Meditation

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Who else on WP does meditation? What tips should us meditation newbies know?

I've started out doing a basic beginner's Buddhist breathing meditation involving breathing naturally (not controlling one's breath like they do in some kinds of yoga meditation) and counting in my head every time I exhale (breathe, 1, breath, 2, breathe, 3...) up to 10 and then start back at 1. I'm doing this 2 times a day for 20 minutes each sitting. A big problem I've been having is that I often get drowsy and sleepy when I'm meditating, causing me to lose focus and start daydreaming. Stuff I've read on-line said to open my eyes if I am getting sleepy but it seems very hard to keep them open and focus on the meditation at the same time.

I'm starting, but I'm still extremely busy. Once I have time to start planning out my meditation timetable and checking out some more websites, I will.

I don't meditate but Odin THANK YOU!
My son could do that type of meditation
I will try just about anything to get that boy to sleep!

Vipassana meditation can be very difficult at the beginning (as can almost every form of meditation). Just keep trying. Try to keep counting breaths. If you have a distraction acknowledge that you've been distracted (e.g. "I heard a dog barking outside...") and then go back to counting.

If you get sleepy open your eyes and adjust your sitting position.

I meditate occasionally. I dont do it as much as I'd like though. Started a few years back when I went to a Buddhist retreat. We learned two types of meditation there, the mindfulness of breathing like you described, and the metta bhavna or loving kindness. The Metta Bhavna was interesting in that it didnt require any concentration or a quiet mind, it was almost more about imagination and though.

To start each session we would do what was called a body scan, and that was pretty cool. What happened was when sitting we would start at out feet and really feel our feet with our mind, any heat or blood pulsing or tiredness. We'd then work our way up the body all the way to the top of the head. Along the way any tension would be released with an out breath. That was my favourite part of the whole week, Its not very often I pay attention to whats going on below my head

During today's afternoon meditation I got this really odd, giddy feeling of "floating away", as if the chair I was sitting in disappeared and I was floating in mid-air.

I stopped meditating around the time I got into altered states doing it.

I am too spazzy to meditate.

my mom does alot though

You have to blank out your mind first. Do some tension-releaving exercises.
Inhale through your nose, counting to ten (ten separate inhalation breaths), then exhale through your mouth (ten exhalation breaths that are separate).
Repeat three times.
On the forth time, focus all your energy on your muscles, to slighty contract all of them, inhaling and exhaling like before.
If you have a problem contracting your muscles, you can focus on one at a time (sort of tedious and more of a scaning notion).
Continue about six more times until your body feels very light.
No, you're not dying. If you do it right, your body will be almost transparent to your mind.
Takes a lot of time, but when your unconscious remembers how to breath in a state of meditation, you can achieve crazy times. Good luck, and be careful.

Odin, well done for having the imagination and discipline to explore this
Fantastic area of human consciousness.Many Good Things will result.
I have been meditating for 10 or more years now and it has not only changed my life,
possibly it has saved it.
I once wrote this :

"MEDITATION SAVED MY LIFE
In my worthless opinion, Meditation is the Most Glorious skill I ever have,
or ever will,acquire in this life.
Ten years ago I was a depressed,neurotic,isolated,alcoholic,anxiety-ridden,insomniac,
getting 3 hours sleep a night,undxed & SUICIDAL.
My body was packing it in because I trained to exhaustion for 3 hours every day.
I turned to yoga as a 'good workout with therapeutic benefits'.
They taught me to meditate eventually.That night I went to bed at 6-slept straight through.
This life still sings its beautiful dreams.
I still feel what Holden Caulfield fought."

It's a bit strident and impassioned, but I'm like that.
Meditation is one of my special subjects and I try to do 45 minutes every day.(Failed today)
I personally believe every Aspy would find meditation a God-send,
if you could convince them to do it.
Best wishs and good luck in all your endeavours.

Blah, meditation. So much hype, so little understanding...

Personally my form of meditation is getting completely baked, blasting the song "Astonishing Panorama of the End Times," and then proceeding to wtfpwn in PvP in World of Warcraft.

But hey, if you're that interested in your respiratory system, continue to breathe all you like. While we're at it, would anyone like a sugar pill?

I think that Odin could possibly teach meditation, when he grows up.