Meditation

i didn't really know where to post this so i figured it could go here. i heard about some martial arts masters and all who could completely clear their mind during meditation. i'm talking about not a single thought for like 2 mins. well, i know that things like this could help wth dreaming and meditation in itself is beneficial. the problem is that inorder to get good at it, you have to have atleast a guideline. you can't just sit in the quite day after day and all of a sudden become a meditation master. the real problem is that, instead of most people viewig meditation as a state of mind (like it is) they view it as a chi thing. and, being christian, i don't view it that way. so, does anyone know of any guides or anything for meditation that don't go into the whole chi and temple of this and themple of that? thanks for any help

well I meditate 2 times a day, and iv never viewed it as a "chi thing" or any other spiritual thing, just a way to relax and forget all my worries (I worry allot in life) and actually since starting my meditation iv gained much more peace of mind and self control, I can bear pain much easier, (even make it where I cant even feel it) I think clearer and I just have more self control, also used to I wouldn’t be able to concentrate, what some might call "adult A.D.D" but now I find it effortless to concentrate, I know that this sounds corny and like I’m making up but thankfully I actually have experienced all these things and I haven’t bent the truth at all, in fact the only downfall to meditation is that Its harder to multi-task since I concentrate so hard on whatever I’m doing

Also iv been meditating for about 6 months now twice a day

you can't just sit in the quite day after day and all of a sudden become a meditation master.""

maybe not in days, months or years would prolly do the trick though.

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Originally posted by Sinar
the real problem is that, instead of most people viewig meditation as a state of mind (like it is) they view it as a chi thing. and, being christian, i don't view it that way.

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I think the real problem may be with you, and being a Christian should be no excuse for you. Christianity has two well known Initiations: the Initiation of Baptism and the Initiation into the Holy Spirit. At one time there may have actually been a transfer of Spiritual Power, or 'Chi', in these initiations.

You were correct in noting that people who speak of Medition as being in some way substantial DO speak in terms of an actual Spiritual Energy, and not as you guess, being only some imaginary mental exercise. Hmmmm. You confess to knowing nothing about Meditation, but then you propose to be your own expert when it comes to rejecting all of the Schools of Meditation that have anybody vouching for them.

I wonder why you suppose that Christians must necessarily be bigotted. I suppose it is Paul's influence. Pull only believed in one thing, and that was Paul. He even rejected the teachings of the True Apostles. So most Christians, being influenced by Paul, have picked up on their master's rejection of all teachings and doctrines but those of Paul's. However, if one were to actually refer to Christ and the Messianic Dispensation, it would occur to one that the only Peoples to have paid homage to Christ in His Lifetime were the 3 Kings, and through them, these Kingdoms of the East. So it is that these Kingdoms of the East were granted a Reward, that is, the Gift of the Meditation. Whereas, the people of Judah and those gentiles that since advocated the murder of the Messiah were put under a curse -- a curse whereby they would reject the Gift of Meditation even if it were to be offered to them.

Besides, as a self-confessed Paulist, shouldn't you just be reading your Word of Paul?

paulist haha leo owns

There are two broad categories in how Meditation is both pursued, and in how it is considered to operate, and these Categories are Vedantic and Tantric. The Vedantric School supposes everything has to do with the Mind. The Tantric considers that the Mind is necessarily linked with Existence, Energy, Body, Health, etc.

The Tantric School does not deny the Mind, but it sees the natural mind as something of a broken mechanism that is attempting to run without fuel or energy. Lucid Dreamers should certainly sympathize with this view, since so often it seems that the Lucidity itself depends upon an actually perceptable Consciousness Energy that noticeably strengthens and weakens, effecting both the vividness of the dream content as well as the tenacity of the conscious awareness.

So, to the Tantric Meditator, it seems futile to suppose that the Mind alone can achieve any significant Meditation. The Mind, unaided by any significant increase in Consciousness Energy, has nothing to Meditate on.

Yet Vedanta has its value. When finally the Initiated Meditator does come into contact with the necessary Energy that would make Meditation possible, it is the Vedantic Teachings that could perhaps make Meditation morally and spiritually valuable. One can think of it like operating an automobile. Without a working electrical system, spark, and fuel, the car would not even start. But once fired-up, then Mind can be applied to put all of the working machinary to some actual Use.

