Anyone know how to meditate?

[slizzut]

I'm kind of interested in learning. Where/how did you learn to meditate?

[seanw]

I'm kind of interested in learning. Where/how did you learn to meditate?

Marry my wife !

[BOUNCER]

Weed.

[Kärnfysikern]

check upp any buddhist place in your area they will be able to teach you

[slizzut]

Weed.

Sorry, I don't do drugs

[mass junkie]

Sorry, I don't do drugs

YEAH...and bouncers butthole is for exit only

[Blown_SC]

Give these a read:

http://www.shambhala.org/centers/toronto/howmed.html

http://www.how-to-meditate.org/

[seanw]

YEAH...and my bouncers butthole is for exit only

ROTFLMFAO

[Tock]

I learned at a TM place where a bunch of people were followers of some dude from India. It's really awesome to do, but ya gotta make time to do it. Lots of benefits to be had from it . . .

Anyway, here's the general gist of how to do it . . .

First, don't do it on a full stomach.
Find yourself a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for 20 minutes, turn off cell phones, etc.
Pick a mantra . . . all it really needs to be is a one, two, or three syllable word that has no meaning at all to you. An easy way to pick one is to choose a couple of letters from the alphabet, like "AZ" or "TC." A combination like "TV" might conjure up images of a televison set, so you wouldn't want that. "TB" might remind you of a disease. So pick a combination that has no connotation for anything at all.
Now, sit in an upright position in a comfy chair. Not too comfy--you might fall asleep in a Stratolounger, so pick something like a padded dinette chair.
Rest your hands on your thighs, relax, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths.
Now you're ready.
Repeat your mantra softly to yourself over and over and over again for about 15 to 20 minutes. You will eventually get to the point where you get so relaxed that you'll need to just repeat it over and over in your mind, without moving your lips.
That's all there is to it. Your mind will probably drift off to think of other things, and that's normal. When it happens, just go back to repeating your mantra.

Now, when your 20 minutes is up . . .
First off, it's ok to have a clock nearby, but DON'T set an alarm. When you get as deeply relaxed as this form of meditation can get ya, you really don't want to be startled out of it. After a few sessions, you'll be able to tell when 20 minutes are up, so you won't need one, anyway.
So, when you're ready to come out of your relaxed state, resolve to take about 3 minutes to do so. After 30 seconds, wiggle your fingers a bit, then your toes, then let 30 seconds go by, and move your hands and feet . . . that sort of thing. Return to the "real" world slowly and gently, take a few deep breaths along the way, and once you feel ready to get up, then you'll probably be ready to do so.

That's all there is to it . . . The folks who developed this technique suggest meditating twice a day, 20 minutes a session, for optimum results. The more you do it, the deeper your mind can go . . . sometimes you'll really zonk out, and when you come back to reality (almost always in 20 minutes), you'll feel like you've had 8 hours of the best sleep you ever had.
There are other ways to meditate, I don't know this is the best, but it sure seems to work pretty well.

Hope this helps,

-Tock

[MrMondodondo]

Great info from Tock....

Only suggestion I have is to start with a few minutes and work up. 15-20 to start can be difficult, I mediatate and certain days 20minutes feels like an eternity.....But, I do have an exceptionally busy life....

Give it a try tho. it is great for you...

[slizzut]

I learned at a TM place where a bunch of people were followers of some dude from India. It's really awesome to do, but ya gotta make time to do it. Lots of benefits to be had from it . . .

Anyway, here's the general gist of how to do it . . .

First, don't do it on a full stomach.
Find yourself a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for 20 minutes, turn off cell phones, etc.
Pick a mantra . . . all it really needs to be is a one, two, or three syllable word that has no meaning at all to you. An easy way to pick one is to choose a couple of letters from the alphabet, like "AZ" or "TC." A combination like "TV" might conjure up images of a televison set, so you wouldn't want that. "TB" might remind you of a disease. So pick a combination that has no connotation for anything at all.
Now, sit in an upright position in a comfy chair. Not too comfy--you might fall asleep in a Stratolounger, so pick something like a padded dinette chair.
Rest your hands on your thighs, relax, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths.
Now you're ready.
Repeat your mantra softly to yourself over and over and over again for about 15 to 20 minutes. You will eventually get to the point where you get so relaxed that you'll need to just repeat it over and over in your mind, without moving your lips.
That's all there is to it. Your mind will probably drift off to think of other things, and that's normal. When it happens, just go back to repeating your mantra.

Now, when your 20 minutes is up . . .
First off, it's ok to have a clock nearby, but DON'T set an alarm. When you get as deeply relaxed as this form of meditation can get ya, you really don't want to be startled out of it. After a few sessions, you'll be able to tell when 20 minutes are up, so you won't need one, anyway.
So, when you're ready to come out of your relaxed state, resolve to take about 3 minutes to do so. After 30 seconds, wiggle your fingers a bit, then your toes, then let 30 seconds go by, and move your hands and feet . . . that sort of thing. Return to the "real" world slowly and gently, take a few deep breaths along the way, and once you feel ready to get up, then you'll probably be ready to do so.

That's all there is to it . . . The folks who developed this technique suggest meditating twice a day, 20 minutes a session, for optimum results. The more you do it, the deeper your mind can go . . . sometimes you'll really zonk out, and when you come back to reality (almost always in 20 minutes), you'll feel like you've had 8 hours of the best sleep you ever had.
There are other ways to meditate, I don't know this is the best, but it sure seems to work pretty well.

Hope this helps,

-Tock

NICE BRO!
I'm gonna try it out tomorrow

[bor]

Could you do this before you go to sleep?

[Tock]

Sure, I don't see why not. I've never meditated before sleeping, but you can give it a try, and see if it helps things along.

Here's the TM website www.tm.org it's got some helpful hints and other information. Keep in mind that these folks make $$$ by selling personal tutoring in this process, and they'll tell ya that you really need to have personalized instruction in the process. But, if you sign up (it cost me $200, a watermelon, and two bananas back in 1982) chances are you'll end up in a classroom and you won't get personalized instruction . . . so . . . They've come up with a pretty good meditation method, but if you let 'em, they'll talk you into paying lots of $$$ for other stuff I personally consider rather silly. Like, they talk about meditating so deeply that you become able to levitate. In reality, they put ya in a room with foam mattresses everywhere, and they have you meditate while sitting on your hands. Then they encourage you to shift your weight so that you hop upwards, and of course, you return to the floor. Some folks really get into that, but IMHO, it's all pretty silly.

All that other stuff aside, though, you can reach a profound state of relaxation using the technique I outlined. It's 100% natural, won't booger your brain up, and it's cheap (for you, anyway -- it cost me $200).

Ya, try different times of the day and see what works best for you, and go with that.
Good luck,

-Tock

[Kärnfysikern]

buddhist places probably wont charge you anything but then its not just pure meditation and probably a different style of meditation.

meditaing before sleep is a excelent way to be able to fall asleep fast afterwards.

[ginkobulloba]

On my 1st trip to Thailand I heard about this place in the south that takes westerners on a 10 day meditation retreat every month for almost free. I showed up and did it for the entire 10 days. You live like a monk, no talking, little food, totally chilled out. It was a trip man and those 10 days dragged on, but I'm glad I did it, it was a great experience. It improved my life in a lot of ways and was very educational.

If you're ever in Thailand give it a look. it's called Wat Suann-Mokh.