Anyone have experience with meditation?

[AAAgent]

I have tried a few times to meditate and learn how to meditate. A few times with my friend who meditates and has been studying Buddhism. He's planning on pursuing a PhD in Religion specializing in Buddhism.

I can't really get far. I sit correctly, posture, hands, etc. I sat silent for close to an hour and i can't complete the clear your mind part.

I have tried recently but does anyone have experience with this and how does one clear their mind? Even when i don't consciously try to think it still happens.

 

[Alle_Gory]

Thought control is very difficult, it's even harder to explain.

How's this: Have you ever looked at something and drawn a complete blank? Like on test day for a class. You studied the material, you know the material but the paper is handed to you and you look at it like it's a foreign language. It doesn't register and your eyes gloss over? You try to think but you get nothing.

Well it's like that, but you take it a step further and try to think as close to nothing as possible. This is why it's important to get rid of as many distractions as possible. Visual, auditory, touch... etc.

One of the ways to do this is to focus on one thing while you're meditating. The sound of your heartbeat if you can hear it, the sound of your breath, basically anything that is repetitive and calming. Focus on that and only that, that is the only thing that exists while you're doing this.

 

[Quiksilver]

No personal experience with meditation but I know that to make your mind go 'blank' you have to focus on something in your mind.

Stare at a simple object until your mind clears.

Or create a simple image in your mind and focus on that.

It's almost impossible for your mind to go completely blank, so best to focus those residual thoughts on something that you don't have to think about.

 

[JustLurk]

There are online communities out there with boards and threads and articles on their forums dedicated just to meditation.
http://www.psionicsonline.net/mind-and-body/articles/61-meditation
http://www.psionicsonline.net/about-psionics/general/89-meditation.htmlhttp://www.psionicsonline.net/about-psionics/general/90-mindfulness-meditation.htmlhttp://www.psionicsonline.net/mind-and-body/articles/59-synergistic-meditation-upc

and so on. While I have experience with meditation it is probably better to ask about this in those forums or other forums that usually discuss meditation/lucid dreaming/etc than here.. Some people go from meditation topics to other, related, topics and sometimes those topics aren't left alone by flamers or people that disagree, and it usually gets in the way of just the meditation discussion. Unfortunately it is an assumption of mine that meditation is slightly different for everyone, and while these methods may work for the majority of people they may not work for you. That's when you can ask people that meditate a lot for help or just experiment and see what works best for you.. and I think the second method is much better.

I personally had more success with just "jutting" instead of focusing on one thing. Jutting is basically when you think, and when there comes a blank space in your thoughts (One usually comes up though you may not notice.) I just "jut" into it. It's basically like waiting until you breathed out and just not breathing in again. I stop the flow of thought right at the blank. I had less success with focusing on just one thing, because then I couldn't get rid of the one thing I was focusing on too well. It still works if you try for a while, but the blank was easier. It's a state of mind and it's something you can get used to and call it at will. The blank is basically what is between when you finish reading this sentence, after the last word you mentally read stops, and before you start your own thought.

 

[AAAgent]

ive only blanked out a few times and it was recently due to being overstressed. It happened at a few interviews when i was only averaging 2-3 hours of sleep because of my work schedule.

Blanking out was really weird. not sure if any of you have experienced it but it was like the opposite of what i've been going through. I feel like even when i searched my mind during a blank out, it was all white, clear and empty. When i tried to think it didn't work. My blank out lasted 30 seconds during my interview and then on and off 2-3 seconds for the other interviews. I managed to get a job at the interview i didn't blank out at.

I'll check out the links later.

 

[BBbardot]

Thought control is very difficult, it's even harder to explain.

How's this: Have you ever looked at something and drawn a complete blank? Like on test day for a class. You studied the material, you know the material but the paper is handed to you and you look at it like it's a foreign language. It doesn't register and your eyes gloss over? You try to think but you get nothing.

