When people claim they meditate how exacly they do that? When I try to keep my mind thoughtless I fall asleep?

Question

Every modern guru talks about the benefits of meditation. I really do not know what this experience is. . If one's mind is free of thoughts during meditation how can one remember what one did? It is like remembering what happened during sleep, except perhaps recalling some bits of dreams sometimes. I feel that there is no such thing as meditation. Everyone is faking or claiming to be thought free during meditation. Only good thing is that those who meditate are quiet and often asleep which may be good by itself and have benficial effects in terms of conserving energy.

Answer 1

You know thats not so bad because you have managed to relax so much you fell asleep. Nothing wrong with that.. Insomniacs would love to be able to do that.. I know what you mean though.. its an art and it takes lots of pratice.. Even years to develope the art.. Keep at it though it can only do you good trying anyway..

Answer 2

That you don't succeed to meditate doesn't mean that there is no such thing. I also can't meditate and have never tried to do that, but I know that there are even scientific measurements that show that the brain waves change during meditation. I also don't see why I should assume that all these people who can meditate are lying.

Answer 3

Meditation is reflecting deeply on an important or transcendental subject, to reach a conclusion and then translate that decision into ACTION. Meditation must always translate into action if it stays in the realm of the invisible it is of no use.
A first step in the process of meditation is to reach a state where we can eliminate all other irrelevant thoughts from our mind. But that is only the first step. Meditation can be on a spiritual subject or on any other mundane problem of our life.
Here is an example of something to meditate on, that I hope you will enjoy.
O SON OF SPIRIT!
My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.

Answer 4

You are perfectly right.99 % of people who claim to be doing meditation are cheaters . I say this because no one can go upstairs without climbing the steps. In yoga there is no lift hence one has to climb the 8 steps. Pathajali rishi has given 8 steps of which the 7th step is dhyana or meditation.It is not possible to reach this step without crossing the other six viz Yama,Niyama, Asana, pranaayama, Pratyaahara, and Dharana.
Detailed explanation on these steps you can have from translation books of pathanjali yoga sutra published by Sri Ramakrishna mutt publictions.
The 7th step is dhayana. Only aperson who has cleared the first six would be able to meditate. Normally people dont even clear the 1st step and claim to be in meditation.
You can read pathanjali yoga and try to practice the first 4 steps.
if you succeed try the 5th one.
Wishing you good luck

Answer 5

One definition of meditation is continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation. This is form of meditation that is most effective for me. It is contemplating deeply on one subject. Sort of like a cow chewing it's cud until it is fully digested. I look at things from as many different angles as I can, asking myself questions as I do. For example I may read a Bible verse that says "You are opening your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing."—Psalms 145:16. I then ask myself "Have my desires been satisfied? Exactly what are my deepest desires? How does God satisfy these? If I have desires that are unfulfilled, why is that? When will all of my desires be fulfilled? How does God satisfy the desires of EVERY LIVING THING? Often these meditations lead directly into prayer. Sometimes they lead me to more in depth study.

Answer 6

Trying to be thoughtless doesn't get one anywhere. Its better to repeat a mantra in your mind with your eyes closed. When you realise you are thinking thoughts just go back to the mantra. You may even fall asleep but when you wake up go back to the mantra again. The state of consciousness that a person experiences is very different from sleep. 15 minutes of sitting like that with the eyes closed and repeating a mantra at the back of your mind will leave you rested and calm, you feel as if you have had a good nights' sleep. Try it out some time if you want and see for yourself!

Answer 7

If you have tried to meditate and failed I sympathize with you. The same procedures do not work for everyone. I will tell you that meditation is real and that it has recognizable positive effects. After 10 or 15 minutes I am refreshed (as though I had had a good night's sleep), relaxed, untroubled, and >happy< (there's no other word for it) Here's what I do.

Sit erect in a comfortable chair, in a quiet, dimmed or darkened room. Place my feet flat on the floor in front of me, and either fold my hands over my stomach (best) or let them lay limply on my thighs.
Then, with eyes closed, I breathe deeply in and out, from the diaphragm. these are unforced, very slow, very deep breaths---maybe 10 seconds in and 10 out. The hands on stomach let me feel each breath, or if hands on thighs I must feel it simply through my chest and abdomen. All breathing is through my nose, my mouth simply hanging loosely open.
I bring my thoughts to my breathing and center my awareness on that alone. I do not concentrate on it or try to control it, just be aware of it. As other thoughts come------they will-----------I just take note of them,recognize them and let them go (this is the hardest part, but with practice it comes)
That's really all of it, although there are other techniques I use too. One is to visualize a restful, serene place and put myself there. Mine is slowly swinging in a hammock while sunlight filters through the trees above, so I alternately am in sun and shade. I still keep centered on my breathing as I do this.

Answer 8

There are many different forms of meditation.

Reading is meditation. If you can read a book for a half-hour each night without letting your mind wander to other topics, you're meditating.

Answer 9

I don't meditate, but it is a spiritual process. The body is a body. The mind stores all your thoughts, pictures and perceptions. The spirit is you. Forget the body and mind, focus on trying to find yourself, is the concept.

Personally, Scientology answered that one for me. There are other ways of learning about yourself as a spirit. Though I respect the religious beliefs of others.
http://www.scientology.org/en_US/religion/presentation/pg008.html

Answer 10

Just observe the thoughts like watching a movie. Separate your inner self from the thoughts and observe them. The thoughts will try to pull you back into the whirling vortex of the mind but come back to the present moment and observe again.