Meditation and Initiation is diferent in our days, because we changed recently our soul structure, our human beeing. We know so much now if we pay atention to the Science of spirituality. We don't need a spiritual guide this day. We live special times, where humans feel the necesity to live Images. But this images don t have to be lived in exterior (T.V., fotography, etc), but inside. That is the point of meditation, in one way. There are some new esoteric exercises, specialy for us, modern people. If one is aware of what is doing, if he use his power of will, first he will experience Enlightenment , a view into the etheric world, than astral, etc. You can see such occult training, as an example on: http://wn.rsarchive.org/Books/GuidEsot;lines=227-582 ,or http://wn.rsarchive.org/Books/GA010/Englis...A010_index.html. It is enough for now. Good luck !

Transcendental meditation is a practice that stems from Hinduism, but it itself is secular. People of all religions are asked to get into it. That is the philosophy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who I discovered is a fraud who happens to present a great technique, so now I believe that meditation can have absolutely nothing to do with religion. I believe in transcendental meditation, but I don't believe you have to pay Maharishi's organization $300 to learn it and get your own personal, secret mantra and go through their initiation session. That part is a scam.

The universal mantra is aum, so in case you are worried about the hokus pokus of mantras, use that one. Sit straight up, quietly, for about a minute with your eyes closed and then start thinking "aum" (the word, not the hum) in a relaxed and almost effortless manner. Your mind will drift, and that is okay. When that happens, just very calmly think back to the mantra without trying to shut out thoughts. Do this for twenty minutes. You will have to glance at a clock or a watch a few times. After twenty minutes, open your eyes and sit there and enjoy the peace. The level of peace you feel varies each time. Sometimes, it is mind blowing. It is recommended that you do this twice a day, at least 6 hours apart and no more than 12 hours apart. If you do it too late at night, it can easily make you go to sleep. Sometimes, when you are not tired, it can wake you up so much you can't go to sleep. You are supposed to do it at least 30 minutes after you eat, and it is supposed to work better when you have no narcotics in your system. In my experience, there seems to be something to that. Staying off pot for a few weeks always seemed to make it work better.

I don't really recommend meditating by trying to have absolutely no thought, but perhaps that is because Maharishi preached against it, saying it will make you dumb, when I thought he was the shit. This is somebody who claims he can fly, so maybe you shouldn't take the claim seriously at all.

Ok, lisen : the meditation proposed by Universal mind is half true, but you will gey nothing from it. Actualy, what you must do, is first develop observation, than concentration. It is very difficuld to describe in a forum how this exercises must be done. Concentration is vital. It means that you must focus all your atention into one point. It can be exterior, where you focus on nice object which mind likes (like a ball, a cristal, a clock, etc) or interior, where you picture an image. After that, slowly, in time, you go to real meditation. Another exercise is to look with your eyes open and not move, to a point. It can be a color dot, or a clock. The "trick" is to pay attention to the process of thinking. You must not let toughts make a chaos. You must concentrate all your power to think only on the object you choose. If it is an apple, as an example, you must think about the color, shape, about the skin, what is inside, anyway all that it has to do with the apple. You must pay attention to breathing. You must put the object of contemplation in one point on your body (on the point below the heart, or on the heart, on the point where the third eye is). The best times for meditation are early in the morning, between 4 and 6, and in the night between 5-6 pm. But this are not western ways of meditation. This are old, and are not availble anymore to most people. Oriental meditation is very strict, and you must with it to have a certain food (no meat), no sex, etc. Exercises which I show you up, on the two links, are better, specialy for us, modern people.

I think that there is more than just a mere hint of Satanic Pride in the modern insistence that Meditation must be entirely 'self help'. Everyone wants to be a self made man. Pulling one's self up by one's own bootstraps.

Of course, I can understand why people don't trust all of these profiteering New Age Gurus. Thankfully, most of us aren't rich enough to afford them anyway.

But there is a Middle Way. Those who are advanced in the practices of Yoga and Meditation are like Walking Flames. They give off a Spiritual Light and Heat which can be captured, harnessed and utilized. And all it takes is proximity.

In the Upanisads it is said that "In the presence of a God or Saint, the Eye of Wisdom will open". What this means, is that when one is near a person with an activated Spiritual Energy System, one's own Spiritual System will respond -- one's own 'Chakras' will open up. And it is not all that noticeable. The first opening of the Agna Chakra, The Third Eye or Eye of Wisdom, can be recognized only as a slight feeling of pressure in the forehead, up on the brow, above and between the eyes, at the top of the bridge of the nose. In the Dream State, that pressure turns to Light, but in waking consciousness, it is only like a mild headache that doesn't hurt. Once this Opening is sensed, then one only needs to hold onto this opening, as one would tend a small flame in order to start a fire.

