HOw do you meditate???

It might seem like a stupid question but people seems to have slightly different methods. Mine is the simple sitting down and thinking about nothing/ focusing on my breathing. What’s yours?
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I like meditation to. :smile: While meditation is not necessary to learn lucid dreaming I think it is a big help

Anyway, you can find info on different meditation techniques here.

I really like to use different methods of Meditation. It makes sense to find one and stick with it until you learn it, once learned the other methods can also be acquired.
Some of my favorites are:
1. Breath meditation-
This is done for me sitting in lotus or seiza pose and by slowing my breathing down to about two to four breaths per minute. Two is prefered. There are several different pranayama techniques taught in Kundilini Yoga that can also be learn as a sub-category of this. I try and focus only on the breathing and keeping my consciousness here and now. Easier said than done. Enough said.
2. Mantra meditation-
This is similar to breath meditation with adding a mantra or word or idea to focus on, like love or OM.
3. Chakra meditation-
Start with almost any position, slow the mind down and focus all the attention and energy on the 7 Chakras. This can be merged with breath or Mantra if desired.
4. Self Hypnosis/Savasana Pose/Relaxation -(I put these in the same category because i consider the differences minor so i perceive these three as essentially the same.) Lay down. Relax everything. I find it easiest to start with my toes and work my way up to my face but some find it easier to start with the hands. I mentally relax every spot on my body slowly and thoroughly. I imagine a warm flow of energy moving up my body or smoke rings or Love. Once i have that numb feeling i relax the mind and let my thoughts slow down and put all the focus on my own relaxation. From here, lots can be done such as positive mental programming and OOBEs.
Easy travels
PD

When i used to meditate id go to this really nice park near my house…pretty trees, quite(most if teh time unless it was infested w/ little ppl -_-), and fresh air. I usually just sat there and thought of nothing…or at least tried to. I visualized a white wall or white brick wall. Id try not to ask myself questions about it because tahtd be thinking. After meditation id get the most wonderful feeling, which is great…So thats my method :content:

lol, every time i meditate with my eyes closed, i always end up falling asleep… :eh:

Heheh cute bigjedman :content:
Id 4 sure end up doing teh same thing since im sO tired these days :meh:

You dont have to close youre eyes when u meditate, zazen meditation also does it with yes between closed and open and that works good also.

I’ve fell asleep on meditation before… but it doesn’t mean it is a bad thing to do. Sometimes I actually get healed/refreshed by doing that. :happy:

Also when you’re meditating, you have to be comfortable with it. That’s the important part or you can just say good bye to meditation. You have to be relaxed and be with the level that you’re comfortable with. :smile:

Good luck! :happy: Dont forget to breath slowly and rythmically. That would help a lot! :happy:

I sit cross-legged on a tilted slightly raised seat
thumb touching one of the fingers, palms up, resting on the knees, back straight
first do microcosmic orbit
slow long breath, longer exhale than inhale, abdominal breathing (never forced)
then focus on dan-tian, holding/relaxing into clear mind, and breathing -sometimes intense focus
if legs become numb, slowly cross other way or go to half-lotus
sometimes, go though charkas by focusing on the spot and the color
hold for 35-60 minutes
*and also tongue touching the roof of mouth always
that’s how i do it :smile:

i’m still unsure of whether meditation is nothing more than entering the sleep mindset while staying awake.

or if it is raising into different brainwave states, or lowering into different brainwave states… or either one depending on what you want.

but… i’ve read that zen monks would beat students with sticks to keep them from falling asleep so … .does meditation really involve getting so relaxed that you … fall asleep, but you have to somehow bypass sleep and keep the mind awake? Is that all it is ? Most… ‘elite’ and occultist meditators scoff at the idea that meditation is the same as sleep… so… i’m really confused

i can either keep my midn way too active so that i’m awake but i’m not enjoying myself or feeling particularly “relaxed” or i can… you know try and clear it and the unconscious turns on and makes me waver in/out of consciousness a lot

one time i got my mind clear enough to hear a tone that i coudl change and move a little it though… that was real good progress and i think it was “awake meditation” …so… should i being trying to induce sleep states or should i be keeping myself from entering them?

Holy reality its more then that!

Pure meditation is not identify at any level with anything so its getting purely passive with your consciousness, yet be!
And because you dont identify with experiencing you can get aware of deeper layers in your consciousness. You break that way through the conditioning you where all this time caught in.
(Zazen meditation)
Being this way you can see/experience the roots of your conditioned self and integrate it and become more free of yourself and understand yourself better.

But you have many meditation forms…
Some are more to get aware of chi, ki or prana, like in martial arts, chi gung or some yoga forms.
for most ppl, meditation will be a split conscious thing.
Where waking and sleep fall into the same conscious experience.

It has links to wild and trance…not so weird because all is about
consciousness when u experience.

But the basic element of meditation is being passive with your consciousness, just be awareness at any level of your experience without interfering.
Breathing and mainly breathing out is used for that, to link awareness with letting go, being passive, simply just be!

Jeff

Obviously i cant top anything that Jeff has said but id like to just add to one of the things u have said Holy Reality regarding zen monks beatting students with sticks to keep them from falling asleep :smile: From what i remember from learning this in class is taht they also did this in hopes of making the students reach Satori(an enlightened state i believe)…which is interesting and cute in a way hehe. I can of course be wrong but shrug. Just wanted to add that in :content:

P.S I really hope u find Jeff’s words helpful ^_~

well when i do that that makes me fall asleep the fastest!

maybe i should do it more sitting up during the day, maybe get back into trying to flex my legs enough to get in the lotus position, i can get the first one there no problem.

here’s a followup, i did some breath awareness still minded meditation last night and got pretty deep, i went on occasion in and out of rambling thoughts and sleep states… and then iw ould make sure to get my mind active enough to keep myself awake, though… and after a while i felt really relaxed… but sore, and i started twitching and my eyelids were vibrating, i figured i must be close to entering paralysis… but nothing happened, i rolled over and meditated a bit more and … i felt real out of body for a half second when rolling over, like… energy sensations, and stuff… and at one point i got the “tone” in my head, the hallucinatory one that concides with being in a pretty clear mindstate with deep focus, and maybe can get you to OBE.

but it went away after like 2 seconds… but yeah it worked well, when i wanted to sleep and relaized i wouldn’t be successfully wilding tonight… i felt real relaxed after stopping the meditation, pretty nice… and then i started inducing sleep.

Just do a WILD and you will be meditating! :content:
That is the way I look at things. I don’t know.