15 replies to this topic

[SereneScene]

Tomorrow I have off and have a lot of me time, ant tips on doing my very first meditation?

[AsteroidX]

First time. Just find a quiet place sit with a good posture and breath evenly. Relax your thoughts and try to not think of the outside world. Try to focus (not think) of your breathing and your muscles and your posture. That would be alot to do for the first time. When you can do this and have no thought (only focus) you have begun  meditating. If you have never done before it may be difficult to calm your thoughts for even a few seconds. It takes practice but you can do this anywhere. The posture is for greater focus..

There is also certain phrases that ar used in some meditations for eastern philosophies/religions.

[sarah_444]

Get as comfortable as you can and try to just focus on your breath. You can silently repeat "breathing in, breathing out" as you inhale/exhale.  Deep, slow, even  breaths will help slow your heart rate down and relax your muscles. Try not to become too overwhelmed if your thoughts try to wander (and they probably will). What helps me when this happens is silently telling myself to "be here now". It helps pull my mind back to that quiet that I am trying to achieve.

[SereneScene]

What are the benefits of meditation other than relaxation? I hear that it can heal old emotional scars and deep feelings..

[sarah_444]

SereneScene, on 19 December 2012 - 04:13 AM, said:

What are the benefits of meditation other than relaxation? I hear that it can heal old emotional scars and deep feelings..

I think that with regular practice it could certainly help with that. It may help you to see or understand your/other's feelings in a new way.
For me, along with relaxation meditation actually increases my energy. It helps me think and feel more clearly afterwards and helps me connect to my inner self.

Just remember to start slow.

[AsteroidX]

I am more relaxed. I have a clear mind and dont feel cluttered all the time. I feel as if I use less energy throughout the day and am more adaptable in general to people places and things. And it feels good. Like an endorphin.

[himalyanmystic]

Breathing pattern's are connected to the flow of thoughts in the mind.So a few breathing exercises make the breathing aven and automatically u notice the thoughts also settle down  a little.So the eyes are closed and posture is made stable and comfortable, a person looks between the eyebrows with mild focus ,the thoughts come back and time to time u can forget u are meditating and get carried away thats normal ,soon u realise again  what u want to do so again just observe the mind with slight detachment over time u can have intervals of 10-15 minutes with no thoughts or almost no thoughts .when such states are achieved effortlessly some amount of meditative transformation happens .this is just my opinion from what i felt when i actually started.Pracice 10 mins every day is useful.................... peace!!!!!!!!!!

[Seeker79]

SereneScene, on 19 December 2012 - 03:08 AM, said:

Tomorrow I have off and have a lot of me time, ant tips on doing my very first meditation?

Start small and work your way up. Most people evision themselves sitting there for half an hour or more. Set an alarm on your phone or something and start wit 10 minutes and add a minute every 2 weeks until you reach your goal.

Edited by Seeker79, 19 December 2012 - 01:41 PM.

[AsteroidX]

Good input,

I would avoid alarms and use my internal clock to manage the time mediating however.

Edited by AsteroidX, 19 December 2012 - 01:43 PM.

[MistyW]

I agree that you should be building yourself upwards, if you can only concentrate for about ten minutes, then just meditate for ten minutes. Then keep working your way up until you can meditate for longer periods and totally focus on clearing and renewing the mind. Also there's no need to have distractions such as cellphones,etc around you while you meditate, so that nothing will break you out of your natural meditative trance. Hope this helps.

[himalyanmystic]

A very convenient way to start doing meditation is before u go to sleep lying down,although i go to sleep most of the times but on some attempts u can go into a full night of meditation ,with even breathing ,good body relaxation and next morning u feel very different...............quite useful actually

[AsteroidX]

Fasting is a part of meditation

[libstaK]

I find with meditation it is not necessary but definitely helps to prepare or "ritualise" the process.

- Set aside a meditation corner or site in your home.
- Light a candle and some incense
- Have some soft meditation music playing in the background
- Perhaps have a little Buddha or other item that focuses your mind on meditation when you see it.

As you are preparing this begin your focus, take you time with each step of preparation as though it was a step in ritual that requires your focus.

By the time you are seated you have hopefully put yourself into a "sacred" state of mind aka: focused and respectful of the experience to come, calm and ready to begin.

On the matter of breathing, as you progress in your practice aka after a few initiatory meditations - take your breathing to a more focused level.

When you inhale imagine filling your lungs from the bottom to the top, slowly and evenly.  You should feel your lower abdomen move to accomodate the air in your lungs, if you placed your hand on your belly you would feel it move out.

Your shoulders should remain still, all the movement should occur in your core.

Pause on the inhaled breathe, revere the prana in the air you have inhaled which is now saturating your lungs and through your blood stream, your body - the breath of life.

When you exhale reverse the process, exhale slowly from the top of your lungs to the bottom until you feel you have removed all air, again your abdomen should contract inward as you do this.

Pause and repeat.

This next stage will take some time to become natural but when it does, you will find your lung capacity has greatly increased and it is a healthier way to breathe at any time, it will calm you to do this outside of the meditation experience whereever you are.

You will know you have mastered this when you sit to meditate and you just start to breathe this way, without focus or conscious thought - it will be an automatic response to the ritual you have established and happen the same way that walking happens when we want to get to the kitchen, we don't think we want to walk we just think we want a drink and our body does the rest almost automatically.  You won't think you need to breathe this way, you will simply think you wish to meditate and the body will start to breathe this way.

[AsteroidX]

sage and nagchampa are 2 examples of incense. One can grow your own sage in many areas of the world and nagchampa is exported from India.

Edited by AsteroidX, 23 December 2012 - 03:50 PM.

[keninsc]

Ok, one thing, and I'm being very serious here. When I first began meditation way back in the seventies, at times I went to sleep. Hey, it happens. Don't let that frustrate you, it just means you're getting the hang of relaxing, the rest will come on it's own. Meditation is one of the greatest gifts I was ever given, I only wish the girl who taught me could have lived to know what wonderful gift she gave me. Yeah, I know it's a bit of a buzz kill but it's the truth.

Once you get it down. be a pal and pass it along to someone......it's a Karma thing.

Peace.