Meditating simply

[Anchor]

There has been a thread about wanderers in which I mentioned about meditation.
A couple of people have mentioned that they have problems getting started, others have tried different systems.

I am not an expert in this, but I do think a separate thread to talk about meditation is required.

I will tell you what I have learned about meditation in as simple form as I can.

1) You have to do it
2) No one will do it for you
3) Regular daily practise is essential for rapid progress
4) There are as many ways to meditate as there are people on the planet!
5) There are good systems that work for many people
6) There are systems that don’t work so well for many people (but still work for some people)
7) You can make up your own system, but it is often a good idea to try a mainstream system and see how you go – to get started
8) There are some common themes in common meditation wisdom: breathing is important and deserves focus; silence is very handy; thoughts are ok, watch them as an observer
9) Very many mediators’ encounter layers of experience, the more you do the deeper you can go.
10) Teachers are useful. When you need them, you will get them – so don’t worry about this

If you have nowhere to start, allow me to make a suggestion that could at least get you past the first hurdles. This is how I do it. Even doing all this can be a real drama for some people - it was for me to start with ;)

a) Get up at the same time each day, then before you eat....
b) Sit in a chair (obviously there are many postures you can use, I find just sitting on a firm chair with my back upright is just fine)
c) Shut your eyes - relax
d) Breath
e) Mentally express gratitude for the day
f) Ask for blessing , protection and guidance for this day
g) Keep Breathing (not joking here, pay attention to it)
h) Observe your mind at work
i) Keep going

Your objective is ultimately to calm your mind. Dont worry about that though, get your rhythm working, and then where you go from there is down to you.

If you do this for a few weeks, even for as little as 5mins per day, you will probably start encountering some useful synchronicities in your life that will point you in the right direction.

Meditation is essential. If you don't meditate, please give it a try.

If you are well enough situated in life that you have the means to read this forum, then I would say it is a fair chance that the life your super-conscious self (or higher self) has created for you has afforded you the means and opportunity to meditate - generally there are no exceptions to this! No excuses - if you are not meditating or at least trying you are handicapping yourselves.

Please if you are having problems with your meditating, post them up here and let people help.

Keep it as simple as possible.

John..

--

[2/April/2013 - I made a subtle change to this post. Fixed some spelling and made a change to where I said the objective was to bring everything to a still focus. I find that was not strictly accurate.]

[kriya]

Excellent post, thank you John.

I would add.......

Watch your breath as if an observer.

Concentrate your attention at the point between the eyebrows (as this is the where the third eye is located).

Use a mantra (which requires a teacher) or chant om or AUM mentally.

http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/meditation.aspx?id=120


Love,

Kriya

[illuminate]

Absolutely EXCELLENT John!
Thank you!!!

:love:

[kriya]

http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/meditation.aspx?id=120

[theguardian]

Hi John Thanks for Sharing,
This is just my Experience with meditation , Most of the time when i meditate , i lay in bed and i use headphone for some binaural beats,
Few times happen to me , That i get some sort of Sleep Paralysis and i was still concious Or sort of Nerve & Muscle Contraction all around my body (Its Like i feel the flow of energy ).
I dont know if im doing it good or not.

[Ammit]

I would like to add if I may, Visualisation. Imagine looking at yourself in a mirror, a full reflected image. Practice filling in all the details.
I do this and am able to zoom in and out, swirl the image around etc.
I have read that achieving this takes your mind away from the subconcious suggestions buried deep within????
Dont know about that but, i feel heaps relaxed after doing it.

[Elandiel BernElve]

Thanks:) You remind me of something that is so easily forgotten

Imagine yourself as a source of light might help as well too
Do this humbly, by acknolidging that you are but a little sparkle in contrast to our source, but a spiritual light you are

[Anchor]

What could be simpler than just sitting there and shutting up for a while. Everyone has their little twists and extra methods to add - but what works for one is not necessarily best for all.

I think some of the meditation methods around are perpetrated by TPTW in order to render the process less effective.

For this reason you must follow your own inner guidance.

Don't trust me or anyone else on this thread.

However, do try it - otherwise you won't see for yourself how powerful a bit of daily meditation can be.

Having slept on this, I realise I forgot to say about why its important to meditate.

As I understand it the main objective is to achieve mental clarity so that the connection between you and "higher self" works better.

John..

[Arpheus]

Concentrate your attention at the point between the eyebrows (as this is the where the third eye is located).So true kriya,funny i have always used that technique intuitively,it helps me keep a real strong point of focus pretty much at all times,i also try to do it under the sunlight on an open area near nature be a park or some place similar,thats just my thing tho,i like feeling the sun energy entering my body it makes me feel really good in the process,if you cant be outdoors then use your imagination to create that atmosphere i bet it helps and not hard to create it in your mind hehe.Thanks John for reminding people of such a beautiful an amazing tool thats always at your disposal,remember all you have to do is ask,remember the old saying ask and it shall be given?Be one with your Higherself ,bcs he always with you even if you dont feel it that way,trust me you dont have to reach too far for it just ask and it will come :biggrin1:

[Teakai]

Sometimes, when I meditate - I forget to breath.
Does this happen to anyone else?

[Etherios]

Sometimes, when I meditate - I forget to breath.
Does this happen to anyone else?

i think thats when you fall asleep but dont realize that you did... then "wake up" and you have to take a big breath... Your mind is thinking and you dont realize when you have fallen asleep or if this is truely sleep state. it has happened to me alot of times...

[Wood]

Sometimes, when I meditate - I forget to breath.
Does this happen to anyone else?

It has happened to me. It is not 'falling asleep' (at least in my case) but suddenly realising that it has been longer than usual since the last breath (like twice or three times as long). Now I am trying to pay more attention to breathing in a deep and regular manner while doing meditation.

[Caren]

Thank you John for this post, and everyone for all the helpful tips. I'm going to make a more serious effort
to meditate daily. Thanks again for the encouragement.Peace,
caren

[monique]

Hello. I am not an expert but I would like to remember, especially for those who are starting to make meditation that hard drugs and excessive consumption of alcohol - even days after ingestion prevented from reaching a meditative state. Hanging over the person may think that meditation is not an ideal state because he or she can not achieve the true state of meditation. It's worth staying clean and sober to get into a meditative state. It's an incredible experience. And every day we become stronger and more productive in every way. Forgive my English. Monique.

[morguana]

Meditation on Demand (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=meditation-on-demand)
New research reveals how meditation changes the brain

By Peter B. Reiner


In the fall of 2005, the Dalai Lama gave the inaugural Dialogues between Neuroscience and Society lecture at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, DC. There were over 30,000 neuroscientists registered for the meeting, and it seemed as if most of them attended the talk. The Dalai Lama’s address was designed to highlight the areas of convergence between neuroscience and Buddhist thought about the mind, and to many in the audience he clearly achieved his objective. There was some controversy over his being invited to deliver this lecture insofar as he is both a head of state and a religious leader, and for that reason he largely stuck to his prepared text. But he strayed from the text at least once, reminding the audience that not only was he a Buddhist monk but also an enthusiastic proponent of modern technology.

Dalai Lama's brain challenge produces split decision (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17043-dalai-lamas-brain-challenge-produces-split-decision.html)
New Scientist

the easyest meditation technique, i find is simply following the breath nothing else..... not doing any particular pattern, just allowing observation of the breath. every time the mind wanders just gently without effort bring it back.

[Anchor]

Sometimes, when I meditate - I forget to breath.
Does this happen to anyone else?

Yes - its common and has happened to me. That is one of the reasons you need to pay attention to it! Once you get the habits correct it will go away.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apnea

In very advanced forms of pranayama meditation you actually do something like this on purpose - but you are not, you are doing it by accident and sooner or later the bodies safety systems will interrupt you, make you breath sharply and this will interfere with the state you wanted to be in.

John..

[Teakai]

Thanks people for the responses about forgetting to breath.

I wonder if I have sleep apnoea now. I figure if I do it while awake, I probably do it while asleep - though if I do I don't wake up when I start breathing again.

Don't know if this will post - my internet connection is being temperamental (again).

[Anchor]

Those of you not meditating, please re-consider :)

I won't deny this was a shameless bump, but a few people have asked about meditation in the mega-threads and so I wanted to dig up a thread that we could carry on talking about it.

Gripreaper made a great post here http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?10620-EVOLUTION-A-clarifying-post-on-behalf-of-Charles&p=93291&viewfull=1#post93291 , that thread is closed and to save you looking here is the post...


Well, some simple suggestions are pretty basic. Clean water, energized food, a daily detox protocol, and aerobic exercise and a spiritual practice. I use MMS as my daily detox protcol and I use Activator X to decalcify my pineal gland. This is called "preparing the space" by most avatars.

What I like to do is go for a walk before I meditate. I tell my conscious mind that the "walk" is for him, and he can chatter and ramble on the entire walk, but when we get home and I sit down to meditate, he must shut up(the ego graybeard speaks of). What spiritual practice you choose is a matter of choice. All roads eventually lead to Rome as the saying goes.

