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.

[BiffyFighters]

Incredible...an hour ago

I meditated for only 5 minutes at the most. The first time I have in months and thought about posting a thread in

this very sub forum to find it already here. I love the universe and these little syncing moments.

The list

of benifits is just endless, it really should be compulsive in schools. I used to be quite disciplined and managed

an hour a day for a while and really want to get back into the regular habit. Even 10 minutes a day just makes life

in general...better.

[Bruce]

Congrats on getting back into it.

It's amazing more people don't discover meditation and the inner world of "the self" or soul.

It made me more

than a little nostalic to read this thread myself; it is almost 4 years old and back when I started it, I was REALLY

on a roll with the practise. I still meditate twice a day invariably, but I don't put in those long hours or get

the intense bliss I was getting back then. It has definitely gotten better in the last few months though.

Also a

blast from the past reading about my wife's chagrin over my lengthy meditation sessions, as she left a couple years

back. A few days ago my daughter and I were meditating together and she blurted out "mom says meditation is bad

for you". "she says it makes you ignore people".

So, yeah, it's good stuff but you have to be a little

careful not to neglect your responsibilities.

Peace,
B

[Lovely100]

Have you ever heard of that phrase... "He/She brings out the best in you?"... I think about

meditation like that... That it brings out the best in me... As for families who meditate...it seems like they are

more calm and balanced in themselves and in their lives... Which seems to make the world a little less crazy!