Meditation tips for beginners

reply to post by scientist


Wow!

I never thought of it but that has happened to me a few times aswell. I have just been sitting there when i close my eyes whilst looking towards the sun. I get the peachy looking skin effect then several minutes later I see "nothing" sometimes i just see nothing but black and othertimes i just see like a grey like mist. It was a strange experience for me but know i know...I was meditating. Intresting thread and some good tips guys...and gals!

Its good to keep a journal.

When you meditate your brain is vibrating at the threshold between wakefulness and sleeping. With practice and patience, you will find that you have a direct link to your subconscious mind.

Once you are able to quiet your mind, you can move on to concentration and focus.

When you can enter the meditative state at will, choose one thing to concentrate on.
Focus only on this one thought and see how long you can hold it without loosing focus. Every time you loose focus, bring your focused attention back to what you want to concentrate on.

breathing is also very important when it comes to meditating. I suggest breathing with the stomach/diaphragm/hara/solar plexus if you don't already.
Doing this provides much better assistance to your lungs and helps them operate most efficiently. Thats how you breathe when you sleep too.

One thing that you could focus on is your heartbeat. If you can find a quiet place and get into the proper meditative mindset, focus on your heartbeat. Visualize your blood pumping in and out of your heart and watch it course throughout your body.

Send your focus to different parts of your body while breathing slowly and watch what happens

depending on whether or not you consider yourself spiritual, depends on the context of your meditations. As some have pointed out, they have been doing it without even knowing it.
To me, mindful meditation allows one to truly get to know themselves, amongst countless and priceless other benefits.

The pace at which you choose to meditate depends on you.
I meditate several times a day, and have learned how to do it by ''remembering'' the frequency in which my brain vibrates(Theta 4-7Hz).
I also have used NeuroLinguistic Programming to create multiple anchors that would automatically bring me into the theta state when those anchors are triggered.

If you know anything about NLP and applying anchors, I suggest choosing an odd anchor that would never be accidently triggered unless YOU consciously triggered your own anchor. The implications of choosing an anchor that can occur frequently outside of your control can be dangerous.(depending on your lifestyle)


Try and find the space between your thoughts. Observe yourself thinking!
Objectify your thought and turn it into a symbol. Notice, that if your mind is in the Beta wave(12-27Hz) thoughts will pop into your head after a brief pause.
For a brief moment you will hear the sound of nothing.
Increase this nothingness and try and stay in that space.

Also try cutting off and interrupting your thoughts and remain focused on the sound of nothingness. Don't think, simply quiet the inner dialog rambling about in your brain.

You will see, with daily practice, how easy it is.

Everything will fall into place.

great post billyjoinedat2k8 !

Hi billyjoinedat2k8, it's a pleasure that I could help you with the knowledge and experience I have in this field. It's one of my passions .. and caring for the well-being of oneself and other souls .. if they have an open mind and (more important!) open heart!

And ... hi cait, thanks for your lovely words too!
Looking at your signature, you are also not a newbie to this things and I find it great that you put up your guided meditation! Really loved to listen to them as my english is now good enough to follow the words. The 'Pink Star Meditation' is great!! The CD I started with was a journey guided to a relaxing place in nature where you can meet your 'wise being' and ask any question you have and got some answers (words / pictures / sound / feelings) so one can move on and has a direction ...
Maybe this is kinda inspiration for your next recording, as your voice is really relaxing and the CD if have is not available in english.


Great other posts here too in this thread

The 'seeing' experience of scientist reminds of the sentence from my teacher ... "then it's about to start to 'see the unseen'"

Generally: Meditation can be any form of focused energy such as exercise, running, painting, long distance driving, chanting sacred words/prayers etc.

And concerning the food and other restrictions ... I agree with cait ... and everyone who seriously is into meditations with the goal to relax, expierience inner peace, heal, building up a relationship to your spiritual being, purify the energy/ethering body, reaching enlightenment, ...
will not really have the desire to 'take in / consume / eat' ... vibrations that are not in tune with the goal of their daily process.

For example I did and do meditations which are connected with the energy of the elements and I would have been never able to win the air element (which has wonderful abilities, like for expample being the carrier for telepathic messages) if I would have continued smoking. But at that time it was not a big deal to quit because I already got a taster of the energy and abilities of the pure air element, which was much more intensive experience then the desire for the cigarettes ...

