So I want to start meditating....

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve decided I want to meditate. Actually, I decided a long time ago, but I assumed that starting such a regimen would require me to find a guru, move to the mountains and distance myself from my family, my studies, my girlfriend, my friends, etc. etc.

Is that the case?

If not, what should I do? I should note that I’m in Taiwan. I don’t speak Chinese well enough to take courses in the language, so this more or less needs to be do it yourself. Also, I’m not looking for a particularly religious experience, I just want to clear my head and calm myself down. I’ve got a lot of stress, and I’ve read that meditation can help greatly to manage it.

What do I do from here?

2

There are several ways of meditating. It is good for stress relief. Since opinions may vary, I’m going to suggest to the moderators that this be moved to the appropriate forum.

3

Meditation itself is just sitting and thinking (or non-thinking). You have to decide how and why do you want to do this. Since you are not seeking enlightenment or nothing like that, then I think that semi-gymnastic techniques of meditation could be good. Check out yoga or tai chi chuan. They are good for health and for head - and are quite available in variety of schools, including non-religious and not particularly spiritual ones. Also, tons of books, videos and online courses are available.

ETA - oh, and in minimalistic configuration all you need for meditation are comfortable clothes, calm place to sit and half an hour of free time.

4

I have recently taken up Mandala meditation. I had failed at every other meditation technique and I’m not real keen on some of the spirituality aspects.
You don’t need a guru, a book or much instruction at all.

You do need marker pens (or paint or crayons etc)

Very very relaxing

MRW

5

I’m no expert, but I’ve recently started meditating and it is amazingly relaxing. I just sit for fifteen or so minutes outside in a comfortable position and think about breathing. After that the world kind of refocuses itself and I feel rested and ready for the rest of the day.

6

Moving to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

7

There are several free meditation podcasts available through iTunes (and elsewhere, I’d assume) that will guide you through meditations of varying lengths/focuses. I can’t remember the names of the particular podcasts off the top of my head, but if you search meditation in the podcast store, you should find a few options. Since they’re free, you can try them out and see if they’re helpful.

8

Sit relaxed, Eyes closed, breath in through the nose slowly, out through the mouth slowly. Think happy thoughts. Falling asleep is normal.

9

I find it helpful to set a timer so that I’m not always wondering how long I’ve been meditating. Fifteen or twenty minutes is good for a start and then you can decide later if you want to make it a longer or shorter period.

Some prefer to sit in the floor with legs crossed and the spine alined – shoulders back and relaxed and hands relaxed on your thighs with your palms slightly up. Others sit in a chair with feet flat on the floor. It’s important to be comfortable.

Do try to arrange before hand not to be interrupted by the telephone or family members or pets. Some like complete silence. Others like some soft music or the sound of windchimes or running water.

After you are settled, just relax and close your eyes and begin to breathe at a normal rate through your nose. Focus on your breathing – on the breath as it enters your nasal passages and travels to your lungs and back out again. Make room in your lungs for your breath. Continue to focus on your breathing and stay relaxed.

Sometimes your mind will wander away. When it does, just gentlely bring it back to refocus on your breathing. Don’t scold yourself. Don’t be frustrated. Just refocus on your breathing. You aren’t doing anything wrong when your mind wanders. This is normal. Just refocus. Breathe.

That’s it.

It’s making it a daily ritual that makes the long term difference. Many people like to meditate twice a day.

There is more than one method, but this is the basic method, I think.

Some people recite a mantra. Some recite “Om” very slowly. (It helps to hear someone do it first.) Some say that that is the sound the universe makes.

You don’t have to believe in any particular religious belief to benefit from the practice. What’s most important is to “inquire within.”

10

I suggest you give this idea some quiet serious thought.

11

**Zoe ** offers some good suggestions.

I would say “be aware of” instead of focus. Perhaps it’s the same thing, but, to me, “focus” implies a consicous effort, and meditation is, in essence, effortless.

Be aware of your breathing.
Your mind will wander. You will have a thought. This is part of meditating. When you have a thought, you will eventually notice that you are having a thought. When you notice, become aware of your breathing. That’s it.

Eventually, the “noticing” automatically leads to the “becoming aware”.

It’s a good idea to meditate twice a day at about the same time each day (just easier to form the habit), for about 20 minutes each time. First thing in the morning, and late afternoon/early evening is common. Nothing magical about the time, duration and frequency, but it’s a good balance between having an “effective” meditation and not taking away time from the “productive” things that are necessary in life. After all, the reason we meditate is so that we can be less stressed, more productive, and happier in our day-to-day lives.

A few more things:
Make sure you get enough sleep *before * you meditate. Meditation is relaxing and you might fall asleep while doing it. Sleep is good, but it is not a substitute for meditation.
Also, you might find it helpful to do some gentle stretching before and after meditating. If you’re into some type of yoga, that’s fine too.
It’s easier, at first, to meditate in a quiet room with subdued lighting. Music can be distracting, and is not necessary. Eventually, your meditation will be easy in any environment.
Meditating with a partner or in a group can be helpful.
And, as has been mentioned, there are recorded guided meditations (a few in the podcast section of iTunes), along with books and formal instruction.

Hope that helps.

12

I practice shikantaza or ‘‘just sitting’’ meditation.

There are as many ways to meditate as there are colors of the rainbow, so I guess the best thing to do is to try a bunch and figure out what’s right for you.

When I meditate, I sit on the front of a cushion in half-lotus with my eyes open. I sit and I pay attention to whatever’s going on without judging it. I’m not very good at making my thoughts go away, but the sort of meditation I practice doesn’t have a particular aim other than complete awareness. So if I have a thought, I don’t reject it or cling to it, I just say, ‘‘Oh, I’m thinking.’’ Or ‘‘Oh, I’m feeling X.’’ Eventually I stop thinking. I heard one beautiful metaphor describing thoughts as passing clouds… nothing inherently wrong with clouds (or thoughts), they just float on by, as much a part of existence as anything else.

