Do you meditate? (Page 2) cjn6980: i had been wanting to try meditation also but i can't seem to relax enough to get any sleep. but after reading diolover71's post... i'm with near 50! scared me right off lol  tbulb: Meditation does not necessarily have to be the way diolover describes it--though things will arise--which is why you need a good teacher to guide you through these phases--so you don't get stuck there. A simple way to meditate is to simply focus on your breath--and when a thought arises, just label it a thought and let it go. Your mind will jump all over the place...your muscles will twitch...but eventually and with practice, your mind will settle and your muscles will stop twitching. Start small--maybe 5 minutes. Meditation is paradoxical--we are instructed not to use it to change ourselves but we will be changed by it--slowly--so slowly we don't even notice. Find yourself a good teacher--one who will help you through if and when pain arises. PS One time a group of us got the giggles--it was funny listening to the giggles go around the room. cjn6980: lol oh well thanks for clearing that up because i was really getting scared about it. i'm just starting to try to meditate, mind you i have been able to zone out since a child but i'm not sure how to control that so i want to know if zoneing out and meditation are the same, work together or just different. maybe that doesn't make sense but i don't know how to explain it. when i zone out i don't know i'm zoned out until i "come to?". when i try to zone out all i can do in my head is repeat "stop" (i was told to do that when ever my focus strayed) or images of me hitting my head trying to empty it and i blow it cuz i laugh or get frustrated. i guess i'm just not meant to sit still lol mind you i zone out while "active" as well. i have often drove from one place to another with no memory of the trip and just hoping i didn't hit anybody or something.. while with a group of friends, eating whatever, and sometimes other people notice it sometimes they don't until later. do you think meditation will help or is there something else i should try? and seriously, thanks for your help. i do have help and advice from others but you can't overdo knowledge and information..especially since i seem to be my own worst enemy lol  diolover71: .Not 4 hours at a time.Usually an hour at a time. I have read about and tried many different techniques.I have found that no technique might be the best technique.Let it be natural.Don`t force yourself to zone out or not think.If your mind is racing,it needs to be.Think of it as, your thoughts draining out.If you are zoning out than also that is what your mind needs at that moment. You try to observe your thoughts,like you are studying yourself.You train yourself to endure whatever thoughts or emotions arise without being afraid of your thoughts or punishing yourself for unpleasant thoughts,or desires.You gradually allow yourself to experience the suppressed thoughts and emotions that we all have stored inside of us. You can do this walking, laying on your back or sitting on a chair with your back straight. If you want to try the breath method like tbulb suggested;it works.It is very powerful.Many times I used it, for an hour walking followed by an hour sitting.I cried so much it is a wonder that I didn`t become dehydrated !! (Edited by diolover71) cjn6980: lol well then if i can try to not force myself maybe it might work. just wait it out thinking until i can't think anymore? i do the breathing, a lot, even without the trying to meditate. i just do it whenever i feel the need to relax or recharge, so i know that works. just meditating has always eluded. thank you though i will try to do it your way and allow my head to run amok lol who knows it might work for me. tbulb: cjn--I suspect you're overthinking meditating too much.... diolover is right--there are a variety of techniques--find one that works for you. Zoning out is different as you are not "present". Meditation is to get you present--not wandering off in lala land (though I have spent a couple of happy hours chasing various thoughts! ) Start simply--pay attention to your breath--when a thought arises, label it thinking, then return to your breath. It's that simple. And that difficult. Your mind will want to run away in different directions; your body will suddenly have itches (just your mind at work trying to distract you).... Be gentle with yourself--and keep going. Small periods of time.....build slowly... cjn6980: thank you for the encouragement and help. i do plan on practicing and continuing. if nothing else i have learned to be more patient and calmer and laugh at life more than i did before. so if nothing else i know that it does help even if you can't achieve total meditation. i was just hoping for the benefits of meditation that i hear about all the time. maybe one day with any luck... blessed be  WonderWoman1: I love this blog so so much that I want to follow this...Amen to all ..wonderful people here...  tbulb: ahhhh Wonder..that is sooooooooooooooo sweet. And cjn...it takes time...but one day you will notice a difference or someone else might notice a difference. I taught this practice to a former student of mine who was very very tense. After practicing for about six weeks, her piano teacher said, "You seem more relaxed." My student hadn't even noticed a difference until that point. So keep at it!  josh_12: meditation starts with introspection............then u gradually discover who u are...........and gradually u lift ur self above the attachments of the materialist world.....realizing ur existence beyond physical plane.........OM MANI PADME HUM Biff Webster: It depends on what I want to achieve. I am a little out of practice, but I still have some techniques that have been of my own design and others learned. Not good at lucid dreaming anymore but for calmness and slowed time, relaxing or sleeping I can still do... I miss the lucid dreaming though. That is the best...:\ Biff Webster: Zenzu, thinking my thoughts in very slow motion, 53 points of relaxation. Mixed with binaural beats with one of those helps of my mind is too chatty. Biff Webster: I highly recommend the book 'Exploring the world of Lucid Dreaming' by Dr. Stephen LaBurge *spelling might be wrong*. It is a very small book but has great techniques. You can get a used copy on amazon for a couple of bucks.  uranium235: http://www.worldyogaday.net/cms/index.php The above website is of immense importance to people who like yoga.  chris12344: hey do you guys know of a recording of someone's heart on a heart monitor along with a recording of their breathing while they go from mild stress to full deep meditation? chris12344: also do you guys think that it is possible to be completely without thought for serval hours at a time?  Angry Beaver: geeze mate, don;t you know when a woman asks a man, "what are you thinking?" and he says "nothing", that's exactly what he's thinking... we can do nothing very easily Sailor_Mercury: I recently did a meditation exercise with a couple friends. I have extremely bad anxiety sometimes, with some spells lasting for days. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I opened up about it. That's when we did it. It was only 3 minutes long, but I felt my anxiety release like a vice grip. All the tension in my chest just relaxed. There's really something to it. | Self-Improvement Chat Room Similar Conversations |
