meditation

[survivor]

Dear all! I just thought of one thing, may be it clicks, may be not! I want ur response. We talk about meditation but I think we dont go for it seriously. Are there some friends out there who are willing to do so? If yes, we all can start together, I have some good literature on meditation which suggests the ways to start meditation. If some of u are willing and some can provide more information we can start together and keep discussing our difficulties also. Dont u think it will be great fun and will give us good results! What say! Any meditation specialists over here?

[rhiz]

I'm not a specialist but I can see how everyone's personal experience might help?
I like what you're suggesting though

[Nakamova]

I'm thinking it's meditation not medication survivor's going for here....

[Cint]

I was just saying the same thing when I saw Nak's post.

[rhiz]

My bad haha, it's usually medication see
Edited the meds bit out ;p

[survivor]

Hey Rhiz thats why we need meditation! let some responses come and we will start with it! MEDITATION!

[epileric]

I find this good incentive

Meditation diminishes activity in areas of the brain associated with mind-wandering, researchers found.

Compared with novice meditators, experienced study participants had significant deactivation in parts of the brain associated with the "default mode network" -- areas linked with attentional lapses and anxiety, Judson Brewer, MD, of Yale University, and colleagues reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Practiced meditators also reported less mind-wandering during meditation than did their less experienced counterparts, the researchers found.

Aside from attention lapses and anxiety, the "default mode network," or DMN, has also been associated with certain conditions, including ADHD and Alzheimer's disease. Conversely, mindfulness training has been shown to benefit certain conditions, such as pain, substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression.

Meditation Keeps the Mind on Track

[petero]

I like to meditate.
one thing I'll do is get in a balanced position: chair, crossed legs, floor, wherever, but by 'balanced ' I mean no strain and symmetric
straighten my back, but not exert myself muscularly or in terms of having to focus on my posture

close my eyes and erase everything I still see - focus on the erase to get to a black chalkboard of sorts, and concentrate on that being the backs of my eyelids so to speak.
getting through my eyelids is the next thing - focusing on feeling my self and then "seeing" myself outside of my eyes - its like a symmetry again, but a symmetry outside of myself

at that point I'm seeing myself in my positioning, but I'm ugly
not quite ugly, but not interesting - because I'm just sitting there
and that helps as a separation between body/spiritual self
body and concerns become uninteresting and ugly, boring - because I start focusing on that I'm not of my body anymore
I focus on the room
I focus on seeing my body-self from different parts of the room - different ceiling corners or different positions, but always it seems above myself

from there I get bolder and try to transform into a sort of google-earth zoom mode and finding this bolder self enables viewpoints from different visual perspectives
and I will start seeing my house/location from different angles outside
I think focusing on visualizing from various heights keeps me from thinking I am somewhere I was before- on my way walking to work, or whatever, for ex.
and it gives the freedom of dimension beyond usual

I will fly around some at times but if I'm trying to calm and meditate I will usually just fly up - and start focusing on the curvature of the earth
watch as the urban and human intricacies blur from ascending - watching the cities and roads disappear - the density of atmosphere blurring lines just as the altitude does
gaining more altitude I'll see the entire curvature of the earth and see the blue, green
I like focusing on the halo of atmosphere and how thin the halo is
I'll continue going farther back gaining speed
the moon seems to always want to pass over my left shoulder - but not close as to be startling
at this point I'm interpreting the thinness of the atmosphere as "body" and seeing everything else as spirit - as God - and that as these "things" (globe, moon, atmosphere, planets start zooming by from afar, never in any startling way) become more sparse, they are insignificant compared to the rest.
seeing the sun recede and become a blip in the galaxy and the stars fade into everything becoming black, more as an overall presence that I see and at this point it's hard to describe and it's a merging of sorts
there is a glow that I interact with in a sortof two-dimensional interface that is the entire universe and that is spirit and power OverAll that is the calming focus of the meditative state where I try to keep a negative mind-state, and by negative I mean a zero focus- a release - maintaining the stillness

coming out of it isn't like a reverse zoom back into the world at all - but seeing that blackness slowly back as my closed eyes - re-sensing and realizing that calm is in the world and in my mind and that I have gone nowhere at all other than in my mind - and all of that I have been experiencing is HERE within ME and that calm is HERE
and although I believe in God I don't refer to this experience as a God-Spirit journey for the same reasons as some religions don't have a word for "God" in their language, while being devout in belief
it is a word - the word "God" is something that is of a physical realm back in my body, back in that minuscule sliver of atmosphere and is totally irrelevant
I find the practice of meditation very "spiritual" or whatever words mean - but I ascribe it to nothing other than a release of body and exchange for perspective and calm

[Screamy]

Now that......is how you meditate, awesome post petox1970!

[petero]

Now that......is how you meditate, awesome post petox1970!

