Buddhism is the major religion here in Thailand and I am exposed to it every day. I see Buddhist monks all over an I am very interested in their religion, I think it is beautiful.
I see meditation on TV and it seems very easy but I cannot sit down long enough to relax my thoughts. I am always thinking of my next move.
Does anyone have any tips on meditation?
I would love to join a temple here as a buddhist novice, but, alot of being a monk is meditation and I am affraid that I will never understand it.
It takes years of practice. Its really amazing how people do it and not every one is as patient as them. I cant even stay away a minute from my PC so thats out of the question of me sitting and relaxing. One advice I can give you is that go to Google its your best friend and will help you. Type meditation tips and you will get good results.
I couldnīt do it... Iīm so nervous, I canīt stop doing things. But I also think Buddhism is interesting and those monks are really special people. I donīt think it is difficult to find tips in your own country, if Buddhism is so popular but I agree, there must be lots of sites in google about this, because itīs a mistery how they achieve power by relaxing.
My preference would be to call meditation relaxation – conscious relaxation, chosen relaxation. These are words that are more universally understood, more comfortable. Constantly working toward the goal of discovering my own ability to reach a state of serenity, I have learned to meditate.
Meditating is actually easier than you might imagine. Most of us have dabbled in meditation by participating in conscious relaxation. Maybe during an exercise class or to manage pain at the dentist or anxiety before a test. We start by paying attention to our breathing. The practical effort to focus completely on our breathing takes our minds away from the "mind clutter" that constantly tries to invade our mind and eliminate feelings that will lead to a time of calm. With repeated effort the goal of clearing your mind – to think of nothing, does occur and the process of meditation takes on its own energy. The result is, and I guarantee this, peace, serenity, calmness, eventually opening yourself to new insights.
Meditating for Life
Too much stress, stress reduction, chill out, let it go, detach – familiar phrases to all of us. Our world is fast, fun and exciting. It is also challenging, trying, demanding and frightening. These two sides of our lives produce stress, emotional reactions, anxiety, worry and anticipation. Our bodies and minds can tolerate only so much of any of these. After a while, each of us reaches a saturation point and the results become uncomfortable at best; for some it may be unbearable, even unendurable.
No magic pill is available to eliminate these feelings. The reality is, as the wise old man said, the answer is inside all of us. To manage these universal concerns we must go inside ourselves. Among the steps we can take is the learning and practicing of meditation.
What to Expect
With time and faith in the commitment to practice frequently, (daily meditating is ideal), during your meditation time you may "leave the moment." A feeling of separation exists where the mind is clear, clean and blank. You will still hear sounds around you, but they will not interfere with your meditation.
Sometimes you may weep -- you may not even be aware of what is making you weep. It is your own emotions having a voice of their own. Sometimes you may feel a smile across your face -- that is contentment showing itself. Sometimes you may fall asleep and awaken truly refreshed.
There is no right or wrong behavior during your meditation. It is your time for you. Everyone deserves this kind of personal attention. This is a self-care activity; loving oneself! Teach it to your children instead of a time-out in their room or corner. Teach it to your friends, family, anyone who will listen. We can share this gift and get back as we give. We are all better because of each person who meditates. The peace and joy felt by those who meditate enters the world for all of us as positive energy. From it the world is a better place. Imagine if we all practiced meditation!
I think the problem with many people might be that , they keep on thinking that they should not think of anything ... And it is definitely hard to meditate when you are in that frame of mind .
Try to take each sound around you as a music and try to enjoy it , .. Slowly imagine you are turning down the volume around you as if you were having a remote controller,\. Imagine that, as you decrease the volume you get into deeper state of meditation. You are always in control of your senses here. I started meditating this way.
Another good way for people with distractions is to get an audiotape to help you in your meditation. Alan watts meditation tapes were great. You would google the word "meditation" and find few links where free audiotapes can be found. i think learnmeditation.com has some amazing ones.
I hope , you Have a peaceful meditation session hereafter !!!
Hmm, I understand why you would feel nervous about meditation, norrad. Incidentally, are you deeply religious? Because generally initiation into any order is a significant decision, and rarely to be taken lightly.
I study with a Ninjutsu Ryu in the east, and we engage in complex meditation for various reasons - to raise our consciousness, to improve our focus, to channel our energies and strengthen the will - for many more things than this, as well.
