Meditation

[Bruce]

When you pray you are speaking to God.
Meditate, still your mind, and then you can hear God.
Only when your mind becomes still can you get clarity.

Shivabalayogi

[bubblebob]

I'm currently waiting for book on meditation to arrive, from which I hope to learn the art of meditation. Unfortunately I don't have the money for a meditation course... I hope to ease my mind of these penetrating counter-productive thoughts that flow around in my head.

What are your experiences with meditation, Bruce?

[Icehawk]

Probably one of the top 3 things in my life. And although young; have done and do ALOT.

Result wise for those who havent got there yet, huge insights and internal clarity, stress gone, quick mind, improved focus, feeling more solid and spiritual at the same time, and a daily eureka or two. This stuff should be mandatory.

As for material, try your library or simply do a search online. On meditation alone you could find thousands of pages and websites of info. Good luck.

[Holmes]

Probably one of the top 3 things in my life. And although young; have done and do ALOT.

Result wise for those who havent got there yet, huge insights and internal clarity, stress gone, quick mind, improved focus, feeling more solid and spiritual at the same time, and a daily eureka or two. This stuff should be mandatory.

As for material, try your library or simply do a search online. On meditation alone you could find thousands of pages and websites of info. Good luck.

What kind of meditation do you practice and for how long?

"For how long, Mr. Sulu? For....how..long?"

[ohmmmm]

One way is to sit quietly and observe your thoughts come and go... Relax... Who is the observer and can the observer be seperated from the observed... There are many insights that can be contemplated.... However, reduce the stress of thought... and accept silence...

[Bruce]

I've been waiting for enough time to do this thread justice with a suitable response. I am sitting in a parked car and it looks like that time will never come. :-)
Bubblebob, I lived in Berlin for quite a while and was involved there with a group called Ananda Marga. Check them out. They are probably still active there. Some of the old timers will probably remember me in fact. Send me an email and I'll see what I can do to get you connected there. In any case, it is best to get instruction from a good teacher, but alas they are few and fakes and commercial opportunists are many, so its tough. Books can help too.

Myself, I have been meditating fairly regularly for over 30 years. Eastern religions were very popular in the hippie revolution during the 70s and I got involved back then. I went to India several times in search of gurus; the first time in 1979. I am probably one of the few hippy yogis of the 70s who actually stuck with the discipline. I was getting increasingly lax in my practises from the time I got married until our baby was born a couple of years ago when I experienced a resurgence of interest. Nowadays I meditate a lot every day and much of the night; sometimes as much as 10 hours in a 24 hour period; much to my wife's chagrin. :-) I also teach a weekly class here in Eugene and attend yoga/meditation retreats freguently throughout the year; about 7-8/year I think. I follow the yoga system given to me by my guru; who I met in India. It seems to be an amalgam of tantra yoga and Ashtanga yoga and serves me well.

Nice to read about the experiences of others here. Check out my site/forum at www.babanam.com. It is a little slow getting off the ground, but I have high hopes of a spiritual community springing up there some day.

Ohmmmm.... your post reminds me of Eckhart Tolle. Have you read his books? You might like them. I have some CDs of his talks that I like a lot too.

Peace,
B

[Icehawk]

Nowadays I meditate a lot every day and much of the night; sometimes as much as 10 hours in a 24 hour period;
B
:blink: :box: I struggle against reality to get in an hour per day. Trully impressive.

[bubblebob]

Thanks for your reply and your willingsness to get me in touch with that Ananda Marga group. As soon as I feel ready for this I will get back to you!

Thanks again,
Frank aka bb

PS: I googled the group and they seem to be still active here in Berlin...

[DrSmellThis]

I've tried a few different approaches, and recommend people try various approaches to see what works best for them.

You'll find some things fit your body, spirituality, and/or temperament better than others. You don't always know till you study something for a while, but I think the principle holds.

Something as intimate, important and personal as meditation, prayer or spirituality deserves a lot of care in choosing what fits you.

For example, probably not everyone is cut out for extremely long meditations. Some go for mind emptiness, some use more content in their meditations; some use a mantra, some use another focusing technique; some use a particular religious approach, some work with "energy in various ways"; some have a guru; some mix in prayer; some use postures; mudras; visualizations; and/or a plethora of breathing techniques, Kundalini techiques, muscle techniqes, relaxation techniques, etc., etc. Some meditate while walking, standing, sitting, lying down; even to some extent while driving. Some have various kinds of yoga practice, tai chi practice, or even various martial arts.

Some don't do these things.

Techniques vary to a staggering degree, in other words; and there are more than a few ways to "skin the cat." (pardon the expression). Particular techniques meet particular human needs.

Since I tend to believe meditation is a natural human activity (not implying it can't or shouldn't be taught, practiced and studied), I tend not to trust dogmatic approaches.

That's just me.