Learning to meditate: where do I start?

Question

(1) What do I focus my mind on while I am meditating?
(2) What is a basic yoga pose I should assume while I meditate? (please describe)
(3) Is there anything else I should read online for tips/instructions on how to meditate?
(4) How much time (minutes) per day should I spend trying to meditate?
(5) Any additional comments are much appreciated.

Answer 1

1) Concentrate on your breathing. In and out. Try to feel the air circulating through your lungs. Just concentrate on your breathing.
2) The Lotus position is the best known position. You can find websites easily on Google that show you how to do it.
3) You can probably do a Google search on meditating techniques. Theres quite a few.
4) As much as you want/have time for. No-ones really counting minutes, its not about that. Besides if you have to open your eyes all the time to check the time itll be impossible to keep your focus. Try to do it when you dont have anything else to do for a little while.

Hope that helps. And good luck

Answer 2

Try this method, it's really simple. Not a lot of mumbo-jumbo.

Sit or lie relaxed in a quite place where you won't be disturbed.

For each step after this, if you can't get the desired result in 10-15 minutes, stop and try again later or tomorrow.

Close your eyes and think about what color you see. Wait a little, you'll see some color.

Now try to imagine you see "red". Wait until you are seeing red. Try to "feel" red. Pause for a minute or two.

Now try to change the red to orange. Pause while seeing and feeling orange.

Now make it yellow. Pause.

Now green.

Blue.

Violet.

If you have successfully "seen" all the colors, you have entered a state where you are able to control your mind. The colors weren't really important, the fact you were able to control your mind to focus on only one thing was the trick. Enjoy. Now try thinking about something you want to meditate on. Don't try world peace right away.

If you are not able to shift to something you want to think about, you have start over with the color thing again.

At first it may take a while to get to your meditative state but after a little practice you should be able to zip right in in a few minutes or less.

As you become more accustomed to doing this, you will be able to do it standing up in a noisy room if you want.

It takes practice.

Answer 3

Depends what sort of meditation you're doing, and what your goals are, as well as any constraints you may have (at the time).

For instance, if your goal is to discover your own true thoughts on subject X, you'd want to do a "1000 petal lotus" meditation. You'd focus on the subject of interest. If your goal is to gain the energy to do something in particular, focus on the goal, and use the meditation to shut out other "distractions". If the goal is god, meditate on God or whatever represents God or spirituality to you. If the goal is your higher self, try focusing on the breath. If you need to soothe out "random energies" and stresses from the day, a walking meditation may work better.

For a walking meditation, one may focus on a word that the person would like to increase in their life, such as "love". Breathe in, and step with the right foot and say, "love". Breathe out, step with the left foot, and say, "hate" (or, "uncaring" or "hurt" or whatever is love's opposite to you). As you walk, focus on things which may represent what it is that you want to get out of your meditation.

The poses vary from tradition to tradition, and, as one has a choice in this day and age, pick the one that works best for you in your situation. Many people find sitting works well. Others find standing, walking, or lying down works better for them.

I usually suggest 2 sessions of 20 minutes in meditation per day.