Meditation

[punkinberry]

I want to learn how to meditate. I hear it's good for you. I know a self-hypnosis technique, which I've used to good effect, but it hasn't translated into meditation very well.

My goal is to find a technique or methodology that will calm my mind. Is it really just a matter of sitting still and saying, "Ommm"?

Comments

[fuzzyscribble]

http://www.zazen.fi/hzc-english.htm

[punkinberry]

Thank you so much for doing this research for me! I even know where it is! But I was under the impression that zen was a type of religion; I was hoping for something secular.

[fuzzyscribble]

NO. Actually it is and isn't a religion. You can just do the practice...with no Buddha involved. (This is applicable to Zen. Most other Buddhist sects are a little more religious.)

There are several Catholic priests who meditate at my zendo. And many, many Christians.

And no one there will mind you dropping in to check them out. :)

[starkraving_mad]

Are you thinking of meditation in more the new age-y sense then? As far as I understand, the methods aren't really all that different. It's the goals that are different. Anyway, if you're looking for the new age-y type mediation, elayla knows a bit about that. I'm not sure if she's on your friends list, but I'll direct her this way.

[punkinberry]

Yeah, just some kind of visualization technique, or mantra or something. I suppose I could make one up of my own, but, well, I'm big on research... *wry grin*

[starkraving_mad]

I know one common technique is candle meditation. Turn out all the lights and light one candle. Put the candle somewhere stable and find a comfortable place to sit within a few feet of the candle, then stare at the flame to the exclusion of everything else. If you're interested in exact techniques or theory, i'd try looking up some new age/pagan websites or books.

[elayla]

candle meditation in a nutshell:

Light a single, monochrome, taper candle and place it on a safe surface.

Darken the room.

Stare at the flame. Do not look at anything else.

Breathe slowly and deeply to a count of 3. (In 3, hold one beat, out 3).

Focus on either the flame or let your eyes unfocus and focus on your breath.

Any thoughts that enter your mind kinda get a 'hello, now move along' type acknowledgement. The goal isn't to think of nothing, its to control how you think of things and to keep from dwelling.

Option two:
Visualization:

Seat yourself comfortably. close your eyes. Visualize a Black Square in the center of your vision. Place a white circle in the exact center of the square. Breathe naturally and focus only on your visualization. Any stray thoughts are ignored and you bring your focus back to the image as immediately as you can. Over time, you can beging to slowly manipulate the image, making the circle grow to eclipse the square and then shrink to a pin-point S_L_O_W_L_Y_.

Those are the two I use.

[anitachan]

Have you ever done yoga. I find it clams my mind. It has a lot of deep breathing.