How effective is meditation in relaxation and thought control?

Question

I have a lot of anxieties and I've read about , but never tried, meditation. Can anyone help me out as to how to get started and to how to do it?

Answer 1

meditation iz verry effective!!! the best thing to do is go outside where u are only surrounded by nature. kinda lay down and relax. make perfectly sure u are not worried about anything. think about happy things that have happened in your life. sit and do that for atleast 30-60 minutes.

Answer 2

Meditation is a practice. I believe it is quite useful in relaxation and mindfulness.

There are groups that you might seek out that practice meditation. Look for Satsang or Vipassana in your area. But you can do this individually as well.

As stated by the other respondant, you will want to be in a quiet place where you will not be interupted. Get seated in a comfortable position in a chair or on the floor. If in a chair, put both feet on the floor and relax your hands and arms. Close your eyes. Take a moment just to feel yourself relax, then begin to notice your breath. The inhale and the exhale. It is normal to find your mind drifting to various thoughts... that's quite ok. When you notice, simply allow yourself to let the thought float away as if in a bubble and refocus your attention on your breath. It is not necessary to have a judgment about your thoughts, just allow them to drift by.

Next, you may become aware that this remarkable breath is happening automatically, we don't have to do anything to make it happen. As you inhale and exhale like the ocean ebbing and flowing on the sand, you might remember that this breath is evidence of your very life. This amazing gift of life, when noticed, may evoke a sense of wonder and reverence. You might realize you have this incredible gift of time and ask yourself, really, how do you wish to spend this precious life you have, moment by moment? What really is important? Would you want to squander these precious moments in turmoil and confusion? What about lovingkindness? What is it that we need more of in this world? Peace? How might each of us add to the peace?

These are places your meditational journey may take you.

Namaste

Answer 3

Meditation is great for helping with anxieties. I started doing it last year when I moved to the dorms and was having trouble in my classes. Just start out in a sitting position on focus on just breathing. I started out for about 5 minutes each evening RIGHT before I went to bed, and now go for about 15-20 minutes a night. Things that I didn't quite understand before I started seem a bit clearer afterwards.

Answer 4

you are very wise to be looking for answers--the following comes from my own experiences with similar "challenges". meditation is a great help--review the many books, etc., available. exercise "alot", i found jogging and martial arts big helps. anything that balances out your "internal energy" works. i.e. everything above plus chi kung, reiki, and the like. research the psychology behind the anxiety: check out *the complete idiot's guide to toltec wisdom*, for example, so that you understand what creates the fear and tension. a wise person tries to determine how to maximize his humanness and potential for consciousness growth, rather than spending a preponderance of his allotted time attempting to become wealthy and " powerful". who would you take as a role model: the dalai lama or tom delay/ken lay, etc.?

Answer 5

The whole aim of meditation is,
1. to calm your mind, and
2. to focus the mind on one thing.

It not only helps you to relax and control your thoughts healthwise it will help you to control anger - high blood pressure patients will realise that their pressure is coming under control.

The mind of a normal person is like an uncontrolled monkey jumping from one thought to another. To process all these thoughts a lot of body energy is used. Thus if your mind cease to process thoughts you will be saving a lot of body energy which can be used to cure a lot of ailments in your body. That is why a person who continues to meditate regularly even gets a nice body complexion.

If you sit down and close your eyes you will notice that your mind is jumping from one thought to another. Even though you want to concentrate on your breath you will find other thoughts also coming in between.

In learning to meditate you must first learn to calm your mind. You do this by following every thought that comes into you mind. You must be like a Manager of a Hotel who stands at the entrance and observes the customers coming in. Without getting attached to the thoughts try to observe them. You will find that a thought comes in and that it goes nowhere and another thought follows it - try following that too - with same results. This way you will find that your thoughts gradually subside. Do not try to force out your thoughts.

Of course do not expect results in one or two days. Practise it for at least 40 minutes every day for at least 2 months you find that you have 'killed' your train of thoughts. I have practised for 1 1/2 years and still vagrant thoughts come in.

Thereafter start concentrating on your breath. Notice the breath coming in and going out. You should not concentrate only on the tip of your nose. Notice the breath coming in and thereafter your lungs getting filled and then gradually exhaling the breath.

After you finish that for the day start to think of a person or several persons whom you hate most. Having those people in mind start to think in a compassionate manner "may he be healthy, may he be happy, may he go up in life, may he live long". Keep on doing this for about 10 minutes a day for a few months you will find that you do not get angry even when you have to get angry.

You should be able to get some guidance from the following sites,

1. http://www.dhamma.org/vipassan.htm
2. http://www.meditationexpert.com/ and click on the free articles on yoga meditation - it includes articles on all types of meditations including christian and muslim meditation.