Meditations are not difficult if you have a good teacher. Generally one should start with simple meditations and slowly go on to more complex ones.
I've posted some simple 'layman's' meditations at this link:
I hope they are some help to you. I can post other, more complex meditations, but remember that my 'philosophy' is Ninjutsu, not Buddhism, so though it contains elements of Buddhism, it diverges into many other planes of thought and action.
well.. I would say meditating is un-explainable.. but as far as I know meditative is not about concentrating mind into something.. it's not "imagining" that we don't think about nothing.. but founding reality that undescribeable is what meditating is all about. Well don't take my words, but find your own truth.. like a friend said to me.. "there is one truth, but man describe it in his own ways"
but for pactice.. it would be good to try realize and find out what really happen around us, let me share u how
1. find a place peace, silent (usually I was doin' it at midnight )
2. somehow, find a position wich u can relax (do not lying down.. youll go to sleep if u do) I prefer sitting.
3. in that relax position, start to watch your breathing.. your stomach movement, not with your eyes, just watch it in your mind don't say anything in your mind, just realize it and watch it. then close your eyes
4. while doing this, I presume some of you will see a lot of things.. well it's your thought.. follow it pasively.. don't resist it.. just realize what you were doing (you are following your tought), then slowly.. go back to watch your breathing.. (don't take a deep breath).. sometimes you'll feel like to do something, maybe your hand are itching, your legs are tired or you want to open your eyes maybe.. or you heard something.. - don't be affraid.. - just realize it, try to see (in your mind) wich part are "want to do" things.. watch it closely.. just realize it.. and remember.. you are still breathing.. just realize it, do not resist just follow it pasively by doing nothing..
example : you feel like to move your legs, just realize wich are the one who want to, watch it (realize it as a desire) if you really-really feel that u should move your tired legs, then first realize it, realize your desire, when you start to move it, then realize that you are moving your legs.. do it slowly.. realize it, feel it. before you stop move then realize.. it.. there is desire there.. a desire to stop your movement.. realize it.. then when you're done and stop your movement, realize it.. then what happen next.. you realize it..
sometimes you forget realizing something and you remember it.. realize that you remember it, then realize it that you were forgot.. hear what 'yourself' said to you.. it's about the detail things that we forgot.
5. try do it when u are awake..
well that's for the tips.. just do it regularly.. you'll find difference.. what will you get ? well.. find your own..
I am also very interested in the Buddhism religion, and I have studied it for some years now. If you have problems with being able to meditate I know of somehing that atleast helped me on the way. I started listening to tapes of Jack Kornfield , a monk and founding teacher of he Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center who give alot of speeches about buddhism and meditation; I will highly recommend the soundbook and video "Jack Kornfield - Meditation for beginners", it will help you to understand more of how & why meditate. Jack Kornfield's profile at Spirit Rock + upcoming events Here you can buy all his speeches
This is a unlimited resource to learning what you want to build your inner self
I must also say that I respect your wish on becoming a monk, but meditation comes from within, and it is not required for you to learn meditation, but you go with what you feel.
Doing Meditation is good for our live, but it is a difficult job to do. One of the best and simple way to do meditation is to go in the nature where silence every where and sit on the green and soft grass and do the meditation. While doing so forget every thing, your job,your worries,your relatives, every thing. Just close your eyes and thing of a large Universe with lots of stars twinkling. Firstly you would not able to continue this for a long time, but slowly with due course of time you can able to do this for a long time. You also go in a garden for doing this where there was silence. Doing Meditation is good, therefore do meditation daily twice in the morning and in the evening. Its not only makes your health better, but also increases your mental power. You soon be notice that your memory power increases, you can be able to remember more and more things. Your physical strength too increases.
Yes, I have a tip for you. Stare at the sky. Day or night.
It's very meditative and relaxing. It contacts you with nature.
It can contact you with yourself and the universe. Make sure there are no clouds/stars in your way, and stare into the infinite void! If that dosen't make you feel more spiritual, then who knows?
You can also stare at the back of your eyelids which is almost the same effect, really. Meditation is not an activity, per say, it's a state of mind. The ideal way to meditate is not for hours a day while life passes you by, it's meant to be your state of mind in all areas of life. When you can find the bliss in the meditation while sitting, you will find the bliss in everyday activites. That's the whole point of the exersize.
