How do I meditate

[Andy Hamilton]

How do I meditate. I have always thought that it might benefit me. But what do you do, clear your head, sit in the yogi position?

[Green Aura]

No idea, honey.

This looks like it might help

http://meditation.org.au/class1.asp

[Annpan]

I usually lie flat on the floor.

I make sure the house is in silence (though I used to put music on, I don't think it helps)

I space my legs and arms out just a little and have my palms facing upwards. I close my eyes and I listen to the sounds I can hear, then once I am relaxed a bit I concentrate on different levels of sound starting close to me and working away (at the moment for example I hear the hum of the computer, click of the storage heater, the radio in the kitchen, the footsteps and movement upstairs, the cars going past and the very quiet hum of the motorway)
I concentrate on each stage of sound for 30 second to a minute, then I do it all backwards till I am listening to my breathing.

What I find important is that you don't think about things too much, just the sounds. You can't meditate if you can't clear your mind of all the stress and problems that we all have in our heads all the time.

I was taught how to do this by a priest at my school while on a retreat and I must say it is one of the few very useful things I learned at school (well I can decline the verb 'to carry' in Latin... but I have never found that particularly handy)


I guess I might do it differently from others, but it works for me.

[sheena]

I don't know if this will help at all, but a good way to learn basic meditation is to find a style of yoga which you can practice regularly - this will help physically and mentally.
This will help to keep you fit, removing toxins and help to keep your blood circulation and internal processes functioning smoothly by offering you breathing techniques or exercises to help quieten the brain and mind (healthy body healthy mind)
There are loads of books out there on yoga, but a good tip is that there should be no hard and fast rules about when to practice or how long for and it can be totally modified to suit you, to start with you just need a basic guide with simple poses and stretches, but first you need to master relaxation.

Try these basics to begin with;
Lay yourself down on the floor with your feet slightly apart and your arms extended by your sides with the palms upturned.
Breathe easily and naturally, placing attention on your solar plexus,(between your chest and stomach) feel how it rises and falls slowly and methodically as you breathe in and out - close your eyes and mentally concentrate on its rise and fall..
Don't concentrate on this now it will continue naturally(if it doesn't you are in big trouble )
Pay attention now to your extremeties - wriggle your toes about, now relax them wriggle your finger joints then relax them. move all through your body from toes up tensing then relaxing -tighten calves then relax muscle, draw knees up then relax, same with forearms and face muscles, repeat this tense relax, tense relax until you can make them relax at will.
Clear your mind of all noises around you except your breathing (dont be planning your next planting session!!) and let relaxation take over you, it may even make you feel sleepy at first but thats fine as it brings you peace and relaxation.
Let me know how you get on.

[frozenthunderbolt]

I do two forms of meditation fairly regularly:
1. a breathing based one: focus on breath inhale to a (silent) count of 7, hold for 7, exhale for 7. you may need a different number depending on your lung capacity. after a while you stop needing to count and simply do and remain focused within your self.

2. i breath comfortably and focus on a single image or idea gently bringing my focus back when i find it wandering. this is a useful creative exercise.

NB: AnnPann's version is the basis of a more advanced meditation in which you try to calm your self and become actively aware of every thing around you. start out listening for different sounds then try and combine them without thinking about any particular one or its implications or associations.
Is mucho difficult but when you do get it, it is very satisfying

[Annpan]

I do two forms of meditation fairly regularly:
1. a breathing based one: focus on breath inhale to a (silent) count of 7, hold for 7, exhale for 7. you may need a different number depending on your lung capacity. after a while you stop needing to count and simply do and remain focused within your self.

2. i breath comfortably and focus on a single image or idea gently bringing my focus back when i find it wandering. this is a useful creative exercise.