Energy follows awareness, or what you put your attention on, you become. When I prepare the space in meditation, I "create" a sacred column of energy around my aura, place my body, my soul, my higher self and my I AM presence in the column. This keeps out any energies that you do not intend. Later as you get more proficient you can invite the energies present that you want into the column. I consciously breathe through the heart on the inbreath, breathe in the cosmos, and on the outbreath anchor to the center of the earth. This connects me to the terrestial energy. I also do this through my crown and connect to the celestial energy, back and forth. I continue this until my I AM is fully connected to the great central sun. Once the colors emerge in my minds eye and the white light dove begins to spiral and my mind is completely silent, I do nothing but sit and be.

What your experience will be at this point is different for each soul, depending on their path and their karma and their intention. Rest assured that the dross will burn in the phoenix fire and the kundalini will enter and fill that space. Trust and let go.

[smig]

I came across a very simple yet powerful course on meditating that will only take 8 minutes of your day and if you are a complete novice (like me) over the space of eight weeks will give you the tools to create peace/change.
I am half way through the course and already am feeling more centered/calm and positive about things, my usually very active mind seems so much quieter but clearer.

I read the first weeks instructions (breathe awareness) got up at five every morning and set the timer for eight Min's (doesn't time fly in meditation, :), the other thing that i became very aware of is just how much our mind chatters away all the time, i never shut up :)

Week two was about External awareness (not much happening at five in the morning, lol)

Week three, Body awareness, Don't we make some noises, churning creaking etc.... you get the picture!

Week four is all about the peace/stillness between the thoughts, this week i feel that i have found something powerful within that peace, very hard for me to explain, can't wait for week five.
The hardest part for me now is not peeking at the instructions for the weeks ahead :)

If you haven't given meditation a try then please do.

Kind regards

Steve

[Garry Irwin]

Thanks to all above for the advice and encouragement about meditation...
I can obviously see the benefits it has for peace of mind and awareness, but every attempt so far has just ended in sleep.
It's plain to see I've not been out of the sheep pastures for long enough, huh?
Given time, I'm sure its possible and I keep telling myself I'm on the right road now, so you guys will be the first to know when I finally do achieve a meditative state.
Thanks again

[conk]

I've just found a great guided meditation called the Tao Dropdown Meditation, by The Barefoot Doctor. He guides you to find the little Buddha sitting in the middle of your head, peering out at an infinitely distant star inside your head. Your breath becomes a tiny thread of gold being pulled in and out gently. I rotate this among others that suit me.

John, you are so right about having to meditate. It is essential. 90-95% of all dis-ease is caused by stress (See Dr. Bruce Lipton, among others). Meditation mitigates the stress very well. Our minds are running marathon after marathon, so to speak, and never rest. It's a deadly game where a negative outcome is certain.

I've only begun to meditate seriously in the last year. I've had two wonderful experiences and look to have many more. One glorious experience was ruined by fear that I could not "come back to my body". After having that fear I had to ask, "where was I if I was fearful of being lost"? Another time I felt completely integral to the vast Awareness that is the field. It lasted about 15 seconds. I lost it by thinking about how wonderful it was. I just needed to simply enjoy and be it. I'm learning and look forward to much progress.

[Anchor]

Thanks to all above for the advice and encouragement about meditation...
I can obviously see the benefits it has for peace of mind and awareness, but every attempt so far has just ended in sleep.
It's plain to see I've not been out of the sheep pastures for long enough, huh?
Given time, I'm sure its possible and I keep telling myself I'm on the right road now, so you guys will be the first to know when I finally do achieve a meditative state.
Thanks again

Well if you are really gung-ho you could try this http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?4165-Cold-showers!

LOL

[Hummingbird]

Deep meditation brings catharsis up, or shadow material that needs to be dealt with. Most people can't sit still for a few minutes so if you can higher your thresh hold by keeping your breath in the same pattern it transfers into your daily life and creates a higher thresh hold for everything.

A couple things I have found very useful but sometimes challenging( thats when you know the meditation is really working) when you breath threw the moments of overwhelm in your mediation it open's up new neurological pathways in the brain, and creates brain synchronization.

Breathing: Inhale slowly and deep( you still want it to be a natural deep breath not a forced one) into the belly threw nose, count one, exhale.. next breath count two, all the way till ten, how long it takes doesnt matter, and repeat till you desire. This is a exercise helps in practice of keeping the mind from wondering and staying focused on the breathing.

James from wingmakers showed me the Quantum pause, which is inhale for 3-4 seconds depending on level of deep breathing you are at, then hold for same amount of time, the exhale for the exact same 3-4 seconds( let you intuition guide you) then hold with no air for same time, breath normally and comfortably for 2 minutes or so, or like 20 breath cycles.

I got introduced to meditation by Bill Harris founder of centerpointe research institute and Holosync utilizing carrier frequencies and bianural* beats amonst other things. I have noticed a significant difference all walks of life, for instance I train martial arts and love jiu jitsu(submission grappling) havnt been going to any gym's but when I grapple people that train regularly or have more experience I hold my own or I end up tapping someone out alot. It has increased my awareness to see the submission's position's etc. People ask why are you so fluent and relaxed, I tell them meditation they don't believe.

Bill Harris In my opinion is one of the foremost leaders in meditation, making it practical, giving fast results while also giving his speak cd's which have so much great teaching.

Hormone optimization: Hormone function and how much it affects are daily life is overlooked. Besides diet, exercise, weight bearing exercise ( kettlebells being one of the best IMO) stress management plays a huge part in optimizing your hormones. and it is not the kind of stress but just how you manage it, there has been study's done that show that a house wife can have a higher level of stress then a soldier in Iraq who seen his friend die a week before. So it is not the type of stress but how you manage it and meditation helps in that area like no other

Be well

Truth Nectar

[Hiram]

Great Thread!

@ Humming bird.

I too practice Quantum Pause. Learning to control the mind...control your thoughts is very important. An undisciplined mind is a reactive thing, like a skittish horse. It can't be controlled and so you are at the mercy of it's every whim. You ARE NOT YOUR MIND though most are subject to it. Its the machine you must learn to master.

Watching your thoughts will help.

[StephenW11UK]

Thank you John, your recommendations are simple and easy to follow for anyone new to this. So, would-be meditators, take them seriously.

Just a few variations/alternatives that may appeal to the real beginner:

(a) not less that an hour after a full meal
(b) any position you feel comfortable in - even curled up in a foetal position in bed!
(c) any time of the day
(d) just as in Tai Chi, yoga etc. breathing gently and smoothly is extremely important
(e) focus on your breathing and, when the thoughts start drawing your attention away, focus again on your breath
(f) just watch your thoughts - as though from a distance
(g) common 'problems' - although definitely not the most useful way to describe them:

(1) a non-stop train of thought, falling asleep, fidgeting, bodily discomfort, noises, things you 'have to' get done
(2) rule1 (also rule 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on): don't beat yourself up when things don't go as you want them to
(3) if you do, you're fighting against the system, you're self-sabotaging
(4) just gently let go of anything, anything at all, that you become aware of and focus again on your breath
(5) <== that IS meditating
(6) with practice you'll find that dealing caringly with distractions is the doorway into deeper meditation
(6) in this present time cycle, leading up to and beyond 2012, there are forces/energies, never before so active, at work - you might refer to them as an impulse of Creation - and, even without any effort on our part to attract them to us, they are guiding us toward the realisation of our full potential as human beings. Worth keeping in mind, perhaps.

[Anchor]

On the problem of falling asleep: some postures are more prone to makeing this worse. If it is a problem for you, avoid postures like lying down, or those that have the head supported. Meditating after you get up will help, as you will have had your sleep already.

[Jonathon]

Thanks to all above for the advice and encouragement about meditation...
I can obviously see the benefits it has for peace of mind and awareness, but every attempt so far has just ended in sleep.
It's plain to see I've not been out of the sheep pastures for long enough, huh?
Given time, I'm sure its possible and I keep telling myself I'm on the right road now, so you guys will be the first to know when I finally do achieve a meditative state.
Thanks again

I found it helpful to follow the advice of Alan Watts and use a 'sitting on heels' posture (imagine knees on ground, rear end planted on your heels). This was very helpful to me - I always fell asleep! The posture takes some getting used to... helps to put a pillow below your knees and also between your legs and butt =)

For those looking to add some flavor to their routine, I recommend trying The Inner Guide Meditation - book found HERE (http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Guide-Meditation-Spiritual-Technology/dp/0877286574/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294981743&sr=8-1).

[jeannacav]

Thank you, John... this is a great thread.

I have not seen the following suggestion yet, and I would like to add this, please

In your breathing, count heartbeats, rather than seconds.
It can take a few breaths to settle, but when it does, you have a strong platform developed to continue meditating.

I learned this concept when I used the 'journey to the wild divine' game. I noticed many of the levels were having me breathe with my heartbeat.