Just look at cats, or any other animal. Everything they do is a meditation. They don't have stray thoughts just racing around. They have one thought and they focus on it, or have no thought at all. Constant mediation.
Maybe the first step to meditation for you is to sit down, and focus on something (a candle flame, a thought like "om", or the sky) , and then instead of noticing what you're thinking, think about how you're feeling. Then try to feel it more. And more until you feel blissful.
Then you will have no thought, because you will be so enraptured in the feeling of bliss. To me, meditation is less of a mind-exerisize in no thought. (Isn't that an oxy-moron, anyway?) It's more of a connection of being in the god-source, which brings a state of bliss. You must still the mind to do that. Are you blissful thinking about the laundry that needs doing? Then don't think about it. Find something good to feel/think about. Then just do the laudry without thinking about it, while thinking/feeling about the good thing.
Other than that, just sit quietly for 20 minutes morning and night. It's good to be quiet. That's were the you that is really you lies in wait for you to hear.
I've tried meditation in our rehab center. It didn't work for me. Dozed off most of the time. We did Yoga too, which is pretty similar to normal stretch exercises but much more demanding.
Meditation is some thing great which eash one has to follow in the daily routeen. The benifits of this is immense. Its just a boon to manking. As the great philosopy and the practice of meditation begin with the civilization of ancient india, the path to attain salvation was considered much more easy through yoga. Recenly as we see all round the gloab it is taken very seriously and i is being practiced in many house. Recenly research evidence show that YOGA has the capacity to cure those deadly disease which has no remedi in the present market in medical shops. After all metalectual purity is far better than taking medicens which has side effects. A secret the indian mythology belive is that the supernatural powers can be attained by deep Yoga and meditation. We in slokas the truth is written very clearly. In yoga breath is said to be the interface between the physical body and the mind. The power of breathing practice to change your state of mind is extremely strong. A breathing practice can last anything from two minutes to half an hour or more. Enjoy Lol
There are several kinds of meditation. This said, I'll just give a few hints about one that is a good support for them all: quiescence meditation or calm abiding meditation. It's a type of meditation that allows you to develop focused attention. It can go much further, but it starts like that. Start with very small sessions. Don't do anything special. Sit with your spine straight, take a few breaths and focus in your breath for 5 minutes. If feelings or thoughts arise, just bring your attention back to the breath, gently. This is a good starting point. Do it several times a day and find a qualified mediatation teacher to pick up from there.
In the Buqi course I did this summer, there were several ways to meditate:
Standing meditation (also known as 'Wuxi-stance'): Put your feet on shoulder width with your toes slightly pointed inwards; bend your knees a bit till they are at the same height of your toes; bow forward till the point 4 fingers under your (umbilical point?) is on the same line with your knees and toes; place your hands at your hips with the palms faced down and try to push your thumb and smallest finger upwards, your middle finger and thumb mouse downwards; pull in your chin but keep your focus at the horizon and stretch the top of the spine (right behind the head); try not to submit to the spontaneous movements; try to empty your mind; your bodyweight must be on the front of your feet
at first your calves will hurt, but that's normal
Lying meditation: lay down on your back with your arms near you and your palms facing the ceiling; push with both the top spine point and the middle of your feet outward and empty your mind.
I had much more effect with the standing meditation, but both work. Really brings peace to your mind. Also try to open your eyes while not really opening them (hard to explain, but when you're looking at the sun and you do this, you should see a red/orange color, in darkness it should be black), you might see your own eyes for a flash. Also try to look at the 'third eye', the hollow spot between your eyebrows (more or less)
Sitting meditation: can be done on a chair or on the ground chair: go sit on the edge of your chair and stretch your legs until the knees are at same height as your waist; stretch your back and top of spine to the ceiling; put ur hands on your upper legs with the palms upwards; close ur eyes and empty your mind
ground: sit on ur butt and lay your feet into the opposite upper leg (left foot on right upper leg) so that ur soles point upwards, stretch ur spine and lay your hands as mentioned before
i do meditation to help myself focus. i also do it so i could rejuvenate myself when i am tired (although sometimes i end up sleeping the night away ). meditation also helps me relieve myself from stress of the day and all the worries i have. i've had positive results, but it took me some time before i could really get into sitting and meditating.
