Meditation

[doodle]

I have started trying to meditate a little every day and have trouble figuring out what exactly im supposed to be doing, focus on...or not focus on. Anyways, if anyone has been at this for awhile and has any words of wisdom or resources that might help I would greatly appreciate it.

[Gumby]

It's funny, I never meditate, but I tried it out for the first time the other day. It was pretty cool. My body definitely felt different afterwords. You can just use the following audio files and the "voice" (Malcolm Huxter) tells you exactly what to do.

http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-meditation.htm

Hint: Try the "Body Scan" under "Guided Meditations"

Once you learn it sounds like you can just use the techniques any time you want to.

[Benko]

There is an article I published on the web and posted here

http://gyroscopicinvesting.com/forum/ht ... 571#p37571

which lists several kinds of meditation.  #3 breathing meditation AKA gap meditation in an easy one and one that can actually be done.  Doing ti 5-10 min twice a day would be helpful.

NB:  the are many many different kinds of meditation around including some which are very popular but nearly impossible to actually do effectively in practice e.g. vipassana (watching your thoughts without attachement).

[gizmo_rat]

I haven't "been at it for a while" but chanced on a book in the library called "Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha", it was far too hardcore for me but the author (who has I think been at it for a while) also published some short, sharp, getting started type instructions on insight meditation. 

http://static.squarespace.com/static/50 ... 785181062/  (2 page pdf)

The only comment I feel qualified to make is that it isn't easy

If you're feeling brave the author's site also includes a link to the e-copy of his book.

http://integrateddaniel.info/book/

IIRC in his book he does reference some more "approachable" books and materials, one of which "A path with heart" by Jack Kornfield I've been picking up and putting down for several months.

[Gumby]

I'll mention this in case it helps anyone, but quite often the foods, ingredients and supplements that you put in your gut — as well as the state of your gut's health — can have profound positive or negative effects on your mood and ability to handle stress. Gluten is a good example of this — it can cause negative reactions in many people. Bad gut flora can also cause profound changes in mood and mental clarity.

I know this sounds very hokey and alternative — sort of like when Tom Cruise told everyone that anti-psychotic drugs are the wrong approach to solving mental issues. Cruise was roasted because his main "solution" was Scientology. But, the truth is that there is a fair amount of medical evidence to support elimination diets that rebalance the brain.

On a side note, I recently discovered that I have a somewhat rare sensitivity to a specific kind of B vitamin. It gave me the first anxiety-driven panic attack of my life — which is why I looked up Benko's article that day (thanks, Benko!). Very scary while it was happening as I didn't understand what the cause was. When I stopped taking that vitamin, I was fine and mellow. Turns out I have genetic markers that make me sensitive to this very particular type of vitamin. Makes me wonder how certain foods and ingredients (such as gluten) might be affecting people's moods every day.

[Benko]

Gizmo,

From those directions:

"Be sure to carefully note “wandering”? when the mind wanders "
This is beyond many/most people, and certainly is not easy, not recommended as a beginner meditation.

This is why focusing on something, e.g. the breath/gap meditation above and ignoring one's thoughts is generally the easiest type of meditational exercise. 

The point of meditation (really meditational exercise) is get to some distance from one's thoughts.  If one can just notice one's thoughts without getting caught up in them that is great (and a valid meditation) but in reality most people cannot do it  which is why vipasana, and things like this usually wind up with people just caught up in their thoughts and not realizing it.

[frugal]

Hi,

I prefer to run

but

I will try 3 minutes meditation every night

Regards

[doodle]

Good information here! Thanks.

Frugal, i think running or walking can be included as a type of meditation as long as you do it with a certain "mindfulness". This subject is new to me though so dont quote me on that. I think this is a similar priciple to Yoga asanas which are also a type of moving meditation or at least preparation for meditation.

[frugal]

Good information here! Thanks.

Frugal, i think running or walking can be included as a type of meditation as long as you do it with a certain "mindfulness". This subject is new to me though so dont quote me on that. I think this is a similar priciple to Yoga asanas which are also a type of moving meditation or at least preparation for meditation.

Also good is "meditate" and write

keeping a diary

Regards

[notsheigetz]

benko is giving a good description of meditation and different types of meditation, the underlying principal behind all forms of meditation is to silence the internal dialog, and an early step toward achieving that is getting detachment from the internal dialog, breathing, chanting (mantras), visualizations and so on are all done toward that end.

I recently tried out a binaural beats app on my new Nexus tablet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats)  This is supposed to be some kind of electronic shortcut for achieving meditative states. There seems to be some good science behind it but also a lot of unsubstantiated woo. I can't say that I have yet achieved anything recognizable as a meditative state but I honestly haven't been all that diligent about it.

[Benko]

I'd be very skeptical of any electronic meditation gimick given how meditation works.

[notsheigetz]

I'd be very skeptical of any electronic meditation gimick given how meditation works.

I remember going to a "transcendental meditation" introductory seminar back in the early 70's and I think they wanted something like $60 to pursue it further if you were interested - which I was not. Probably a couple of hundred bucks in today's dollars and I didn't have it. Well worth it if you could really achieve what they said but I suspected $60 was just the first installment on the way to nirvana and I figured I was probably getting as much or more from the psychedelic drugs I was taking at a much lower cost.

