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InvisibleJokeshopbeard
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A Beginners Guide to Meditation * 13
    #25745386 - 01/15/19 12:04 PM (5 years, 14 days ago)

Over the many years I've spent as a part of the Shroomery, mediation is one of the subjects which I have most frequently seen pop up that belongs in the realms of 'Physical & Mental Well-being'.

So I figure it's about time we had a thread here dedicated to it.

Somewhere where we can all share any lessons, tips or insights we have gained in our practice that might help those new to the path; for there is not one subject in this world I have more misconceptions about than that of meditation: what it entails, how to do it, what the benefits are, etc, etc. And soooo many times have I heard people say 'I tried, but I can't do it' and all I want to say is 'No, you DID do it!!'. Cause that's all there is to it right? Just doing it.

So, here's how to do it:


1. Your location:

Realistically, you can meditate absolutely anywhere. I make it quite a habit to, as soon as I think about doing so, meditate any time I am waiting. I.e on public transport, in a waiting room, in a queue, etc. Often times, when one is well practised, those spontaneous meditation sessions can be some of the best IMO. Hell, even brushing your teeth or showering is a good time. Focusing on the words of someone you're listening to is an especially great time.The lesson is; if you think of doing it, do it, and hold it as long as you can.

Then there's your daily location. One should remember that meditation is an exercise, and like any it's effects are cumulative; the more you do it, the better you get. So ABSOLUTE MINIMUM freqeuency should be once a day. I have found absolutely tremendous correlation with ensuring I don't miss a single day and the depth/benefit that my practice gives me. Taking a few days off from the gym has nowhere near the impact taking a few days off meditation does, IMO.

Anyway, back to the location. Ideally, you want somewhere you know, somewhere comfortable (i.e not to cold/hot/bring/noisy), and somewhere where people are not going to interrupt you, verbally or otherwise. My spot is usually on the floor, next to my bed.


2. Your posture:

I've found this can have an enormous impact on ones session/practice, so it's important to try and get it right. The key here is to remain as comfortable as possible, whilst still maintaining an alert stance. One can meditate lying down on their back or in any other position imaginable, but the best results will come when you learn how to get your posture spot on. Here's a couple of examples of the props that tripsurfer and myself use:



The round cushion in the first shot is the more traditional prop, but I much prefer a stool as I've never liked sitting in the lotus posture. It would probably be better for me, and if I work on my felxibility in the future I'll be sure to try it. However just find what works best for you. The important thing is that you want the posture of your upper body to look something like this:



Take note of the fingers of one hand resting in those of the other, and the touching thumbtips. I've found improvement in my practice from as little as touching my thumbs together, where once I did not. Like NOTICEABLE improvement from the first moment I tried it. Keeping a curve in my spine and my head tilted slightly forward has a similarly positive effect.

One should also be aware of the fact that your body WILL object to being kept still for too long. This is normal and everyone experiences it. Seeing as the whole point of the practice is to focus on one thing and one thing only, try not to let your attention drift to those little aches and pains that come up. It could be worth taking note if you feel they are due to bad posture, but even if your posture is perfect, your body will still complain after a while.


3. Your timing:

This one could be broken down into two categories; the time of day you meditate, and how long you do it for. In the more hardcore realms, practice lasts for several hours each and every day, often starting at the crack of dawn or before. Not really realistic for most of us when we've got such busy day to day lives right?

Many I know opt for twice daily; morning and night. I think that's a good benchmark myself. I only opt for morning myself, although I'm pretty sure I'll progress to morning and night at some point. It's a practice I'll do for the rest of my life, so I'm in no rush with it. Fact is, an evening session hasn't suited my lifestyle before. I suspect it will moreso shortly as my life changes.

I try to start practice almost as soon as I've woken. Perhaps have a smoke, or a tea/coffee, or whatever is your normal waking routine and perform ones excretions so that one has no level of discomfort in that regard. Basically, you want yourself as comfortable and awake as possible, whilst not having been awake long. I feel this is the BEST time of the entire day myself, as my thoughts have not yet wound up to the kind of fast pace that they do when I've started really getting into my day. The BEST time will of course be different for everyone, so just experiment and see what works!!