Well it's like that, but you take it a step further and try to think as close to nothing as possible. This is why it's important to get rid of as many distractions as possible. Visual, auditory, touch... etc.

One of the ways to do this is to focus on one thing while you're meditating. The sound of your heartbeat if you can hear it, the sound of your breath, basically anything that is repetitive and calming. Focus on that and only that, that is the only thing that exists while you're doing this.

sounds pretty impossible i have too much thing to think about : /
ill try later when i'm home.
I just tried right there in class. And after 2 seconds i wad thinking about what i could eat at lunch

RAZOR SHARP amazing post down there, thank you!

 

[Razor Sharp]

The key is not to try so hard. The innate ability is already within you - it's simply a matter of relaxing and having some patience.

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.” The disciple walked up to the lake.

When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!” So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same.

After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back and told him to wait patiently until the water was ready. The disciple did as instructed and relaxed on the lake shore until it was absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,” See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be…. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having ‘Peace of Mind’ is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process once you tune into your own true nature.

Your mind is always full of thoughts. The real key to cultivating inner silence is not to fight them, but let them pass through you, without holding onto them. Be a passive observer of your own mind. Do not attach yourself to your thinking or emotions. Just watch, wait and the rivers of thought will soon run clean.

 

[AAAgent]

Thanks for that insightful piece.

perhaps i did not wait long enough for my mind to clear.

 

[Razor Sharp]

AAAgent, when I first started out it took me over an hour to get into a state that I can now dive into within minutes. It just takes practice and some discipline. Try a little bit more every day (5 min, 10 min, 20 min, etc) and it will come to you.

Another tip that helped me:

Eradicate the noise in your daily life. Stop watching television for a while. Enjoy moments in your home without music, news or any other background distractions. Learn to appreciate silence, or even the natural ambience of your surroundings. The world is filled with it's own type of music - a dog barking in the distance. A car starting. All of them begin and end like your own thoughts.

You need to be comfortable in the stillness in order to get any value out of it.

As a sidenote I'd like to add that you can achieve a meditative state without meditation by doing something that you love - something that requires pure concentration and chases your thoughts away. For me it's dancing, running and cycling. I push my body to the limit and it forces me to be very present. The thoughts are still there in the background, but the bulk of my attention is on my heart, my breath, the impact of my feet on the ground.

It doesn't have to be a physical activity either. I get the same effect from drawing. I'm no great artist but I do enjoy sketching/doodling as it helps untangle the mind.

You will find that whatever activity this is, it will have the undeniable effect of putting you in a time warp. Minutes will turn to hours and you won't even know it.

Good luck bro

 

[EA Gold]

Matthew Chapter 6 verse 5-8

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Go inside your closet and stay there for an hour or two. You can also talk to God too.

 

[Alle_Gory]

You can also talk to God too.

Oh really and he talks back? Strange voices in your head are a sign of mental disease.

 

[Razor Sharp]

Prayer is actually not that different from meditation, provided its done with the right intent. People usually only talk to God when they want something, for them he's like a glorified Santa Claus in the sky. That's not how it works.

But if you approach the act with humility, gratefulness and a heart filled with compassion you will enjoy many of the same benefits. I have many Christian friends and some of them are quite enlightened. A few of them have even told me that their interpretation of Christ is not so exclusive, that there are many paths to godliness and no man is capable of judging the salvation of another.

When you really break it down, Jesus was saying all the same things that yogis and mystics have been saying for centuries: serve your fellow man and be a vehicle of LOVE

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Showing love is more important than believing the right thing. The gospel is very specific about this:

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-J5p9Zzc-4

Almost brings a tear to your eye to know there are such selfless people out there. How any religious person could condemn this man because he doesn't recite the same prayers is beyond me.

But lets not make this thread a religious debate and stay on topic - this brings up another key exercise in liberating yourself from your mind/ego. Do something for someone else every day you are alive. Not only does this make you feel really good, but it helps to break down the illusion of separation which isolates each of us.