The Binaural beats Android program was free but I did spring for the $1.99 enhancement.

I read about this in a book on Quantum Physics, consciousness, and Near Death Experiences. Like the link says there is some real science involved. I have mostly played the sounds to help me when I have occasional bouts of insomnia and I do have an inkling that there might be something to it. I find myself lying there with mostly nonsense thoughts occasionally drifting through my mind but not staying very long.

[doodle]

Check out ASMR. Youtube is full of videos that will trigger the sensation among people who are sensitive to it. I've mentioned this before and though it is not exactly meditation, it does have a calming and trance inducing quality to it.

What is ASMR?

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is a physical sensation which can often be felt as a tingling feeling which begins around the scalp and can often travel all around the body particularly down the back and into the persons arms and legs.

Most people descibe it as a tingling in the head. (I've also heard it described as a brain orgasm)

What can trigger ASMR?

ASMR can be brought on through acts known as triggers. These can be visual or through sounds.

Watching another person complete tasks can induce ASMR with activities such as:

Nail tapping
Scratching
Drawing
Coloring in pictures.
Whispering
Hand movements
Brushes
Haircuts
Massage
Handling items

When triggered ASMR can be very relaxing for the person and can help them feel a lot calmer and in some cases can be so relaxing that some people may fall asleep.

[Benko]

though it is not exactly meditation, it does have a calming and trance inducing quality to it.

Many kinds of so called meditation really induce trance states.  Given that most of us are continually ordered around and beat up by thoughts in our head, being in a trance state is vastly preferable, and certainly more relaxing.  These are not optimally helpful, however, and these are not really meditation.

[Storm]

though it is not exactly meditation, it does have a calming and trance inducing quality to it.

Many kinds of so called meditation really induce trance states.  Given that most of us are continually ordered around and beat up by thoughts in our head, being in a trance state is vastly preferable, and certainly more relaxing.  These are not optimally helpful, however, and these are not really meditation.

Aboriginal cultures induced trance states by beating drums in repetitive rhythms (drum circles) and using a fur or blanket to rapidly cover and uncover a campfire, basically, creating a repetitive strobing light pattern.  I believe many times psilocybin or other psychedelic mushrooms were also used.

So, the takeaway I have is that you should go to a rave, listen to loud repetitive music, and look at a strobe light! 

[lazyboy]

There are many good books on the subject. Someone mentioned A Path With a Heart, by Jack Kornfield, which I really like. For me, I think it's important to look beyond the "getting peaceful" aspect of meditation, which is just fine, really,  to a more investigative, curious approach where you really want to explore or know, for yourself, beyond intellectual knowing, what reality really is, who you really are, what life truly is, what others truly are...add your own fav question- this would be inquiry style of meditation. I also think it's very helpful to join a group with a worthy teacher from a wisdom tradition. Meditation, like prayer, is a technique that can be part of a larger approach to living a fulfilled and meaningful life and it usually helps to be in supportive community. There are many types of meditation practice. At it's heart, I consider meditation to be a spiritual discipline. It's good to explore what works for you.

[Gosso]

I meditated for 20 minutes a day over a two month period.  I would say the first couple weeks were quite good, but after that I seemed to plateau, and got virtually nothing from it...I actually felt a little depressed afterwards.  I did achieve the "buzz" state a few times, although I wasn't expecting it the first time it happened, so I figured I had achieved enlightenment.

My "meditations" are now more spontaneous and only do it when I have the urge.  Usually I do 5-10 minutes of basic yoga, then lay in the corpse position for 20-25 minutes.  This almost always gets me to the "buzz" state, along with all the funky colours dancing against my eyelids.

I try to be more mindful as well, especially when on a walk.

i saw a couple recommendations for binural beats here in this thread so i thought i would look into it a bit and try them out and see what they did,

first a couple points
- no two people are the same i suspect individual results may vary quite a bit
- i have meditated and practiced altering my consciousness in a variety of other ways including binural beats in self hypnosis mp3's, and i suspect familiarity and practice make it easier for me than someone trying for the first time
- a lot of the claims made for binural beats are well into the "new-age hokum" and "sucker born every minute" category, it doesn't mean there is nothing to it, only that you must watch out for what you are being sold!

my first attempt using a binural beat for meditation, caused a shift into a mild altered or meditative state, it also gave me a headache, the headache could be due to listening through ear buds which i am not used to, or as a result of the beat itself i am not sure which.

my second attempt was using a beat labeled "lsd" i figured lsd is supposed to cause an extreme alteration in state of consciousness so the binural beat named after it should be the most altering version (or it could just be dramatic advertising) the results were more pronounced, possibly because i listened longer, but i doubt it even remotely compares to the effect produced by a drug, i used headphones and got no headache from listening to it, there was a mild mental disjointed feeling and slight discomfort for a few hours after that might be due to getting caught up in everyday life immediately after listening,

[Reub]

I used to use the word "Romneeee" as my mantra however it suddenly stopped working this past November.

[lazyboy]

I used to use the word "Romneeee" as my mantra however it suddenly stopped working this past November.

Ha! Thanks, Reub, I think it worked.