I usually burn some incense and sometimes during meditation I’ll just focus on a particular image I like (like my golden Kwan Yin statue or something) and focus on cultivating compassion toward myself. The key is absolute and total acceptance of whatever is coming up, whether it’s a pain my backside or boredom or deep sorrow because of some loss.

This has been very effective for me on a number of levels. It’s easy for me to accept impermanence on a grand scale, but sitting in meditation makes me see impermanence in a microcosm, second-to-second changes, and therefore the lesson becomes much more powerful. In addition, I learn to be compassionate with myself, and by extension all other sentient beings.

It works for me. Some meditations focus predominantly on breathing (I like that a lot, because no matter where you are–a board meeting, mountain climbing, or driving down the highway, you ALWAYS have your breath to remind you to be present.) Some meditations are more physical–I’d consider yoga a form of meditation, and many times exercise can bring basically the same mindset and benefit.

There are many, many books on the topic, one I like is ‘‘The Art of Just Sitting.’’

Have fun!

13

I do Theravada Buddhist meditation. It basically consists of two parts: concentration solely on the breath, and vipassana, which is being mindful of what’s going on (with the breath still as an anchor).

There are lots of types of meditation. Try to stay away from phony stuff like Transcendental Meditation. It isn’t that TM is all that bad in itself, it’s just that it makes silly promises, and they’re only in it for the money.

I think it’s always best to start with a teacher. Doesn’t cost much (maybe $50), and you get feedback. You don’t need to be taught by a monk or ex-monk; there are lots of qualified lay people out there.

Failing that, a good book is Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein.

Eventually, you may want to do retreats. That’s where meditation really gets interesting. Just doing a half-hour a day is good, but doing 8 hours a day for three or more days is amazing. Can get a bit pricey, though. I think $200 for 3 1/2 days of a residential retreat (i.e., you go somewhere and get room and board) is pretty much the norm in the US. I’m told you can get a month for that in Thailand, but, of course, you’d have to get to Thailand.

I tend to look at Buddhism as a discipline that delves as deeply into the mind as can be done from within (and no one can really get inside your head except you). I’m not religious at all about it; to me, it’s introspective psychology. It is not something that you should start doing if you have psychological problems, because it’s only therapeutic for a healthy mind. If you have emotional problems or some such, start dealing with them first.

14

Lots of good advice here. Meditation can be learning about traditional use in spiritual development, and is wonderful for that, but, the basic technique is a simple body technique of breathing and focusing for relaxation. [url=]Here’s one link that puts it well.

If it works for you, you can then go to learn other techniques that have proven to be effective.

15

I respectfully disagree that people with emotional problems shouldn’t meditate. Meditation can provide remarkable insight into the fact that emotions are temporary physical sensations (accompanied and exacerbated by thought, of course) that ebb and flow just like the tide. Being more aware of the temporary nature of emotion means we can become less attached to our negative emotions and the negative cognitions that accompany them, and learn to be unafraid and accepting of everything we feel. And if we happen to focus on the interconnectedness of all beings, meditation can take us out of our self-focus and make us feel very much a part of the thriving, ebbing, flowing universe that we usually consider separate from ourselves. All that eventually leads to improved mental health, in my very anecdotal yet admittedly life-altering experience. It’s no coincidence that cognitive-behavioral therapy, particularly dialectical behavior therapy, relies on Buddhist meditation concepts like mindfulness and acceptance, to help people with severe psychological issues (like Borderline Personality Disorder) find mental stability.

16

I did not mean to imply that such people should not meditate, or that meditation would not help them. I simply meant that someone with those sorts of problems should consult a mental health professional before undertaking meditation. While your experiences may have been positive, meditation could, in some cases, cause quite the opposite reaction.

17

This is one area I cannot really help out with. I tried meditation in the past and just found it meh. But I can tell you there are a lot of charlatans out there, so choose wisely.

18

I’m going to give advice on medition, since I was in the presence of the world’s greatest meditator.

I was in the presence of the Dalai Lama. Ok. Here’s what happened. I’ve been stressed out with school (and I can imagine times when I’ll be stressed out with whatever job I’m in) and there was a two day event featuring the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama was coming to Ann Arbor to have a lecture and teaching on Buddhism.

So I sat in the arena center that morning. I didn’t know what to expect and part of me had no preconcived notions. First tip - do not go into medition with any belief of how it will ‘feel’ afterwards, or during, or even years later. For some meditions it may be ok. But, for the most part, just sit and observe.

I sat and watched as the Dalai Lama walked slowly and clumsily to the dais. He sat and observed. And then he spoke. I did have one thought. What will he first say. “Hello”, he said, “good morning”. Part of me felt unworthy. I mean, here I was in front of the Noble Peace Prize laurate, The Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetan people, the world’s most humble Buddhist monk. Then I felt worthy. I strangely felt like I was in the presence of a friend. I thought, ‘Here we are. This is some world. What brought us here. Here you are in this modern auditorum. Just another day’.

Then something happened that I don’t know how to explain or describe. The Dalai Lama rose up to give the Buddhist prayer greeting. As he moved his hands toward my section I felt something. It felt like my being was pulled down. But more than that, I could feel every soul in that auditorum with me being pulled down.

While I listened to the Dalai Lama lecture, I felt both tired and alert. This is part of medition. When you meditate - do not force yourself into medition and do not force yourself out of medition.

Wait. That is another part of medition. It was the strangest thing for me. I started tapping my hands on the seat and then realized that I was tapping my hands because someone was walking down the asile. Stop. It was strange, but it was an interesting feeling. Listen.