The same goes for how long you go for. The idealistic answer is 'as long as you can'. The realistic answer is 'as long as you can spare'. I would suggest a minimum of 10-15 minutes a day to notice improvements in your daily like, but more is better. When I've stayed at Monasteries/Retreats and practised for several hours a day, I can definitely feel how good it is for me. But realistically, in my day to day life, I'm only putting in 15-30 minutes a day. Still plenty enough to feel it.

There's tons of 'meditation timers' and such (I and at least one other Shroomerite use the 'Insight Meditation Timer') out there in the App Stores for phones. If you set a timer just try and find one that doesn't have a horrible bleeping sound to bring you out. You wanna come out calmly!!


4. Your practice:

I guess this is the important bit; the bit I've been building to throughout this whole post!

It's probably not in all honesty - the practice in and of itself; the routine, the discipline, making time for it, making it a part of your daily life - that's the most important bit IMO. What happens here is you just try your best, and give it time, and you will see results.

I think the easiest way to explain meditation in layman's terms is that it's an exercise in focus. It doesn't matter much what you focus on, the point is you aim your focus at one thing, and one thing only, and keep it there for as long as you can. I choose to use my breath, as I carry it everywhere with me and it is available to me in my every waking moment, but one could just as easily focus on a candle or a picture or a mantra or a sound.

When you first start, they say that if you can maintain your focus on the chosen point for even thirty seconds, you are already an above average meditator. It's not easy. So don't worry about when you invariably forget that you're supposed to be meditating and find you're thinking about the groceries or mum's birthday of some assignment you need to complete. That's what having a mind entails - it happens to ALL of us. None of us can shut it off. But we can learn to find a place of peace as an observer or it, without being tossed around in the waves by it's constant stormy seas. That's what we're aiming for, because who wants to be getting tossed around in a stormy ocean when we could instead feel like we're floating on a peaceful lake?

Anyway, the analogy I like to use for the practice is to think of ones thoughts like trains; each thought has a connection to the next one. Let's put that imagine in mind for a second:



The place where you want your focus to reside is right in front of of the train, in the present moment. Invariably, especially as a beginner, you will aim your focus there and probably three seconds later you'll be on carriage #1. You'll probably end up on carriage #30 or so before you realise 'Shit, I'm meditating, let's go back to the focus!'. Then, surprise surprise, two seconds after going back to it, the process will begin all over again, and you'll be on carriage #24 before you realise 'Shit, I'm meditating, let's go back to the focus!'.

Rinse, cycle, repeat. That's all there is to it. Simple really, ain't it?

With time and practice, you'll start to find that you realise 'Shit, I'm meditating, let's go back to the focus!' sooner and sooner. After ten years on and off I never go much beyond carriage #3 before I bring myself back, and often it's after just #1.

And that's really all there is to it. You are, essentially, just exercising your focus, the same as you would exercise any muscle or talent, and it will grow in power and capability over time.

One last thing to add here; I feel that the end of ones session is a really great time to pray and/or give thanks. I highly recommend tagging those things onto the end of your session.


5. Your results:

So I guess that leads us to the final point. Why should I do all this? Why should I commit to something that means I really need to aim to do it every day without fail? What if I'm terrible at it? (you will be, I hope I've got that across by now. The point is you WILL get better). What if it's just a bunch of nonesense? Something that only wafty, spiritual types do?

Without writing out a pretty little list for you, since you can find thousands of them for yourself simply by clicking this, let me just say that meditation WILL BE GOOD FOR YOU.

There is just no denying it. Much like exercising your body, exercising your mind is inherently healthy, and there are no downsides to doing so.

If everyone in the world started to meditate daily starting tomorrow, this world would be unrecognisable a year from now.

I literally cannot recommend it highly enough. It might take a while for the effects of your practice to start becoming noticeable in your day to day life, but it will happen if you stick with it. And when you start to notice these benefits, you'll probably feel quite awed at your new capacity and the new you that you will discover.

Anyway, there's only so much I can do for you, so I hope as many people as possible are inspired by this guide to get started.

Feel free to ask any questions below, and between us all, we'll figure out how to answer them.

