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I've been meditating since some time ago, it's usually about 10-30 minutes a day and I also do it for LD reasons; but there's one thing that is really troubling me. It's called regulating without regulating, so it's pretty much having a slow, rythmic breathing without actually focussing on it. That being said, I can't achieve this kind of state. When does it happen, or how do I go about it?
I'm in no way a pro at meditating just yet since I just started a short while ago, but I may be able to help a little, since the one thing I always find to be very easy with meditating is the breathing.
I naturally breathe in and out through my diaphragm (called "belly breathing"), so if you don't already do this, you may want to start. Skip if you already do. If you've been chest breathing your whole life, then you might find breathing "through your stomach" to be kind of hard and it may feel like you never get enough air (you actually get MORE air and a deeper breath when breathing through your stomach). I'd suggest practicing this as much as you can, and try to stay conscious of it throughout the day until it becomes natural. Like blinking or walking, you may completely forget about it during your day to day stuff, but try to remember and correct your breathing when you can. You don't HAVE to completely change your breathing to belly breathing, you can only practice it during meditation, but I'd suggest trying to convert fully to belly breathing if you can, it will be much more beneficial to your health and your meditative practices in the future.
If you breathe through your stomach already just skip down to here. For me, the deep rhythmic breathing state happens within 5-ish minutes of meditating. During that time I have cleared my mind, and I feel very relaxed. I don't think about the action of breathing per ce, but I take note of how the air fills my lungs, and how it exits, how it feels. Sometimes I like to visualize air gently flowing into 2 horn like objects in the place of where my lungs would be, flowing throughout my body, then gently exiting through the same way. It's a little hard to explain, because I'm sure each person has their own way of doing it, but that's the general how-to with me when I meditate. After awhile I sometimes don't realize my breathing, and it's gotten to the point where it's very deep (but not like "taking HUGE GIGANTIC breaths" deep?) and very soft. I don't know if you experience the Hypnagogic State while meditating, but if you do, it's also extremely helpful and relaxing to observe the shapes and colours that start glowing across your eyelids.
I also find that listening to meditative music helps.
When I meditate, rather than focusing my attention on the breath like Buddha did, I focus on a mantra that I mentally repeat and that goes well with my breath. You can use any mantra that you want, the one I use is ham-sa: I repeat "ham" when inhaling and "sa" when exhaling.
Doing so helps you focus more and you'll find that after a little bit your body automatically relaxes and your breath gets rythmic and slow.
LucidNightmares,
Thanks for your capacious reply. Yes I have a book on qigong meditation which I have yet to finish, I have been practicing belly breathing since I started reading it and I am regularly aware of my breathing during the day. I am hoping it will be an habit soon and to have it carry over completely without giving it a second thought. I am getting there.
As for the rhythmic breathing state, it does actually occur during my sessions if I am in for like 15 minutes. I feel relaxed and sometimes I don't feel my limbs anymore, which is great. However I still focus on my breath and I can't get to the point of not realizing my breath. I will try this visualization technique you described, and hope it helps me a bit. Perhaps this is something I will just acquire through practice. Yes I do sometimes experience mild hypnagogic imagery if that's what you mean (just like when you try to WILD). Thanks for the tips.
Valdast,
Hey! I will try a mantra, I've never done that before because I like to keep quiet. Maybe it will take my mind off my breathing process.
Thanks guys.
A reason you may be having trouble taking your mind off your breathing is because you're in the midst of trying to turn your breathing over to belly breathing. Something like changing your breathing permanently is really hard to do, so when you meditate you probably have your mind focused harder than normal on your breathing, to ensure you don't accidentally transfer back to breathing through your chest. Obviously it's harder to take your mind off something if you actually need to keep your mind on it to ensure it keeps happening. Just keep up your awareness of your breath during your daytime activities and you'll most definitely change into belly breathing, which in turn will allow you to focus on emptiness during your meditation (or whatever your meditation practice has you focusing on).
Sorry for the late reply, I was on the ship to england for a couple of days. I will have patience for the breathing to be a habit, but in the meantime it might even be a good thing. It's just a form of practicing concentration. Thanks Lucid, your posts have helped me.