The range seemed to be 3 or 4 or 5 heartbeats per breath... oh and I think there was a 7 too in the beginning.

Anyway for the novice, it gives a little something for the mind to do which ends up settling it a bit.

Thank you everyone, I have enjoyed the other suggestions.

jeanna

[Tea]

Well, here is how I do it, for anyone it may help. I don't consider myself an expert either. My experience with meditation has been on and off; right now im back on. ;)

This is not to be read as the correct way to meditate. It is the way that has worked best for me.

After writing this I'm thinking it may not qualify as 'meditating simply', but since I already wrote it, here goes. :p



Before You Begin

1. Empty Stomach. It's best to meditate on an empty stomach.

2. Duration. Determine how long will you meditate for. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 1 hour, etc. Personally, I prefer to meditiate without being timed. I just end the meditation when I feel the time is right. This also eliminates problems such as wondering how much time is remaining.

3. Intent. It is a good idea to determine your intent before beginning, but not necessary.



Posture

4. Posture. Sit Cross Legged. Regular, lotus, or half lotus. If your knees do not touch the ground, sit on a cushion. I recommend your knees touch the ground.

5. Spine/Back. Make your back as straight as you can without straining it. To do this, focus on the crown chakra (that spot on top of your head near the rear where hair goes out in every direction) and imagine a string pulling you upwards from there, or, alternatively, you can push upwards from that area.

6. Chin. Tuck your chin slightly inwards, towards the body.

7. Hands. Several options.

i. Palms on you knees, fully relaxed.
ii. Back of your hands resting on your knees while holding your thumbs and middle fingers together lightly
iii. Hold your hands in a bowl position near your lower stomach, either crossing you fingers together or one hand on top of the other, and have your thumb tips touching together.
iv. Put your palms flat on the floor on each side of you in a relaxed manner. No guarantees here, this is my own custom one.


8. Eyes. Look a few feet, or a bit less than a meter, in front of you. Close your eyes but not entirely. Make sure your eyes are just slightly open, so that you can barely notice they are still open. This helps keep one of the chi channels open.

9. Tongue. Place the tip of your tongue at the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. This helps the chi flow through your body.

10. Mouth. Your mouth should also be just slightly open. If too much saliva accumulates, focus on swallowing it down to just below the navel. To your dan tian, if you know what that is. Do not to make this into a habbit, do it only if necessary.



Getting Started

11. Breathe. Begin breathing naturally, in a relaxed manner. All breathing will be done through the nose.

12. Relax. Start focusing on relaxing your entire body. This will allow the chi to flow much better. If you are new, you will begin to notice that there a many subtle tensions held within the body. Begin by relaxing your face, and then shoulders. Relax your entire stomach. Relax your knees and your wrists. Relax your rectum. Relax your throat. Pay attention to areas around your eyes, nose, and mouth as well. You may find this a little difficult at first but you will get better at it. As you are meditating, you may begin to notice that you can relax further. Sometimes fears will arise while doing this. I believe tensions in our body are largly the result of holding onto different fears.

13. Breathing Technique. I prefer using the even-breath-in-even-breath-out technique. The duration of the in-breath and out-breath are the same. Your breath should flow naturally, like water, without pause, totally relaxed. At first your breaths may be short and shallow. Ideally you want long, smooth, deep breaths, but do not try to force this, it will come naturally with practice.

14. Attention to Breath. You can either place your attention at the tip of your nose or you can follow the breath as it enters and exits the body.

15. Flow of Breath. When breathing in, start by filling in the belly area, then the chest area, and finally the throat area. When breathing out, exhale from the throat area, then the chest area, and finally the stomach area. This motion will become natural with practice and will not require attention.



During Meditation

16. Thoughts. While breathing you will begin to notice thoughts arising. Don't let this bother you, all is well. I put thoughts into two general categories.

i. Thoughts that distract you from focusing on the breath. Example1, 'What will I eat tonight?'. Example2, daydreaming.
ii. Thoughts that give rise to strong emotions. Example, past realtionship breakup.


17. Dealing With Thoughts.

i. Thoughts that distact you. When a distracting thought arises you may not notice it at first. When you do become aware of one, just gentilly return to the breath. Do not get frustrated if your mind wanders; just remember that every time you return to the breath you are increasing your ability to focus on the breath and calm the mind.

ii. Thoughts that give rise to strong emotions. Usually these will be negative emotions, if it is a positive one, you may wish to pause and appreciate the feeling, but do not allow it to distract you, gentilly return to the breath. I prefer do deal with strong negative emotions purly in the realm of feeling. At first, the thought will appear, and then a strong negative feeling will arise with it. Once you recognize this, discard the thought and switch your attention purely to the feeling that has risen. Do not judge it.

You will notice that it will arise from one of the three lower chakra centers (it has never happened otherwise for me). Focus on the area it is coming from. While breathing inward, bring rise to the feeling/vibration and gentilly begin to bring it upwards into the heart chakra. When the feeling/vibration reaches the heart chakra, begin to nourish it, care for it, smile at it (not physically) or something along those lines. The vibration may begin to move upwards from there, that is fine, allow it to flow naturally. Once you feel the negativity has passed, gentilly return to the breath.


18. Focus on the Breath. You will become better at focusing on the breath for longer durations without distraction, and eventually you will reach a state where you are purly focused on the breath. With experience, arriving at this state will become easier.

19. Automated Breath. After some time of pure focus on the breath it will become automated. This is where you will begin to transcend the mind. You may notice vibrations occuring throughout your body, and you may start to see colours appearing.

To be honest, this is about as far as I have gone so far, so I can no longer explain. It may be best that way from here onwards anyways.


20. Ending Meditation. When you end your meditation session, do not get up right away and start attending something. Allow yourself to smoothly come back to the waking state. The idea is to eventually transfer the calm mind of the meditation state into your daily life.


Tip: Do not always expect progress to be linear. Often, as your ability increases, greater challanges will be presented to you, so this may be viewed as a positive thing.

[Anchor]

Tea, that post is great. Meditation can be as simple as sitting down, relaxing and "going there" - but it takes a fair bit of practise for people to get so its that easy. The more of everyone's methods we share the better it will be for people to pick something they think will work for them.

If you find you are really having trouble after about 2 weeks - even trying to write down what you are experiencing can be a great way to start to resolve it. If you are brave post here. I bet there are hundreds of competent meditators on this forum that can help.

[FJMcD]

Thank you so much. It really is amazing that I ask questions and login to this wonderful forum and there is an answer for me to review. I am very new here and want to say to you all how much love I feel when I read your words. Love to you all.

Frankie Jane

[sheddie]

:bump:

Thanks John

Great post and so very true, thanks for reminding me :o

x

[finally there!!!]

all brilliant posts thanks for all the helpful tips people!!!! lots of love

[Charlie Pecos]

Thank you John for creating this thread, and thank you to all who have posted here.

I have been searching for this information and you all bring such simplicity and

clarity to this subject. Ask and you shall receive! Love to you all!

[JohnBlues]

Just want to add extra thanks in writing as well as pushing the Thank button (of which i've used on alot of posts in this thread!), this is what finally got me to actually give it a go, I've been reading various things and I kept saying to myself "I'm not ready yet" or "I'm too busy, maybe I'll try tomorrow" and various other excuses, but this gave me nice simple to follow instructions and gave me the push I needed.

Does anyone use what Eckhart Tolle mentions in his book about focusing attention as if it's a ball of light at various parts of your body and moving them along your arms, legs, torso, head etc? I find I can do it and I can sense tingling or light sensation where I'm focusing on but when moving the focus or "ball of light" it's very slow going, i.e. at a few centimetres every 10 seconds or so. Maybe I have too much expectation.

[3optic]

Simplest traditional meditation I know is Zazen or "just sitting."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsFlrdXVFgo

If t's too difficult to go into lotus position, crossed legs or "easy pose" is fine.

Also look up "beginners mind"

[Anchor]

Does anyone use what Eckhart Tolle mentions in his book about focusing attention as if it's a ball of light at various parts of your body and moving them along your arms, legs, torso, head etc? I find I can do it and I can sense tingling or light sensation where I'm focusing on but when moving the focus or "ball of light" it's very slow going, i.e. at a few centimetres every 10 seconds or so. Maybe I have too much expectation.

Cool I use that technique for self healing sometimes. I didnt learn it from Eckhart Tolle.

Essentially what is going on here is based on the maxim "There is nothing in the manifest universe but energy, Energy follows thought"

If you get into good practise you can make balls of light outside your body and chuck them about. If you have a partner doing this, you can play catch :)

[bilko]

Hi John Thanks for Sharing,
This is just my Experience with meditation , Most of the time when i meditate , i lay in bed and i use headphone for some binaural beats,
Few times happen to me , That i get some sort of Sleep Paralysis and i was still concious Or sort of Nerve & Muscle Contraction all around my body (Its Like i feel the flow of energy ).
I dont know if im doing it good or not.
HIMate,
Binaural beats are usually used in conjunction with trying to astrally project.
Sleep paralysis is what happens sometimes when one is re-entering their body but doesn't connect back up properly so to speak, if this happens try and snooze for a few minutes and reawake again after that.