Sending love, luck and good vibes to all.


--------------------
Let it be seen that you are nothing. And in knowing that you are nothing... there is nothing to lose, there is nothing to gain. What can happen to you? Something can happen to the body, but it will either heal or it won't. What's the big deal? Let life knock you to bits. Let life take you apart. Let life destroy you. It will only destroy what you are not.
--Jac O'keeffe


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OfflineTripsurfer
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Jokeshopbeard] * 2
    #25745453 - 01/15/19 12:43 PM (5 years, 14 days ago)

Great post!

I will chime right in with a few questions/remarks

How do you feel about using a timer?

Personally I am a great fan of using a timer. I have special meditation timer (the wooden pyramid in the pic) that can be set from 5 to 60 minutes. During my years of practicing I have been going from 10 to 30 minutes in wave-like motions. I can be in a 20 minute cycle and for some reason have little time and set it for a quick 10 minute meditation.

Using a timer was actually recommended to me by a junior-swami who was traveling the world spreading the love. I find it helps me not think about how long I have been sitting/have to sit and has by now become part of the ritual. The sound of the gong calms me immediately

Do you ever experience weird things?

Lately things have been quiet on my end but here are some of the more common things I experienced:

- Feel like sitting on the wall or even upside down on the ceiling
- Feelings of panic and/or anxiety when going really deep. I think this is the ego feeling cornered and exerting force
- Time dilation. As you get more and more focused on your thoughts I find that a lot of focus and un-focus can happen during a single inhale/exhale. One night I can focus on a single inhale continuously, and the next day I lose and regain focus 7 or 8 times during a single breaths that just seem to go on and on.

How do you actually focus?

When I started it really helped me to focus on the breath. To keep track of the movement of air through my noise or upper body. And just counting: breath in (1), breath out (2), breath in(3), breath out (4) up to 5 or 10 and then start at 1 again. Or even just counting 1/2 over and over again. On days I feel particularly restless I still do this


I cant recommend meditation enough. I have a pretty solid practice but sometimes traveling or other things get in the way. Especially when traveling and after a few days I find the time to sit down I am always amazed at how much tension I unknowingly carry. I feel so much relaxation, both physical and mental


--------------------
Ach en wee ben ik de klos, met mijn boog schoot ik een albatros...

A philosopher is a person who knows less and less about more and more, until he knows nothing about everything.



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InvisibleJokeshopbeard
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Registered: 11/30/11
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Tripsurfer] * 1
    #25745500 - 01/15/19 01:08 PM (5 years, 14 days ago)

Thanks so much for that man, I hoped somebody would roll in with a post just like yours!

I looked at getting one of those exact timers once, but I travel too frequently to make it worthwhile. I do have stools in three different countries though; one in Australia, one in America, and one in England. Love those things.

Your words on the weird bits (been there, but very rarely) are great; I felt my back open and the contents of my being get sucked into the world during lying meditation on a retreat one time. That was pretty scary.

There's definitely a technique to following the breath too right? I used to follow it nose tip to the bottom of my belly and back again, but I prefer to focus on the sound of it in my ears now.

You ever try body-scanning whilst meditating?


--------------------
Let it be seen that you are nothing. And in knowing that you are nothing... there is nothing to lose, there is nothing to gain. What can happen to you? Something can happen to the body, but it will either heal or it won't. What's the big deal? Let life knock you to bits. Let life take you apart. Let life destroy you. It will only destroy what you are not.
--Jac O'keeffe


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InvisibleCowb0yNeal00
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Jokeshopbeard] * 1
    #25745794 - 01/15/19 03:14 PM (5 years, 13 days ago)

Cool thread! I do a lot of mantra meditation but I like this quote and many more by
Thich Nhat Hanh..

“Breathing in
I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.
Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain.
Breathing out, I feel solid.
Breathing in, I see myself as space.
Breathing out, I feel free.”

I find it great to focus on especially whilst meditating in nature. :thumbup:


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InvisibleMasked
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Jokeshopbeard] * 1
    #25745858 - 01/15/19 03:53 PM (5 years, 13 days ago)

Great post.  I'm sick as fuck so will need to re-read and digest this post and thread better when I can.

