Thread: Meditation

No thoughts whatsoever. And it is the hardest thing in the world to do.

Originally Posted by The Cusp

No thoughts whatsoever. And it is the hardest thing in the world to do.

But how does having no thoughts benefit you? I mean I am a bit stressed right now but its not really anything that's affecting me physically or mentally, so, how can clearing my mind during meditation help?

because you let go and leave all your troubles behind. Think of nothing, let thoughts run through your head and most importantly, relax.

Originally Posted by allensig3654

because you let go and leave all your troubles behind. Think of nothing, let thoughts run through your head and most importantly, relax.

I understand that it helps to relax but what are its additional benefits, because, for the most part, those problems I have aren't really affecting me. I am the kind of guy that can let things go and forget about them

It depends on if you are meditating to clear your mind, or meditating to solve a specific problem.

Originally Posted by BigFan

But how does having no thoughts benefit you? I mean I am a bit stressed right now but its not really anything that's affecting me physically or mentally, so, how can clearing my mind during meditation help?

To use a computer analogy, imagine how your computer runs when it's bogged down by viruses and useless processes running in the back ground.

Originally Posted by BigFan

But how does having no thoughts benefit you? I mean I am a bit stressed right now but its not really anything that's affecting me physically or mentally, so, how can clearing my mind during meditation help?

it helps you inhabit the moment "here" "now" to focus, control your emotions, thoughts . if you practice 10 minutes every night before sleep you will see the diference progressive

Originally Posted by BigFan

Hello everyone,
From what I've read about meditation, it seems you can sit in any position(I do lotus not to fall asleep, etc....), relax yourself and concentrate on your breath along with emptying your mind of your thoughts. Eventually, your supposed to have a blank mind with no thoughts, thus, successful meditation. However, I've heard conflicting accounts where you have to have only ONE thought instead of none. So, which is it, one or none?

"From what I've read about meditation, it seems you can sit in any position(I do lotus not to fall asleep, etc....), "

Yes, you can be in any position. I usually lay down.


"relax yourself and concentrate on your breath along with emptying your mind of your thoughts. "

Right. Thats one of my favorite techniques. Relax, and completely focus on your breath. When your mind wanders, bring your attention back to your breath.


"Eventually, your supposed to have a blank mind with no thoughts, thus, successful meditation. "

Yeap.


"However, I've heard conflicting accounts where you have to have only ONE thought instead of none. So, which is it, one or none? "

Both. Some people like to try starting out with just having no thoughts, but thats difficult, not recommended. What you do is start out focusing on one thought or thing, such as you breath (recommended). Eventually, you will lose yourself, and completely trance out. At that point, you will have no thoughts.


"But how does having no thought benefit you?

Meditation overall has many benefits. Better health, cardio, clearer thinking, makes you able to think more logically..It will overall make you better at whatever you do. Some people also use it to aid in their spiritual/metaphysical practices. Such as myself.

Hope that answers your question.

-Tricky

Buddha, the all time master of meditation claimed that true meditation is holding your attention on your breath, all the time during daily activities. Thats it.

Meditation is attention training. And yes I have personally experienced that it is as simple as Buddha claimed. All the other teachings and knowledge about meditation come to you automatically. Continuous attention on breath is all you need. Using this method you can achieve the effect of years and years of meditation in only a few days. It's the easiest, but at the same thing, the hardest thing ever. Try it out, it doesn't take any effort at all except a tiny little bit extra attention. You have litterally nothing to lose, not even time, effort or energy, but everything to gain.

For me, meditation is usually sitting down and relaxing and then waiting for all the daily concerns / worries about school, homework, friends etcetera to go away. Usually after that I get into a conscious state that I don't remember much but a lot of time I will also have short day dreams / dreams. It's very relaxing but I can never get to that point of "no thoughts". I don't really see the point of it either... It's kind of nice when you mind drifts a way into random things that makes no sense in waking life.

Originally Posted by allensig3654

Think of nothing,

but thinking of nothing is still thinking!

Its a case of the classic zen (at least i think its zen...) saying: do without doing, think without thinking, try without trying....

its one of those things that cannot be explained until you personally just do it for yourself.

My best advice. don't try to do anything! dont try to think of nothing. dont try to concentrate. Meditation is enigmatic! There are so many different types and rules and stages of meditation, try ignoring them all and see what happens.
really, i think if you get down to the core of meditation, it could be anything from painting a picture to riding a bike, to sitting in a chair listening to some music. it doesn't have to be the lotus position and stuff.

But, here's my "technique" if you could call it that. This comming from a very ADD person...aka, a calm mental state is something very hard for me to attain....

You wont be able to "turn your brain off" at the first attempt...first try to see what you think about when you try meditating. That could be enlightening in and of itself. Then, once you become intimate with your thought patterns now its your job to be a passive observer of your thoughts. That's the catch right there; don't try to not think, dont try to block your thoughts, passively acknowledge them and let them go.
Like anything else, your thoughts are energy, you must let your energy flow- let your thoughts flow - like clouds floating by and your just watching them float away...

and if you want, you can try music CD's that claim they put you into higher states of consciousness using different types of soundwaves. I've got a bunch of these cd's from Borders book stores and places like that. I feel they do work and the music helps keep distractions away for me.

check this out if you want:
www.3pounduniverse.com

Surprised to see people share advise without knowing what kind of meditation the topic starter was doing and what for.

Thats also true..There are many different forms. But the one I posted about is the method I most know about/most hear about. Its the method that is taught the most, too IMO (or at least a variation)

So what's in it for you? You mentioned that you use it as aid in your spiritual\metaphysical practice.

Originally Posted by Arutad

So what's in it for you? You mentioned that you use it as aid in your spiritual\metaphysical practice.

I practice psychic abilities. Its been 4 years now. About to be 5. Without meditation, you cant really expect to get anywhere in the practice of psionics.

Any success? And how do you use meditation to help you in the field of psionics?

I'm a curious little soul

The meditation in question, clearing the mind of thoughts, is the most basic of all meditation techniques. If you can't master this, you will have little luck with anything more advanced.

The purpose/benefit of this clearing the mind of all thoughts is to take control of your own mind from your subconscious, emotions, etc. Throughout the day, most of the things that pop into your head are not things that you have specifically decided to put there. An emotional response to something will bring a thought into your head. Seeing or especially smelling something can bring unanticipated thoughts into your head. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if you want to take control of your mind, you must be in control of your thoughts.

One basic technique would be to try counting your breaths from 1 to 10. You can either focus on the breathing (which should be slow, 10-15 seconds per breath), or focus on the numbers. If an unwanted thought shows up in your head, do not give it any attention, just let it drift away. If you find yourself focusing on this thought, start your counting over from 1. Eventually you want to get into the mindset of "regulating without regulating," which means for example, breathing in the right way without having to concentrate on breathing, etc. At first you will be lucky to count to 1 without unwanted thoughts popping into your head, but keep at it, and you will eventually have success.

Ideally you want to breath from down deep in your hara (abdomen), not your lungs. This will help massage your internal organs, and help the energy flow properly in that area. Try not to focus your attention on this, and its not a bad idea to try breathing this way all the time, even when you are not meditating. Slow, controlled breaths from the lower abdomen area rather than expanding your lungs. Fill your lungs to about 75% capacity, don't breathe as deeply as possible.

yes, exactly... you need the basics down before you jump into practicing
psionics or other more advanced meditation techniques.

its like math...if you dont have the basics down, then you cant do the more complex equations