It sounds to me that because you are lying down and using the beats, the body is falling asleep while the mind is awake resulting in trying to OBE.

Try and sit up in a chair and center yourself so energy can run through your chakras. Then relax, inhale through the mouth so the belly expands and exhale through the nose a few times.

After you have oxygenated your lungs with a few deep breaths continue to breathe normally.

Then follow John's instructions.

Good luck

[bilko]

Sometimes, when I meditate - I forget to breath.
Does this happen to anyone else?

It has happened to me. It is not 'falling asleep' (at least in my case) but suddenly realising that it has been longer than usual since the last breath (like twice or three times as long). Now I am trying to pay more attention to breathing in a deep and regular manner while doing meditation.
On the odd occasion that i try meditation Or being quiet as i call it, it is the silence after the exhale that is divine. The pause between breaths.

I get lost in it sometimes and a few seconds can seem like half a minute of bliss. For me the space between breaths is so important, i am nothing and everything in that moment.

[linz2d]

Well I started meditating about five months ago, I use a type of open eye meditation which is improvised somewhat and now I am at the stage where every time I meditate I see swirls and patterns of moving violet color in my field of vision. It does take a while to get to that state but I find every time I do meditate I get there faster. I want to advance, I want to meditate for an hour at least but I'm lucky if I hit 35min as I always come up against the same problem... a dead leg. :(

Anyone have any advice on how to avoid it? I usually sit in half lotus.

[Anchor]

I always come up against the same problem... a dead leg.

Anyone have any advice on how to avoid it? I usually sit in half lotus.

Sit on a chair instead.

Lotus positions are useful for people who do not have chairs to sit on :)

[Ross]

Great thread John.

Thank you.

In this current enviroment (in particular) I would suggest all to take note of this excellent thread.

[Pharaohs Maze]

An Introduction To Meditation

The difficulty with trying to learn to meditate is having to wade through the endless stream of dogma which procceeds the actual practice and only serves to confound any earnest newcomer... Meditation is an unequivically unique proccess which leads to highly bespoke results.
With that said once the practice is underway and a person has become familiar with his or her own proccess he or she may well find parallels and similarities within various written works and ones own experience.

Preparations


Allow yourself 1 hours meditation each day if possible.

Set an Alarm to exit your meditation... this is a good tip! Firstly it commits you to the time you have designated for yourself and secondly it allows you to forget about how long youve been meditating for during your practice!

Warm the body... A hot shower before begining is a good idea ... ironically a cold shower can also create the desired effect upon the bodies energy.

Wear very loose clothing or simply a sheet or quilt to stay warm during practice.

Sit or lay comfortably... Symmetry is good is a good starting point...Perhaps I should emphasise that comfort is key. I have noticed that many people become very concerned about achieving a certain posture. If it is not your normal custom to sit cross legged within your normal daily life then I would advise you not insist on meditating that way, otherwise im afraid all you will achieve is a strain to the legs and not a moments meditation.


The Practice

1. Bring your attention to your body, letting go of any tensions... begin with the feet, calfs, knees, thighs, buttocks, hips, genitalia, lower stomach, lower back, solar plexus, the chest, the spine, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, neck, back of the skull, jaw, inner ear, eyes, brow...etc.
What we are doing here is tuning directly into our bodies source consciousness, we are not concerned at all with the mind, the mind has been warpped and conditioned and programmed by society and our environment, and cannot see much of reality anymore, best to pay it no attention just now. We are just watching the body and gently encouraging, finally allowing the body to let go of the tension we have given to it. The body is very old and very wise and despite the minds fragmented delusions of grandeur, the body is still connected to the powers of nature and true consciouness. Once we can tune our mind into the enegy of the body, then we can know our spirit selves.

Repeat the scan twice more from toes to head, spend more time at places in the body that feel fightening or uncomfortable and just reasure that place by creating a feeling of safety in that place...Its ok to feel afraid or annoyed or hatred or pain or discomfort or anything you think you dont want to feel...probably because weve heard that meditation is all about feeling wonderful. Its really not.

2. Once you have completed the initial scan x 3, you may be feeling as though your body is as heavey as lead and feeling perfectly comfortable... or you may be ready to tear your own skin off in torment...either way doesnt really matter... the point is that you are tuning-in to the intimacy of your own bodies energy. If you happen to be feeling very agitated, thats fine, just bring your attention to exactly where the agitation is within your body and watch it, examin it stay with it, allow it to do what it wants to do and give support with your focused attention. It will eventually come to rest and resolve itself. There will come a point where your body feels heavey as a stone and still as a lake or perhaps a kind of gentle paralysis. Cogratulations you just saved some money on therepy bills or medicine!

This is stage one of this meditation and it is a very powerfull practice, it tunes the mind to watch in an attentive and commited manner, it results in self-trust which is essencial for the next step.
If this technique is practiced for two to four months the body will eventually begin to settle into stillness within 5 and 15 mins...
I can happily suggest a further stage of this meditation if anyone is interested, however i believe it would become naturaly apparent to anyone who is practicing this for an appropriet amount of time.


Final Note

There is so much talk of the joys of meditation... usually by those who have very little experienced of it! Yet I would suggest that the joys are revealed in proportion to the hard work paid into the practice. Meditation reveals many things, and its not all joyous, some of it is filled with anger or pain or worse. Yet some of it reveals a liberation which i could not possibly begin to describe in words.We humans have done tourturous things to our own spirits in order to enslave ourselves in the way we are now on this planet. Meditation is just a word... a little pompous word that means nought... What matters is our ability to look at ourselves both in darkness and in light and let it all go.

[ouporblowup]

well now i dont have any excuses anymore.

thanks for the thread its never sounded so easy.

so as a first timer, is it recommended to relax focus and let your higher self take over?

or

follow the posted techniques?

[Anchor]

For a beginner, I cant really add to what I said in my first post. The other posts in this thread are also really good - so its really up to you - try what seems right.

[TigaHawk]

I am absolutely terrible when it comes to this.

I did find some quiet time to give it a go. most of it spent working on a breathing rythm... but eventualy.... i got everything quiet..... even tho it was just for a moment :P

and as soon as i realised that... that was the end of it lol!

but i must say... the mental clarity i noticed shortly after was amazing!!

[Anchor]

I am absolutely terrible when it comes to this.

I did find some quiet time to give it a go. most of it spent working on a breathing rythm... but eventualy.... i got everything quiet..... even tho it was just for a moment :P

and as soon as i realised that... that was the end of it lol!!

Maybe you were "trying" too hard.

Just because your attention wavered it doesn't mean you failed, it means you took one more step in learning.

Try every day for two weeks!

[shijo]

thanks for great thread,the simplest most benificial thing ive ever done is to chant the sacred phrase Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo daily for 30 years,whilst concentrating upon the mandala or even a spot on a blank wall.

[Lancelot]

Thanks for this post John. Ive been meaning to try meditation but didnt know where to start, I will try your method now :)

[crosby]

i have never meditated before. i have always thought about doing it, but i have just never gotten around to it. now i am going to try. thanks for all of this information. i had no idea how to get started, but it doesn't look as hard as my mind thought it was. thanks again.
warmest regards, corson

[Belle]

When I first tried meditating, I couldn't stop my thoughts. Counted breaths, counted heartbeats. Tried different methods. Nothing. If anything, the noise of my thoughts got louder. I found my answer when I was reading one of Deepak Chopra's books (can't remember which one, it was too long ago!). One section jumped off the page for me. Paraphrasing poorly: There is a space between every word. Go through that space to the silence on the other side.

That is what resonated with me. Each person has to find what resonates with them when they first begin. Identifying and overcoming that first hurdle is the most difficult, but I'll never forget the joy of the first silence. I did it everywhere and it didn't matter if I was in a crowd, or sitting, or standing or turning pirouettes. Once that was mastered, I finally settled down and was able to go much further than I ever could possibly have thought.

It is now as essential to me as the air that I breathe, the food that is eaten and the water that is taken in. It nourishes mind, body and spirit.

Who was it that said, "The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step?" Please, begin your journey. If you find difficulty, the answer will be shown.

[VLCERS]

Great thread.
I'd just like to mention this, a part of meditation that not many people mention. The melancholy and depression that can arise when you first begin serious and regular meditation.
I've heard from a lot of people that they gave up on meditation upon hitting this first hurdle. They expected instant calming results. But of course you have to clear out the negativity within yourself first, by facing it. When you first begin regular meditation it's the negativity that is first brought to the surface, or first noticed by your quieter self. In a way you're facing your demons, and in a way; you have to defeat them... which can be stressful.
Has anyone else had this experience?

[Muzz]

How about pinning this mods? This a great thread for helping people like me who are just startin to try this and dont know the ins and outs.
Many thanks for starting this John.