I really want to make meditation an important and regular part of my life. 

We have to remember that no two brains are alike and I have some really funky stuff going on with my brain chemistry that I'm certain will make this much more challenging than it may be for others(and I'm certain someone out there may have an even more challenging time with it than me). So with that being said...I'm going to have many questions.

One that I can think of, relating to my previous comment is...in your opinion, is meditation a possible learned skill for EVERYONE?


My future wife struggles with some crippling anxiety that brings on some nasty physical symptoms.  She downloaded an app called "headspace" and subscribed for the year for the full meal deal.

It's an app that has an enormous library of guided meditations and is designed for the newbie and seems to have a progressive difficulty, if you will, for training someone and tracks all your progress, minutes, etc.

https://www.headspace.com/meditation-101/what-is-meditation

She has had enormous progress and benefit from using it and on every day she meditates, she notices huge changes in her ability to go out of the house and handle tasks and events that would normally cripple her. If she misses a day, she notices it. 

I remember at the beginning her sessions with the app were very brief but 6 months later, she seems to be averaging 30 to 45 minutes each time. 

I often hear it at night when she uses the meditation for sleep section of the app and the guy's voice is enjoyable and chill.

Anyone hear about or use this app?  What do you make of it?  Is it worth it for me to invest in it?


--------------------
.


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InvisibleJokeshopbeard
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Masked] * 1
    #25745979 - 01/15/19 05:00 PM (5 years, 13 days ago)

Quote:

Masked said:
One that I can think of, relating to my previous comment is...in your opinion, is meditation a possible learned skill for EVERYONE?



Absolutely, totally, positively, yes; I do believe this to be the case. I could be wrong, and if I'm not, I'm sure there will still be exceptions to the rule, as there is to any; perhaps some 1 in 7,500,000,000 is born with the skill of perfect, constant, single-mindedness, without ever having trained for it.

However so much of the human condition and experience is counter-intuitive, and I don't believe that it would occur to one to formalise the practice, and so get the huge benefits possible from it, without being prompted to do so from an outside source and then having to go through the invariable trials and tribulations of said practice before said benefit(s) were gained from it.

Quote:

Masked said:
Anyone hear about or use this app?  What do you make of it?  Is it worth it for me to invest in it?



Never heard of it, but I can tell you now I wouldn't invest in it. I don't like guided meditation, doesn't work for me. Of course, YMMV, but I see no point in paying for something I have already.

I'm not sure why you think this will be more challenging for you than others. I tend to talk to everyone very deeply about their human condition, and 8 or 9/10 people I talk to would say they have overactive minds.

Is it simply that way because we can never truly know another mind?


--------------------
Let it be seen that you are nothing. And in knowing that you are nothing... there is nothing to lose, there is nothing to gain. What can happen to you? Something can happen to the body, but it will either heal or it won't. What's the big deal? Let life knock you to bits. Let life take you apart. Let life destroy you. It will only destroy what you are not.
--Jac O'keeffe


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InvisibleMasked
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Jokeshopbeard]
    #25746008 - 01/15/19 05:11 PM (5 years, 13 days ago)

Thanks for some more good insight :smile:

I should note tho that my question about if it's a possible learned skill for everyone was worded poorly perhaps.  What I meant was, is there people out there that wont be able to utilize meditation for whatever reasons, no matter how much practice they put in?

Which bleeds into your second comment.  I've had many conversations with people who relate to having overactive minds...and when I do my best to explain what happens in my head on the minute to minute basis, they can no longer relate and seem a little shocked or maybe dont even believe me lol.  And I'm sure there are people worse than me.  So I believe there is a large and unique spectrum of uniqueness between brains and the human experience in general.

When my dog dies and your dog dies...I cant say to you, and Visa versa, "I know how you feel.  I went through the same event".  Some people are dehbilitatingly crippled and scarred by the event, while others shrug it off with a single tear or no emotion at all. 

