditation is 10x more difficult and it feels like a chore. Any advice?

Set times traditionally haven't worked for me but I'll take 2 if yall think I should.

[ExomatrixTV]

Another question for everyone:

Do you guys have like a set time you meditate? Exercise is so easy for me I don't have to think about it I just do it. Meditation is 10x more difficult and it feels like a chore. Any advice?

Set times traditionally haven't worked for me but I'll take 2 if yall think I should.


I never used "time settings" nor making "appointments" with myself ... everything will go spontaneously when I feel it is needed "being 100% in the now" is the ultimate tuning for me ... all depends on what happened that day and how I feel in the moment ... Being true (confrontational) towards myself can not be "pushed" nor "predicted" ... there are times I just can't but "must" ... but when I feel pressure to do things, I know in advance it will not work, that is why I want it to be "in the flow" of things ... that takes time to master!


Maybe because I am Aries Sun Sign (very impulsive and super direct) and Virgo Moon Sign (purist & perfectionist) and Fire Horse (https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/horoscopes/13046281/chinese-zodiac-fire-horse-astrology-sign-meaning/) (highly rebellious) Chinese Zodiac!

If I have to estimate how much of my day is filled with a "meditative state" (including doing the dishes & other things) it is about 10% of the 16 hours being awake of each day.


Am very lucky that using my techniques am able to sleep very fast and have mostly no sleep problems. Have lived with someone very closely for 5 years that had severe sleeping problems, this can compromise the depth of the (natural) mediation state.

cheers,
John 🦜🦋🌳

[Strat]

Another question for everyone:

Do you guys have like a set time you meditate? Exercise is so easy for me I don't have to think about it I just do it. Meditation is 10x more difficult and it feels like a chore. Any advice?

Set times traditionally haven't worked for me but I'll take 2 if yall think I should.


I never used "time settings" nor making "appointments" with myself ... everything will go spontaneously when I feel it is needed "being 100% in the now" is the ultimate tuning for me ... all depends on what happened that day and how I feel in the moment ... Being true (confrontational) towards myself can not be "pushed" nor "predicted" ... there are times I just can't but "must" ... but when I feel pressure to do things, I know in advance it will not work, that is why I want it to be "in the flow" of things ... that takes time to master!


So far this is the only way I've been able to meditate. I find myself with a bit of spare time and 'the good voice' in my head says, "you gotta admit you have the time and no excuse."

In general I find that middle of the day works ok. Late night would be good but for some reason it just doesn't vibe/click with me. Morning is awful because where I live there's a ridiculous amount of noise. But what's cool about like what you said, if I'm not 'feeling it' at a particular time, then I can choose to meditate at another time and it seems this kinda of adaptability is something to strive for in life in general.

[ExomatrixTV]

Another question for everyone:

Do you guys have like a set time you meditate? Exercise is so easy for me I don't have to think about it I just do it. Meditation is 10x more difficult and it feels like a chore. Any advice?

Set times traditionally haven't worked for me but I'll take 2 if yall think I should.

I never used "time settings" nor making "appointments" with myself ... everything will go spontaneously when I feel it is needed "being 100% in the now" is the ultimate tuning for me ... all depends on what happened that day and how I feel in the moment ... Being true (confrontational) towards myself can not be "pushed" nor "predicted" ... there are times I just can't but "must" ... but when I feel pressure to do things, I know in advance it will not work, that is why I want it to be "in the flow" of things ... that takes time to master!


So far this is the only way I've been able to meditate. I find myself with a bit of spare time and 'the good voice' in my head says, "you gotta admit you have the time and no excuse."

In general, I find that middle of the day works ok. Late night would be good, but for some reason it just doesn't vibe/click with me. Morning is awful because where I live there's a ridiculous amount of noise. But what's cool about like what you said, if I'm not 'feeling it' at a particular time, then I can choose to meditate at another time, and it seems this kinda of adaptability is something to strive for in life in general.

If you feel pushed to do certain things a certain way that can be for the right reasons or bad reasons ... if it is done for good reasons you may not feel it like that way anymore ... as anything that is pushed or forced is by definition not spontaneous, most likely because you are "told" to do so ...