[Anchor]

---------------

[randymaugans]

You don't actually "forget" to breathe...the mind is hardwired to that. What occurs is that you are not consciously breathing. Conscious breathing is the means to go into deeper states of consciousness, delta and theta. Be conscious of breath...inhale and exhale, and become part of your breath. I like to begin by slowly breathing in through the nose, holding that breath a few seconds, then exhaling through the mouth. As I begin to go into a meditative state, I visualize my body as a sponge that breathes---breathing in and out through all the pores in the skin; next, as I go deeper, I will begin to visualize breath as light. Breath as light, we breathe light and then we begin to emanate light...I call this "lighting my aura"...as my body light begins to move outward, I also program the colors of emanation as a pure LOVE frequency. This, in turn, programs the astral body to become stronger.

Some of the techniques above, O learned from Gerald O'Donnell's Remote Viewing and Remote Influencing courses...don't be put off by the name..it is meditation and activation of the conscious states beyond our "normal" state of being....very powerful! found at: probablefuture.com (http://probablefuture.com/)

[Alfa]

I really liked this thread, i had a friend that know a lot about meditation, and he does on a dayli basis.
He thought me lots of things about meditation but i was only succesful a few times in cleaning my mind from thoughts.
I got very frustrated sometimes, but sometimes i get it right, but it only last a few moments because i get scared when i reach this stage :behindsofa:
Some of the information on this thread helped me get some doubts off the way.

Thank you guys, keep up posting on this thread, it is really interesting!!

[Pilgrim]

I also think there is need to differentiate between a shallow breath which is used for certain excercise to reach particular state of consciousnes, and shallow breath or stopped berath which is a mistake of bginner practitioner of meditation. However, personal effort, persistance and regular practise of mediation usually reveals mistakes on its way. Just keep going and do not worry. My experience is that everyone is really unique and has its own way how to progress. Many people theorise too much instead to work on properly. Good luck with your efforts.:-)

[Pilgrim]

Sometimes, when I meditate - I forget to breath.
Does this happen to anyone else?

Default Re: Meditating simply

Hi Teakai, I also think there is need to differentiate between a shallow breath which is used for certain excercise to reach particular state of consciousnes, and shallow breath or stopped berath which is a mistake of bginner practitioner of meditation. However, personal effort, persistance and regular practise of mediation usually reveals mistakes on its way. Just keep going and do not worry. My experience is that everyone is really unique and has its own way how to progress. Many people theorise too much instead to work on properly. Good luck with your efforts.:-)

I forgot to add your quote before so I redo it once more. Cheers and my appology to others for doubling my answer...very good thread, thank you for your opening, John.

[siggy]

A visualisation which I find useful - in that it helps regulate my breathing as well as keeping my thoughts centred - is the sea's waves breaking on a long sand beach.

My in-breath is the sea retreating from the shore line, my out-breath is the wave breaking, slight / gentle 'pause' as the wave turns between each event (building & breaking). I also try to feel, in my respiratory system, and hear inside my head the water as it moves - keeping it fluid with no stops / rapid changes in direction.

The scene in my mind is peaceful, the rhythm both matches and regulates my breath, the visualisation calms my mind and stops it wondering off into the mundane.

Hope some find this useful.

Siggy

[Pilgrim]

An Introduction To Meditation

The difficulty with trying to learn to meditate is having to wade through the endless stream of dogma which procceeds the actual practice and only serves to confound any earnest newcomer... Meditation is an unequivically unique proccess which leads to highly bespoke results.
With that said once the practice is underway and a person has become familiar with his or her own proccess he or she may well find parallels and similarities within various written works and ones own experience.

Preparations


Allow yourself 1 hours meditation each day if possible.

Set an Alarm to exit your meditation... this is a good tip! Firstly it commits you to the time you have designated for yourself and secondly it allows you to forget about how long youve been meditating for during your practice!

Warm the body... A hot shower before begining is a good idea ... ironically a cold shower can also create the desired effect upon the bodies energy.

Wear very loose clothing or simply a sheet or quilt to stay warm during practice.

Sit or lay comfortably... Symmetry is good is a good starting point...Perhaps I should emphasise that comfort is key. I have noticed that many people become very concerned about achieving a certain posture. If it is not your normal custom to sit cross legged within your normal daily life then I would advise you not insist on meditating that way, otherwise im afraid all you will achieve is a strain to the legs and not a moments meditation.


The Practice

1. Bring your attention to your body, letting go of any tensions... begin with the feet, calfs, knees, thighs, buttocks, hips, genitalia, lower stomach, lower back, solar plexus, the chest, the spine, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, neck, back of the skull, jaw, inner ear, eyes, brow...etc.
What we are doing here is tuning directly into our bodies source consciousness, we are not concerned at all with the mind, the mind has been warpped and conditioned and programmed by society and our environment, and cannot see much of reality anymore, best to pay it no attention just now. We are just watching the body and gently encouraging, finally allowing the body to let go of the tension we have given to it. The body is very old and very wise and despite the minds fragmented delusions of grandeur, the body is still connected to the powers of nature and true consciouness. Once we can tune our mind into the enegy of the body, then we can know our spirit selves.

Repeat the scan twice more from toes to head, spend more time at places in the body that feel fightening or uncomfortable and just reasure that place by creating a feeling of safety in that place...Its ok to feel afraid or annoyed or hatred or pain or discomfort or anything you think you dont want to feel...probably because weve heard that meditation is all about feeling wonderful. Its really not.

2. Once you have completed the initial scan x 3, you may be feeling as though your body is as heavey as lead and feeling perfectly comfortable... or you may be ready to tear your own skin off in torment...either way doesnt really matter... the point is that you are tuning-in to the intimacy of your own bodies energy. If you happen to be feeling very agitated, thats fine, just bring your attention to exactly where the agitation is within your body and watch it, examin it stay with it, allow it to do what it wants to do and give support with your focused attention. It will eventually come to rest and resolve itself. There will come a point where your body feels heavey as a stone and still as a lake or perhaps a kind of gentle paralysis. Cogratulations you just saved some money on therepy bills or medicine!

This is stage one of this meditation and it is a very powerfull practice, it tunes the mind to watch in an attentive and commited manner, it results in self-trust which is essencial for the next step.
If this technique is practiced for two to four months the body will eventually begin to settle into stillness within 5 and 15 mins...
I can happily suggest a further stage of this meditation if anyone is interested, however i believe it would become naturaly apparent to anyone who is practicing this for an appropriet amount of time.


Final Note

There is so much talk of the joys of meditation... usually by those who have very little experienced of it! Yet I would suggest that the joys are revealed in proportion to the hard work paid into the practice. Meditation reveals many things, and its not all joyous, some of it is filled with anger or pain or worse. Yet some of it reveals a liberation which i could not possibly begin to describe in words.We humans have done tourturous things to our own spirits in order to enslave ourselves in the way we are now on this planet. Meditation is just a word... a little pompous word that means nought... What matters is our ability to look at ourselves both in darkness and in light and let it all go.

I do very much the same Maze, what you explained here, I must say it is well discribed, indeed. I would not repeat the same ideas after your input. I´d just add I recommend to all beginners your advices fully because of its practicalities. It has been always beneficial tool to me since I have started meditating in my 14th.

[Pilgrim]

Great thread.
I'd just like to mention this, a part of meditation that not many people mention. The melancholy and depression that can arise when you first begin serious and regular meditation.
I've heard from a lot of people that they gave up on meditation upon hitting this first hurdle. They expected instant calming results. But of course you have to clear out the negativity within yourself first, by facing it. When you first begin regular meditation it's the negativity that is first brought to the surface, or first noticed by your quieter self. In a way you're facing your demons, and in a way; you have to defeat them... which can be stressful.
Has anyone else had this experience?

I can confirm that based on my personal experience during my meditations or briefly after them many negative ideas, feelings, hidden shadows and strange tastes might be "coming up". I would encourage anyone to continue with meditation practise anyway since you just cleanse yourself, your system, on many levels of your individuality and existances. Don´t stop due to those encounters even though some of them might be very strong or bit scary. Be courages, go on, everything disapears afterwards. I would say as with all our human activities even with meditation is like at a life mountain trips:Ups and Downs many times. Once you can see over horizons and Once you are quite lost in many shadows of deep forest. It is just beautifull advantures which you tackle your mind to go through it to reach higher level of yourself where Light is perceived. Regarding negative thoughts, which bother probably everyone of us, it is very usefull to just observe them since one can recognize this repetitive mode of our mind. This Observation stance, not only in meditation, so as during normal dailly rutines can seize this repetitive motions . It helps to get one outside his/her regular boxes of normal thought process of personality in the state of being. Thank you, guys, for this wonderfull therad I have got so much inspiration here. Be blessed all.

[MargueriteBee]

When ever I have attempted meditation after awhile I see an eye looking back at me or a big brilliant blue blob of light. Why?

[Anchor]

Might I suggest you address it and ask?

