How do you reach enlightenment through meditation??

I have always tried to meditate, but all I feel is just tired and relax. No weird chakra enlightenment, I just don’t know how it is possible??? Have any of you had any amazing effects from meditation, close to enlightenment??? I want to reach this state of mind to do better in this world I. I am going to Tibet next July hopefully, and India. I am wondering how I can become enlightened.

[edit on 8-10-2009 by Maddogkull]

You already are enlightened.
You will recognize that through meditation.

Just trying to meditate is already doing it.
To meditate is to expand your perception of emptiness (no-concepts).
Observe what is happening with your perceptions. Realize that there is an interminable chatter going on inside of us. Focus on the spaces between the thoughts, words and concepts. The more you give this comma space attention the wider it will get and you will experience it for a longer period of time.

This non-conceptual emptiness is a non-dualistic perception of the world. It shows the unity of all things. We are all united as one, thus enlightened. We just need to realize that.

I hope that helps!
And by the way, hopefully I'm also going to be around India and Nepal at the same time you are. Maybe we will bump into each other, huh?

Enjoy your ride!

[edit on 9-10-2009 by Geladinhu]

There is an unknown number of ways to reach "enlightenment". Not only that, no two people seem to agree entirely on what enlightenment is! Some would perceive enlightenment as insanity.

Personally I think of enlightenment as the intellectual understanding that we are next to nothing, and yet co-creators! Some people reach this state and it lasts a few seconds, while others become stuck there permanently. I think once you've had the experience, you can choose to go back to normal life. When something traumatic occurs, you snap back into the cosmic perspective and shine.

I would simply do your best to humble yourself and be thankful for life. Focus on the thought of life in it's entirety. Imagine all forms of life flying past your minds eye, and wish wellness towards all. You can think, "Thank You", or "Love". It doesn't matter if you're spiritual or not, this will recondition your brainwave state.

Perhaps your meditating for the effect, and thus not being able to reach your goal, because one cannot meditate while still thinking about what he wants to achieve, you are still using your brain and not letting it really zone in on its own, un interfered by your own thoughts.

if there are thoughts that come, let them come and go naturally, do not grasp the thought, just let it walk on stage and walk off.

your eyes may do things, you may want to shut them first, just breath in deeply through your nose into your lower abdomen, then into your upper chest, then exhale slowly out your mouth.

do this many times and you will be able to feel your heart rate slow down, that is a sign that your mind is relaying to your body that it can relax, because that is exactly what your doing when you breath like that.

while your meditating you can start to feel your mind registering your surroundings alot more via your peripheral vision, this makes your mind feel more aware of your surroundings (because you are) but that also brings the burden of alot more ports for thought to happen, again just let the thought enlighten you with its information, and let it go on.

I hope this helps somewhat, when I meditate the mind goes where it must, on some occasions I can experience a slight fear because I dont know what knowledge will be acquired, but once you see it, you know where its going, its sub conscious.

but i must say one last time, do not focus on any ONE single thought, instead focus that all thoughts (and happenings) that happen are one single thought collectively.

I bid you will my brother, God bless!

I studied this for years. Approx. 45 years I followed this path. What you must do, to save yourself much time and trouble, is to find a high mountain, preferably 30,000 feet or so. That is good, not much less though. It must be between 30-45 degrees. This is warm enough to survive but you must be able to increase your heat with your breath. Prior to this, you must fast and drink nothing but urine for 3 weeks. BTW
Next, you stand on your head, but do not laugh while doing this...do this for at least 1 day. You may fall, and it's okay, just start over and go for 24 hours. In the 17th hour, you must place an apple on your nose and balance it. This is the most important part. This teaches balance in life.
Once you have completed this, you will know enlightenment and you can laugh at anything.

Yes, you can. But the spiritual journey takes place in so many ways and on so many levels that one method is not going to suffice. Personally, I started with a growing awareness of things that I hadn't considered too strongly in my life (ghosts in my apartment building, UFO sightings, "coincidences", etc.) until they were undeniable. I took Shaolin qigong courses. I meditated on my own, not with any guidance because I wanted to explore as things cropped up, not through a format. To me that's like a guided tour. I don't travel on Earth that way, I won't do it otherwise either. My food choices are completely different because the awareness of my body exists now in a way that never did before. My attitude toward food is entirely different now - and I am a Le Cordon Bleu alumnist from the days when that was a real cookery school.

Gotta go now but do consider the fact that enlightenment happens in many ways. Forget your comfort zones if you really want to get to the heart of things. Travels to far away lands won't bring you closer. You carry that place with you all the time.

well. one thing you can do, imagine you are the dermis on an ever changing octopus. imagine you have control over the beauty that flood over you as you watch the weather change. don't force enlightenment, everyone has ups and downs. just remember the body is a temple. it needs a good diet.