You first have to know who you really are before anything else, otherwise you only act upon a being copy of someone else's expectations. This is the hard part: being afraid to make mistakes and being 100% responsible for your own choices is a long road ... but when you finally master that you feel liberated from all kinds of outside pressure and finally do things from within not via what others claim is "best" for you.


Meditation can help to make different decisions that are more close to what you're supposed to do as a Sovereign Soul and spiritually grow from there, not via others programmed "belief systems".

To be really unique is hard when everything is designed in such a way that you have to "fit in" a system that most of the time totally corrupted ... and when finally the masses (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?119992-The-Psychology-of-Totalitarianism) realizes what they were part of, ... the harm is already done on a massive scale.


So to stay truthful towards yourself in a time of universal deceit is not an easy task!

cheers,
John 🦜🦋🌳

[Casey Claar]

I try to be consistent with my meditation but I tend to waver or 'yo-yo', meaning sometimes I'll have a period of consistent meditation followed by a period of less meditation.

I'm just genuinely curious what you guy's meditation practice looks like. I'm trying to get motivated to get back on track, think of it like how people want to get back into exercising so they seek motivation.

As much as I advocate and talk about meditation, the most I've ever done was 15 minutes per day. However the results were incredible, so I'd love to dive back in and take it further. I can only imagine the happiness (or more importantly, contentment) this will bring me in life.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Strat

It is good you are finding ways like this to help stoke the fire.

Practice for me has been different at different stages in my life and evolution of Spiritual growth. At first, like you, I was sometimes focusing more into spiritual life, and sometimes more into physical life. This led into a phase where I felt, and very much was inclined to have the presence of the spiritual in some way, shape or form in my life daily. The practice was not always meditation, sometimes it was tratak, or breathing patterns, or asana. Study took precedence over practice in those days. I read A LOT, spiritual classics, the Vedas, Upanishads, Yoga Sutras, etc.. I sought teachers and found those I most connected with ( Sankaracharya, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna ), I studied their words and their works. I learned to enter deep contemplative states and how to bring the body-mind into pratyahara ( a deep state of peace ).

Much more was happening in all this than I realized at the time. It would take me decades to fully cognize what was happening. It was a slow g r a d u a l process. I advanced through the rungs, from a beginning, to intermediate, to advanced spiritual student. At which point I began the process of becoming a teacher myself. This is when learning really accelerated. Practice, meditation, atma vicar ( ie: self inquiry ) became not just daily but the lengths of my practices grew to be extremely long. I would sit or lay myself down, generally preferring the latter, and not feel to come out of the practice until as much as 3 hours later. This led into an awakening, an extended 4 year period of time, during which I began consciously shifting "out of body" and returning with the contents of my experiences still intact, -- and through which the meditative state, the capacity to hold synchronous states began to become my permanent state. Which leaves me where I am today.

Now when I practice I am also 'working'.. I am bringing back data from what we call the dream state, I am working with the crystal to bring through transmissions, I am hosting healing circles and group silent sitting meditations for my group, etc.. It has become my life. Right now, in your life, it probably feels right/comfortable for meditation to be in your life a certain number of days a week, and the length of the meditations may feel best left at a short period of time. It is important to feel for what feels right. So you are more apt to let it continue to be a part of your life. It takes awhile to get to the point where daily practice feels right. I might suggest to combine study and practice, and to find a variety of spiritual practices you enjoy. Gazing practices are every bit as rewarding as formal meditation. As is working with the breath. These may help keep you more motivated as well. For a long while, with me, meditating twice a week, 30 minutes each morning after getting up + 30 minutes at night before going to sleep was really nice. It was achievable long term, and I looked forward to it.

Where do you feel you are right now in the scheme of your own practice?

What feels right for you right now?

How has your mind evolved after so much meditation? Does anything really bother you anymore? I remember when I was practicing everyday it was unbelievable how things just didn't affect me as much. I had lots of 'space' to react to life, so whereas I used to have a temper I would literally giggle at the things that used to set me off.