[Anchor]

A simple meditation exercise...

This is quoted from an LLResearch transcript, Hatonn is channeled by Carla Reukert, May 30, 1976

This is not the whole transcript for that go here (http://www.llresearch.org/transcripts/issues/1976/1976_0530.aspx)

The usual disclaimer with Channelled material applies, but to be honest, I dont think anyone is going to have problems with this little bit :)


We would like to begin by speaking with you about meditation. It is a technique that can be approached in endless ways. Tonight, we would like to say a few words about your physical body and its relation to meditation. Become aware, my friends, at this time of your symmetry as you sit comfortably in meditation. Your two legs, balanced. Each arm resting comfortably. Your eyes, my friends—the space between them, just balanced. That which you hear is being received symmetrically, stereophonically, by your ears. And you are in balance, each side in balance. You are a creature, in the body, of this duality—your right and your left. It is a symbol for all to see of the nature of the physical universe: that there are always two sides, two qualities, to be reconciled in balance.

As you rest in meditation now, my friends, become quite, quite reconciled to this two-sidedness of the physical. Begin to sense that point between your two sides, the point of balance, the point of stillness, the point that does not move. In between the two eyes is the point where your sight becomes one. Midway between your ears, you suddenly hear one whole sound.

You, my friends, are not creatures of duality. You simply reside in a physical body and in a physical universe which is of this nature. Therefore, you are under the illusion that you are of this nature. And it is in meditation that you seek knowledge of your true self, which is free from duality. You are not even that point of balance or stillness. You simply reside, in the physical, at that point of balance, if you have maintained a healthy awareness of who you are and that you are within your body but not of it. Many, many of your troubles in the physical arise from the fact that you’ve allowed that center of stillness to be moved by outward events, so that you seem to be unable to regain that balance.

Now—you find the balance of your body, and then release that connection. My friends, do not become so comfortable within your body that you forget that you are actually a stranger to this environment. Your essential being is unified. You not only know what this unity within yourself is, you are this unity. Coming into the knowledge of it is simply a matter of remaining still long enough to begin to know the true self. It is not a knowledge that must be pulled from far away: you are that knowing.

[ I was thinking about pilotsimone's request for help and the next thing I read was this, so pilotsimone, I dedicate this post to you - I hope it helps! http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?20462-Neep-help-Panic-attacks-while-driving-cross-country-right-now ]

[doyle]

wow! just stumbled across this and was shocked ive been meditating for around a year and i too see an eye staring back at me,sometimes just a shape but sometimes in great detail (eyelashes and all) its a purple colour and most of the time moves as if im walking down a tunnel backwards, I guessed it was my third eye as the colour seems correct for that chakra but im unsure,anyway just thought id add to your experience you are not alone ps thanks anchor for this great post;)

[eaglespirit]

http://thefastingpath.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SunGazing.jpg

[Nanoo Nanoo]

Hello Frinds

Very good thread John :) Meditation is the key to happiness and knowledge.

Heres some info on a course i did about 16 Years ago with Sir Gary Samer ( my teacher ) Called Sacred Silence. Its the shiz biz ; )

http://www.trackerschool.com/course_template_details_new_courses.asp?id=10&tid=1

Also some good books to read are Tom Brown's Grandfather series. Awesome books on Indian Shaman meditation and stories of Stalking Wolf ( grandfather)

Cheers

N
N

[coolfire1952s]

I am one who has trouble meditating and I try everyday! Seems like my mind just flits from one thing to another and at times pictures pop up that I don't understand....people I don't know, places and buildings I've never been and sometimes just words. They all come up in little windows, just flashes, one after another. What do you think I could do to help myself focus more?

[PixieDust]

thanks for starting this thread! i know i need to meditate i just never set aside time to do it. reading all this rejuvenates me to make myself set aside time :)

[Anchor]

I am one who has trouble meditating and I try everyday! Seems like my mind just flits from one thing to another and at times pictures pop up that I don't understand....people I don't know, places and buildings I've never been and sometimes just words. They all come up in little windows, just flashes, one after another. What do you think I could do to help myself focus more?

You are already doing much better than most people!

My suggestion, don't worry about focusing, just take a back seat and let those thoughts run their course - watch or observe them from a "distance" but don't attach to them or analyze them.

I think you will find that even this will be of immense value. Its like cleaning a house.

If this isnt clear enough, something that worked for me was to try and characterize the thoughts as kites blowing in the wind. Its important to let go of the string.

[Blue]

Hi,
I do a lot of yoga and am pretty flexible yet every time in the past I have tried to meditate in cross legged position or when sitting on my heels, I couldnt get past the feelings of discomfort in my back , shoulders, hips etc. so I gave up and started practising a moving meditation which I do every day for 15 - 30 mins. . . I practise the Sun Salutation (Sivananda style) with closed eyes and let each movement be led by the breath and try not to have any pauses in the breath or the movement ,so it flows with a steady rhythm. The pace isnt fast or slow and I try to make keep the movements graceful and gentle (try!). For me this really works because it makes me feel calm and my mind feels in sync with my body! I know it wont be the same for everyone but thought I would share it in case someone wanted to try it out. its also got loads of benefits physically - good for the circulation, exercises the heart and lungs, tones the digestive organs, keeps the spine flexible and the added bonus of getting rid of any excess baggage around the waist!
blue

[markoid]

I often reach a point that distracts me from getting deeper when meditating. It happens when I go suddenly into a state of 'freefall', at least that is how it feels. It is a feeling of losing control, which I am OK with. The disturbing thing that stops the progression is that my eyes tighten and pull back into my head which pulls me back up to shallow level and ruins the process.
Any feedback and especially suggestions to get around this would be much appreciated

[Tony]

Dear Maroid,

You are merely trying too hard. The attention should barely be there. Whatever arise, just let it be. Break the meditation from time to time.
What is coming up is just a residue from the past, it has no reality. Just continue to rest in the awareness.

Tony

[markoid]

Thanks Tony, point taken.

[animalspirits]

This is another slant on meditation.

I don't meditate. Never have, never could....always got blocked.

Meditation is a tool used to achieve an altered state of consciousness...that's all. Some people find meditating easy. For me, it creates static that prevents me from entering an altered state.
If you are having trouble doing "meditation" try this.

Sit somewhere quiet. Form the intent of connecting with what you need to connect to. Don’t put any parameters on it. Don’t form the intent to connect with something specific.

Now, just let go, UNfocus, don't think about anything. At first, you may get a rush of seemingly physical world things; just let that flow off of you. It is very important that you DON'T concentrate on anything...if you send out intent to do anything; it can be a kind of static that prevents incoming information. You will begin to get information and it will not be what you expected. When you are first starting out, it is good to write this down. Keep the journal for about six months and DO NOT read what you have written down before that. When you do read it, it will astound you. What are seemingly just bits and pieces will take form into lengthier messages/knowledge. You will see patterns to these messages. Often it is too intense for you to do it when you are beginning. The more you do it, the easier it becomes…and the easier it becomes to enter an altered state of consciousness. Once you are in this state, telepathy is a given. It will be how you communicate with spirits and Aliens. They are already telepathic.

Also, don't try to do this for a long period of time, just a few minutes to start with...and build up the time. You may have a lot of junk stuff that comes out at first...just routine daily life stuff. Write down anything that is not part of your personal physical daily routine.

Very important message come in the oddest ways.

Hope this helps.

...use if helpful, otherwise just disregard...no worries from me. ;)

[Anchor]

animalspirits, In my opinion there is a significant overlap between what you are doing and what most people call meditation.

In my opening post, I did say there were as many ways to meditate as there are people trying to meditate.

Thankyou for sharing your approach to what I might lump in under the general umbrella of meditation.

[animalspirits]

Anchor,

I posted it because sometimes people get confused by how things are explained or worded and I have found that explaining it the way I did helps some people.

In the end, getting there is all that matters, isn't it? We each have to do it our way. ;)

[Anchor]

You are right. I am no expert but I learned much from this thread. That is what I like about forums.

[Anchor]

Here are some handy tips from a meditation master, enjoy a few minutes socksang with puppetji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5Z_EoyO_F8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5Z_EoyO_F8

[Anchor]

[Krishnamurti:] Do you know anything about meditation?

[Student:] No, Sir.

[Krishnamurti:] But the older people do not know either. They sit in a corner, close their eyes and concentrate, like school boys trying to concentrate on a book. That is not meditation. Meditation is something extraordinary, if you know how to do it. I am going to talk a little about it.

First of all, sit very quietly; do not force yourself to sit quietly, but sit or lie down quietly without force of any kind. Do you understand? Then watch your thinking. Watch what you are thinking about. You find you are thinking about your shoes, your saris, what you are going to say, the bird outside to which you listen; follow such thoughts and enquire why each thought arises.

Do not try to change your thinking. See why certain thoughts arise in your mind so that you begin to understand the meaning of every thought and feeling without any enforcement. And when a thought arises, do not condemn it, do not say it is right, it is wrong, it is good, it is bad. Just watch it, so that you begin to have a perception, a consciousness which is active in seeing every kind of thought, every kind of feeling.

