Meditation

[onemoretime]

I guess this is as good a place for this subject as any.

I had my first effective meditative experience just a few minutes ago. I am very thankful that I was able to undergo this process. I wonder, what are your various opinions on the subject? It appeared to me to work as a highly-effective means of reconciling things that one's mind needed to deal with, but was blocked for whatever reason. Your thoughts and experiences?

 

[Oaky]

I sometimes meditate to relieve myself from anxiety. I also meditate to remove negative emotions that comes every once in a while.

 

[Take Five]

I meditate to ensure that my actions are in tune with who I am, and that things under my control proceed as they should. Sometimes it is more like brooding than contemplating.

 

[ajblaise]

I'm an INTP, meditation is practically my default state.

But the kind of meditation where you clear your head of all thoughts, I can't do. It makes me anxious.

 

[sLiPpY]

I try to meditate, but there isn't a thought in my head. Then I get bored and go do something else.

 

[Mole]

I'm an INTP, meditation is practically my default state.

But the kind of meditation where you clear your head of all thoughts, I can't do. It makes me anxious.

Well Ajblaise, I don't try an clear my head of all thoughts. All I do is watch my thoughts, and like a cared-for child they start to relax and feel safe and enjoy themselves.

And as my thoughts start to enjoy themselves, I start to enjoy myself. And I let my thoughts play for as long as they like until they get sleepy, then I enfold them in my arms and let them sleep.

And then there I am, wide awake but all my thoughts are sleeping.

This is a delicious moment I enjoy all by myself. I take my time and enjoy the moment until I am again ready for the company of my thoughts.

And then I very gently wake them up, give them a kiss, and listen to their every word.

And my thoughts are always pleased to see me, refreshed and relaxed after a sleep, as I am to see them .

 

[Biaxident]

...OOOOOoooommmm...

 

[Little Linguist]

Meditation is very helpful. It is the one thing that calms my mind down and really allows me to engage in some contemplation....My extraverted nature gets shoved to the side, and I can go deep inside myself. It's very important, or I burn out relatively quickly.

You don't have to make strange sounds. Just close your eyes and black out your brain. I imagine this is what people who drink alcohol or take drugs try to do, and I can do it naturally.

 

[antireconciler]

And my thoughts are always pleased to see me, refreshed and relaxed after a sleep, as I am to see them .

Thank you Barney.

 

[Mole]

Thank you Barney.

Yes, meditating is treating oneself as a loved child. And in particular, treating our thoughts as loved children.

Unfortunately many of us have not been loved as children so we don't know how to love ourselves now. And in particular we don't know how to love our thoughts - in fact many of us hate our thoughts just as we hate ourselves.

So our first instinct is to get rid of our thoughts - but our thoughts are profoundly part of us. So to hate them and try to get rid of them is a profound act of cruelty.

But most of us have not been loved and so we don't know how to love, we don't know how to love even something as intimate as our thoughts.

And if we don't know how to love ourselves intimately, we certainly don't know how to love someone else intimately. So intimacy is cruelly beyond our reach.

So we try to find all kinds of mechanical ways to reach each other. We try techniques such as MBTI. But techniques are only work with things and techniques don't work with persons.

So we become more and more technically proficient with MBTI and further and further from intimacy.

And this is what we want - for intimacy burns those who can't love.

 

[onemoretime]

^^ You've got to let go of your shell before you can engage yourself.

 

[YaeRRoW]

Does the period before falling asleep count as meditation? Because I just kinda lie there staring at the ceiling and think of random stuff. If so I meditate on a daily basis.

 

[onemoretime]

Meditation's different for everyone. What I was referring to was the process of emptying one's consciousness and seeing what happens.

 

[YaeRRoW]

Like think about of nothing? I allways fall asleep just before that moment.

 

[onemoretime]

I'd say less "thinking of nothing" than "not trying to think of anything". Plenty of thinking going on.

 

[Kanamori]

Does the period before falling asleep count as meditation? Because I just kinda lie there staring at the ceiling and think of random stuff. If so I meditate on a daily basis.

People meditate more often than they realize.

 

[Mole]

Does the period before falling asleep count as meditation? Because I just kinda lie there staring at the ceiling and think of random stuff. If so I meditate on a daily basis.

Meditation is a disposition towards oneself.

So are you well disposed towards yourself or are you poorly disposed towards yourself?

 

[LEGERdeMAIN]

I use the "Middle Pillar Exercise" on saturday mornings. But....every night or so I meditate for about an hour by laying down on a hard surface with a neck pillow, for head comfort, and turn off/get rid of all lights, noises and other sensory distractions.

I keep my eyes closed and visualize myself in the middle of a sphere. In my sphere I identify thoughts and categorize them before "pushing" them out of the sphere. The object of this exercise is to push out all thoughts. It's very difficult for many people at first, but it gets easier with practice. Eventually(after many, many hours, days, etc) you may succeed in pushing out almost every thought while remaining conscious.

The only thought you should have in the end is of the "existence" or "being-in-time/being-in-space"(if you prefer physics to philosophy) variety. This seems to be paradoxical to some. Basically it's what the Buddhists and others call samadhi. It's the traditional goal of meditation in most schools of yoga.

 

[kiddykat]

I've always wanted to learn how to meditate. Don't know how to. Would love to, but I have tinnitus, which is chronic ear ringing... sooo it kinda takes away from the calming experience.

 

[erm]

I use the "Middle Pillar Exercise" on saturday mornings. But....every night or so I meditate for about an hour by laying down on a hard surface with a neck pillow, for head comfort, and turn off/get rid of all lights, noises and other sensory distractions.

I keep my eyes closed and visualize myself in the middle of a sphere. In my sphere I identify thoughts and categorize them before "pushing" them out of the sphere. The object of this exercise is to push out all thoughts. It's very difficult for many people at first, but it gets easier with practice. Eventually(after many, many hours, days, etc) you may succeed in pushing out almost every thought while remaining conscious.

The only thought you should have in the end is of the "existence" or "being-in-time/being-in-space"(if you prefer physics to philosophy) variety. This seems to be paradoxical to some. Basically it's what the Buddhists and others call samadhi. It's the traditional goal of meditation in most schools of yoga.

May I ask what stage you are at? And how long it took you to get there?

I'm trying a similar technique with a similar goal, except I don't categorise, but just acknowledge the thoughts then push or let go of them as 'gently' as I can. I'm not very long in and am having trouble identifying any progress. Though I do think I've made some.