[chelviweeme]

thank you all very much for your help and feedback! i've been very interested to read each of your replies and consider what to do. i'm not interested in short-circuiting learning meditation, just in doing the most efficient advancement.

about the only thing i have learned so far, is to sit still, listen to some quiet music / ambient sounds on the headphones, and try to focus on the air moving in and out of my nose as i breath

one "supplementary" approach i did find in my research was something called [specific technique-please email for name] which i took to help in keeping focus.

of course, focus seems wierd to me in the context of meditation because i thought i am supposed to lose focus and just drift. i guess i focus on something internal vs external?

so, when i laid out my formula above, i was looking for some technique just to get an initial step of meditation. i guess focusing on my nose breathing would be one? it is just these basics that elude me as to different things to try to start with to see what works best for me. i also found one site about imagining going to a lily pond and sitting in a giant daisy in the middle. i can certainly exercise my imagination but that was not my impression of "stilling the mind".

i will check out and explore all of the advice you have given above and in pm and try things further. any additional advice is always welcome.

thanks!

[logpogingg]

thanks, kris! i'll check out the group meditation as well.

[pprropeciaaa]

above when i said "something called [email for name please] which i took to help in keeping focus", what i should have said was "something called [name] which i understand is intended to help in keeping focus". i haven't purchased anything regarding meditation help.

[AngelinaTheElf]

if you are like me then when you sit down to meditate thoughts begin to jabber and flood your mind:

what do i have to do today? was that the right thing to say? i am worried about the rent. i am worried about this pain in my body. did i make the right decision? blah, blah, blah.

i will share the best advice that i recieved to help with this and i would like to hear everyone else's teqniques as well.

so, i learned a simple trick a while ago that has worked pretty well for me. someone told me to treat my mind like a two year old who is having a temper tantrum because you won't give him/her any candy before dinner. what do you do in this situation? you ignore the child until he/she realizes that he/she is not going to get any attention for this behavior.

your mind is the same way. it is young and undisciplined. just ignore it and it will quiet down because no one is paying any attention to it.

and it does. it quiets down. it is like you are training it. takes a little time but it becomes more and more obedient until it learns to be quiet right away.

anyway, this works for me. what works for you?

[L8fGLM4d]

inwardly or silently chanting an established chant that employs the magic word 'om' with the intent of not just quieting down my thoughts, but with the desire of setting things right universally- if that makes any sense.this procedure may be done while walking or bicycling,of course while being observant of surrounding traffic.this is akin to counting rosary beads.a simple manner to induce alpha-wave activity, if i'm not mistaken.

[invasuant]

interesting...i can see how that could be effective.

i have meditated on and off for years applying different methods of concentration to interupt habitual thought patterns.

i have settled on simple "awareness".
sitting for 20 minutes, twice a day...and becoming "aware".

explain?
just become aware of whatever it is your aware of.
it really is that simple.
if a thought arises, good or bad, just be aware of it and anything else you experience because of this thought or thoughts.
always come back to simply being "aware".
once you do this long enough, you then begin to become much more "aware" of your "awareness".
and this is where the bliss begins to enter into your experience, and also where the fun begins.

from there it just gets better and pretty much indesrcibable.
always coming back to "awareness".

glad to hear your meditating.

[JosephNF]

hi everybody
i have actually never meditated , sad to say that.
would love to do so, but dont know where to start.
i´ve heard about the morningprayer while the sun rises...it should be simple and easy ????
can anybody give me a hint to techniques / styles that could work out smoothly for an amateur like me ?
(the different spirtual frameworks and things like that aren´t strange or new to me, and i have always been on some sort of spiritual search.)
(took the shortcuts during my youth)

love from denmark

jakelee

[domeffire]

what works for you? the practice of meditation is one of my very favourite 'things to do'. initially though, i found this to be a lot more difficult then i thought possible. the best and most useful discovery had to be a wooden meditation bench. you can google it on how to make one very cheaply and efficiently. i have used this bench for the last six months now and my backpain has totally disappeared. there is now no strain, courtesy of the angled legs which force you to sit straight. i highly recommend it.

[bestgenpower]

for me meditation releases all of my tension and i can get what needs done done. it really just gives me the energy i need to function and clears out the cobwebs. when i do it consistently it feels like things just snap into working order and "i" am along for the ride this state of being for me creates alote of euphoria.

