Meditation MEGATHREAD

[johncocker 10]

I would rather be a follower then a preacher!

 

 

 

yes I would if I could I"d rather be monk than a nun yes I would If I could I surely woooooould .

 

I" rather be a bum than a cushion yes I would if I could .........

 

funny how those paul simon songs come up when you're meditating init:D

[janie48 96]

yes I would if I could I"d rather be monk than a nun yes I would If I could I surely woooooould .

 

I" rather be a bum than a cushion yes I would if I could .........

 

funny how those paul simon songs come up when you're meditating init:D

 

How did you know i was a fan of Paul Simon.?

[anywebsite 10]

My third week of meditation brings :

 

Quick decisions on things it took me ages to think about before.

 

I can kind of tell what people are thinking before they speak.

 

A calmness during the day even when Im NOT meditating.

 

Its great that innit ?

 

Yes, that's why I used to do it. None of this religious rubbish, just clarity of thought & calmness. I really should start again.

 

You need to stay in the habit, it gets easier with practice & you get more benefits, but then if you stop you need to start all over again.

[dutch 68]

Meditation is the road to total freedom.

 

A follower will always be a slave. Competition creates fantasy seperations. Meditation creates silent gaps in the thinking proces. All those seperations disapear, everything becomes one.

 

I cannot compete with anybody anymore, I don't see the seperation anymore and cannot compete with others because that would be like competing with myself.

I know that sounds very weird but when meditation sharpens and awareness intensifies all of existence is one harmony, all extreme differences become part of the same universal proces and are not seperated anylonger.

 

Our minds keep thinking they are someone special, different, unique, in a race to prove and achieve their individuality. Fighting and struggling to get somewhere, power, recognision, property, better than others.

 

When the silence of meditation comes all of that disappears like a dream and you wake up. It is a shock, intense, alive, beautifull experience.

Mind cannot conceive of what this is or what it is like, thats why people meditate, to reach those gaps of silence where they slowly grow stronger and mind weakens.

Our minds will never ever know what it is like to be one with the universal witnessing proces again, when we know our minds are not in charge no longer and we are watching the mind.

Edited March 15, 2012 by dutch

[janie48 96]

Meditation is the road to total freedom.

 

That sounds like a very good reason to continue.

I'm hoping to gain much from meditation,one of the things i hope for is to

Think first then speak

rather then getting it the wrong way round.

[jobybruk 10]

This is absolutely right that meditation is very important for all of us, there are so many benefits of meditation but still now I just started to meditate before 16 / 17 days so one's do this atleast 2 months first.

[dutch 68]

That sounds like a very good reason to continue.

I'm hoping to gain much from meditation,one of the things i hope for is to

Think first then speak

rather then getting it the wrong way round.

 

Hoping to gain anything continues the proces of thinking you are to get something out of your effords.

Thats fine, nothing wrong with it, everybody does it but meditation comes when you drop the desire to get something out of it.

 

It will all come now when leaving all bussines aspects behind and deeply trusting meditations absense is due to desires to gain, get, achieve.

 

When open minded, no expectations, just let it take you, no need to control, after a while it is there, free, unexpected, a new experience, let it be a surprise.

 

When done for a purpose, to get somewhere or achieve something. It will only be an exercise of the mind strengthening its needs for control and power.

[TJC1 10]

Gave it a try this morning.

 

Very strange at first, it felt odd just sitting there letting thoughts come and go. I felt a weird sense of vulnerability, like a completely new sensation.

 

Slowly calmed down, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing in through the nose, deep breathing, timing it but then it started to come natural. I could almost 'see' the breath coming in and out like a wave if that makes sense?

 

Time seemed to slip by as I came to feeling all refreshed and energised about 20 mins later!

 

It seemed to work as I have been feeling light as a feather all day. A bit more calm and collected if you will.

 

Will try again tommorow and see where that takes me.

Edited March 15, 2012 by TJC1
....

[TJC1 10]

Oh yeah, I used my bedroom for this. I could hear traffic outside as it was early but that soon fazed into the distance.

 

I guess a totally quiet room would be better but hard to find.

 

I also sat cross legged, bolt upright to get air into the lungs. I put my hands palm down on the floor - dont know if this matters.

[pattricia 575]

Oh yeah, I used my bedroom for this. I could hear traffic outside as it was early but that soon fazed into the distance.

 

I guess a totally quiet room would be better but hard to find.

 

I also sat cross legged, bolt upright to get air into the lungs. I put my hands palm down on the floor - dont know if this matters.

 

I cannot cross my legs comfortably on the floor, so sit on a chair, with my palms facing upwards. In the beginning the meditation seems to take ages, but eventually time goes quickly. That shows youve been " in the zone".

[janie48 96]

Hoping to gain anything continues the proces of thinking you are to get something out of your effords.

Thats fine, nothing wrong with it, everybody does it but meditation comes when you drop the desire to get something out of it.

 

It will all come now when leaving all bussines aspects behind and deeply trusting meditations absense is due to desires to gain, get, achieve.

 

When open minded, no expectations, just let it take you, no need to control, after a while it is there, free, unexpected, a new experience, let it be a surprise.

 

When done for a purpose, to get somewhere or achieve something. It will only be an exercise of the mind strengthening its needs for control and power.

 

I appreciate those instructive comments dutch,and the input from others with knowledge and experience,not just for the benifit of myself but for others just viewing this thread.

It seems i have still much to learn,but i have a clearer understanding now.

[PaliRichard 10]

Oh yeah, I used my bedroom for this. I could hear traffic outside as it was early but that soon fazed into the distance.

 

I guess a totally quiet room would be better but hard to find.

 

I also sat cross legged, bolt upright to get air into the lungs. I put my hands palm down on the floor - dont know if this matters.

 

As far as I'm aware (others may think differently) it doesn't matter.

 

The formal way of sitting (I hesitate to use the word correct) is pretty much a standard in all religious meditation (and most secular) with a few adjustments in hand position and which holes you breath in/out of.

 

I'll talk you through the way I was trained and you can try that, it may or may not be of benefit to you (I don't use it myself, years of toughening my body for martial arts/wrestling has left me somewhat inflexible)! I tend to just sit on a chair, but the rest of my seating is the same as the upper body in this description.

 

I'll just give you a brief background on why some people consider formal sitting so important before I give you the instructions themselves, most western secular meditators seem to stick to the physical structure, though wether they do it because that's how they were taught or because there is some inherhant importance in the particular posture I suppose is down to the individual.

 

The position of sitting meditation is said to be the ideal position for the internal energy flow around the body. Regardless of wether the meditator is from an Indian tradition in which case they would consider the energy Prajna (which can be roughly translated as both breath and wisdom) or a Chinese/Japanese tradition (which would consider the energy Chi (Qi) or Ki (Japanese), the basic reasoning is the same. The better the energy flow, the more concentrated the mind can become.

 

First sit with your legs crossed, left foot on right thigh, facing upwards, right foot on left thigh.

 

Sit with your back straight, and imagine that you have an invisible cord gently pulling at the top of your head straightening your spine (this incedentally is also the posture for standing in Tai Chi/Chi Kung and Yoga)

 

Place your right hand in your left, thumbs touching, palms upwards.

 

Tilt your chin slightly downwards, partially open your lips and rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

 

Close your eyes and breath in through the nose, out through the nose.

 

Like I say there are variants, but they are all pretty much of a muchness, I find a chair most comforting, I couldn't sit in the lotus position if I tried these days

 

Give it a go/don't give it a go, it's up to you, but it's there if you want to try it, and you've had a history lesson if nothing else