So I wonder how learning and practicing meditation differs from person to person and maybe why I've struggled to do it for many years is because of the roll of the dice with how my mind is built and operates


--------------------
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Offlinetaosmyco
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Masked]
    #25746487 - 01/15/19 09:10 PM (5 years, 13 days ago)

:thumbup:


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InvisibleJokeshopbeard
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Masked]
    #25746744 - 01/16/19 02:01 AM (5 years, 13 days ago)

Quote:

Masked said:
What I meant was, is there people out there that wont be able to utilize meditation for whatever reasons, no matter how much practice they put in?



The thing is, the practice IS meditation. So yes, anyone can do it. And I am 99.5% certain that EVERYONE that puts the time into practice WILL benefit.

If it can definitely help people with ADHD, then I can't see how anyone with 'funky stuff going on with their brain chemistry' would not also benefit.

Of course there's an enormous spectrum of variance in the way human minds work, but a spectrum, by it's very nature, is finite.

Do you think there is anyone out there that would not benefit from physical exercise?

Have you fully read the OP yet?


--------------------
Let it be seen that you are nothing. And in knowing that you are nothing... there is nothing to lose, there is nothing to gain. What can happen to you? Something can happen to the body, but it will either heal or it won't. What's the big deal? Let life knock you to bits. Let life take you apart. Let life destroy you. It will only destroy what you are not.
--Jac O'keeffe


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OfflineCjmckay
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Jokeshopbeard]
    #25747166 - 01/16/19 09:59 AM (5 years, 13 days ago)

What helped me to get a sense of the benefits of meditation was the mechanics. The whole finding enlightenment seemed too religious/ new agey and I couldn't get a grasp on it.
Reading about how short shallow breathing can physically make you anxious  put it more in the realm of reality for me. And that our brains are malleable gave me hope that I wasn't stuck like that forever.
One of the more difficult parts for me was the racing thoughts. What helped me was observing myself as more of a biological machine, and that every jolt in my brain didn't have to be tied to a word or thought. Just observing the sensations and allowing them to relax. Breathing into them.
Also very important was observing in a loving, nurturing way. Staring into a messy head can be frightening.


I did try headspace when I started. It does help give you a framework for meditating. Guided meditations can be really cool. Very helpful at the beginning. Without them it would've been like sitting still and quiet with my finger in a light socket.


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


Edited by Cjmckay (01/16/19 10:08 AM)


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InvisibleJokeshopbeard
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Cjmckay]
    #25747201 - 01/16/19 10:21 AM (5 years, 13 days ago)

Quote:

Cjmckay said:
What helped me was observing myself as more of a biological machine, and that every jolt in my brain didn't have to be tied to a word or thought. Just observing the sensations and allowing them to relax.



I like this. I once read that, as an experienced meditator, one can observe ones focus shift between sensations (and by that I mean thought/feeling/physical sensation/etc) five times a second.

That ties in nicely with the biological machine bit for me. Not sure I've noticed my sensations change as frequently as five times a second, but I've definitely noticed them shift several times in the space of a second alone!


--------------------
Let it be seen that you are nothing. And in knowing that you are nothing... there is nothing to lose, there is nothing to gain. What can happen to you? Something can happen to the body, but it will either heal or it won't. What's the big deal? Let life knock you to bits. Let life take you apart. Let life destroy you. It will only destroy what you are not.
--Jac O'keeffe


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InvisibleMasked
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Jokeshopbeard] * 1
    #25747300 - 01/16/19 11:31 AM (5 years, 13 days ago)

Yes I've read it now.

I was just asking you or others well versed in it, if they've seen or come across people who cant meditate with benefit regardless of amount of practice put in?  Just questions man.

I've put a lot of effort into it in the past 20 years and it is one of the most difficult things I've come across.

I like your take on it tho..."practicing meditation IS meditation". :raisemyglass:

I'm going to keep this thread handy and really try to do this shit again. It has been a good number of years since the last time I tried.


And I like your analogy to exercise.  Touche'


--------------------
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OfflineTripsurfer
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Masked] * 2
    #25747606 - 01/16/19 02:47 PM (5 years, 12 days ago)

Sorry just have to post this :lol:



--------------------
Ach en wee ben ik de klos, met mijn boog schoot ik een albatros...

A philosopher is a person who knows less and less about more and more, until he knows nothing about everything.



