What kind of meditations would you recommend for practice? Could you describe the steps?

Question

I would prefer buddhist meditations or non-religious meditations.

Answer 1

I'm going to assume that you are really interested in this, and take the time to answer you. Meditation is an intensely personal, internal experience, aimed at 'quiet mind'. The objective is to silence your 'internal dialog', such that the 'silent watcher' behind your thoughts can experience reality directly, unmediated by the senses.

While there are many different ways to meditate, the simplest for a beginner is the 'counting' meditation. Find a nice quite spot where you can stretch out and relax... the quieter and more comfortable, the better. Close your eyes, and breathe deeply and slowly, in through your nose, out through your mouth. Count each exhalation silently, in your mind. When you get to four, start over...

inhale... exhale.. (1)...
inhale... exhale.. (2)...
inhale... exhale.. (3)...
inhale... exhale.. (4)...
inhale... exhale.. (1)...
inhale... exhale.. (2)...
... etc.

As you do this, various thoughts will pop up in your mind, and you may lose track of the counting. You must gently dismiss those thoughts, and return to your task of breathing and counting... 1... 2... 3... 4...

Your subconscious does not want your mind to be silent, and so it will oppose what you are doing.

As you learn to dismiss these extraneous thoughts more easily, your mind will become more desperate, and you may start hearing auditory hallucinations... voices... strange sounds. They are not real... it is just your mind playing tricks on you. Gently dismiss them, just like the extraneous thoughts.

As your mind gets more desperate, you may experience visions... sort of like waking dreams. They will seem very interesting, fascinating, and you will want to follow them, and focus on them. Do not. Again, it will just be your mind playing tricks on you. Gently dismiss them, and return to your task of breathing and counting... 1... 2... 3... 4...

This will not all happen at once, of course. Do this once or twice a day, every day, at the same time (if possible), for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. As you gain experience, you may work up to around 30 minutes. You will find that it is very relaxing and refreshing, and that after doing it, you will feel very refreshed and alert... recharged. It may take you a few weeks... maybe even a month or two... before you are actually able to achieve 'quiet mind'... but once you do, you will find yourself experiencing a sense of 'connectedness' that will blow your mind. I will not try to describe it for you... you will know it when it comes.

After you have a few months experience with this, get a book titled to 'How To Meditate', by Lawrence LeShan. Or, you might look up 'how to meditate' in Google. Also look up 'satori' and 'kundalini'.

You will find this to be one of most profoundly rewarding experiences of your life. Good luck.

Answer 2

There are so many techniques out there, but the ones that I like the most are to find a quiet place where you can be comfortable. Not too cold, not too warm (cover yourself with a blanket if it helps), sit in a straight backed chair with arms on it to support your arms. Close your eyes gently and count your breathing 3 times, then relax. Just let your thoughts flow. Don't focus on them or force them, just relax.

Another method is to find some inspirtational passage (doesn't have to be religious, just something you find uplifting), memorize it, and then mentally repeat it as you meditate. Recite it in your head slowly and each time your mind strays from it start all over again. It takes practice but it works very well.

You can also go find some guided meditations at some New Age/Occult/Wiccan bookstores and websites.

Answer 3

Short answer:
- Start off w/ counting/watching the breath morning and night;
- then mix in 'relaxation response' during day; add guided imagery if need more relaxation;
- if mind training becomes an issue, look at Insight Meditation' tapes
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Detail (note: spiritual mind training does not mean religious; it just means training your mind to become aware of the patterns of behavior from the ego/self). There are a number of categories: Meditation (includes counting/watching the breath, generalized imagery), spiritual mind training (includes 'Insight Meditation', Zen, 'A Course in Miracles', things like AA's 12-step), and breathing exercises (includes diaphragmatic breathing techniques, resonant breathing for panic/anxiety/depression). Following are the sources for this info:
Sources:
1. counting/watching the breath - http://www.mro.org/zmm/teachings/meditation.php
2. Relaxation Response - 3-4 times/day for 3-5 minutes (the website says 10-20 minutes/day but I was told to do this 4 times for 3-5 minutes); equivalent to anti-anxiety meds - http://www.ucop.edu/humres/eap/relaxationrespone.html
3. Generalized Relaxation and Imagery meditation - lots of tapes exist that teach you to relax and go through all parts of your body -- I have OCD and panic and used the tape 3, side b of http://www.anxieties.com/sot.php (it's generic)
4. Muscle contraction and relaxation - another relaxation technique is to go through your body, tense each muscle and hold it, then let it go
5. Breathing-only exercises - (a) - panic breathing skills - http://www.anxieties.com/sot.php (b) resonant breathing for depression, anxiety, panic [732 235-7647 - ask for Dr. Lehrer to rec someone in your area - one session]
6. Spiritual mind training - (a) A Course in Miracles (Book store); (b) Zen - read '3 Pillars of Zen' or the material on zen mountain monastery web site; (c) Insight Meditation - do a google search - people in a group I was in got great benefits

Answer 4

I try to get really quiet and be alone and try to block out my problems and get clear until I could see a reflection of myself watch me as I am at that moment and then kind of space talking to Jesus and God as if the ceiling is open all the way up past the sky right into Heaven on a vertical connection so I can handle what I face daily on a horizontal plane. I am lying on my bed or on the floor flat out or seated in a chair. Maybe this will work for you too,

Answer 5

I like to practice opening my chakras through meditation. It is very important than you concentrate on your breathing and not to think about other things. the trick here is to block any thought that will distrsact you from the meditation. I will give you a link to useful site. http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/open.php

Answer 6

Light a candle. Focus on the flame in a dark room. close your eyes and empty your mind of everything except that flame. Relax and focus on the flame. Become that flame.After 10 minutes or so open your eyes and feel refreshed and energized.
Peace Be With You,
Debra

Answer 7

Meditate on "grace is sufficient"(no law req'd).
Only step involved is flush all yer law as dung.
Be sure to make a clean wipe of such law law.