And experiencing and hold a stable state of inner peace and with that also contributing to the world peace ... is very difficult if you take in meat (earth element) from a living being that was killed forcibly and in a state of fear, because every atom of this flesh is still vibrating on this level, going through your body and can cause lacks in your energy body and destroy your natural protection circles ...

Happy travels everyone on your (spiritual) journeys and wonderful experiences!

Hi Guard.

I'm so glad you liked the meditation...I have about 20 already recorded including a couple for meeting guides, and will be doing more soon. I'm in the process of setting up my own tiny studio so I don't have to trail off somewhere else to do it. I wil have a look over the weekend and see what I can find to post here.

Thank you so much for the feedback, and if you have any ideas for meditations you would like to hear recored, please u2u me or post them here. I used to ask my meditaiton circle for ideas, but I don't have that contact anymore, and I miss it...so please make suggestion, and I will see what Spirit gives me.

Blessings

Cait

Hi cait,

thanks for your feedback too and great that you already made more recordings. And all the best for your studio. You really got the gift that you have a beautiful voice ... so use it A spontanious thought after reading your post ... why not create a meditation that guides to the source of / opens an energy channel for 'inspiration'. Isn't that one of the prior things 'spirit' should do?

I am personally quite absorbed for the next weeks. Just got somehow stuck into this boards here as it's so much interesting and unusual stuff and threads going on ... I should do other things which I am not in the mood to do and am quite inconsequent at the moment ...

So ... to listen to reason ... I should not really be here

Thanks for the Blessing ... Much Love & Light goes out to you!

Hey Guard,

A channel for inspiration sounds wonderful, and I havent written one of those yet. Thank you! I will see how that one develops, and let you know. And thank you also for your kind remarks about my voice. I discovered my meditation voice relatively recently, and found it worked well, so I'm trying to make the most of it.

Don't feel bad about taking time out....it's so needed by most of us and we are conditioned to feel bad about treating ourselves to down time...it always does us good, so enjoy!

Cait

Originally posted by caitlinfae
reply to post by guard

 

Drink and drugs also, and never mind people who try to convince you it's cool to mix spirit with spirit...it's just not.

Cait,

I have to disagree with you there about one thing.

I have found that using tobacco(make sure its the all natrual kind) before mediating can actually help you reach a meditavie state faster.
I think some shaminstic traditions use tobacco also to put them into a trance like state(basically the same as meditation).

So you can try that to help you.
But you dont have to use that.

And there are many ways you can get into a meditavie state.

My personall favorite is just to wonder in nature for awhile.
You might have a lot on your mind at first but after awhile those thoughts just fade away and you end up in a trance like state where your just in the here and now.
No past no future just the present.

It doesnt always work but I've found that it will work more often the more you do it.

But make sure not to get lost.

And just try to find what fits you.

Not every type works for everybody.

reply to post by 5ealchris



I do understand....I know about the shamanistic use of tobacco and other natural drugs, but I think they should be introduced once people have learned the basics, and can meditate unaided, *if* they need them, rather than rely on them as a shortcut, which many inexperienced people do. It's a difficult thing to get right and manage properly, and can challenge the meditative state if not used correctly...and some people find that they never nned to use them at all. Often, essential oils and natural incenses can be just as powerful and useful in changing state and deepening your experience without actually taking the substance into your systems directly.


Cait

why would you use things like tobacco or drugs to get thier quicker id think it would be more fulfilling getting to a meditative state more naturally rather than taking short cuts.

i do not believe shamans (or anyone) use drugs to meditate. In some cases, they use drugs to gain alternate perspectives, but this is very different from meditation. meditation by definition means to create a relaxed/heightened state of awareness through psychophysical or spiritual means (depending on which you believe in most).

Using a substance is a bit of a different practice, although often with the same intention. From what I understand, shamans use mind altering drugs to essentially push their mind so far to the edge, that it breaks all boundaries in hopes for new perspectives on things - not necessarily for relaxation or a specific focus.

Perhaps it's just a fine line between hallucination and meditation, but it exists.

