Meditation: Don't get mad at being lost in thought. That exact moment is the whole point of meditation, you are doing fine. Instead, look forward to the next distraction. |
- Don't get mad at being lost in thought. That exact moment is the whole point of meditation, you are doing fine. Instead, look forward to the next distraction.
- I tried meditating
- Meditation entities?
- Jhana for Everyone!
- I've never felt so empty (in a good way)
- Wild sensation while meditating
- hi
- I am hella confused. How important are koans to zazen?
- Brain forces me to watch made-up movies during meditation
- Dangers of meditation?
- Shadow work meditation
- Every time I post on the r/Meditation group I get a ton of scammers trying to contact me.
- Meditation causing sensitivity to caffeine, alcohol, etc?
- Just fired, high anxiety, sadness, and fear. Thoughts on using meditation to assist with that situation please?
- How do I choose between Buddhist meditation methods and Ramana Maharshi's technique?
- A few questions about advancing one’s practice
- Is it ok to talk to myself in my head?
- I want to meditate but there are so many distractions in my surroundings
- Strange experiences while deeply meditating?
- What do you count as distraction? There are so many levels of awareness.
- how do i let go?
- Been slowly getting into meditation, does anyone meditate without all of the books, models, etc?
- Youtube sounds, background noises, guided meditation recommendations for during meditation?
- How should I meditate if I get angry quickly?
- A beginner question, watching the breath - aphantasia
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 05:45 AM PST |
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 10:48 PM PST I tried meditating for the first time today I only lasted 6 minutes but It felt so good to just focus on nothing, I feel like my mind is always racing and chattering but after meditating I felt so refreshed and had an after glow feeling. I could actually just chill out without my brain taking over. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 07:51 PM PST So I've just started meditating two days ago and during tonight's session I felt I saw entities. They where very welcoming and where super cozy. I was seeing nothing then all the sudden I was able to see color and there was a purple and blue entities. They where making me feel like everything was okay and made my internal voice be quite for a few. Has anyone ever had this or just me. And after I started to think about buddisum and I want to look into that now. Edit: I didn't consume any drugs before hand, no alcohol was consumed either. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 08:31 PM PST If you are new to meditation, I highly suggest doing some research on jhana. To put it short, jhana is listed as the eighth "fold" of the Buddhist noble eightfold path. Here's the formula given by the early texts: "There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities — enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought and evaluation." "Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters and remains in the second jhana: rapture and pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought and evaluation — internal assurance." "And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding." "And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and stress — as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — he enters and remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain." If you sit down to meditate, you are already "doing jhana". There isn't anything mystical about this, it's just getting comfortable and letting the mind settle down. That being said though, the road map presented here can let us know a great deal about what to do and how to approach the feelings and sensations that may come up when we sit and what to aim for as far as achieving calm goes. Have fun and feel free to ask questions! [link] [comments] |
| I've never felt so empty (in a good way) Posted: 14 Feb 2021 02:50 PM PST Lockdown has from time to time hit me hard mentally, so my new year resolution was to meditate every day. Today was kind of difficult and I felt a bit overwhelmed by negative thoughts, so I decided to go all out and meditate for 30 minutes, which is a personal record for me. Now I feel so empty of any thoughts or feelings. Not empty like you would feel when you are depressed, but empty like there is complete silence and calmness in my head. I feel as if I can do anything I want to do. Not in the sense that I could accomplish everything, but in the sense that I could decide to study for an hour and not lose motivation. Or decide that I just want to sit here and be happy. I have control over my mind, which seems obvious, but at least for me is not an easy task at all. Thank you for reading this. [link] [comments] |
| Wild sensation while meditating Posted: 14 Feb 2021 08:23 PM PST The best I can do with words is to describe the sensation as having my spine plugged into a light socket without any pain. 'Shimmering' is a good descriptor too. It was as real/physical as being slapped in the face (but again, not unpleasant). Amazing. Thoughts? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 11:09 PM PST |
