How do you know that you are meditating and what does it feel like?
- Thread starter mindraker
- Start date
Ummm, maybe you should do a little more looking into what meditation is, exactly. There's not supposed to be any flashing lights or wistles or anything after you mediate, you're just supposed to relax and de-stressify (that's a scientific term). There isn't much too it.
I understand what he means. He's waiting for "quietly not doing anything" to end and "meditation" to begin.
If you concentrate too hard on it, you're not going to get anywhere (in my experience). I'd suggest just trying to think of nothing and stick to that. But I don't know anything.
If you concentrate too hard on it, you're not going to get anywhere (in my experience). I'd suggest just trying to think of nothing and stick to that. But I don't know anything.
my advice is don't try trying anything. Just sit down, and do your chosen meditation, don't try to do it, just do it.
Don't expect anything to happen cause nothing will. The changes in meditation are very subtle. You might look back after a year of meditation and realize that your life is more at peace now, but you will mostlikely not think about it.
I know I mentioned in another post here that I saw certain things while meditating, don't expect this to happen. I'm not lucky in anyway, most likely I would be decieving myself thinking that there is anything extraordinary going on, probably just my brain playing tricks on me.
Once a monk explained to his teacher that while meditating he had experienced a great flash of light and an immage of the Buddha has appeared to him shrowded in gold, the teacher replied 'that's nice, if you concentrate on your breathing it will go away'
If you experience things like me, just disregard it, one of the greatest pittfalls in the path of meditation is chasing the light.
Good luck to you.:
Don't expect anything to happen cause nothing will. The changes in meditation are very subtle. You might look back after a year of meditation and realize that your life is more at peace now, but you will mostlikely not think about it.
I know I mentioned in another post here that I saw certain things while meditating, don't expect this to happen. I'm not lucky in anyway, most likely I would be decieving myself thinking that there is anything extraordinary going on, probably just my brain playing tricks on me.
Once a monk explained to his teacher that while meditating he had experienced a great flash of light and an immage of the Buddha has appeared to him shrowded in gold, the teacher replied 'that's nice, if you concentrate on your breathing it will go away'
If you experience things like me, just disregard it, one of the greatest pittfalls in the path of meditation is chasing the light.
Good luck to you.:
Don't think about it too much, that's all. Learning to meditate effectively may take a month or maybe years, so just have patience with yourself that's all there is to it.
I don't want to misslead you in anyway, so know that I haven't been meditating for more than a year. But I find that this is the advice given to me and that it helps me. Check out this thread. But I'm sure you already have.
I don't want to misslead you in anyway, so know that I haven't been meditating for more than a year. But I find that this is the advice given to me and that it helps me. Check out this thread. But I'm sure you already have.
Well, Mindraker, the thing is that you're not supposed to have to think about it a lot in order to do it. Just clear your mind and be at peace, and all that, consciously trying hard to succeed in it isn't going to get you anywhere, because it won't let you relax.
Just tell yourself that you are meditating , then you are doing it, it doesn't take much more than that.
It's not a moment of magic it's just a moment of relaxation and introspection.
You don't need to use any particular methods, make them up yourself as you go along if you need some sort of routine to focus on not to focus.
It's not a moment of magic it's just a moment of relaxation and introspection.
You don't need to use any particular methods, make them up yourself as you go along if you need some sort of routine to focus on not to focus.
Bird Catching
An analogy I read in the book pertaining to insomniacs and their endless efforts to achieve sleep seems quite pertinent to your question.
Meditation can be compared to trying to touch a bird by putting seed in your palm. No matter how hard you chase after the bird, or even if you try to slowly sneak up to it, if you move at all, even away from it, the bird will flly away, regarding you as a threat. So rather than trying to chase the bird, simply stay still. The bird, not thinking of you as a threat because you are still, unmoving, and unprepared for attack, will then land in your hand to eat the seed.
The story relates that no matter how slow or fast the bird is, or even if it seems merely inches from your finger and you are tempted to just grab it, restrain yourself and your victory will be assured.
An analogy I read in the book pertaining to insomniacs and their endless efforts to achieve sleep seems quite pertinent to your question.
Meditation can be compared to trying to touch a bird by putting seed in your palm. No matter how hard you chase after the bird, or even if you try to slowly sneak up to it, if you move at all, even away from it, the bird will flly away, regarding you as a threat. So rather than trying to chase the bird, simply stay still. The bird, not thinking of you as a threat because you are still, unmoving, and unprepared for attack, will then land in your hand to eat the seed.
The story relates that no matter how slow or fast the bird is, or even if it seems merely inches from your finger and you are tempted to just grab it, restrain yourself and your victory will be assured.
I'd have to advise you to listen to bebelina. Meditation isn't like some sort of super power, you just do whatever you need to do to relax, maybe reflect on the days events, or personal issues, maybe just not really think about anything at all, while remaining calm, give yourself some time to get it all together, and come back refreshed and feeling ready to face the world.
If you sit down and feel too anxious, or start to get bored, maybe you just shouldn't try meditating right then, go ware yourself out a bit, or whatever else you think would prepare you to just sit and think (or not think) for a while, get into it slowly if you need to, put on some soft music and read a bit, and then put down the book once the prospect of sitting and not really doing a whole lot physically doesn't seem like it'll be a problem.
If you sit down and feel too anxious, or start to get bored, maybe you just shouldn't try meditating right then, go ware yourself out a bit, or whatever else you think would prepare you to just sit and think (or not think) for a while, get into it slowly if you need to, put on some soft music and read a bit, and then put down the book once the prospect of sitting and not really doing a whole lot physically doesn't seem like it'll be a problem.
The difficult thing for me is the transition from meditating WHILE I am in the mental and emotional state to do it
TO
Meditating TO GET into a mental and emotional state I want to be in.
I find it next to impossible to meditate unless all the conditions are right.
I need to gat past that and be able to use meditation as a tool to CREATE these conditions.
That's the hardest part for me.
TO
Meditating TO GET into a mental and emotional state I want to be in.
I find it next to impossible to meditate unless all the conditions are right.
I need to gat past that and be able to use meditation as a tool to CREATE these conditions.
That's the hardest part for me.
Perhaps...
Some people, when 'the light' comes, are immediately bumped out of the state they are trying to attain- a peaceful state of mind (translating to Alpha or Theta brainwave states). If one wishes to remain in those states, and is shocked when strange things happen within them, those people must ignore those feelings and simply let them happen, or else they will never achieve the relaxation they desire.
Just a thought.
Some people, when 'the light' comes, are immediately bumped out of the state they are trying to attain- a peaceful state of mind (translating to Alpha or Theta brainwave states). If one wishes to remain in those states, and is shocked when strange things happen within them, those people must ignore those feelings and simply let them happen, or else they will never achieve the relaxation they desire.
Just a thought.
Hey that's cool, but enlightenment is supposedly nothing like this, ie your sitting counting breaths for 4 hours and suddenly a great flash of light comes down from the sky you float out of your body and observe the entirity of the the multiverse and know all it's infinity, it's something that you fade into. If I was resourcefull I would post a quote from a Buddhist text or a link to a Buddhist site that instructs you not to put too much weight on such experiences but to focus on developing your self. Where's Evilpoet when you need him?