I can only imagine what it's like after so much time as a practitioner.

And maybe offtopic, have you ever practiced yoga? I've been doing this lately but for the physical health benefits.


Hello, again, Strat.. Wow that is a really great question.

My tendency, for as long as I can remember has always been toward a meditative mind ( a neutral non-judgmental mind ), it is the more natural state for me in this incarnation. The tendency has always been toward solitude as well, toward the experience of the immediate felt presence of life itself. And, yes, that which would 'disturb' the experience disturbs me, lol. I have to work at it constantly. With age can also come pain. -- pain can also 'disturb' the experience. Such as the arthritis in my fingers, which can act up now when the weather is anything but temperate. I have what might be called an advantage over most, but for as long as we are in body we will be tested. There is no growth otherwise. The tests tend to be more, rather than less challenging. Only this will stretch us beyond our current limits. At the same time, we get better, we improve, the quality of our practice becomes increasingly more refined. We begin to notice things such as what you are. But the road is long, and there is a great stretch of it out in front of us. It begins to become alright, though, doesn't it? We begin to know it is the way home.

Have I ever practiced yoga?.. In the way you ask I think you mean asana, the body postures. Yes I discovered this when I was very young, still in the single digits, through a television program in the early 1970s called Lilias, Yoga and You ( quite well known in its day ). I began practicing the postures at that time, it was a part of my spiritual development. It is a part of what I began teaching when that time came. I was in my late 30s, approaching 40. I taught classes for years until through my awakening process, deeper consciousness states brought me to begin teaching the conscious shift, which I continue to this day. Yoga - including asana - will always be a part of my life. I never put away my yoga mat, it has a forever home laid out right where it is. This is a regular part of my life. I congratulate you for having found it. If you allow, it will carry you far.

Thank you for your reply, very interesting!

I've mentioned from time to time my past, it wasn't nice. I had/have a loving family but things happened along the road of life where I became an unhappy person (to put it gently). If I tried yoga as a child I surely would've been punished. My family, my culture (specifically where I live) encourages things that are counter intuitive a meditative mind like, drinking, fighting, drugs, etc. I wish I was like you in this sense.

I'm genuinely embarrassed and a little ashamed to say I'm basically a 'fear biter' in life. My upbringing was challenging and I still have demons that pull my strings when they get the chance. Anger, rage, deep despair, sadness, etc. In life, people don't want to hear this so I 'wear a mask' so that I can go out and live a normal life. If you met me in life, I appear to be another happy go lucky guy. Honestly that's not too far from the truth, I suppose I'm like a rubik's cube in some ways.

In the past, with my short 15 minutes of sitting quietly, all these things were gone. And they stayed away. I can't articulate how powerful this is, most people take SSRI's for this. This is what I was saying earlier, things that would bother me in the past became something where I could actually choose how I wish to react. It's great. It reminds me of something Sadhguru said (I know, I know, everyone thinks he's a clown). He said that meditation is like a toolbox with lots of tools for different applications. If you want to get to higher planes, you can do that, but if you just need relief in life all you need is a basic screwdriver and you can fix it.

EDIT: Oh and yoga. Yes I've started it a bit, I have an old book from like the '60s or '70s that a friend recommended. I think it's mostly for physical benefits, but I'd be happy to move into spiritual practice as well.


My family was a classic family of the 60s/70s, and it was broken, my parents were divorced ( not pretty ), my father was stern, and none of us had any real relationship with each other *there was dissension in the ranks, but I myself at the time did not really notice any of this. I was raised in the Las Vegas desert, which was a rowdy land back in those days, there was lots of what you mentioned, drinking, fighting, drugs, etc.. just not done by me ( not then ). Being different in such a place is not easy, is it? When I would practice I would have to hide. For one, my dad did not let us watch the television except on rare occasion. But there was an old 12" black and white buried down in the basement. I would sneak down there and hide under a big tarp where I would get into position and practice. It wasn't anything I shared with anyone --except for later with my maternal grandmother and great aunt, the latter of whom became my first Spiritual teacher. My upbringing in itself was not easy, I had deeply buried anger, that I would not discover for more than a few decades. I left home when I was just 15 years old. This said, my general outlook on life has always been very pure, I wake each morning, as they say "on the sunny side of the bed." Leaving home was a time of coming of age, I chose a new name for myself, "Casey", which is the phonetic sound of my initials, and watched myself head out.

