Meditation

[which doctor]

I meditated for the first time last night and it was wonderful, almost an out of body experience. All my worries and cares went away. Does anyone here meditate? Got any tips for me? I strongly urge you to if you don't already, it is wondeful! I felt so good and refreshed afterwards.

[violencia.Proletariat]

I'd like to hear different peoples views on this. Do you consider it just a form of relaxation in order to calm you down or does it have some "spiritual" aspect for you?

[bed_of_nails]

I meditate. I learned it while studying martial arts. I use it to focus and calm my mind, as well as relieve myself of certain feelings. It is a good tool for focusing your mind on either a single subject, or nothing.

Once you are good enough at focusing your mind, you can ignore great amounts of pain. I have mastered this feat over a decade and quite a bit of pain I fully felt.

[Xvall]

Meditation is useful and requires no belief in supersticion or religious aspects whatsoever. (Unless you're meditating to try and reach some mythical religious realm or place; you're on your own there.) I've done it a few times sober, and not achieved much other than some unusual physical sensations. Sometimes it's good to just sit down and not do anything for a while, though. Meditating on drugs is a lot funner for me, because I can pretty much make myself see whatever I want. The mind is a powerful thing, though, and one doesn't need drugs to achieve this. (Let me tell you, though - they sure do help.)


Do you consider it just a form of relaxation in order to calm you down or does it have some "spiritual" aspect for you?

It can be either; I suppose for me it's kind of "both", though I don't like the term spiritual because of it's religious connotations. "Psychologically Introspective", I would say.

[which doctor]

For some reason I think I may have had an out of body experience when I was meditating. I floated up to my ceiling and there was another person up there. It was a "full figured" naked woman. She seemed like my equal, very strange.

[Xvall]

Maybe it's your feminine side.

On a Dextromethorphan peak I saw a "good" version of me.

[bed_of_nails]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2006, 04:09 PM
Maybe it's your feminine side.

On a Dextromethorphan peak I saw a "good" version of me.
Why would his feminine side be fatter than him?

[Xvall]

Ask him, not me.

[which doctor]

We never spoke to eachother and I didn't get a real good view of her. She did have blonde hair (I have dark brown hair), she was bigger than me (in all proportions, and she was naked (I had clothes on). It was incredibly strange, I didn't recongize the woman at all.

[Clarksist]

Yeah, I meditate.

But as Xvall has already said... WAY better on drugs.

Peyote is a great meditator. I mean, it really gets you into the mood.

But at least once a week I try to have a sober meditation period. It helps melt away your problems so well.

It is a lot harder to get angry once you do it a lot.

[dannie]

yes, i have meditated before and i love the experience, i found it helped me do visualisations better.

and like every other comment, it did help me relax

[Noah]

Fist of Blood please can you tell me you meditation technique?

I been reading about meditation for a while. I start by just dong beathing exercises then I get strong vibes all over my body like i'm floating but then nothing happens??

[drain.you]

I meditate too. Weird afterwards, feel all refreshed. Never tried it while on drugs or drunk but I could imagine its pretty great.

[Goatse]

Once I tried it and it felt as if the blood in my foot was bubbling. I tried to ignore it and then the bubbling spread into both legs, and came further up. Then it reached my hand and it was unbearable ticklish, and I jolted upright. I suddenly became a lot more aware of my surroundings than I was before.

I think I was just dropping off to sleep, though.

[which doctor]

I've been meaning to get my hands on some acid, but I can't seem to find it in my area. I would really like to meditate with it.

Do you guys listen to music when you meditate or do you like things silent?

[Noah]

I use an OBE album...PM me with your email I can send it to you. I put it on repeat or leave it on certain tracks.

[Ol' Dirty]

I'm a Buddhist, but I only meditate every so often. Really, I should do it more! The way I do it is by concentrating on my breath for long periods of time. If I have a thought, and my mind starts to wander, I simply say to myself: "Thinking", and I keep concentrating on my breath. If you can do that without thinking for 30 seconds, you're doing really well!

I'm glad you're doing this, keep it up!

Peace of mind.

[which doctor]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17 2006, 07:50 AM
Fist of Blood please can you tell me you meditation technique?
I Just sit their all silent, or sometimes with ambient music playing. I concentrate on nothing and I take deep breaths, sometimes in rythmical patterns. I keep my back straight nad I try to keep my body symmetrical. The most important thing you can do is too clear your mind of your thoughts and worries. That can often be the hardest part too. Remember that meditation isn't about the physical state, but the mental state.

[Zingu]

I know some breathing techniques Buddhists use, nothing spiritual, but they sure as hell make me run faster before races. :)

[vox_populi]

A teacher at my school has just started a Meditation class, i'm gonna join it next semester...The teacher is a really cool guy...he goes to Tibet once a year to meditate for a month :P

[mikelepore]

A good meditation is to visualize a sequence of logs floating down a stream, and each log is labeled with any thought or feeling that arises in you. Watch the logs go by, with such labels on them as "my neck muscles are tense", "I'm angry at my friend", "it's warm in here". Even "this is starting to get boring" is just another log.

Another good meditation is to focus for several minutes on the sensations in one part of the body. After several minutes, you can proceed to other parts of the body. (To turn this into a "progressive relaxation" exercise, you may want to tighten each muscle, one at a time, and then relax it.)

One I use sometimes is to take a concept that usually requires some thought, and picture it all at once. For example, the idea: "It took billions of years for the universe to evolve to the point that matter woke up and became aware of its own existence ... and now here I am!" -- or -- "All life everwhere is an ocean, and my own individuality is just one of the bubbles that has appeared temporarily in the foam." -- or make one of your own. Try to think about the entire concept in a single grasp, as though the entire concept were the definition of a hieroglyphic symbol.

Simple visualization may be the most popular technique. Try this: You're sitting on a beach at sunrise or sunset. Notice the remarkable color of the sun. You can feel the sand holding up your buttocks. You can hear the surf gurgling, and the seagulls squawking. What else are you sensing?

Meditation is very productive. I'm 52 and I've been doing it since I was a teen.

Also, years ago, before I went to graduate school, I studied the method of self-hypnosis, and then I used it to give myself a photographic memory in my field of study. After years of practice, now I can enter the autosuggestive state instantly my thinking of a certain phrase.

Don't meditate while driving a car, or while using a chainsaw, etc.!

Mike Lepore - lepore at bestweb dot net

[Comrade J]

Originally posted by [email protected] 11 2006, 10:57 AM
Another good meditation is to focus for several minutes on the sensations in one part of the body. After several minutes, you can proceed to other parts of the body. (To turn this into a "progressive relaxation" exercise, you may want to tighten each muscle, one at a time, and then relax it.)
I have used this method, I find it works perfectly to focus the mind.

Usually, I find it is best to sit in a comfortable position with your eyes close and concentrate on your breathing for a few minutes, just thinking of the air rushing into the different parts of your lungs, and then being forced out.
Then think of one body part, usually the foot is a good place to start, and think of everything you can feel with that foot (or feet) and move it a little, concentrating on the changing sensations. Gradually do this up the body until you reach the head, though don't rush.
When you get to the head, your concentration should be good, environmental sounds and noises should no longer affect you. When perfected, this gives a much greater ability to think and concentrate on one problem.

A lot of people think meditation is some kind of joke or religious nonsense, but it's neither, it is a natural human method for achieving a hightened level of concentration and relaxation. I don't believe it will get me out of some sort of Samsaric existence like Buddhists do, but I believe it is a great way to relax and think. It also seems to help if you have trouble sleeping.