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InvisibleJokeshopbeard
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Masked] * 3
    #25747631 - 01/16/19 03:03 PM (5 years, 12 days ago)

Quote:

Masked said:
I was just asking you or others well versed in it, if they've seen or come across people who cant meditate with benefit regardless of amount of practice put in?



I've come across tons of people that say it doesn't work for them. I think it's mostly down to two factors:

1. Misconception - I think the commonly held belief is to meditate is to silence the mind, which, as we all know, is goddamn impossible. Rather, you just learn to observe it, through practicing focus. It's like learning detachment almost. Before I learned to meditate, I WAS my thoughts. Full stop. I knew nothing else. Now, I often laugh at my own thoughts (most often at their absurdity) as I watch them go by. It's a really useful skill. Knowing that you are not the rambling, and often shitty contents of your thoughts is a pretty fine thing too.

2. It's not a quick fix - As you know, we live in a culture that devotedly worships the 'quick fix'. It's rammed down our throats, most often with lies attached, everywhere we look. I think a lot of people will give it just so much time, and then throw their hands up in exasperation because 'it doesn't work'. Their mind is now made up, and you know what they say about self-fulfilling prophesy. And perhaps, by then, it hasn't worked. It didn't do what it said on the tin, which as I said above, is often a misunderstanding anyway. God knows I nearly threw in the towel myself back when.

After my first stay at a Monastery, quite by chance (I'd never come across Buddhism until this point), reading the literature there, and for the first time finding a philosophy I actually agreed with, I went head on into it. I meditated two hours a day there, and only remember how uncomfortable it was. It was special though, and so I started at home. Four years of trial and error later, feeling like I was just on the cusp of being able to reach some magical state that I could only just grasp when I was nearly falling asleep in the middle of my practice, the frustration took over. I was ready to give it up. So I emailed my Buddhist teacher (I went back the same Monastery for two weeks a year during that time) before I did so just to see if he had any words that could help.

In his typical, Yoda type fashion (I've never met a man as spiritual as this in my whole life; he's.. been places) he says; "Just remember these six words; let go, let go, let go."

Next morning, I sit down to meditate, I just feel that 'let go' intention through my whole being, and BAM. Something clicked.

Supposedly there are many layers of this experience; nine, to be exact:
  • Delightful Sensations
  • Joy
  • Contentment
  • Utter peacefulness
  • Infinity of space
  • Infinity of consciousness
  • No-thingness
  • Neither perception nor non-perception
  • Cessation
(Source)

I've definitely been as far as three, and maybe scratched the surfaces of four and five, but when you read about what the lower Jhanas are like (here's an incredible free book/pdf with detailed explanations) it's hard to even to begin to imagine what it would be like to get to such a state.

It's fucking incredible stuff man.

Tl;dr - Don't give up.


--------------------
Let it be seen that you are nothing. And in knowing that you are nothing... there is nothing to lose, there is nothing to gain. What can happen to you? Something can happen to the body, but it will either heal or it won't. What's the big deal? Let life knock you to bits. Let life take you apart. Let life destroy you. It will only destroy what you are not.
--Jac O'keeffe


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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Jokeshopbeard] * 1
    #25747942 - 01/16/19 05:43 PM (5 years, 12 days ago)

I need this in my life.  Will give it some effort again.  Thanks for all the great info and insight man :smile:

Tripsurfer: :lol:  well played.


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OfflineCjmckay
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Masked]
    #25749042 - 01/17/19 09:03 AM (5 years, 12 days ago)

For sure it's an exercise. Getting past the racing mind is a biggie. That's why I try to focus on the sensations vs language or words. Even the faintest thoughts start a chain reaction.

Just tell yourself to relax and breathe into your nervous system. Take deep long slow deliberate breaths. You're sending your body and mind a signal to chill.

I use a timer so I'm not trying to figure out how long I should keep going.