You will know every hidden secret thought, every hidden motive, every feeling, without distortion, without saying it is right, wrong, good or bad. When you look, when you go into thought very very deeply, your mind becomes extraordinarily subtle, alive.

No part of the mind is asleep.

The mind is completely awake.

That is merely the foundation.

Then your mind is very quiet.

Your whole being becomes very still.

Then go through that stillness, deeper, further – that whole process is meditation. Meditation is not to sit in a corner repeating a lot of words; or to think of a picture and go into some wild, ecstatic imaginings.

To understand the whole process of your thinking and feeling is to be free from all thought, to be free from all feeling so that your mind, your whole being becomes very quite. And that is also part of life and with that quietness, you can look at the tree, you can look at people, you can look at the sky and the stars. That is the beauty of life.


(Thanks to wegge (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/member.php?3394-wegge) for pointing this super simple intro to meditation out -> here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?27331-Meditation-help-for-dummies...&p=280346&viewfull=1#post280346)<- )

[Anchor]

Sorry to bump this thread myself :)

Recently I have been thinking about not thinking and moving ones consciousness from the mind to the heart.

I saw an interesting video, its on YT, it was about channelling and how to do it, but I forgot the reference. In that video was the simple comment:

Intention gets you 85% of the way there, the other 15% comes from simply thinking about something that makes you smile.

[meeradas]

Recently I have been [..] moving [...] consciousness from the mind to the heart.

Same here.
Necessity-born.

[Marianne]

Sorry to bump this thread myself :)

Recently I have been thinking about not thinking and moving ones consciousness from the mind to the heart.

I saw an interesting video, its on YT, it was about channelling and how to do it, but I forgot the reference. In that video was the simple comment:

Intention gets you 85% of the way there, the other 15% comes from simply thinking about something that makes you smile.

Anchor,
Thanks for this thread. I'm beginning meditation again, with the intention to continue even if it 'seems' to not be what I think it should be.

Thanks too for the many good threads you put up ... always rich and informative. And occasionally very funny ... Puppetji is laugh-worthy for sure.

Junebug

[Asyloth]

I've got the ultimate proof that meditation is really the most simple and natural thing in the world.
That proof is that I've developped my own way of meditation when I was around 8 years old, I didn't know what I was doing at that time, I had no word to put on it, I was just doing it, I developped it completely naturally without ever having heard of the word "meditation", it's only when I was about 18 years old, when I began talking about it that someone told me that it was meditation I was doing.
This is how I realized that meditation is the most natural thing you can do, if an 8 years old kid can develop it without any knowledge about it, than it means it's a natural behavior.

My way of doing it was in the shower, my mind was already very tortured when I was just around 8, but I was also very active, I couldn't stay still more than 5 seconds, so I thought at that time that maybe I could use that time in the shower when there's nothing I can do to clear my mind with all those problems I already had very young. I can remember my mother wondering what the hell I was doing 30 minutes sitting in the shower completely in the dark every day.
I was just emptying my mind by focusing on 3 of my senses: the soothing sight of darkness in the bathroom, the relaxing feeling of hot water flowing on me and the restful hearing of flowing water (I know many people will think that meditation is not about focusing on the senses but that's how I was able to clear my mind), by doing that I was entering another state of consciousness, a state where I had completely disapeared, I guess that's what's called the state of oneness with everything, even though I didn't understand that by that time. It was always lasting something like 30 minutes, suddenly after more or less 30 minutes each time, it was over, I can't explain but somehow the process lasted 30 min and then my eyes opened and it was over, I needed to get out of it, and when it was over, I was always feeling incredibly revigorated, like my mind and body had rested an entire night during these 30 min.

So I think there are as many ways of meditating as there are people, you just have to find the way that suits you.

[Anchor]

I was listening to LLResearch's Radio show from June and they were talking about meditation. I thought it would be fun to see what the law of one says about recommended techniques for meditation, it is best after all to have as many in depth and well thought out sources of advice from the best of the best...

---




http://www.lawofone.info/results.php?s=49&v=e&sc=1&ss=1#7

49.7 Questioner: Will you recommend a technique of meditation?

Ra: I am Ra. No.
---

;)

---



49.8 Questioner: Is it better, or shall I say, does it produce more useable results in meditation to leave the mind as blank as possible and let it run down, so to speak, or is it better to focus in meditation on some object or some thing for concentration?

Ra: I am Ra. This shall be the last full query of this work time.

Each of the two types of meditation is useful for a particular reason. The passive meditation involving the clearing of the mind, the emptying of the mental jumble which is characteristic of mind complex activity among your peoples, is efficacious for those whose goal is to achieve an inner silence as a base from which to listen to the Creator. This is an useful and helpful tool and is by far the most generally useful type of meditation as opposed to contemplation or prayer.

The type of meditation which may be called visualization has as its goal not that which is contained in the meditation itself. Visualization is the tool of the adept. Those who learn to hold visual images in mind are developing an inner concentrative power that can transcend boredom and discomfort. When this ability has become crystallized in an adept the adept may then do polarizing in consciousness without external action which can affect the planetary consciousness. This is the reason for existence of the so-called White Magician. Only those wishing to pursue the conscious raising of planetary vibration will find visualization to be a particularly satisfying type of meditation.

Contemplation or the consideration in a meditative state of an inspiring image or text is extremely useful also among your peoples, and the faculty of will called praying is also of a potentially helpful nature. Whether it is indeed an helpful activity depends quite totally upon the intentions and objects of the one who prays.
---

[WilliamOfTheNewMessage]

Students of the New Message from God (http://newmessage.org) (I think there are a number of us in the Project Avalon community) practice stillness meditation as one of our primary activities. We do this to access the deeper intelligence that is in each person, the quiet certain place in our minds, which we call Knowledge. Practicing stillness frees our minds from the influence of the world (and other worlds!) and from the oppression of our own thoughts and opinions. Stillness meditation is the primary practice of Steps to Knowledge (http://newmessage.org/steps), the spiritual journey guide that is the beating heart of the New Message from God.

[Rich]

I'd just like to mention this, a part of meditation that not many people mention. The melancholy and depression that can arise when you first begin serious and regular meditation.
I've heard from a lot of people that they gave up on meditation upon hitting this first hurdle. They expected instant calming results. But of course you have to clear out the negativity within yourself first, by facing it. When you first begin regular meditation it's the negativity that is first brought to the surface, or first noticed by your quieter self. In a way you're facing your demons, and in a way; you have to defeat them... which can be stressful.
Has anyone else had this experience?

Absolutely.
Real meditation (and there are many fake ones too) is allowing up what is there/seeing the consciousness you have created, if negative concepts haven't been removed you are going to be facing those too!
You will have to go into your own personal hell and will understand why you (we) have created such a hell on the outside.
For many, the first few or several years of meditation are going to be a constant up and down from states of bliss to states of hell and everything in between.

When my doubts where great I tried to tell myself to just continue on no matter what comes up or what happens (I wasn't always successful but in the end I always went back to meditation if I stopped temporarily for some reason).

I am grateful to anyone who has the courage to meditate, it makes the world better for all of us.

Meditation instructions and guidance from Christ:
http://www.christsway.co.za/

[Anchor]

I am happy to see this old thread bubbling up again.

My aim was and still is to encourage as many people who are among those who do not meditate, to give meditation a try and with a determined effort.

There are obstacles, and they hit early, but don't be put off by them.

I don’t want people put off by complexity either, that is why I want to keep it as simple as possible.

[Rich]

There is a video about the positive influence of meditation on others I was surprised by the result.... but not sure if it is real or just an advertisement for 'TM' what do you think? He says there were 1000 meditators that greatly influenced the peace in an area of 1.000.000 people I didn't think it would take so few.

LPCVzminCFY

[Rich]

http://sedonamethodreleasers.blogspot.de/2010/08/let-go-of-disapproval-give-yourself.html
(http://sedonamethodreleasers.blogspot.de/2010/08/let-go-of-disapproval-give-yourself.html)

Let Go Of Disapproval - Give Yourself Approval
I have been releasing with the sedona method/release technique since the summer of 1999. And I am still going deeper and deeper into the fundamentals. Why? Because just like the simplest meditation technique you can become more skilful and see greater success if you will commit to mastering the fundamentals. There is tremendous power and wisdom in the simplicity of the sedona method.

Last week I started averaging 2 hours a day releasing on letting go of disapproving of myself as well as giving myself approval. This is simple to do...

Could I let go of disapproving of myself? And more, and more and more...
Could I give myself approval? And more, and more, and more...

The results were surprising and even better than I expected. I started to feel happier and happier which I did expect and I was more accepting of myself and others. Then, some surprising events happened.

