Do you meditate?
- Thread starter Sacrament
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ghost_train
Well-known member
don't expect it to be easy. I've tried it a few times, and I feel as though I'm getting closer to achieving a truly meditative state, but it takes practice I think. There are a of variations as to how you can go about it. I think they all pretty much come down to focusing your mind on just one thing. That may involve closing your eyes, and focusing your mind's eye on one image until everything else fades, or paying attention only to the sound of your own breathing.
One way in which I was partially successful was, weird as it sounds, to turn off all the lights in my room but leave my TV on standby. The only light that could be seen therefore was the red LED on my TV set. I just stared at it and tried to imagine myself going slowly blind. I found that a darkness crept in from the periphery of my visual field and slowly immersed the red light at the centre of my gaze. This did involve not blinking though, which is almost certainly a very bad idea.
One way in which I was partially successful was, weird as it sounds, to turn off all the lights in my room but leave my TV on standby. The only light that could be seen therefore was the red LED on my TV set. I just stared at it and tried to imagine myself going slowly blind. I found that a darkness crept in from the periphery of my visual field and slowly immersed the red light at the centre of my gaze. This did involve not blinking though, which is almost certainly a very bad idea.
Infected_Malignity
Well-known member
Being a little anxious and meditation don't really go to well together, but I still do it all the time. I've actually done it at work before and achieved a really nice state of relaxation even in a room full of people I hardly know. For me, it doesn't take sitting in the lotus position or listening to new age music (although that shit's amazing) to achieve the state - it takes absolutely nothing. But it's really hard to keep free floating thoughts away.
Basically (for the times that have worked really well), there's no exact routine for me. It doesn't even have to be dark, just not excessively bright. I just sit down, back against the wall or a chair so I don't collapse into a deep sleep, and just BE. I seriously just sink into myself and gently stop my thoughts. If you try too hard NOT to think, you end up overthinking the fact that you're supposed to be not thinking and whatnot, so it's always best to leave a little room for the inevitable thought to creep in every few minutes or so... and just let it come and go on it's own. It's when you start giving focus to that thought that it really becomes a problem and invades your inner peace!
What's best is to just read up on it and experiment. Some things work for you, some things won't. I wouldn't suggest laying flat or going somewhere TOO comfortable, because you'll just fall asleep. Even for somebody with insomnia like myself, when you start meditating... that's the biggest temptation. Like finally realizing your body really has the power to fully relax. You want to use that to your waking benefit, not just an amazing way to fall asleep (although it works great for both!).
The only warning I have is to not take meditation too literally, or you'll get discouraged. Because no, it won't bring spiritual enlightenment or anything the Buddhism religion promises, unfortunately (lol, that's religion for ya)! However if you're looking for relaxation... there's no wrong way to meditate. It's all about making yourself feel relaxed and at a nice, balanced, chilled-out state. Hell, I've even gotten chills from meditating. Just have fun with it, and don't worry so much about how to do it, just go by how you feel while you're doing it. There's still no wrong way to do it, so... just do it. Good luck dude
Basically (for the times that have worked really well), there's no exact routine for me. It doesn't even have to be dark, just not excessively bright. I just sit down, back against the wall or a chair so I don't collapse into a deep sleep, and just BE. I seriously just sink into myself and gently stop my thoughts. If you try too hard NOT to think, you end up overthinking the fact that you're supposed to be not thinking and whatnot, so it's always best to leave a little room for the inevitable thought to creep in every few minutes or so... and just let it come and go on it's own. It's when you start giving focus to that thought that it really becomes a problem and invades your inner peace!
What's best is to just read up on it and experiment. Some things work for you, some things won't. I wouldn't suggest laying flat or going somewhere TOO comfortable, because you'll just fall asleep. Even for somebody with insomnia like myself, when you start meditating... that's the biggest temptation. Like finally realizing your body really has the power to fully relax. You want to use that to your waking benefit, not just an amazing way to fall asleep (although it works great for both!).
The only warning I have is to not take meditation too literally, or you'll get discouraged. Because no, it won't bring spiritual enlightenment or anything the Buddhism religion promises, unfortunately (lol, that's religion for ya)! However if you're looking for relaxation... there's no wrong way to meditate. It's all about making yourself feel relaxed and at a nice, balanced, chilled-out state. Hell, I've even gotten chills from meditating. Just have fun with it, and don't worry so much about how to do it, just go by how you feel while you're doing it. There's still no wrong way to do it, so... just do it. Good luck dude
noblame4
Well-known member
I never was any hand at meditating, but I do like to free associate. It's not like meditating, but it's a nice exersize, i think. It's an interesting way to explore yourself. Plus, it kills time. the last time i did it, i thought i'd been doing it for 20 mins, i looked at the clock and i'd been doing it for almost three hours!
now...what do the lemons mean?!
now...what do the lemons mean?!
chris420
Well-known member
I'm totally in favour of meditation for SA, in fact they have done studies which show it can decrease a person's overall stress response, which has to be a good thing for SA...when the train of thought slows a person can more objectively look at those SA/depressive thoughts and see past them.
However REGULAR meditation is very important, and you would need to meditate every single day to acheive long-term benefits.
However REGULAR meditation is very important, and you would need to meditate every single day to acheive long-term benefits.
boro
Well-known member
I just started trying it and found it very useful. Basically what I do is try to focus on my breath - particularly the slight pause between inhaling and exhaling and vice versa and nothing else. When theres distractions like noises or thoughts popping into your head instead of pretending the noises are not there or starting to think more about those thoughts or even getting irritated that youve been interrupted I just acknowledge they are there and to let them lie before going back to concentrating which is very difficult keep up but doable. Counting breaths from 1 to 10 then starting over is a good way to get into that mindset. Not expecting too much is also important.
From what ive read about it i think the 'clearing your mind of all thought' scenario is a bit of a fallacy though and the whole point is not allowing yourself to be consumed by thoughts rather than putting a ban on all thought. As for absolute inner peace - not likely - for me at this stage anyway but ive found it useful when dealing with anxiety because im more able to face up to it as its happening in the moment rather than having my natural reaction which is to be irritated by the anxiety and think of ways to get out of it or deal with it which just produces more anxiety. So i am more able to treat anxiety as being just another distraction.
From what ive read about it i think the 'clearing your mind of all thought' scenario is a bit of a fallacy though and the whole point is not allowing yourself to be consumed by thoughts rather than putting a ban on all thought. As for absolute inner peace - not likely - for me at this stage anyway but ive found it useful when dealing with anxiety because im more able to face up to it as its happening in the moment rather than having my natural reaction which is to be irritated by the anxiety and think of ways to get out of it or deal with it which just produces more anxiety. So i am more able to treat anxiety as being just another distraction.
celestialrecluse
Well-known member
i used to meditate, to help clear my mind, i practiced the daimoku (nam yoho renge kyo) and it worked, for those 30 minutes or an hour a day my mind was clear it made me see that inner piece is achievable. obviously at first it doesnt just work it took months for me to be able to get into a perfect meditative state and rhythm.