[edit on 9-10-2009 by thaknobodi]

Originally posted by Codazzle
Perhaps your meditating for the effect, and thus not being able to reach your goal, because one cannot meditate while still thinking about what he wants to achieve, you are still using your brain and not letting it really zone in on its own, un interfered by your own thoughts.

if there are thoughts that come, let them come and go naturally, do not grasp the thought, just let it walk on stage and walk off.

your eyes may do things, you may want to shut them first, just breath in deeply through your nose into your lower abdomen, then into your upper chest, then exhale slowly out your mouth.

do this many times and you will be able to feel your heart rate slow down, that is a sign that your mind is relaying to your body that it can relax, because that is exactly what your doing when you breath like that.

while your meditating you can start to feel your mind registering your surroundings alot more via your peripheral vision, this makes your mind feel more aware of your surroundings (because you are) but that also brings the burden of alot more ports for thought to happen, again just let the thought enlighten you with its information, and let it go on.

I hope this helps somewhat, when I meditate the mind goes where it must, on some occasions I can experience a slight fear because I dont know what knowledge will be acquired, but once you see it, you know where its going, its sub conscious.

but i must say one last time, do not focus on any ONE single thought, instead focus that all thoughts (and happenings) that happen are one single thought collectively.

I bid you will my brother, God bless!

As the person above state, it is entirely true.
Like you a few months ago i wanted to be "enlightened"...but the difference is..i wanted to be able to be at peace and love all things. I didnt so much want this new "enlightenment feeling" but more so the feeling of calm, peace, and love WITHIN MYSELF...
so thus i began to meditate...for 2 months i was meditating daily and i wasn't so much focused on the thought or feelings that WOULD COME from this...it was more i was chasing the "i just want to clear my mind"...
I'll tell u the next 2 months were amazing...i seen life in a whole new perspective, i felt more love for things, i was giving AMAZING ADVICE to people, that helped them deeply. It was weird having random people say are u a messiah or something!? lol
anyhow...i then started to learn about OBE's...and i got fixated on how THAT WOULD FEEL...on HOW IT WOULD BE...not so much focusing on the the amazing love, and enlightenment i would discover. But on the actual result.
THATS WHEN IT ALL WENT DOWN HILL...
for a month almost 2..i couldn't meditate properly, i got more and more disconnected with the world. Got into arguments, and felt upset and more "unbalanced.
So with that said...the way to reach enlightenment? DONT FOCUS ON THE END RESULT...focus on the present RIGHT NOW...just focus on how great it would feel to not care what others things...to feel happy on even the most worst of times...to feel love for all and everything. TO wake up, take a walk and say wow...THIS IS BEAUTIFUL...
i swear you will reach enlightenment

There probably is not a method to reach enlightment if such thing exists. No meditation, no praying, nor any way of thinking will lead you there. If someone says being enlightened, that one's probably not. If someone comes to tell you something you should do to change, be careful. All those chakra meditations, astral projections, religions and beliefs are just kind of psychological conditions or effects - at least for the writer. They are someone else's reality, not mine. My reality is and I will accept even if a great spaghettimonster appears from sky if it will be my observation, not someone else's.

Every form of instuctions or beliefs will just trap your mind. I won't tell anyone what to do, but I can tell that for myself being open to life without objection and reflection is the best solution.

Anyway, do not take seriously what I have to say because all this may just be my imagination. Find the way by yourself, realize what you are - or just go with the flow and believe all kind stuff they offer you. It's your life!

-v

"Enlightenment" is really an endless journey back to the source of all creation. Some people say so-and-so is "enlightened" when they reach a certain state of awareness, but no one is ever really finished just as the universe itself is not finished yet.

Like others have said, you will begin to realize that you already have everything you need. It seems our real problem is that in our modern lives we have become careless and take so much granted, and overlook and over-complicate things so much, that meditation's work is really just cutting out nonsense and making us realize the obvious. Just as we don't pay conscious attention to breathing most of the time, we pay even less attention to more subtle feelings in our body, the way our thoughts arise, the way they naturally tend to conform to our feelings, things like that. When you realize these things you are empowered in that you can now influence them and have more control over your own mind and being. It is very awakening and personally empowering. The things sound simple and boring, already obvious to you, but they are not. Just like when you think you understand something but later realize you didn't really understand it at all. That's all of us right now.

Just relax yourself, release all tension and stress (this takes a lot of work to itself; we are never 100% tension-free), and see what comes to your mind. Ask yourself why those thoughts come to you, inspect yourself. Be like an outside observer looking into your mind as you sit quietly. See what you can learn.


Try listening to guided meditations and reading up on others' experiences as well, to get ideas and tips as to how to improve your personal meditation.



And be humble! When you first start, your ego will tell you all kinds of nonsense. "This is boring," "I'm confused," "What do I do now?", etc., etc., etc. These are all your ego talking, which is the equivalent of your mind on auto-run just automatically (chemically) churning out thoughts instead of just quieting down like you should first attempt to do. This kind of mental resistance is the first and only real obstacle to becoming successful in meditation.

[edit on 9-10-2009 by bsbray11]

reply to post by Maddogkull


Thank you for your wish to become enlightened, so as to help others. I appreciate your altruism. Keep wishing, everyday, every breath if you like - it places good will and intentions to the universe!

Remember Enlightenment is not a thing or a place or even a state of mind; it could really remain unnamed. Like a few have said above, knowing the empty spaces between thoughts will get you significantly on the road.

