Meditation
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Moa
Well-known member
One thing I've learned about meditation...
Your mind will wander. And that's perfectly ok. When you realize it, you just refocus on meditating again. It's important to develop the discipline to keep refocusing, even if you have to do it a dozen times. Discipline is the key to success.
Your mind will wander. And that's perfectly ok. When you realize it, you just refocus on meditating again. It's important to develop the discipline to keep refocusing, even if you have to do it a dozen times. Discipline is the key to success.
jamie99
Well-known member
These are free to legally download.
the mindfulness solution Everyda
I find the thought labeling, mountain, and listening meditations most helpful and they're only 10 mins long.
the mindfulness solution Everyda
I find the thought labeling, mountain, and listening meditations most helpful and they're only 10 mins long.
sullyS25
Well-known member
Meditation is amazing! I have found so much strength in this practice yet I always find ways to convince myself it won't help....the times I force myself to do it, I feel amazing and it is something I would recommend to anyone. Unfortunately the majority of people i discuss it with always tell me they don't know how or their mind wanders too much to "stop thinking". What they fail to understand is that it is about observing the mind and the thoughts and not judging them....thinking is normal....this is what I have learned....
Has anyone read anything by Alan Watts or seen any of his videos on YouTube? They truly are amazing. His books and his videos.
Has anyone read anything by Alan Watts or seen any of his videos on YouTube? They truly are amazing. His books and his videos.
The 5 hindrances are what are going to make someone stop progressing in meditation , the fifth hindrance is "Doubt" , doubt that the meditation is really working for example , doubt in one's ability etc..
They are :
1. Sensual Desire
2. Ill-will
3. Sloth and Torpor
4. Restlessness and Remorse
5. Doubt
For some people one of them is predominant , in my case torpor and doubt , even tho i fully understand the techniques and practice myself , i will always have doubts until i reach the higher levels of meditations , it's perfectly normal to have doubts until you have witnessed with your own mind , but what is important to understand is that to achieve concentration one has to temporarily abandon them while meditating , usually learning to let go and concentrating does the trick
it's so hard to meditate because the mind want excitement , the breath is neutral , the mind gets bored , we constantly look for pleasures , run away from boredom , watching a good movie you don't have to make an effort , you get naturally concentrated , the mind likes it so it sticks to it , learning to let go off the five hindrances will take you there with meditation
Alan Watts was one of my first interest in spirituality , he was quite an interesting individual !
They are :
1. Sensual Desire
2. Ill-will
3. Sloth and Torpor
4. Restlessness and Remorse
5. Doubt
For some people one of them is predominant , in my case torpor and doubt , even tho i fully understand the techniques and practice myself , i will always have doubts until i reach the higher levels of meditations , it's perfectly normal to have doubts until you have witnessed with your own mind , but what is important to understand is that to achieve concentration one has to temporarily abandon them while meditating , usually learning to let go and concentrating does the trick
it's so hard to meditate because the mind want excitement , the breath is neutral , the mind gets bored , we constantly look for pleasures , run away from boredom , watching a good movie you don't have to make an effort , you get naturally concentrated , the mind likes it so it sticks to it , learning to let go off the five hindrances will take you there with meditation
Alan Watts was one of my first interest in spirituality , he was quite an interesting individual !
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From my personal experiences , the beginning is pretty hard , it was for myself , being uncomfortable , having pains , the agitated mind , wanting to stop and lay down , not being sure if this would do any good , not being sure that i was doing it the right way , until i decided just to focus , making the right effort is important , it's not just about sitting and breathing , but to focus on the breath , feel the in breath , feel the out breath , and no matter what i would go back to it , for 20 min , 30 min , an hour.
Once you get past a certain point , meditation becomes pleasant , you finally start tasting real concentration , free of those hindrances, you discover that there is a certain joy that you had within which you never knew the existence of , you become so tranquil , there are no thoughts of physical pains to bother you , and from there the concentration goes deeper and deeper .
It takes quite an effort to train the mind , but is very very rewarding , the mind is much more important than the body , there are no true words to describe what it is you have to see it for yourself
Once you get past a certain point , meditation becomes pleasant , you finally start tasting real concentration , free of those hindrances, you discover that there is a certain joy that you had within which you never knew the existence of , you become so tranquil , there are no thoughts of physical pains to bother you , and from there the concentration goes deeper and deeper .
