meditation

[monkey1]

anyone meditate? do you like it? what do you get about it? did you try and and couldn't do it or just didn't like it?

 

i was thinking of starting to try and do it, just as a way to deal with things lately and try and clear my mind for 10-15 minutes. i took a mediation workshop where i work out and it was nice.

 

just thought i'd ask around to hear other folks think.

[melrich]

I have tried once or twice. I am a bit of a sceptic but I must admit it is quite peaceful and relaxing.

 

I think you should stay with it.

[quietgrl]

monkey1,

I'm wondering is mediation worth trying after reading a Barbara DeAngelis's book but i want more information before i try it. I found a free mediation in my area in Northern California.

Hey anything to get rid of negative vibes and stay positive.

[justpaisley]

I have absolutely zilch capability to clear my mind completely, so in addition to my prayers, I tend to listen to a calm CD and do some repetitive activity, or something really distracting. Honestly, I'll try to stack things, or separate my coin can, or anything that distracts me for 20 minutes. Once, I found a chain in the bottom of my jewelry box that had gotten all tangled up, and my "meditation" time for the next week was untangling it. I am completely incapable of meditating in the most traditional sense of the word, so I have to find something distracting that will completely obliterate all other thoughts while I'm doing it.

 

Calm CDs help a lot. I like strictly piano music because I can concentrate on every note and analyse it's harmony with the other notes, and that's a good distraction for me. Lately, I've been listening to the various CDs my son has gotten - they have traditional lullabies and a few songs by Pachelbel and Mozart. They don't seem to do much for him, but they help me!

[annie24]

i do meditation with my yoga classes. it is nice, I look forward to those minutes where my mind just is focused on nothing. it is really a nice ritual, i highly recommend it.

[justpaisley]

it is nice, I look forward to those minutes where my mind just is focused on nothing.

 

See, that is absolutely amazing to me. How anyone can get his or her mind to go blank and focus on nothing is beyond me. (Pop music princesses excluded, of course.) My mind is constantly going, constantly considering my day, my son, my next move, the weather... anything. I'm baffled.

[annie24]

See, that is absolutely amazing to me. How anyone can get his or her mind to go blank and focus on nothing is beyond me. (Pop music princesses excluded, of course.) My mind is constantly going, constantly considering my day, my son, my next move, the weather... anything. I'm baffled.

 

you should try it. a little peace, just for a few minutes, is really nice.

[itsallgrand]

Meditation has been something in my life for a long time. I abandoned it for intervals, and recently began again on a 15 min a day practice. It didn't come easily to me at all! My mind is so busy giving orders and making up stuff. Sometimes I would start laughing. All sorts of emotions and excuses to get up and talk or do. Even breathing was difficult not to try and control!

 

To me, meditation is the opposite of thinking. You're thinking, but thinking isn't running the show. It's one of the only ways i've ever found to give my brain a break. Sex and swimming are the other ones.

 

Now that I have started again, i wonder why i left it. It's showing up for yourself and is so refreshing. I used to get sleepy while sitting, now i feel energized.

 

Yeah, it's nice.

[monkey1]

yeah we meditate for a minute or two in the beginning of my class (cardio kickboxing) and at the end. My class is at a martial arts place. i too agree Annie24, I look forward to it too. Sometimes I'm so relaxed at the end of my class I could sit there for longer, but I gotta get up and go! It's nice to sit for a minute and really just think about my breathing and how energized my body is.

 

I just think I want to try and meditate before i go to bed because i've found that lately, when i turn off the lights and get into bed, my mind is running. so i figured meditating for 10 minutes or so to start will help me relax more so that i can sleep better. plus, considering how busy people are, it's nice to have a minute and not think of anything except myself and not about what i have to do later or next week or other deadlines.

 

just takes some pratice to do. it's HARD to sit and not think of anything for a few minutes. no wonder people are so stressed here all the time.

[justpaisley]

you should try it. a little peace, just for a few minutes, is really nice.

 

I've tried! I would love to do it, but I'm completely incapable. The closest I can get is closing my eyes in a dark room and listening to music, but I'm still thinking about the music. Even when I was heavily sedated in the hospital, my mind was still racing. (My doctor was trying to stop my premature labor - I wasn't sedated from a mental breakdown or anything )

 

I can't sit still either, I guess it's all connected. I always fidget with something. Used to drive my mom bonkers.

[Dako]

I have used it off and on since the 70s and it's really been a great tool to deal with stress, depression and pressure. I go blank in a few seconds, sit for up to an hour and come out refreshed and peaceful.

 

A year ago when I was locked up, I was freaking out about the confinement in a pretty unbearable place. Meditataion saved me. I was able to escape for a few hours and was able to stand captivity for the last day in that place.

[BrokenWingedFaery]

I meditate alot. It's always been easy for me to "blank out".

[annie24]

I've tried! I would love to do it, but I'm completely incapable. The closest I can get is closing my eyes in a dark room and listening to music, but I'm still thinking about the music. Even when I was heavily sedated in the hospital, my mind was still racing. (My doctor was trying to stop my premature labor - I wasn't sedated from a mental breakdown or anything )

 

I can't sit still either, I guess it's all connected. I always fidget with something. Used to drive my mom bonkers.

 

it's like anything else, you have to practice. a few minutes at a time, and when a thought comes by, the yoga instructor says, you don't 'process' the thought or think about things, you just kind of let it "float away."

[RelaxByWater84]

I've tried it but like paisly, I can't clear my mind. My mind needs constant stimulation or else I'll go crazy. And plus I can't sit still long enough, my muscles need constant movement and yoga moves too slow for me. I think some people can meditate while others can't. Thats just my opinion.

[annie24]

I've tried it but like paisly, I can't clear my mind. My mind needs constant stimulation or else I'll go crazy. And plus I can't sit still long enough, my muscles need constant movement and yoga moves too slow for me. I think some people can meditate while others can't. Thats just my opinion.

 

in yoga, the instructor often says that "the move that is the most difficult for your body is the one you need the most."

 

(and in some forms of yoga, the moves can be very fast! as fast as you can go. I often get dizzy.)

[monkey1]

it's a struggle. it's hard because life is so fast paced nowadays with people contacting you every second with questions and noise everywhere.

 

but it does take practice. you can always just sit still for a minute and try and think about something, i know a total cliche, that is peaceful or a place you want to be. then focus on that. i think the thing people get frustrated about is when other thoughts enter their mind and they get mad or distracted. just accept that outside thought and then let it go.

[Dako]

I've been able to tune out very loud noises and hardly react.

When someone tries interrupting me, it takes a few seconds to respond.

I was discussing this with someone today who has trouble sleeping. He can't meditate either.

I sleep like a log. Maybe there's a link there.