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I've been vaguely interested in meditation for a while, but haven't actually tried it. I figure there must be plenty of meditators on here. Can somebody give me a mini-tutorial or just any tips you have about meditation.
I don't even really know what meditation is, there seem to be different types of it.
Thanks in advance,
Toast
Yes there are many types; all dependent on what you aim to achieve. No matter what the case is, however, I believe one should always start with concentration meditation. If you can learn to focus all of your mind on one thing for a long period of time, you are halfway there.
What I usually do is focus on my breath, but you can choose any object, whether you create it with your mind, or open your eyes and look at something. With breathing, I focus on the passage of air at the tip of my nose; just being aware of it. At first this is impossible, as every two seconds your mind wanders, but soon a few minutes will be possible.
After a lot of practice each day, you will eventually be able to do this for 15 minutes - half an hour. From here you can either continue increasing your powers of concentration, or move on to something with a different purpose, such as insight meditation or any other type. When you can concentrate this well, you can even go into lucid dreams with ease; it's just matter of allowing yourself to become drowsy; something that is not wanted in concentration meditation obviously.
This is the basis for any meditation practice. Of course, many will tell you that you can jump right into meditating on the nature of reality (insight meditation), or that you can close your eyes and start meditating on psychic abilities, etc. I don't agree at all. Cultures that have been meditating for thousands of years pretty much all agree that without concentration, there is only limited progress, and the practitioner often gives up and loses interest.
One thing I must say is that meditation does bring GREAT rewards. When you can focus on one point for a good while, everything becomes peaceful, and this is at the earliest of stages even. Eventually blissful states follow, and ineffable feelings.
I am not a qualified teacher; I taught myself from reading hundreds of books, so read as much as you can on the subject before you begin; just be careful of New Age stuff. Learn from those that have thousands of years of teachings behind them.
A few other things I posted in the dream yoga topic:
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Not sure about all that, but meditating a full half hour at first can be a problem for some people. The biggest barrier is that you often fall asleep, or you spend the whole time wondering if you can stop meditating, or wondering how long it has been since you started.
The saltcube LD and OBE timer can help such people: Click Here
Posture is another problem if such a thing concerns you, especially if you sit on the floor. Beginners often cannot get into the full Lotus which helps with posture and comfort. Keeping a straight back is nearly impossible for most without being in agony. If you start at 5 minutes day and use a wall to lean on when you get sore, your back will get stronger gradually. If you go too far you will just injure yourself.
Everything depends on the type of meditation as well; for insight or concentration meditation, the longer you do it, the faster you will get better at it, no matter the level of experience. Still, 5 minutes is a good place to start if you are worried about your own willpower or abilities. If you jump into it with too much force for your will, you may lose interest entirely.
Here is a good place to learn about meditation from the monks; more than you ever wanted to know:
Scroll down to the meditation section
Great thanks, Ill try this from now on. :)