Meditation is the cure for all that ails. The decision space you are pointing out is everything. It is also precisely what meditation is and brings back to us, the wider awareness in which we all reside. I could give an analogy. In 3D separation most people's attention will be solely focused on the field, with no attention on self ( self = consciousness, awareness ), everything is about the physical component. If I hand you a rock and ask you what you see, most people will say they see a rock. Precious few will see themself there seeing a rock. This is the difference between standard awareness, and a meditative mind, where the fields begin to be held synchronously. It is in this latter state that the decision space you mention is found. I could not agree more, that life is not LIFE without this. It is rather more akin to pure drama.



Another question for everyone:

Do you guys have like a set time you meditate? Exercise is so easy for me I don't have to think about it I just do it. Meditation is 10x more difficult and it feels like a chore. Any advice?

Set times traditionally haven't worked for me but I'll take 2 if yall think I should.


It is another good question.

The way meditation as a practice is most beneficially formatted into the day will depend upon where one is in their practice. For the beginner, the purpose of the set time is to begin to help form a pattern. The pattern is like any other, the more you repeat it the easier it gets, but in the space between day 1 and when the pattern takes hold it is a trial ( a test ), you get to work with your "stuff". Oh joy! lol. It is indeed a reward for those who have created sufficient momentum to stay the course. We are given the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of the practice. What it holds is immense, as you are beginning to know, refinement is a very large part of the process. In the beginning I chose to time mine first thing in the morning, beginning with not moving and not getting up from the bed until I first consciously noted and processed my dreams. I would then get up, prior to the sunrise, shower, put on clothing I wore solely for meditation, light a candle and begin my sit. The natural length of a practice in those days was roughly 30 minutes. The practice would conclude itself on its own, generally as the sun rose. I would then take a silent meditative walk, to be begin the process of walking the meditative state out into the world. Effortless at this time of the morning when no-one was out except me *the reason for choosing this time of day.

When I was ready I began adding the PM sit, which was far less effortless as I enjoy so diving into the depths of the dream state. This was work for me, but necessary work as I came, not far down the road to discover. Our challenges are always our best teachers. What I might suggest for you, is to begin your meditations just as you would begin your physical exercise. You get ready, in most cases for the latter ( yes? ). Generally, exercise clothing is put on, you get all your gear, there is one or more set place you perform it ( yes? ). All this preliminary ritual activity tells your mind this is something you are getting ready to DO. Treat your meditation practice the same. Chose a spot in your home that you are going to use only for meditation. Get a mat, or a cushion, keep it in this area. Lighting incense can be nice, have beeswax candles, photos of teachers, or loved ones, or symbols that inspire you. Create the space for the practice, and practice sessions will come far more easily. I might also suggest having clothing you use solely for meditation practice. My formal practice attire was a black yoga pant or short and white top. I also wore this in most cases to teach. As I would dress I was already readying myself. I was taking the practice seriously. This would open doors that might never have opened otherwise.

[Sunny-side-up]

I have never been able to meditate in the traditional sense. I have read everything I could get my hands on and spoken to so-called experts and my results were less than stellar. I was bitterly disappointed because it seemed to be so beneficial for everyone. After fairly serious surgery left me with a lifetime of pain I would go on long walks and contemplate the pain and how to control it. After a short period of time I not only learned how to control the intensity of the pain l started to learn how to eliminate the pain. It eventually dawned on me that I achieved this through meditation, not in the traditional sense but no less mediation. From there I learned I could meditate almost at will and at anytime as long I was involved in a singular activity. I have never been able to sit still and quiet my mind to meditate but I do it almost every day while engaging in my normal life.