A friend I had not seen in 4 years contacted me very keen to meet up. We met the next day and had a great time catching up. Then, another friend I had not seen in 2 years contacted me also out of the blue. We met up the same day and had a blast. These are the kinds of happy "coincidences" that I often experience after a lot of releasing.

Another interesting result was that I started to notice when I was either disapproving or approving of whoever I am in conversation with. Then, by simply letting go of the disapproval as soon as I notice it in the moment the rapport in the interaction shifts immediately.

I also notice that the more I approve of myself the more people are drawn to me. Its like having a glow about you that causes people to want to be with you. Some people also commented that I looked great: that glow is what they are talking about.

(That is not me btw, but I posted it because it shows the simplicity. I sometimes do something similar, it needs willingness to let go of ones self-righteousness, IMO and experience Love is there for us... we don't allow it because of pride/doubt etc...)

[heyokah]

How to meditate s y m p l y

Lesson 1

.... open eye.... you not blinking.... hold breath.... ;-)



http:/FunnyOrDie.com/m/5how


Don't forget to smile from time to time :nod:

[Tigger]

For those of you who have 10 days to spare, I highly recommend attending a Vipassana Meditation course. They have centers all over the world. In OZ, there is a fantastic one in the Blue Mountains near Blackheath. It's very challenging, but highly rewarding and life changing, provided you can stay the full 10 days.

If you have trouble sitting for long periods, you can use a meditation stool (find one online) which makes a tremendous difference.

Oh, and lay off the sugar and coffee. You'll never shut your mind up if it's pinging around on caffeine or sugar highs.

[silverfish]

There is a video about the positive influence of meditation on others I was surprised by the result.... but not sure if it is real or just an advertisement for 'TM' what do you think? He says there were 1000 meditators that greatly influenced the peace in an area of 1.000.000 people I didn't think it would take so few


I was just thinking about the affect meditating has had on me and my family when i noticed the post from EmEx (have not had achance to check out the vid yet but soon will thanks )
I have 3 kids all school age so lots of bugs /virus stuff usually going on but since meditating on a daily ,well 5 days out of 7, basis I have noticed my kids are healthier . It is now about 5 yrs since I started .The last time I was at my doctor with one of my kids they actually said they thought we had moved away haha. It was then that I thought about it and realised the change for them . So I think it does affect alot more than just what you yourself are aware of .As has already been said we are all energy , everything is energy so where does the line between us really lie (only in our minds )
Should be taught in school ( but then again I know why it isnt )
silver

[Anchor]

And don't forget to smile from time to time.


Intention gets you 85% of the way there, the other 15% comes from simply thinking about something that makes you smile.

It is too easy to overlook the importance of the link between smiling (or the thought that makes one smile) and joy.

Seek joy, even in the harshest and darkest circumstances, that seeking will bring light to that darkness.

(Today I made a small update to the original post)

[lookbeyond]

For those of you who have 10 days to spare, I highly recommend attending a Vipassana Meditation course. They have centers all over the world. In OZ, there is a fantastic one in the Blue Mountains near Blackheath. It's very challenging, but highly rewarding and life changing, provided you can stay the full 10 days.

If you have trouble sitting for long periods, you can use a meditation stool (find one online) which makes a tremendous difference.

Oh, and lay off the sugar and coffee. You'll never shut your mind up if it's pinging around on caffeine or sugar highs.

Hi Tigger, what is the minimum number of days that one can attend ? thx lookbeyond

[greybeard]

Global Coherence which came from Heart Maths studies is one way to bring about a better world through meditation in a scientific way.
Chris

http://www.glcoherence.org/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dHcOrNzIxU

[heyokah]

I want to share a handle one of my meditation teachers once gave me when teaching me to watch my thoughts come and go.

Imagine yourself standing at your doorstep, waiting for your guests to arrive. You have a big house with many rooms.
When a guest arrives, complaining about the weather, you welcome the person, shake hands and immediately direct the person to the room with the other weather complainers.
Another one arrives, pointing out the chemtrails up in the air. Direct this one to the room with the other chemtrail watchers.
The guest talking about conspiracy issues, direct him to his own conspiracy room...... (you can fill in any category that will come up).


And you..... You just keep standing quietly on your doorstep, watching your garden in stillness, waiting for another guest to arrive.

Get the idea?

[Beren]

Meditating simply or simply meditating?

;)

¤=[Post Update]=¤


I want to share a handle one of my meditation teachers once gave me when teaching me to watch my thoughts come and go.

Imagine yourself standing at your doorstep, waiting for your guests to arrive. You have a big house with many rooms.
When a guest arrives, complaining about the weather, you welcome the person, shake hands and immediately direct the person to the room with the other weather complainers.
Another one arrives, pointing out the chemtrails up in the air. Direct this one to the room with the other chemtrail watchers.
The guest talking about conspiracy issues, direct him to his own conspiracy room...... (you can fill in any category that will come up).


And you..... You just keep standing quietly on your doorstep, watching your garden in stillness, waiting for another guest to arrive.

Get the idea?

Beautifully put!

You are the one who is in control.
:)

[Anchor]

Meditating simply or simply meditating?

Both: simply meditating simply ;)

[Rich]

Hi Tigger, what is the minimum number of days that one can attend ? thx lookbeyond

10 days for new students then you become an 'old student' and can do 3 day courses if I remember correctly.


Thanks for sharing that 'silverfish' I find that amazing but not that surprising.
Improved relationship lessens the stress on the body.

[Tigger]

For those of you who have 10 days to spare, I highly recommend attending a Vipassana Meditation course. They have centers all over the world. In OZ, there is a fantastic one in the Blue Mountains near Blackheath. It's very challenging, but highly rewarding and life changing, provided you can stay the full 10 days.

If you have trouble sitting for long periods, you can use a meditation stool (find one online) which makes a tremendous difference.

Oh, and lay off the sugar and coffee. You'll never shut your mind up if it's pinging around on caffeine or sugar highs.

Hi Tigger, what is the minimum number of days that one can attend ? thx lookbeyond

Hi Lookbeyond, just confirming what EmEx said - the first course is always 10 days. Once you finish a 10 day course you can do 3day courses. It's well worth the time spent!

[Anchor]

Here is a good spokesperson for why meditation is worthwhile (with yoga)

EfB6cVdzq5c

[lookbeyond]

10 days- well that counts me out for the next 10 years

[Arak]

I meditate almost daily, like 5/7 days per week for past 2-3 years now. Time is something between 10-60 minutes. I usually do guided meditations like chakra balancing, energy healing, meeting my Higher Self (Arak is his name btw:)) or doing body scans. I love the feeling while I get to the flow, and afterwards I feel always better than before meditation.

But still 75% of times I more or less need to force myself to stop and meditate.

I wonder why?

[Anchor]

But still 75% of times I more or less need to force myself to stop and meditate.

I wonder why?

Well, my speculation is that our lives are one big psyop. We have been conditioned to certain priorities from birth; if the people making the most influence had their way, meditation would not even be on anyone's agenda. You are essentially reprogramming yourself from your true reality instead of one you inherited - and with the exception of a rare few, that is not a fast process.

[Arak]

Yes Anchor, your words do resonate. It is very hard to stop - and just be and feel - in modern society. TPTB want us be in constant move, consume and walk away from God. Yet I know this all, deep inside have always known, it seems to be terribly hard to reprogram self and get peace.

[Anchor]

This is a lovely 8m41s perspective on meditation from Krishna Das, please watch it all the way to the end.

Krishna Das on Meditating Like Christ

DqjJBZIyqQ4

[Sunny-side-up]

Sometimes, when I meditate - I forget to breath.
Does this happen to anyone else?

Before, before, before trying to Meditate/focus/clear/power the mind first studies your Breathing, Very, very import to do first!

Do Breathing Exercises like:
1) Without breathing in make sure you clear out all stale breath from the very bottom of your system first, Just breath out fully from the base.
2) Now as the whole of your breath leaves your body gently lay down (So you don't fall down and so you can be in relaxed position)
3) Now just breath in normally for now, then carry on breathing normally

4) Just observe and studies your breathing, not forcing or changing it in any way, ok
Do that regularly day after day until you have found out how you breath in healthily!

#Doing the above first, means you will not forget how to breath, you will not stop breathing by accident, so no worries OK #

#Doing all the above you will actually start a type of basic Meditating without trying#

5) Now you can start to improve your breathing.
Breath like a Cat.
Breath in from the very bottom of your system first then fill the lungs, then make in one clean motion breath out from the very bottom of your system, then the lungs (Repeat this daily until it becomes your daily breathing ok! Natural Cyclic breathing!)

If you try meditating or concentrating on your breathing before you know how you breath you can get into problems.
Problems like miss tuned out of time breathing I.E you can by mistake cause your self to get out of control and need to mindfully force (labored) air in rather than naturally just breathing!!!

So now you know how to breath, do a few rotations of deep breathing then start your meditation session!

[Anchor]

Saw this on reddit today, might be a fun way to try: (even though it is probably a joke, whatever works!)

http://i.imgur.com/FV2Qp.jpg