NB: AnnPann's version is the basis of a more advanced meditation in which you try to calm your self and become actively aware of every thing around you. start out listening for different sounds then try and combine them without thinking about any particular one or its implications or associations.
Is mucho difficult but when you do get it, it is very satisfying

Oh... I didn't know that, I don't find it in the least difficult but there we go - in fact the more I do it the easier it becomes, and I can switch of almost immediaetly - I occassionally do a more lo-key version while just sitting somewhere if I feel like it.
I have suffered panic attacks since I was 8 and all the breathing exercises are difficult and very frightening to me so I'll stick to what I know

[Andy Hamilton]

Cheers folks will try them all out I think. It odd but just deciding that I will meditate is making me feel slightly more relaxed already.

[frozenthunderbolt]

Oh... I didn't know that, I don't find it in the least difficult but there we go - in fact the more I do it the easier it becomes, and I can switch of almost immediaetly - I occassionally do a more lo-key version while just sitting somewhere if I feel like it.
I have suffered panic attacks since I was 8 and all the breathing exercises are difficult and very frightening to me so I'll stick to what I know

anything is good annpann, no pressure at all

[bryony]

Hi Andy,

I'm only a beginner at meditation too, and a friend pointed me toward a website:
http://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/

It's pretty useful if you're finding it hard to focus and need some guided meditation to help you along your way, I've found some of them very rewarding.

Good luck!

Bryony

[Rod in Japan]

It odd but just deciding that I will meditate is making me feel slightly more relaxed already.

Don't worry, that will soon wear off. Thinking about when you're going to meditate and how awful it will be will put a good ole pain in your neck.

I try to do 30 minutes zazen on weekdays. You sit on a little cushion to help you keep your spine straight, and variously count your breaths to ten, observe your thoughts without rejecting or attaching to them, or think obsessively about the other things you could be doing instead. Sometimes some rather interesting effects take hold, but once they do, one tends to want them and they won't come back.

Meditation is good though, and so is reading about matters of the spirit.

[happy place]

i used to meditate but found the voices i heard a bit disturbing and hard to ignore sometimes so dont bother now but i used to find some where quiet and listen to my self and quite often didnt like what i heard but found it quite relaxing if a little disturbing

[greenfingers]

there are many types of meditiation, the trick is finding one that works for you. although there are many types of static meditation there are also moving meditations for example, yoga and Tai Chi. but in reality any repetitive action an be a meditation. for example walking, hoeing, painting even something like singing or playing an instrument can be a meditation.

a couple of tips i have found helpful to me.
try not to think too much about what you are doing, just allow it to happen. if your thinking too much you are trying too hard, meditation should be relaxing.

dont exspect to go into a trance first time round, be patient and dont get too stress about it. like any new skill it takes a while to get the nack of it.

try to stay in the moment when you meditate, forget about tommorw, forget about what you have to do or what happened yesterday. meditation is the intentional stilling of body and mind. (you will find you get better at this as you practice, so dont wory if you find it dificult the first time)

as to the voices, these are normal, everyone gets them. they are just all your background thoughts running on auto pilot as it were. there are several ways to deal with them and you need to find the best methord for you. ones that work for me are
either simply listening passively to them, not taking part in the thoughts (i usually compare this to standing watching a group of people talking) and they will eventually stop talking
or you can make the voices stop by either blanking them from your mind (a bit like completely ignoring them) or by turning the volume down untill they become silent (remember, its your mind, your in controll)
this will become easier to do with practice, and after a while oyu will find that the voices are no longer there.



a simple walking meditation (in case you fancied trying it)
go some where whith few cars (less distraction, and allows you to concentrate more on the walking) like a park.
before you start, stop and take a deep breath letting it out slowly and allow yourself to relax. then allow yourself to start walking.
dont worry about the pace, allow your self to walk at your own speed. dont think about where your going just follow your feet
concentrate on your breathing and the sound of your feet against the ground. concentrate on the gap between every foot fall, the space between every breath. allow yourslef to sink into those spaces.
when you want to finish allow yourself to lowly come out of it.

hope this helps
have fun


if you fancy a very basic tai chi sitting meditation please say.

[theabsinthefairy]

i used to meditate but found the voices i heard a bit disturbing and hard to ignore sometimes

Me too!!