:) No jokes please, but I can go straight into a deep, clear, calm state of mind and just hang there, then I move off into deep thought or just flow and stop when ever I want.

rgray222 I've had life long pains.
One thing I've realised is that pain is not just one condition.
Think on pain, study it, Is it hot or cold, blunt or sharp.
You can realise that pain is many feelings in one, look into the pain/s and pick the nicest part, let that part take over, bring to the top and enjoy it :sun:

[Sunny-side-up]

Me again.

Original posting by:
Special thanks to Dr. Santos Bonacci. Subscribe to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MrAstrotheology


Watch this newer version of this information.
PS: don't be put off by Elons face plastered over the vid, he is just one of many associating with this knowledge.

So once watched you can gain the best time period and daily (life) practices to meditate

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Sauce: https://www.youtube.com/@MrAstrotheology

Thanks for this post Sunny. :)

To those interested: For vastly detailed information on this topic and more things related, the mysterious 100 year old book "God-Man: The Word Made Flesh" is a great resource.

This book won't be for everyone - its sort of an interesting mix between sacred human biology, "alchemy" (in a sense), and metaphysics, based around ancient scripture and hidden religious meanings, but covers what the video relays and associated information in astonishing detail.

Here is download link for those interested: https://ia600202.us.archive.org/9/items/godmanwordmadefl00carerich/godmanwordmadefl00carerich.pdf

Great, thank you DeDukshyn, saved and will delve into :sun:

[Forever]

What really matters is the drive behind the meditation. One can meditate every day for years but with an ego which constantly seeks to achieve things. Others can meditate on and off because they are too absorbed in every day life, hence using meditation as escapism. Some people have no other option by doing it every day because they have experienced enough pain to only find solace in meditation.

This is a very interesting point of view. Worth meditating upon!

[Strat]

Chose a spot in your home that you are going to use only for meditation. Get a mat, or a cushion, keep it in this area. Lighting incense can be nice, have beeswax candles, photos of teachers, or loved ones, or symbols that inspire you. Create the space for the practice, and practice sessions will come far more easily. I might also suggest having clothing you use solely for meditation practice. My formal practice attire was a black yoga pant or short and white top. I also wore this in most cases to teach. As I would dress I was already readying myself. I was taking the practice seriously. This would open doors that might never have opened otherwise.

Ahhh this is brilliant. I can figure something out for sure.

Ok say next question for ya (and everyone else): How does diet effect your meditation? This may seem redundant, but for me if I have too much caffeine then the last thing I want to do is sit in one place and this obviously is counter intuitive. I don't eat heavy meals, but if I did that would also be an example of a counter intuitive diet since it can make you drowsy.

I would like to incorporate it with my physical exercise but that has just never worked for me. Even a daily walk seems to 'stir up' my mind. I would be able to meditate easier prior to the exercise.

[Casey Claar]

Chose a spot in your home that you are going to use only for meditation. Get a mat, or a cushion, keep it in this area. Lighting incense can be nice, have beeswax candles, photos of teachers, or loved ones, or symbols that inspire you. Create the space for the practice, and practice sessions will come far more easily. I might also suggest having clothing you use solely for meditation practice. My formal practice attire was a black yoga pant or short and white top. I also wore this in most cases to teach. As I would dress I was already readying myself. I was taking the practice seriously. This would open doors that might never have opened otherwise.

Ahhh this is brilliant. I can figure something out for sure.

Ok say next question for ya (and everyone else): How does diet effect your meditation? This may seem redundant, but for me if I have too much caffeine then the last thing I want to do is sit in one place and this obviously is counter intuitive. I don't eat heavy meals, but if I did that would also be an example of a counter intuitive diet since it can make you drowsy.

I would like to incorporate it with my physical exercise but that has just never worked for me. Even a daily walk seems to 'stir up' my mind. I would be able to meditate easier prior to the exercise.


I have written a considerable amount on this topic.