| I am hella confused. How important are koans to zazen? Posted: 15 Feb 2021 03:06 AM PST I went to a zen meditation program yesterday evening. I had a little bit of experience with zazen from someone who's studied it for a long time and who has hosted unofficial meditation sessions of a small size and I attended a couple times way before covid. What I learned from him was that once you get used to the basics of zazen meditation then a teacher at some point will start incorporating koans into your practice to really help you reach the next steps of your meditation process to eventually reach nirvana or enlightenment. I'm a little confused because the Zen thing that I went to yesterday after everything was over I was talking a bit with the person who was leading everything who was also seems to be the director of the program. and I didn't say in any official way but I was asking about the process of like starting at letter A and how you get to letter z you know like you understand the basics but then you need to start going through the koans after a while? I didn't even say koans cuz I couldn't think of the name in the moment but afterwards I was trying to research it myself to find out the word. But he responded that their practice center doesn't do that and they actually only really focus on the here and now and on meditating in a group. The focus is put on just the sitting practice and seems like that's it. within theoretically what would I even need to go to a group setting for if I didn't need a teacher for anything other than to help me with my posture? I tried to look online to see if I could find any information about zazen meditation without the practice of koans. But now I'm just straight up confused granted I have a headache right now but I really don't understand what's going on. because what I thought I understood about zazen is contradicting what I heard about zazen yesterday. Because the way that the person who introduced me to zazen (he literally has practice for over 20 years over his like lifespan or whatever) (but I don't have access to speaking with him anymore like I have a way that I could contact him but it feels inappropriate and I'm really trying to figure this out before like exerting to actually trying to contact him) explained it, it seemed like koans were very integral to the practice. But from talking to this person yesterday it seems like you could still reach enlightenment without ever even stepping foot in the realm of koans in the first place... i don't get it. [link] [comments] |
| Brain forces me to watch made-up movies during meditation Posted: 15 Feb 2021 03:04 AM PST Hii, I wonder if it happens to others, because I find it pretty odd. Or maybe anyone could give me some advice on how to deal with it? I think many of us here are familiar with previously forgotten memories popping up during first stages of meditation. I personally think that this happens because our brains still try out of habit to think of something, and as we let go of current thoughts and problems, the brains start to dig up some old stuff buried underground. In my case though, more often than old memories, I see some made up stories... Like, for real made up, with a plot and everything. As if it was a dream, but I am not dreaming! It is more like a movie I am forced to watch. For example, just yesterday my brain came up with some cartoon-like story about a couple and a guy living in the same house... I believe I never ever had seen or read anything about this story. I can't predict what happens in it, the brain just shows me the imagery. I can't control it lol I would be ok with that, if I knew how to work with this. I know how to let go of memories - I tend to seem them, like any other thought, as bubbles that float away from me. But I do not know how to work with those stories - because they feel like they are not mine, they do not have the beginning and the end, they just are. I've been meditating on and off for two years, and those movies never leave me lmao [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 11:13 PM PST What's your thoughts on this BBC article about the dangers of meditation for some people [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Feb 2021 02:44 AM PST While I meditated my higher self let me knew that nobody was against me, they just play they part for my growth, but it's all love. Even my agents and vampire ass friends secretly support me and are here to make me aware of stuff. That's crazy when you the observer 11-44 [link] [comments] |
| Every time I post on the r/Meditation group I get a ton of scammers trying to contact me. Posted: 14 Feb 2021 02:58 PM PST Doesn't happen with any other group! :( sad! Anyone else gets this too? [link] [comments] |
| Meditation causing sensitivity to caffeine, alcohol, etc? Posted: 14 Feb 2021 10:15 PM PST I have been meditating regularly for over a month now, and I have been noticing that my sensitivity to different substances has really increased, particularly caffeine. I usually enjoy having coffee, and while it did cause a bit of anxiety before starting meditation, it now makes me extremely anxious. I can't even have a cup of coffee now, I am so sensitive to caffeine. I guess to counteract that, I am also much better at breathing and dealing with anxiety bc of meditation haha, so there's that. Anyway, has anyone else had this experience? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 06:14 PM PST |
| How do I choose between Buddhist meditation methods and Ramana Maharshi's technique? Posted: 15 Feb 2021 01:41 AM PST I have tried Buddhist meditation and mindfulness techniques and also Paul Brunton's meditation technique that he learnt from Ramana Maharshi. Which would be better for me? I am attached to both methods but am also of an intellectual frame of mind and so have not progressed with mindfulness methods. [link] [comments] |
| A few questions about advancing one’s practice Posted: 14 Feb 2021 06:06 PM PST
Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Is it ok to talk to myself in my head? Posted: 14 Feb 2021 04:04 AM PST I never really use to talk to myself, instead my thoughts would play on, and I would identify with them without realizing. I always thought it was weird to talk to myself, because of the social norms. But now I've tried talking to myself a couple times, and it seems to help. When I talk to myself it helps me be more reasonable and less reactive, and more observant. [link] [comments] |