my tips:
1. find a spot in your house that is free of noise. anything that would easily catch your attention wouldn't be helpful in your practice. better if you could lock yourself up in your room so no one would disturb you. 2. set the mood. turn off the lights, or if you don't like it too dark, just put your lamp on dim so when you start your meditation session, you won't be intimidated with too much light. the idea is to make yourself as comfortable as possible. the problem with some people is they forget that this is to help you relax and prepare yourself for the session. you could put on the fan or air conditioning system if you don't want to get it too hot. although make sure your fan or air conditioning system doesn't make too much sound or it will be disturbing especially if you're starting out. i prefer to not use the fan because i want the room to be a bit warm. it helps me loosen up. i know it's ironic to what i've just said before. i only use the ventilation (windows) on my room and let the air come in. i like it more natural. 3. sit or lie down. it's your choice if you want to sit on a corner or lie down on your bed, but it's more advisable to sit down because if you lie down, you have the tendency to sleep during your session. moreover, you have to sit properly so your spine is aligned properly. this is because your system works properly if you're in the right sitting position. moreover, it would be a challenge to you to keep your position properly---this will keep you alert at times. most advocated do the lotus sitting position because this is the best position to get optimal results from. you need not do this---and the regular "cross your legs" sit (we call it "indian sit", indian as in the native american indian, not the people from india)---but you can if you want. but if you can't sit just now, you could try lying down, just make sure you don't make it too comfortable or you'll end up sleeping. 4. close your eyes and focus. this is going to be the challenge in meditation---keeping your focus. there are times that your mind drifts off to something else. for the neophytes, you could just let your mind wander, just let it all out, don't try to force yourself in focusing. when i tried this at first, all the events that happened during the day flashed through my mind and then gets back to my meditation. it's fun and it worked for me. you might want to try it out for yourself.
i guess that's about it. that's all i can share to you. if i remember some more, i'll post it up.
My story of meditation started last year. For the past year I have been extremely stressed out for
not doing as well in competetions as I wanted, not keeping the perfect grade in all of my classes,
plus my widowed mom started dating some guy. So I was running away from reality in meditation. Then
everything came back to normal and I just forgot about that period. I started getting all A's
again, we won the City Championships in Ultimate Frisbee and got the second place in the state, won
the regionals and the states in Science bowl, my ideas and suggestions for the sc....
I have been wanting to do meditation since I was in school, but really found it difficult to sit and
focus even for twenty minutes straight. I could only fancy the calmness and composure of this state
of meditation, but I couldn't go into myself. I just tend to get some nonsense thoughts if I
just force myself to sit silent with closed eyes for more than 5-10 minutes. Over the years,
I've been trying on and off and have been improving a little actually. However, in the meanwhile
I have started studying about spirituality and mysticism and found that there are man....
This is such a nice meditation and a great way to expand on your normal breath/meditation work.
Raviana.com is a site for the yoga teachers Ravi Singh and Ana Brett. QUOTE COMMUNICATE W/
YOUR INNER SELF Astrologically speaking, Mercury is in retrograde until November 17th. Simply put,
this means that communication and the best laid plans will probably go awry. Confirm appointments.
Give yourself extra time to be on time. Double check your work. Seek clarity in every situation.
Conversely, this time also affords us an opportunity to resolve the unfinished bus....
Hey there, well, this is something that is often overlooked as being something that doesn't
work. Similiar to the martial arts, unless you've tried it you tend to be sceptical, and you can
not describe how it feels unless you have actually taken part in it. Well, over the past year I
have been incredibly stressed ,and the past 7/10 weeks have been the worse. My parents have
seperated in a really nasty divorce, my final exam year has just started at school, I have personal
relationship issues and desires (I'm 15 by the way),I have a job that is very time....
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Jul 20, 2008
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- just realize it, try to see (in your mind) wich part are "want to do" things.. watch it closely.. just realize it.. and remember.. you are still breathing.. just realize it, do not resist just follow it pasively by doing nothing.. 
). meditation also helps me relieve myself from stress of the day and all the worries i have. i've had positive results, but it took me some time before i could really get into sitting and meditating.