[Dilangos]

i have one major problem..

i always hear that meditation is of utmost importants in evolving, along with love and awareness. i have great trouble with meditation and i can't meditate, i have read many things on how to meditate and it just does not seem to work with me. i can't seem to keep focus on one thing... i multi-task continually in my life and find that just not thinking about everything in life is extremely difficult (i don't have add / adhd), which is quite odd. do you have any tips for meditation, like what feelings you experience and when, what parts of your chakra do you visualize, what exactly do you visualize on, how long, how to not keep your mind from drifting off, ect. (i know the basic stuff as in sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, don't listen to distracting music, think of one thing, concentrate on what you want to achieve.) as you can see it gets me very frustrated sometimes...

i just constantly think, and i can't seem to turn it off...

through meditation i wish to achieve things such as past-life memories, conscious communication with my higher self/et's, & maybe astro-projection (if i'm good enough...)

i will always have goals, and always try to better myself and achieve new heights.

with love from the eternal consciousness...

-kyle

[gMUVgw71]

that's the problem.....

through meditation i wish to achieve things such as past-life memories, conscious communication with my higher self/et's, & maybe astro-projection (if i'm good enough...)[/ you will do it when you get tired of that... then and only then you will find peace..... no thing to find.... no thing to learn.... no thing to do... no thing.....

just no thing .....

[Kk21pwa9]

hi kyle, welcome to the forum.

one form of meditation that i would suggest is being in the now, embracing the present moment, giving your higher self a clear channel to observe and perhaps interact. this can be done in a second or can last throughout the day, find those moments during your every day activities that allow you to be yourself fully and start seeing that as a way of meditating, now bring those moments back to yourself at the end of the day, that might help start you off on deeper meditations. remember that intention is key in focusing the mind, build it slowly throughout the day and then allow it to guide you through deeper meditation. feel that intention as often as possible, feel the vibrational energy, get comfortable sensing it, notice it in every moment...........................sylvain.......... ................

[MiniBoy]

sometimes i wish that i had not heard about other people's experiences with meditation, because it makes me wish for similar experiences. i hear about a person who has been meditating for much longer than i have, and hear about an obe or something of the sort. so then i meditate with that sole intent, and do not feel satisfied when it is not achieved. all the other benefits (which are the real "point" of meditation) i am disappointed with.

one of the things i have learned about meditation is that one cannot go into it expecting something. all one can do is, like others have said, to experience the now and see where it takes you. if you can't shut off your mind, don't worry about it. there is no right or wrong way to do it. just focus your consciousness on yourself at this very moment, and let it take you places. personally, breathing exercises do wonders for helping me enter a meditative state, but there are many practices which i enjoy. i started by concentrating on the present, and then began to practice conscious breathing. from this point, once i felt like i could enter the meditative state, i would concentrate on the down-pouring infinite intelligent energy of love/light that my spirit was reaching up for. i would visualize/experience this energy flowing into me from infinity, and then proceed to see it energizing my energy centers. i have tried concentrating on specific centers for any given period of meditation, and i have tried concentrating on everything that is. do whatever resonates "inside" yourself.

[Nwxffgke]

hi kyle! the reason so much importance is placed on meditation is that it is the way or path to realize the essence of our being or i am.

trying to focus too long and too hard on not thinking will bring you into a confrontational situation with your mind. it wants to be the focus of your attention. we need to be gentle with our minds - we do need them after all!
if a thought comes - let it come. sometimes many thoughts come one after another. don't fight them or try to supress them. take your attention gently to your incoming and outgoing breath. place your awareness in the background and become an observer. observe them coming and going. sometimes you may get caught up in them, but that's ok - when it's over, bring your attention back to your breath again. if you practice regularly, this trains or disciplines your mind to be quieter.

something that works for me is meditating on "who am i?"

close your eyes and quieten the mind and ask yourself -who am i?

don't answer the question.

what you see in front of you - the space - the void - the nothingness is

i am.

in relation to having experiences, we should bear in mind that these are coloured by our personal tendencies and understanding. visions and fantastic experiences may just be the expressions of our archetypes. they are therefore unique to each of us individually. even when similarities appear to be present due to the influence of our collective consciousness, they will be tinged with our personal uniqueness.

what we must remember, however, is that these experiences are experiences of the mind. they are not i am. the mind is a great trickster and can fool us. we can get caught up in them and go along for the ride but we shouldn't identify ourselves with them. they are just a means or catalyst for expanding our consciousness and awareness. at the end of the day we ultimately return to i am.