| I want to meditate but there are so many distractions in my surroundings Posted: 15 Feb 2021 01:03 AM PST I tried to meditate last month but I stopped due to some problems. This month, I want to meditate again but I am so frustrated that I can't find no time in day because there are so many distractions and sounds. I am so annoyed. I can be so easily to distract by the noise. I am so frustrated. I believe that meditation can help me to reduce my anxious thoughts and negative emotions. I am thinking to meditate at night, but is it ideal time? [link] [comments] |
| Strange experiences while deeply meditating? Posted: 14 Feb 2021 09:14 PM PST Has anyone else felt like they suddenly gained control of their body or unlocked a part of brain temporarily? I'm not kidding or trying to troll anyone. I've had a few experiences like this: • I saw my eyes "open" under my eyelids and proceeded to concentrate on imagery I was perceiving. I concentrated on a light beating in my periphery and my right index finger jumped off my leg from a twitch in my forearm. Then I concentrated on mountains far away and could hear the gas station across the street from where I was. • Misunderstood a visualization exercise saying to feel like I'm filling my body with sunlight and I tried to "push" sunlight out of my body. My muscles started to tense all over and I could feel substantial heat coming off of me. Eventually I got tired and my muscles stopped being tense, but I could still feel myself radiating heat and even someone who sat next to me said the room felt really hot for some reason; like someone turned a heater on. That lasted for about an hour and I've replicated it a few times now. • Focused on perceiving my body so deeply that I felt a set of organs contract and release. From the location I felt it, I think it was my kidneys. That was legitimately scary to feel that and I don't think it's a route I'm ever trying again. • I sat down to meditate and mull over some thoughts I'd been having one day, and I felt earily still; almost like my body was about to stop functioning entirely if I let it go further. I spent what felt like 2 hours of deliberation inside my head. I didn't normally go that long, but I was trying to flesh out an important life decision, and didn't feel the need to set a timer because of that. When I looked at the time after I was satisfied, it had only been a little under 5 minutes Has anyone else had these types of experiences when going very deep into meditation? No one else I talk to in my personal life who meditates seems to have had strange experiences like this [link] [comments] |
| What do you count as distraction? There are so many levels of awareness. Posted: 15 Feb 2021 01:00 AM PST I'm finding with meditation that there are very few moments when my mind is truly completely empty or entirely focused. But likewise the amount of time I find myself "gone" is minimal as well. I'd say I could roughly break down my practise as follows. Yes I know these don't add to 100 lol. 5% - Total peace, all there is is the object of my meditation. Only my breath, only my hands, only the bird chirping NOTHING else. 20% - Thoughts flittering around the edge of my mind like flies. Mostly it's my breath but I am aware of a background hum or bubbling of thoughts in my head. Quick flashes of images, little nuggets of thought. 30% - Thoughts knocking loudly on the door. I can hear my thoughts like a man yelling in the street but I'm with my breath. There is some tension in my mind trying to stay with my breath. A lot more imagery and needing to bring myself back to my physical body to refocus but I never seem to leave my breath. 20% - Barely able to hold onto focus. Thoughts are like an energetic dog jumping all over me trying to get my attention, or a man yelling in my ear. I'm still with my breath but being in a box with thoughts hammering on the walls. A huge amount of bubbling going on. A fair bit of tension holding onto the object of meditation. Often I'm not aware of my body at this point. 5-10% - Totally gone. I'm not conscious of the thoughts here because I've fused with them... I'm now ON that beach in Hawaii 5 years ago and not "thinking about it". Not at all aware that I'm breathing or that I'm even meditating, my body isn't there. My consciousness is gone. It's only from this LAST state that I really pop back into awareness... oh right I'm meditating... back to the breath. I'm wondering if others can recognize something similar in their sessions? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Feb 2021 04:09 PM PST it's a beautiful afternoon. i'm sitting alone in my back yard with some coffee and a cigarette, the sun is shining, and the trees are swaying in the breeze. everything in my immediate surroundings is in perfect order, but i'm sitting here clinging onto imaginary problems.. which i suspect serve to distract me from my "real" problems. "ah, i'm mad at my mother. i'm not sure how to love her while i'm mad at her. i've clearly been repressing my anger for awhile now." then i'll think about how guilty i feel for responding coldly to her after she yells at someone, or for not saying good night. then how frustrating it is when i come to her with an open heart and she meets me with anger and what i perceive to be malice. i'm right back where i started. it's becoming increasingly obvious that every single thing that causes me discomfort is the result of my clinging to something- a past love that i cant seem to let go of, two year old jealousy towards a friend, the idea that everything has to be going well in order for me to produce the results that are expected of me, (i can FEEL these statements dripping with ego but i'm going to try to finish my thought anyway) all of these ideas and beliefs and mental constructs. even my idea of who i am! it's so confining. and as soon as i let go of one, theres another one. i've been feeling for awhile that the only way i'll be able to feel any relief is by letting go of all of it. everything that i'm attached to, good and bad. this terrifies me. if i let go of me, of what i know