Would it be okay for me to share a link? >>>> preparing the body for the conscious shift. (https://consciousnessexploration.com/2021/10/03/preparing-the-body-for-the-conscious-obe/)

If by chance you do not like to follow links off the board, here is a cut/paste:

____________________



https://consciousnessexplorationblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/tzqulha.jpg

Preparing the Body for the Conscious OBE

Looking back into the ancient scriptures we can see there tend to be three fundamental schools of thought. The first we are quite familiar with, dualism, which at its premise sees physicality as the source reality. There is no liberation in dualism ( Dvaita ) which boldly states “physical reality is all there is”. Next we have the view of qualified non-dualism, which consents to a reality beyond physical reality, and therefore to liberation but only at the moment of death. Which brings us to Sankaracharya and absolute non-dualism, which sees the One and the all as identical and says, therefore, liberation is achievable at any moment – within the lifetime.

Well prior to reaching the point in this lifetime of shifting into what we colloquially call the out of body experience, I had intersected with the schools of thought and aligned through and through with Sankaracharya and absolute non-dualism. <— this was the priori. I chose my position. What came to me, I feel is a result of this. I chose, then heaven and earth aligned within me to bring me to the experience of what I chose. All of this is important to cognize, to not only see, for myself, but to say to anyone who may be reading… listening and taking any of this in:

Step one is to choose.

Every step here forward is only ever into what it is you have chosen – how it is you have come to align yourself. This goes for each and every one of us. Regardless of the choice made, – each and every one of which, it is equally as important to say, is in every way valid.

Whether you are chosing liberation to come at the moment of what we call ‘death’, or liberation within the lifetime, you are likely able to reach in and feel how critical it is to prepare for such a moment. – for a successful launch out into the gradient of your aim.

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In regard to the expansion of consciousness itself—the shift into what I simply call “additional consciousness space”, – going out of body – the following, for a period of time will generally be found helpful while you are:

1. Moving through fears
2. Clarifying your questions and coming into direct contact with your inner self
3. Integrating and finding avenues of expression for your experiences

Categories of Importance to Look At

Daily Routine
It is generally helpful if the foundation of your daily routine stays somewhat the same. Wake at the same time everyday, practice at a set time everyday, work, eat, go to bed at approximately the same time everyday. Along with this, get a little direct sun (minimally 30 minutes, ideally the hour into sunrise or sunset), take walks.. As much as possible, if not completely stay away from the television and newspaper. *Activities, as well as discrete things are keyed to certain frequencies, which either are, or are not in this moment keyed to the frequency which is most apt to help you explore your own consciousness via OBEs, astral projection and lucid dreaming. Keep this in mind and from within you, in this moment feel if the frequency is in or out of synch.

Diet; Food and Water
Hydration is of the utmost importance -almost more than any other single thing it is important to be sure you are sufficiently hydrated. As an example, I have to drink a minimum of 1 gallon of water a day to stay hydrated and to go out of body on a regular basis. The conscious shift takes up more of your body’s water. This amount is not set, it may vary and change over time depending on the frequency at which you are going out. It was approximately this for the 3-4 years additional [kundalini] energy began working through my field and I was going out multiple times weekly. Bless your water, store and drink it from glass rather than plastic. My suggestion for foods are: high raw, all organic, juicing/liquid meals, ‘green’ protein (which unlike meat is easily digestible, immediately bioavailable), stop eating 3-4 hours before going to bed. As much as possible, if not completely stay away from alcohol, caffeine, and sugar.

Hygiene
It may seem odd at first, how the idea of hygiene could play a role in not only the ability to go out of body, but also in the deflecting of ‘negative’ types of experience, however once you begin ‘going out’ the correlation is indeed made. There are implications with the kundalini as well, in regard to alterations taking place in the physical system. Suggestions: nightly baths before bed, skin brushing, periodic colon and liver cleanses.

Sleep Space
When it comes to experiences like OBEs your sleep and practice space areas are deserving of high attention. Suggestions: keep them clean and uncluttered, low light at night prior to bed (beeswax candles are great), sage and mugwort smudge if it seems conducive. The use of sound, wind and crystals is also helpful. Do this with the intent to clean and clear the space.