When you are not so entrenched in your own world it's a lot easier to disassociate yourself from your own thoughts and emotions. You still think and feel, but more objectively. You feel happiness, sadness, anger, but you are not those things - they are all fleeting because everything passes, like mud in a river.

 

[L B]

It takes a lot of time and practice to get it right. Like working out, start small and work your way up. Doing an hour to start is like a fat guy running 5 miles for his warm up phase.

Try 10 minutes of complete relaxation at first. Work your way up 5-10 minute intervals every few days. Easier said then done, but clear your mind and relax your body. And don't fall asleep. Different people will have different approaches: focus on one word, focus on one phase, focus on one image, or stare at a blank wall. Find one that works for you. Good luck.

 

[AAAgent]

no more religion before this thing gets shutdown.

 

[Drdeee]

no more religion before this thing gets shutdown.

Sometimes I look at people post and I feel sorry for them. This is one of those times.

 

[Drdeee]

There is meditation, there is astral plane, there are other dimensions, etc. I try to concentrate on good weed, and something I always wanted to try mmDMT, they say you go through the same part you fly during your meditation and enter God's control room. Did you know that every year in India they gather to smoke weed and meditate? They say lord Chrisna used to chew on marijuana leafs. Hallucinogenics and THC is big part of what you're into, although they tend to be banned in the west, so usually just the meditation part is taught.

To meditate good you have to have good diet, good water, good air quality. I bet you're using GMOs and sugar substitutes. Change quality of your living, and your mind will change too, you'll be able to meditate, and generally will feel more at peace.

Also note that Indian religion does not have good or bad, division, like Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Buddhism is much more inline with having a world wide religious unity, and blasting off to alpha century. Religion, especially this one, is pretty damn dangerous to close minds, wanting domination. Keep at it. :yes:

 

[Huffman]

I can have a blank mind directly after getting up, just sitting upright on my bed staring into nothingness... its not sleeping but just nothing inside my head for some minutes.

Other then that, I don't do real meditation. I do Sanchin as part of Karate training, which is kind of meditative (basically you flex each and every muscle in your body as hard as you can, control your breathing and imagine energy flowing through your body). Yeah, hocuspocus, but you really feel awesome afterwards.

 

[Alle_Gory]

There is meditation, there is astral plane, there are other dimensions, etc.

That's nice. Proof? Or just drug induced trips?

To meditate good you have to have good diet, good water, good air quality. I bet you're using GMOs and sugar substitutes. Change quality of your living, and your mind will change too, you'll be able to meditate, and generally will feel more at peace.

You don't need any of those things. Meditation is something the mind does, not the body.

Also note that Indian religion does not have good or bad, division, like Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Buddhism is much more inline with having a world wide religious unity, and blasting off to alpha century. Religion, especially this one, is pretty damn dangerous to close minds, wanting domination. Keep at it. :yes:

That's nice. But Buddhism is the least religious of the major religions, and it's not from India although it is practiced there. Most Indians are Hindu and Islamic. There's no such thing as "alpha century" nor can you "blast off" to it.

This is why I don't do hard drugs.

 

[KarmaSutra]

I meditate every day.

Every six hours I do my adorations, then meditate for 10 - 30 minutes.

I cannot convey the importance of these ritual disciplines and how they've positively changed every aspect of my life.

I have a sense of peace and perfect clarity.

I'm no fvcking tree-huggin' hippie douche, waiting for my seat on the next comet, but there is something to be said for metaphysics.

When you take time out of your day to flush the negativity down the cosmic sh!tter, your world is much cleaner.

 

[ArcBound]

Sometimes when I get really stressed out and overwhelmed about exams, homework, obligations w/e, I take ten minutes - 30 minutes out of whatever I'm doing just close my eyes and think about nothing. I think its like a computer that has all of its memory (by that I mean RAM) full so you need to perform a full dump before you can continue working at full speed at again. That's how its like for me.

Edit: as for the sitting correctly party, I just get into a position that feels really comfortable to me. Do whatever works for you.