So, if one is to begin a practice of Meditation, one should frequent those places where one might encounter a Spiritual Awakened Person. You don't have to pay any Guru, you just have to meet one, and feel it in your head when you do.

Oh, and when one get's practiced at sensing Spiritually Awakened Persons, its surprising what one finds. In some of the Spiritual Organizations that one encounters, it is not always those of the highest rank or position that flare open one's own chakras the most. Indeed, sometimes the Leaders of some of these Organizations are wise to keep many of these followers close at hand in their Entourage. They may only be spiritually open enough themselves to know that it is these followers of theirs that are the True Spiritual Ambiance that gives their Organization any real feel of Spiritual Authenticity. So when you feel your Agna Chakra opening, don't stop the process simply because you feel that you are not taking the Initiation of the most Famous or Illustrious Guru in the World. A flame is a flame. A fire is a fire. Results are results.

Hi Sinar, I'm John it's nice to meet you. I understand you are new to meditation and you are a Christian. The guidlines I am offering below will pose no threat to your "root religion" (cake). Try to consider the following meditation guidelines as the "icing" on your "cake" .

"The most basic form of meditation involves attending to one's breath.

Begin by sitting in a simple chair, keeping your back erect if you can. The more traditional postures are the lotus position, sitting on a pillow with each foot upon the opposite thigh, and variations such as the half lotus (one foot on the opposite thigh, the other out in front of the opposite knee). This is difficult for many people. Some people kneel, sitting back on their legs or on a pillow between their legs. Many use a meditation bench: kneel, then place a little bench beneath your behind. But meditation is also done while standing, slowly walking, lying on the floor, or even in a recliner!

Traditionally, the hands are placed loosely, palms up, one on top of the other, and with the thumbs lightly touching. This is called the cosmic mudra, one of a large number of symbolic hand positions. You may prefer to lay them flat on your thighs, or any other way that you find comfortable.

Your head should be upright, but not rigid. The eyes may be closed, or focussed on a spot on the ground a couple of feet ahead of you, or looking down at your hands. If you find yourself getting sleepy, keep your eyes open!

Beginning meditators are often asked to count their breath, on the exhale, up to ten. Then you begin back at one. If you loose track, simply go back to one. Your breath should be slow and regular, but not forced or artificially controlled. Just breathe naturally and count.

A few weeks later, you may forego the counting and try to simply follow your breath. Concentrate on it entering you and exiting you. Best is to be aware as fully as possible of the entire process of breathing, but most people focus on one aspect or another: the sensation of coolness followed by warmth at the nostrils, or the rise and fall of the diaphragm. Many meditators suggest imagining the air entering and exiting a small hole an inch or two below your navel. Keeping your mind lower on the body tends to lead to deeper meditation. If you are sleepy, then focus higher, such as at the nostrils.

You will inevitably find yourself distracted by sounds around you and thoughts within. The way to handle them is to acknowledge them, but do not attach yourself to them. Do not get involved with them. Just let them be, let them go, and focus again on the breath. At first, it might be wise to scratch when you itch and wiggle when you get uncomfortable. Later, you will find that the same scant attention that you use for thoughts and sounds will work with physical feelings as well.

A more advanced form of meditation is shikantaza, or emptiness meditation. Here, you don't follow anything at all. There is no concentration -- only quiet mindfulness. You hold your mind as if you were ready for things to happen, but don't allow your mind to become attached to anything. Things -- sounds, smells, aches, thoughts, images -- just drift in and out, like clouds in a light breeze. This is my own favorite.

Many people have a hard time with their thoughts. We are so used to our hyperactive minds, that we barely notice the fact that they are usually roaring with activity. So, when we first sit and meditate, we are caught off guard by all the activity. So some people find it helpful to use a little imagination to help them meditate. For example, instead of counting or following your breath, you might prefer to imagine a peaceful scene, perhaps floating in a warm lagoon, until the noise of your mind quiets down.

Meditate for fifteen minutes a day, perhaps early in the morning before the rest of the house wakes up, or late at night when everything has quieted down. If that's too much, do it once a week if you like. If you want, do more. Don't get frustrated. And don't get competitive, either. Don't start looking forward to some grand explosion of enlightenment. If you have great thoughts, fine. Write them down, if you like. Then go back to breathing. If you feel powerful emotions, wonderful. Then go back to breathing. The breathing is enlightenment. "

More can be found where this came from:

http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/meditation.html