[edit on 31-7-2008 by scientist]

reply to post by scientist


It really depends on how tightly you definte meditation....for me it can mean anything from house cleaning on a caffeine and sugar high, to intense relaxation...and everything inbetween and in every direction outside of that....

Using natural substances such as oils can be tailored to a specific goal, as can drugs, I'm sure in the correct way. It doesn't have to be about pushing ourselves to the point of shamanic death, or slipping into the next dimension...

Basically, the point I'm trying to make is that natural, substance free meditation when practised regularly, is intense enough for nearly everyone, and easier to control. We're talking to beginners here, remember. No disrespect meant at all!

Cait

Originally posted by billyjoinedat2k8
why would you use things like tobacco or drugs to get thier quicker id think it would be more fulfilling getting to a meditative state more naturally rather than taking short cuts.

it depends if it is habitual or held in a more sacred light.

in a sacred context, it isn't about getting there quicker, but because the plant has an effect on your brain. There is a evolutionary reason, IMO, for the receptor cells in your brain to react to certain stimuli.

A lot of people are adverse to drug use and that is fine. A lot of people are adverse to drug abstinence as well. Who is right? Both parties are right.
They are absolutely correct if it works for them, however balance is essential for your health.

I don't enjoy drinking alcohol in large quantities and occasionally drink a glass of wine from time to time. Will this adversely effect my meditational state or hinder my spiritual progress? The answer is no, only if I allow it to effect those or other aspects.

I do habitually/ritually smoke sacred herbs. To me these herbs are tools to grow spiritually.
There are a lot of tools in life that you can use to grow spiritually, which is in and of itself an alteration of perception, and I believe that when used in moderation and with positive intent, there aren't any adverse effects related to tobacco/psychoactive drugs in the human body.

The quality, production, and essence of these tools (how they got into your body, where they came from, what kind of chemicals are present et c) are all very important when it comes to this factor.

Ok so Im going to basically back up what iiinivsion said.

Using tobacco and other substances in moderation can help you reach different meditative states.

I use tobacco occasionally to slip into a mediative state.
And I find that it is quicker and different than not using it when I meditate.
So I wouldnt consider it cheating because you reach a different state when you use tobacco vs not using.

And this is because different types of medition will lead to different experinces.

So as me and many other posters have stated explore the different types of medition, and use the ones that gave you the best results.
But dont give up the first time if it doesnt work.
It has taken me a few time to get a result from different practices.
So just explore and do what you feel comfortable with.

Originally posted by Lethil
i either a- inhale visualise from 1 to 3 in my head exhale....or b-(most the time) listen for that little ringing sound...focus on it and breath in a comfortable way for a while...it always good to get an *extra* helping hand in getting there though.....

Hey, Listening for that little ringing sound is a big HELPER for sure! When I hear that ringing sound, I try to think that ringing sound is the sound of a faster vibration, it puts me into a deeper state sometimes.

Honestly.... as simple as it may sound, Do what the Buddha did. Dhyana mudra, Sitting in a Full-Lotus or Half-Lotus meditating Posture. This was his position before he each englightment. With your right hand(palms up) over your left palm with your two thumbs slightly touching each other. Eyes closed or if your advanced, eyes lowered.

images.exoticindiaart.com...
Have your spine straight for the proper alignment of your spin, which will allow proper flow of energy.

You have to remember, what you are doing is actually programing your body, your allowing certain information to process, certain blood flow, certain breathing, certain senses. You try to do the correct breathing routines, as if your sleeping, Get to know your breathing, Put full awareness on "EVERYTHING" that goes on while your breathing, on the inhalation and exhalation. When your used to breathing like this, your mind starts to wander off, thoughts, pictures, observations, all sorts of things appears.
Let awareness take over and take your time, dont get caught up on things.

This is basic procedure

When you get good at that after how many days it may takes you, You wanna learn to put awareness on your 7 chakara points, I'm not gonna explain full details on that but you can google that stuff. When your know your 7 chakra points, as if you have a idea of what to expect from each points, feeling, sensation, mood and more. Then one step I'm currently working on is, start with putting my awareness on my First chakara point at the bottom, then observe it flow to your second chakara and pin point that spot, then continue with the rest of your chakara points. Thats all i know for now.