I'll meet you at the moon and show you around

[survivor]

Hey Petox, U are doing really great! Simply great! U can concentrate on ur breath also while u start the process (it makes initiation easy), But I know meditation is different for different people as we have different brains and intellects! I just love ur experiences............. may be u can teach me much more!!
Shagun

[petero]

Hey Petox, U are doing really great! Simply great! U can concentrate on ur breath also while u start the process (it makes initiation easy), But I know meditation is different for different people as we have different brains and intellects! I just love ur experiences............. may be u can teach me much more!!
Shagun

hi Shagun -
really I'm not even sure if it would be considered meditation or a creative imagination... or if the two are separatable
but it helps me to detatch, reattach and recenter
and the mood in general helps

[survivor]

If u think of meditation as mindfullness than this is not meditation as mindfullness says- live in the moment, but visualization and creative imagination are the best ways to meditate if u want to come near to HIM. U may imagine a blue cloud from which white light in the form of rain showers u!! try to visualize this light in u and see what u feel!

[petero]

If u think of meditation as mindfullness than this is not meditation as mindfullness says- live in the moment, but visualization and creative imagination are the best ways to meditate if u want to come near to HIM. U may imagine a blue cloud from which white light in the form of rain showers u!! try to visualize this light in u and see what u feel!

I try to be mindful and in the moment. I see white light showering me.
Didn't we go over this before?
Deja vu.

[marion]

I do yoga and have tried to meditate, but don't get it at all. I can't stop the mind chatter. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and just this morning found a website that gives a good description...

http://www.ananda.org/meditation/learn/technique.html

And in that website, you can click on "free video" and someone is explaining a lot of things about meditation, and after 33 minutes, he goes on to teach. For me, it seems like a good place to start. I'd enjoy having a meditation group, as Survivor suggested.

[petero]

If u think of meditation as mindfullness than this is not meditation as mindfullness says- live in the moment, but visualization and creative imagination are the best ways to meditate if u want to come near to HIM. U may imagine a blue cloud from which white light in the form of rain showers u!! try to visualize this light in u and see what u feel!

I hope I didn't sound like a jerk in my other post.
The past few days have had ups and downs.

[survivor]

For Petox:

Dear petox, how can u think that u sounded like a jerk? Do u have any idea that what u are practicing is the art which people gain after long long periods of practice. U are great!! Getting detached from the thoughts is a great art friend! I also want to be good in visualization as it is very very good tool for shaping a better future. But I get to meditate properly following "dhyan yoga"- chanting and all. But I want to visualize all which u mentioned. So keep it up!

For Marion:

Hey! After such a long time, one person has showed interest in meditation. Three cheers for u dear!! I am a beginner in meditation and u can start with me. We can share the problems faced during the session. For now, I want to tell u that I have improved the quality of my sleep after I have started with this new hobby of mine. My dreams were really weird and used to feel depressed when I got up in the morning. But now..................good sleep and either no dreams or little better dreams. I have stopped having my Clonazapam (after consulting my doctor ofcourse). So whats the loss?? 20 minutes in the morning and 20 in the night before sleep. I feel better!

[marion]

Survivor - tell me more. Just what do you do in those 20 minutes? When I sit and try to meditate, I can't stop my mind from wandering all over the place. And then I get bored. But I admit that I haven't been consistent. Now that I have you to answer to I'll do better. Do you have a special place set up to meditate?

[survivor]

Well dear u can have some help from other thread of mine. "meditation-poem"

1) I meditate always at the same place, this is quite important dear, because as I approach the place, the mind gets the idea that the session is to begin and its starts getting relaxed and ready. Now this place should be calm and dimly lit. I usually light up an incense stick (sandal-this one I prefer). So that fragrance and the place itself has a relaxing effect.

2) I start with "anulom-vilom" exercise. This is yoga exercise in which we place the thumb on the right nostril then breath from the left one for 5-8 seconds, then close the
left nostril with the small finger and hold the breath for 5-8 seconds and exhale from the right nostril. Then inhale from the right one with left one closed. Again hold the breath and exhale from the left nostril. Repeat it for 5-8 times. Start with 5 times and then go to 8 times

3) Thought massage( Poem- meditation) wherein u relax all parts of ur body consciously.

4)Remember- mind is made for the process of thinking, so it will think. Dont suppress it. JUST WATCH IT! Thought parade( see to the poem). Meditation is not tough dear, but it is not easy either. But remember- if u decide u want to do it- U CAN DO IT!!

What I do is that I keep my eyes half open, concentrate on the breath. Inhaling.............Exhaling. Its said breath is the string between life and death, world and heaven. Try to breath properly. When u inhale stomach should move outwords and when u exhale it should go inwards. Then I chant hymns concentrating my thoughts on HIM. When I think I can not concentrate more - I close my eyes and start the visualizing. To start - start visualizing urself in perfect health.

Best of luck!!
Shagun

[marion]

My first "real" try this morning. I tried to follow your steps. Anulom-vilom -- I started with eyes open as you suggested but after two breaths I closed my eyes and finished.
Relaxation is something I'm pretty good at so that seemed to work well.
BUT what came after, I don't know. The concept of watching my mind as it goes all over the place, I still don't understand how that's different from my usual mind chatter. I kept at it though and I'll see if it changes next time. I set a timer when I started, and finished after 12:45.

So that's what I did. Any suggestions?