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Offlinethealienthatategod
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: Cjmckay]
    #25762893 - 01/23/19 10:03 AM (5 years, 6 days ago)

great information and sharing in this thread!

meditation is something that's hard for me, because i can't stay STILL!!!!

i'd like to tell you a bit about my meditation experience, but i am only speaking from experience...

i was first introduced to meditation when i was 13 years old in the form of a biofeedback program.  i was sick, had been in the hospital, wasn't getting better with western medicine, and somehow i ended up in an alternative healing program.

the sessions were one-on-one a few times a week for 6 months. they wired me up with leads to by brain and body and to a machine that had different gauging devices on various screens.  over the course of 6 months i was taught how to use the gauges to monitor my bodies biofeedback.  by the end of the program i was controlling my breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure with deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation.

when i left the hospital, i continued my biofeedback program, but with one problem, every time i went to practice i would fall asleep!  to my brain, it equated not moving and breathing deeply with falling asleep! 

how does meditating not make you fall asleep right away? 

or better yet , how can you tell if you're awake or asleep? 

if i set a timer for a twenty minute meditation, when the timer goes off, what feels like is two minutes later, i truly can't tell if i have been sleeping for the past 20 minutes or just sitting here with an empty mind.

my mind is much more empty than most peoples, i have brain damage due to a brain injury, and it's not a challenge to 'empty my head' i spent years where there was no one home upstairs at all! - and it was quite 'boring' at the time.

what i am getting at, is the standard things that i had been taught about meditation didn't really seem to work with my specific needs.

my favorite way to practice meditation is with movement.

specifically movement in the water.

the water is a sensory deprived environment;

i don't need to use my eyeballs to get me from one end of the pool to the other,

my ears are typically plugged up, so i can only hear the whooshing of my own blood under the water.

and i swim in a salt pool so my body is buoyant with little effort.

with my eyes closed, and the whooshing sound of my blood in my ears to focus on, i place my face in the water, body floating face down, and make my way from end to end of the pool for up to two hours. 

the nature of the nose and mouth being submerged in the water forces a rhythmic nature into the breathe, turning the head in alternating directions on every other inhale, plunging the face back in the water, and expelling all the air our until the lungs elastically recoil back. 

this rhythm is all i think about.

nothing else exists when i am in the water. 

including me,

i become a sieve, feeling the water molecules pass through me, until i am sieved out, and become a single molecule of water.

the time distortion again is strong with this experience 2 hours can go by in what feels like 20 minutes

the best part of starting my day this way, is that i can carry this state of being that i create in the water up onto the land,

i think one of my main goals of meditation, this state that's created, it's not just for the time interval that you spent in meditation, how long can you carry this state with you for? 

and can you carry it  through stillness and movement?

though peace and chaos and back to peace with all the world about you?


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OfflineMcGrimm
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: thealienthatategod]
    #25762906 - 01/23/19 10:10 AM (5 years, 6 days ago)

:takingnotes:
Practice makes perfect.


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In Peace or Pieces we shall move forward.

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OfflineCjmckay
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: McGrimm]
    #25776572 - 01/29/19 11:48 AM (5 years, 1 hour ago)

It's kind of a combo of focus and relaxation. Maybe do it when you are most awake. Do a body scan and observe your physical sensations.

I know trying to go too long when I'm tired and trying to stay awake puts me in a half dream state. I don't know if that's beneficial or not.

I've been trying to practice lucid dreaming, but I can't seem to do it anymore and end up getting stuck in those half dream states.


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OfflineRJ Tubs 202
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Re: A Beginners Guide to Meditation [Re: thealienthatategod]
    #25782328 - 01/31/19 07:13 PM (4 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

thealienthatategod said:

meditation is something that's hard for me, because i can't stay STILL!!!!




Isn't amazing we conclude sitting quietly observing thoughts and perceptions is difficult?

When we usually say that climbing Mt Everest is "difficult", or becoming a brain surgeon.

This aversion is precisely what attracted me to meditation practice 6 years ago. I suspected
there was a trainload of intimate knowledge to discover, as my mind felt tormented by sitting
in silence. It took me a year to finally begin to be OK with it. And now it's a daily part of
my life. I use the Insight Timer app, and today I can see I've meditated for 551 days in a row.
Now it's like brushing my teeth. I no longer feel resistance to it. It's like eating healthy food.

It's self-care, which is something I've ignored most of my life.


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