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TanTanMan One thing I read in Allan Watts’ book on meditation that I thought was helpful was something along the lines of don’t try to not have any thoughts. Rather, separate yourself from your thoughts so that when they pop up in your head they’re registered no different than the birds chirping in the background.
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Cominginbladey For those who are having trouble with meditation, I encourage you to consult *Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind* by Shunryu Suzuki. You can find the PDF online and the audiobook on You Tube. The text deals with the problem of waves in your mind that make it difficult to sit.
I would say do not focus on "clear mind." There is no "clear mind." There is only "present mind." Just sit in meditation with the mind that you have in this moment. Notice the state of mind you have in that moment.
I believe the practice is just to notice your thoughts in this moment, and return your mind to your breath in this moment, and this is an effort we make moment after moment without end. Each and every moment that we notice our thoughts and return to our breath is a moment that strengthens and improves our meditation practice.
Suzuki: "We say, "Pulling out the weeds we give nourishment to
the plant." We pull the weeds and bury them near the plant
to give it nourishment. So even though you have some difficulty
in your practice, even though you have some waves
while you are sitting, those waves themselves will help you.
So you should not be bothered by your mind. You should
rather be grateful for the weeds, because eventually they
will enrich your practice. If you have some experience of
how the weeds in your mind change into mental nourishment,
your practice will make remarkable progress. You
will feel the progress. You will feel how they change into
self-nourishment."
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fill_your_hand Two questions:
* How often do you meditate per week, and how long?
* How many times would you say your intrusive thoughts distract you while meditating?
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-SADGIRL- Hey I’ve found ways in which meditation and mindfulness can be great in other ways such as spending time asking “what is motivation” and coming up with new guidance to practice it; or spending time letting your thoughts just go to see where they go and realizing that my negativity eventually processes to positivity.
Your explanation of your experience seems to only have to do with peace of mind. But have you had experience with other practices of mind? What are your thoughts about them?
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Arkanoidal "mediation is something you have to learn how to do, and why learning how to do it can take a long time.
My first suggestion is that you begin meditation with an attitude that it's something you are going to experience,, not something you are going to do."
Lol nice one.
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Vae1711 This might not be the best place to ask, and a quick Google search would probably answer that better, but what are the benifits of a daily meditation like the one described here ?
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IntlMysteryMan This advice is fabulous. Unless of course that inner voice is trying to end you. In that event, ten minutes of listening to its rambling on is way too much and seriously perilous.
But after the therapy, and when your mind isn’t being a complete and utter asshole, by all means, meditate. When you snap out of a session it’s like awaking from a dream. One of the ones in which you don’t constantly die a horrible death, or catch the love of your life cheating, of course.
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hashim7tk When doing meditation, and your mind is completely blank, 3 out of 5 times,i feel like levitating and leaving my body. You can be in that state whaetever time you want .its cool.
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panamared78 Have you been able access your third eye? Is it something you want to do?
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Apocalyptic_Tourist I embrace and own the thoughts that enter my mind. I can't stop them I can only compartmentalize. I imagine a past, present, and future compartments or boxes. Putting past in the past box, things I need to deal with in the future box, and keeping the present box open and clear. Then I'm in the present space and I make it as wide and clear as I can. Then I'm done. 5 minutes. Someone taught me this I just can't remember who.
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[deleted] I use meditation a bit differently. I use meditation either for self-analysis (you can lose track of your identity if you don't pay attention to how it changes over time) or solving mental problems (like negative feelings, or positive feelings that I am suspicious about, or depression, etc.).
Meditation is basically tuning out all surrounding stimuli so you can focus on your own thoughts, giving them undivided attention. These past few years, I've been meditating whenever I feel depressed as the surveillance guys know that when I'm depressed, I sit around a lot or sleep a lot. Such times, are the best to engage in your own thoughts and feelings. There are always reasons and causes for negative and positive feelings. Positive feelings, you can linger on during meditation to enjoy them even more. Negative feelings, you can feel it more strongly during meditation which would help you identify the cause and also possible ways to find a solution, either stopping the trigger or a quick way out of it.
I would say I've made significant progress in my mental wellbeing for the past year or so. I've found inspirations, and I've found solutions to almost all the problems I'm facing that are causing me depression. This is why I said my cancer is cured and you can't tell me that I have cancer anymore you pathetic dogs.
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Professional-Name Whenever I meditate, I always pay attention to what I'm thinking about. If there are any good ideas, I make a mental note about them and then write them down after the session.
I'm curious as to why you advise against that?