Namaste

As stated above, there are many, many types of meditation. "85,000 methods" is a traditional Buddhist formula for the number of ways to reach enlightenment...which basically means "more than you or I can count or imagine."

Or, more succinctly, as the Zen people say, "many paths, one mountain."

A lot of people confuse "meditation" with "relaxation," by the way. Strict, traditional Japanese Zen meditation or Tibetan visualization exercises (to pick two of many possible examples) are hard work. Its not about "trancing out" or relaxing to some floaty etherial tunes after a hard day at the office. Its a full-time job in its own right, which is why there were always professional monks and full-time hermits down through history, living seperated from the rest of the world and pursuing strict, often very austere practices....whether they be Christian desert fathers or Hindu cave-dwellers.

The attempt to "new-age-ify" meditation and water it down to something you can do on the weekends between a trip to the beach and afternoon tea only will produce only tepid results.

There are already such good responses (and answers) in this thread, nice one

I think first you need to ask yourself, what enlightement means to you? What are you expecting from it? Do you have a definition of it? Have you imagined what it would be like? Is it a set image in your mind?
If yes on most of the above, then you have put the concept of enlightement into a box and you need to let go of that.
Forget everything you think you know about it and then, with an empty mind, without expectations, without definition.... try again.

I think there is no true concept of enlightement, it is not something you experience through one meditation session either, but something that grows inside you during a lifetime, not only changing your meditation experiences, but it changes your life and your view towards life, other persons, nature, etc...

On a personal note:
I've been meditating for almost 19 years, different techniques, and I had many wonderful experiences from it. None of it which I would call enlightement. I remember when for the first time I 'felt' the energy go through my body, I felt the life force of what everything is made of and from that moment on I learned to recognize it in everything and everyone.

Since then I have days that when I take a walk outside, this awareness of life force comes to the surface, and I start noticing trees, birds, nature, where most days I would just rush by them without noticing, I feel that energy... and it just puts a smile on my face and for a moment, nothing else matters anymore and I feel peaceful inside.
To me, those are 'my' enlightened moments.

I hope you find what your looking for in Tibet and wish you a good jouney
very nice thread so far

An old zen tale:

Somebody asked a master how long it would take to reach enlightement by meditation. The master answered: "maybe ten years. Or perhaps twenty, if you try real hard."

I have been meditating for over 20 years, for me it took a while, the hardest thing is not to focus on the constant chatter that goes on in your head, I conquered that by bringing my attention back to my breath. Now with three deep breaths I am there, able to visualize easily and pretty much go and see what I want to because over time my third eye has been activated, in fact it always has been but I wasn't able to focus until I started meditating. There are many great free programs out there to help you, bottom line is you have to do the work.

The Human Body Energy Centers, Beautiful! (1 of 3)

Part 1. www.youtube.com...

Part 2. www.youtube.com...

Part 3. www.youtube.com...

Opening the Third Eye
A Pranayama (or Qigong ) technique using mudras (spiritual hand positions) and breath control to awaken the major energy centers.

www.youtube.com...

www.silentthundercenter.org..../

Hope these links help

Meditation and Relaxation
Hello and welcome to my relaxation page.

Please stay and relax for a few minutes to recharge your batteries.

Sit with your back straight and both your feet flat on the ground, stare at the animated picture above or below and listen to the music. Or if you prefer to, sit with your eyes closed and listen to the music.

If you cannot hear any music please wait a few moments for it to load. The time it takes to load will vary, depends on your computer some my take longer to load than others. If you are still unable to hear it, check that you have your sound turned on, then click on the button which is situated at the bottom of this page, that should hopefully sort the problem.

Try to just concentrate on your breathing, if any thoughts do pop into your mind acknowledge them then go back to your breathing.

Slowly take a deep breath in through your nose, try taking it in all the way down to your tummy, feel it filling your lungs on the way, hold it if you can counting slowly to 3, then gently blow the air out of your mouth, feel your tummy and chest go down. Each time you breathe out imagine that you are blowing all your worries and tensions away.

Repeat 10 times.

Ahhhh doesn't that feel better!
www.chakrakalm.co.uk...

Maddogkull another key to meditation is find a quiet place where there are no outside distractions, that can be difficult for a lot of people, now that I have been living alone for years it makes it easy for me...good luck.

Imagine for a moment a gigantic empty stadium. In the farthest corners of that stadium is a tiny TV-set chattering away.

The difference between an "enlightened" person and an "unenlightened" person is that the latter is hypnotized by and intensely focussed on that infintesimally tiny part of the Universe that is chattering away in grandiose self-importance while the Former is aware of all the rest.

The silence is huge man. Really huge. Geladinhu got it right in his post.

Btw: This thread, your question and all the answers are part of that tiny TV-Set. Become aware of the gigantic stadium of silence. It is profound and huge and beyond even Meditation.

[edit on 9-10-2009 by Skyfloating]

Here's one of my favorite chakra meditation videos; ten minutes and VERY healing. I don't think it will take you to "enlightenment," but if you are stressed out or what have you, its ten minutes well spent. Close your eyes and listen to the voice (don't bother with the visuals).