"weep orfeo. let tears unblind your eyes."
the secret of the saucers.

love
ds

[KacypeJeope]

i can understand where you are coming from kyle as i too have found that meditation led to a wandering mind. however, if intent is strong its amazing what we will to get there. every expert was once i beginner.

i have read a little about meridians and energy centres and how they can become blocked with eating certain types of food etc. becoming more conscious of this and breaking old habbits i am told can also help with the meditation process. once you get there, opening your eyes inside will be much more favourable. this i look forward very much to accomplishing.

[sonsayx]

hey!

i have had the same problems with "ordinary meditation" i.e quieting the mind, i seemed to getting nowhere.

but, i have found a type of meditation that works with the minds conscious and subsonscious thought patterns, it is known as the [please pm for particular method name].

[name] is gurmukhi for "the sound which takes you from darkness to light" i.e chanting.

so instead of quieting the mind you direct it towards a sound current which allows the concious and subconcious to release thoughts. these thoughts are the thoughts that the mind gives you during normal medtitation, but, the difference is when you are in the flow of a sound current you do not get distracted by these thoughts, you will "see" them but you will not judge them and in this way it is possible to go deeper.

a book i am reading now which is called [please pm for title and author] writes about the whole concept of the mind and ways to take control of our thought patterns.

peace

ps. for great [name] meditations please pm me.

[lollypopz]

thank you to every one, your answers are in valuable and full of love. these are the things that i needed to hear.

with love from the eternal consciousness...

-kyle

[Zhgrlpil]

for starters my name is steve, im new to this forum:d so before i ask a question about meditation id like to explain myself. so basicly i was born with duchenne muscular dystrophy and it makes your body weaker and weaker, it eventually left me in a struggle for my life. when i was 18, i had to be revived in the hospital, a week before i had a experience where i felt the universe as one, and had life figured out and as soon i had this knowledge it all went away, but i remember i had figured it all out.
a few years later i read a book about ancient egypt, and it led me to read a book called souls of distortion awakening, which led to the law of one and also david wilcocks work! was at this time i realised what i had experienced was really the real deal. now this leads to my question, from my disability my spine is curved like an s and most meditation techniques say to straighten your back. ive tried to ignore that fact and do everything else. now im not sure is this possible but could my crooked spine be making this harder to achieve? any advice?

ty for your time
-steve

[FjFHQLJQ]

hi steve, and welcome to the dc discussions,

your question is a good one. as you probably know, the reason for keeping the back straight while meditating is so that energy can travel from the base chakra through all of the chakras to the crown. but there are other ways that you can use to move that energy.

one important method is visualization. by picturing in your mind the energy (chi) moving through each of your chakras, you can facilitate its movement.

another important method is breathing technique. i've heard it said in yoga class that "where the breath goes, the energy flows." you can practice breathing deeply in and focusing that breath on each individual chakra...sending it to that part of your body and seeing it energizing and opening the chakra. begin at the base chakra and slowly move upward through all of the chakras. in principle, this would open your chakras and move the energy/chi upward along your spine even though it isn't straight.

these suggestions are a couple of things that came to mind that might help you to overcome the challenge you are facing. i googled meditation visualizations and found some interesting sites. if you have a problem finding this information, pm me for the links.

much love and light to you,
nancy

[XKAgustin]

i think the law of one actually says that your spine being straight isn’t really that important, perhaps someone can find the quote.

try to be aware that meditation doesn’t require a formal procedure. there are some methods that yield what could be called results faster than others but that’s not the point. cultivate your attention so you are as aware as possible of your thoughts, your body, and the world around you. choose which ever method works best for your situation.

eventually you want to bring that mindset of non judgmental awareness into every moment of your entire life. from driving your car, looking at the sky, to smelling poop. once you are able to really see the world around you without thought coverings (10 seconds is great!) you’ve gotten to the point where you can start adding intention and action to your meditation.

if you want to get that feeling of oneness again you should look into loving kindness meditation. something as simple as saying “i love you” to all objects in your world (for a few weeks 24 hours a day) can really have some profound effects.

if you find yourself becoming too detached from the world around you switch to loving kindness, if you are becoming too attached switch to non judgmental awareness. your goal should be to develop the discrimination required to decide which path to walk in each moment.