How do you meditate?

analphaguy · 2014-11-08T04:26:48+00:00

Never use tools when meditating. No music. No binaurals. Nothing. Just a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for the period you are meditating.

First thing to train is your attention span and focus.

Close your eyes, go into half-lotus pose (google it) or if you can, full-lotus. Place your hands in a mudra as follows: Right hand over left hand, thumbs touching. Spine straight but relaxed, make sure ears are over shoulders. Can place a cushion under the tailbone to elevate and ensure a "grounding" with your leg posture.
Now, feel your body. Be aware of every single part of it. Be aware that you're breathing. Feel your muscles, where is it tense? Where is it relaxed? Where does it feel hot? Cold? Warm? Queasy? Painful? Exhausted? etc. Be completely aware of your whole body. That trains your physical mindfulness.
Next, I want you to think of your mind as a projector screen. The images come and go. You will find that your brain is amazingly active - like a chatterbox that never stops talking. One thought leads to another and another and another. But what prolongs one thought is when you actively participate in that thought - otherwise, its natural action is to dissipate away. Every thought comes and goes. For now, just watch your mind and realize how insane the mind can be. This is known as mental mindfulness.
Now, you start training your attentional focus. This is known as Anapanasati - or breath mindfulness. Let your body do what it wants naturally - do not force or try to assume control over it. Just try and watch your breath for now. Let it go out, let it go in - at no point should you be trying to hold breath, inhaling by effort, etc. Like the thought, simply watch it like a 4d projector screen.

You will realize that as you observe the breath more, you will see that there are various properties of the breath.You may choose to focus on the tip of your nose and feel the following sensations:
The breath is composed of 4 stages - the inhalation, the pause, the exhalation, the pause. Realize that when the breath inhales or exhales, the mind starts to move. When the pause is there, the mind seems to "quieten" down. Eventually, the longer you meditate, this pause will become longer and longer - to the point where you seem like you're not breathing (very, very shallow breaths because your body does not require that much oxygen when you are still).
You can also focus on the fluidity of the breath. At some point, if you practice, the breath can become what I call the "honey-breath" - where there is no division between inhalation or exhalation.
You can be mindful of the temperature and speed of the breath. When breath is taken in, it is cold and at room temperature. When exhaled, it is warmer and at body temperature.

You should continue your meditation practice everyday. Doing meditation at least 15 minutes a day is much better than doing it 2 hours at a go in one week. Within a few weeks, you will see amazing results.
When you get more advanced, you may reach states of euphoria or bliss - or you might see lights that burst from under your eyelids, causing you to be "absorbed" within - This is what is known as samadhi. It takes place in many forms, often, it comes when you absolutely "let go" - or everything in your mind or body. Absolute surrender. That's when you go into this absorptive state. If you wake up from your meditation feeling a "buzz of energy" or your vision seems to become very "bright", then you know that you have reached a high attentional state. Meditation should not end with lethargy, dullness, sadness, etc.

Meditation should be done for spiritual and mental development, though the focus must never be on its benefits. It is important to simply have the idea of "letting go" or "giving" or just basically a form of compassion.

Source: Meditated for nearly a decade, under advice of monks.

bicepsblastingstud · 2014-11-08T01:25:21+00:00

Biggest thing: don't feel bad for getting distracted. When you feel a thought, just let it go.

kjhdjkfh · 2014-11-08T05:40:01+00:00

go to /r/meditation and read the sidebar.

northsidefugitive · 2014-11-08T12:10:05+00:00

My basic method goes as:

1.Focus on and control breathing 2. As breaths slow release all muscle tension, let everything loose 3. Close your eyes and visualize a clean space or a happy place in your mind 4. Organize your thoughts and intentions in a positive manner.

alpha_n3rd · 2014-11-08T21:30:35+00:00

I just close my eyes, try to relax my whole body, breath deeply and slowly, and think of nothing whatsoever.

Title	How do you meditate?
Author	NonConformingInferno
Upvotes	4
Comments	11
Date	November 8, 2014 12:24 AM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/2lmqs0/how_do_you_meditate/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/how-do-you-meditate.143495 https://theredarchive.com/post/143495

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