Practices
Prior to experiences like OBEs, lucid dreams and ‘kundalini’ type energy sensations through the body while awake, which bring on what are commonly referred to as ‘ascension’ symptoms, spiritual practices are necessary. As a general rule, however, once symptomatic all practices should cease. If continued they can intensify symptoms to the point of being highly uncomfortable and even damaging. My suggestions for practices prior to symptoms are: meditation, savasana (horizontal relaxation pose), tratak (conscious gazing), breathing patterns, binaurals, and restorative yoga poses to help the additional energy move more smoothly through the physical system. My suggestions once symptoms begin: bodywork/massage, salt baths, daily walks (barefoot if possible), restorative body movements, conscious breathing, gardening, growing your own organics, anything that puts you in touch with nature.

General Guidelines for Tratak—

candle flame gazing at night to get started; 2 minutes unless eyes water sooner, close eyes and rest; 2 weeks
candle flame gazing at night (sequentially building toward 10 minutes, close eyes and rest; indefinite
eyes closed sun gazing at sunrise or sunset; 7 consecutive days then discuss
eyes open sun gazing; 10 seconds to 1 minute…to proceed as individually appropriate

Technique

Wake Back to Bed; Sleep Pattern Interruption; Move to Practice Space

Tools

Daily Practice, Daily Journaling
Binaurals, Isochronic Tones

*
*

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Hm.. I don't know why the video won't embed. I am sure I am doing it right.

[Strat]

Do you mean your youtube video? I see it. And thanks very much!

[Casey Claar]

Do you mean your youtube video? I see it. And thanks very much!


Oh yes, there it is, it wasn't showing up on my screen for the longest time. It's there now.

The mysteries worked their magic. lol

I hope what is there is helpful.

[palehorse]

You can meditate when going to work, when in the shower, when going to bed, when eating, when taking the commuter.. the possibilities are endless. You don't need a ritual for that, Buddha was against any sort of ritual or ceremony, or images or candles, flowers, incense, name it.. he was not in favor and never encouraged such activities, those who did are the institutions of man.

Just keep it simple, because that is exactly what it is, a simple path.. a very humble one.


This was the first thing mentioned in my favorite documentary, Amongst White Clouds. There is a Zen master gardening along side his students. It's a lot of work and he said something along the lines of what you're saying.
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This is the entire documentary, click at the 6minuite mark if you're curious of his exact words.

Basically he says what you said, it's not just sitting down. I just recently bought this on Amazon, it's been remastered and with better subtitles anyway...

I believe it, but this is something I have not yet been able to apply in my life. When I garden it's caffeine (sometimes beer) and talk radio. I would like to be at the point where I'm just content doing what I'm doing with a clear mind and contentment. Do you (all) think this is something I have to work up to so to speak, or should I just do it.

I'm thinking like when exercising, you don't try to lift heavy right away, or get the fastest mile time without practice. It's best to work up to it or you can do harm than good.


Hi Strat, I loved that documentary too, another pearl I would like to recommend is "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" it is a South Korean movie from 2003, great message. Also traveller & magicians from Buthan is another great one with simple but very strong message.

You can just do it, every time you remember to observe the feelings that arise, develop and die in our minds.., really just observe it, with time it become an habit, repeat it long enough and it become part of you :)

Sometimes I feel anger and the very same moment I observe it, the entire thing just evaporate from my mind, sometimes I don't even remember what the anger was all about.

Anything that arises in the mind can be observed, all sensations too.. sometimes the personality (the many we all have, some don't even know they have more than one), the many I's with in ourselves, they are there fighting constantly to see who take over who.. the moment you observe it, there is no I in the game anymore, as I said it evaporates.

Hope that helps a bit.

[andrebnu]

Another question for everyone:

Do you guys have like a set time you meditate? Exercise is so easy for me I don't have to think about it I just do it. Meditation is 10x more difficult and it feels like a chore. Any advice?

Set times traditionally haven't worked for me but I'll take 2 if yall think I should.

No hard set times, but definitely it´s worth to keep your practices within the so-called power hours of your day (max 1 hour after you wake up, 1 hour before going to sleep).

specially early in the morning, before breakfast, I enjoy it the most. Looks like that´s when I have the most profound inner connections, and have a more lasting effect throughout my day