It takes quite an effort to train the mind , but is very very rewarding , the mind is much more important than the body , there are no true words to describe what it is you have to see it for yourself
theslowesthand
Banned
I read a really old book of his (1951) a few years back, titled "The Wisdom Of Insecurity". I found it to be an thoroughly enjoyable (& useful) read. It was really in-depth and to-the-point. Another great author is Barry Long ("Knowing Yourself"). He gets right into the all finer details of deep life stuff.
And John Kehoe of course, a "metaphysical great". There's probably quite a few "great" authors out there!
I think one needs to "ease into" a mental frame of mind, conducive to meditation & such. As it is a "finer" state of thinking/feeling, and so things have to be "just so" to be able to "fully get into" it. It may take an hour or so. Say, have a nice long bath .. then do some stretches .. listen to some deeply-relaxing music (etc). Then you will be in the "mood" for it, and will :. be much more likely to go through with it (you will have had your fill of sensory ("Sensual Desire"), you will want to do it (as your current mood wants the same; "Ill-will"), you have already done the build-up & so have the energy/motivation to carry it through to completion ("Sloth and Torpor"), you are already quite relaxed & happy & committed to doing the meditation (you don't want to do anything else; "Restlessness and Remorse"), it doesn't matter if it might not work, as you will at least have some more time just doing nothing (which is (or can be) nice; "Doubt").
Well in my experience that's what happens for me...
Hi everyone i haven't been on in a while !
I have been meditating a lot lately to a point where nothing can disturb my concentration , i can sit there for an hour without having any thoughts disturbing me , and now i understand how much the thoughts are responsible for any anxiety problems , the whole process is so fast that we only usually notice the unpleasant sensations in our bodies due to reacting to these thoughts , by that time it's too late and we feel what we call anxious , also it becomes a vicious circle , by reacting to these thoughts they reinforce themselves and our anxiety get stronger.
I now see a little bit more clearly and am able to step outside without any anxiety , i'm just there in the moment , not thinking about the people , my appearance or people judging me , i have the power to not get involved with my crazy thoughts that usually gives me anxiety symptoms even before having reached the front door . If you can't sit in meditation without getting involved with your thoughts for a minute then don't expect to be able to step outside free from those thoughts , and i mean involuntary thinking , thinking that is not necessary or harmful , i'm not talking about walking like a mindless zombie straight in the traffic , but thinking about the past , past experiences what people think of us , what our face might look like and so on .
So yes , meditation really works , even simple concentration meditation such as observing the breath , it helps you get control over the mind and not let it wander off where it shouldn't , i suggest reading books also , not religion books but technical books about meditation , that can help with alot of problems people face and can help to motivate.
Good luck !
I have been meditating a lot lately to a point where nothing can disturb my concentration , i can sit there for an hour without having any thoughts disturbing me , and now i understand how much the thoughts are responsible for any anxiety problems , the whole process is so fast that we only usually notice the unpleasant sensations in our bodies due to reacting to these thoughts , by that time it's too late and we feel what we call anxious , also it becomes a vicious circle , by reacting to these thoughts they reinforce themselves and our anxiety get stronger.
I now see a little bit more clearly and am able to step outside without any anxiety , i'm just there in the moment , not thinking about the people , my appearance or people judging me , i have the power to not get involved with my crazy thoughts that usually gives me anxiety symptoms even before having reached the front door . If you can't sit in meditation without getting involved with your thoughts for a minute then don't expect to be able to step outside free from those thoughts , and i mean involuntary thinking , thinking that is not necessary or harmful , i'm not talking about walking like a mindless zombie straight in the traffic , but thinking about the past , past experiences what people think of us , what our face might look like and so on .
So yes , meditation really works , even simple concentration meditation such as observing the breath , it helps you get control over the mind and not let it wander off where it shouldn't , i suggest reading books also , not religion books but technical books about meditation , that can help with alot of problems people face and can help to motivate.
Good luck !
Thelema
Well-known member
I tried to start at the same age, but never got very good at it. How'd you do it?
I found going to a meditation group really helpful because then you have to be silent and do the mediation. It gets easier with practise. I go to one at a Buddhist Centre but the group is just meditation not religious.
Yoga and relaxation exercises (like cue controlled relaxation) are a good introduction and are very similar to meditation.
I'm doing an online meditation course (Be Mindful Online) which has videos and audio lessons as I find it too hard to meditate from books/written material.
Youtube has a lot of meditation videos. Some good one are listed on Instant Mindfulness.
Good luck with meditating
black soul
Active member
I'm ready to give meditation and mindfulness a proper go. My life is a disaster and I've never been happy and suffer from depression, anxiety and insomnia so my racing mind will take a lot of taming. ::
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