and what i believe and what i think and what i feel, if i let go of what i think i am, what will remain? if i let go of my perception of the world, what will happen? (and theres another attachment, the need to know whats going to happen.) how will i get anything done if i let go of everything? who will i be? there are some deeply rooted fears here, like the fear that my true nature is a bad one. my ego loves this, the fear of being a bad person stops me from really looking at who i might be. i know that my fears are just an attempt to control what cannot be controlled, but this doesn't make it any easier to release them. the more i think about it, the more obvious it becomes that this clinging is the cause of my discomfort. it hurts! clinging to the clinging. and there's always some excuse as to why i can't let go. always some fear, some responsibility, some expectation. it's kind of funny sometimes- one night i was meditating and my mind was stuck on a thought loop about spirituality and religion. "what if i'm wrong? what if i go to hell for this? what if they're wrong? what if i'm being misled? what if what if what if!?!" and this voice practically shouted at me, "LET GO! CANT YOU SEE THAT THIS IS AN ATTACHMENT?" i understood then that even my spirituality is an attachment. i think of myself as a spiritual person, or a meditator, whatever, and thats holding me back too! the need to be right about the universe, the need to be right about who i am, even the need to be right about who/what god is. i'm throwing stones at the sky trying to land a hit on god. i've held the belief for awhile now that reality IS right here, right in front of me and inside of me and all around me. around all of us. but that we don't pay attention to it, that our thoughts are stuck on the past and the future and all of these assumptions and imaginary what if's. i feel that if i could just be fully present, my discomfort would stop and i would be free. (but then there it is again, my attachment to discomfort. if i live my life trying to escape discomfort, i'm living my life according to it.) i'm going in circles. i can almost physically feel it, my brain clings onto things and i'm dragged around by my attachments. this is pointless, constantly running around trying to recreate the past and control the future. how do i let go? why is it so hard? if i can do the things i've done to try and escape my pain, surely i have the strength to let go of it all together. theres some make believe wall blocking me from seeing what seems to be an obvious solution. any insights you can share would be appreciated. so far, i'm feeling that i have to start with acceptance. i am where i am, i am uncomfortable with this, and my mind is racing. that's whats going on, and fighting it wont make it any less uncomfortable. i'm tired if this game, it's ugly and brutal. this isn't what life is about... i've made it so much more complicated than it needs to be. [link] [comments] |
| Been slowly getting into meditation, does anyone meditate without all of the books, models, etc? Posted: 14 Feb 2021 06:52 PM PST This isnt me trying to cut corners as I've been very diligent in my practice the first few weeks I've begun meditation. I've stayed very consistent with when I do it and slowly extending how long I do it. However, I only have so much time. My changes already have been noticeable and I want to continue to get better, but I'm not one to commit more than I need to. My question is, has anyone who's done meditation for a long period (say six months+) continued to better their mindset, stay in the moment and let go without all of the extra literature and so on? Knowing myself, I will begin to feel like this is a chore if I'm spending my free time on studying meditation on top of the actual meditation I do daily. But I also dont want to be missing key things where I'm missing the "learning curve" for lack of better terms, as I know I will likely be plateauing soon for a period as I have read this is common. Thanks everyone [link] [comments] |
| Youtube sounds, background noises, guided meditation recommendations for during meditation? Posted: 14 Feb 2021 06:49 PM PST Anyone have a favorite video on youtube they use and can recommend to listen to during meditation? Can be anything like rain or sound bowls or guided instructions etc. etc. [link] [comments] |
| How should I meditate if I get angry quickly? Posted: 14 Feb 2021 04:03 AM PST Are there any meditations for beginners? I see that my mind wonders off a lot and I can't focus at all. I feel overwhelming anger or sadness and I would like to control them better. Thanks in advance to anyone who comments [link] [comments] |
| A beginner question, watching the breath - aphantasia Posted: 14 Feb 2021 05:55 PM PST Hello all, I'm trying to get more in to meditation and mindfulness practices, but I get caught up on the most basic technique of "watching the breath". As someone with out any sort of internal scenery or ability or imagine anything in picture form, I'm not sure what I'm doing. I've had it explained in all sorts of ways of "imagine the air is this color light flowing in and out of you" and it's incredibly frustrating because I simply cannot. Then I fall down this rabbit hole of "maybe I'll just count my breaths" and realize I'm manipulating my breathing instead of observing it. I cannot "picture" or "see in my mind" or "go to my happy place" "imagine a beam of white light" or anything of that. My mind is more like a data stream. A constant narration of my thoughts in a clear voice. It can describe a setting or a circumstance, play back a conversation, or just list what's going on around me, but no matter what it is a stream of spoken word narration almost. Am I just thinking too much about it? Or am I getting caught up on the "visual" wording of watching the breath? Thanks in advance for any insight. [link] [comments] |
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