Meditating for a goal or complete relaxation?

[MasterJan]

I downloaded and listened to the Discover Meditation tracks, and the man talks about 'not trying' in order to relax, and focusing only on the mantra, and your breathing.

I am just wondering if I could meditate while focusing and visualizing what I want to achieve, for example acing an exam. Would this have any effect in helping me reach my goals?

Is it good to sometimes visualize success rather than focusing on no thoughts at all?

Thanks.

[MetaCognition]

Focusing on the thought, in my humble opinion, will only lead to more thoughts about that thought, putting you in an infinite loop that ultimately leads nowhere!

My suggestion is to listen to the advice given to you in the track, as you'll see that when you stop focusing on the answer, the answer will come to you.

Thoughts come up and go, and attaching to anyone in particular will cloud the clarity needed to find what you are looking for.

Best of luck!

[Hazelkay]

If you are focusing and visualizing your goals - this is not meditation. That is not to say that focusing and visualizing your goals is not a good thing to do - it surely is - but it is in a different space.

Your meditation space is for something very different - an exploration inside, an opportunity to be still and aware, a time to observe just what is.

Focusing and visualizing your goals is great when it leads to to the steps you need to take to actualize them.

Here's to success and peace and joy in your life

[Uplift]

Thats an interesting one. Anything we are totally absorbed in, focused on exclusively is meditation. Hence terms like pre - meditated.

If you want to meditate on stilling the mind, thats one purpose for meditating. When people are totally absorbed and loving what they do, their state of consciousness and thus brain waves alter beneficially and their abilities reflect that. So we hear and experience terms like 'losing yourself in the moment', 'acting without thinking', 'did it with no effort', etc.

There's different ways of approaching it. Sometimes, you may feel the urge to have no goal, and to meditate on your true nature, which knows what's best anyway, and which if followed will cause the right things to happen anyway.

Or other times you may have a strong, clear inspiration and urge to follow a particular goal, and choose to use meditation, focus and visualisation to follow that direction much more beneficially than allowing your mind to wander out of control and aimlessly.

A mixture of both works well, some time daily meditating on truth, your true nature, and some time daily focusing on your goals, on creation... ask and you will receive. Any goal can also be surrendered to your true nature as a way of finishing your visualisation, or meditation.

Its seems like God, Spirit, Self, whatever we call it loves creating, and we have amasing ability to do so. So, if we are God, it makes sense to make the most of, and love and respect and nurture the ability to create, or our natural self.

[Hazelkay]

Perhaps semantics get in the way here - I would term being completely focused on activities or goals a form of concentration. I know the dictionary definitions of meditation are wide- ranging and I can see that the brain gets into a very beneficial state when completely focused.

It is interesting to see the different views on meditating.

For me, meditating for a goal is not the way to undo the illusion of 'I', but I can see that for others this is not a path they want to follow.

I pursue many creative activities which require deep concentration and I am often 'lost in the moment', and for me this happens when I am performing the task just for performing the task - not with a goal in mind.

There is a 'meta' goal, of course - or I wouldn't be doing anything - the reason for meditation is that there is a 'meta' goal or I wouldn't do that either, but in both cases I see the need to let go of the goal for success in the moment.

Perhaps I am not explaining my self very well, and I also accept that this is just my view - not a universal truth!

[pollyanna]

Originally Posted by MasterJan

I downloaded and listened to the Discover Meditation tracks, and the man talks about 'not trying' in order to relax, and focusing only on the mantra, and your breathing.

I am just wondering if I could meditate while focusing and visualizing what I want to achieve, for example acing an exam. Would this have any effect in helping me reach my goals?

Is it good to sometimes visualize success rather than focusing on no thoughts at all?

Thanks.

Hi there MasterJan and welcome to the community. Here's a suggestion where you can benefit from both meditation and visualisation. If you meditate as Michael suggests in Discover Meditation, you will find at the end of the meditation, he has incorporated 7 minutes of beautiful music which he recommends relaxing to and just feeling greatful for each and everything you have in your life. The gratitude exercise is a very powerful exercise on it's own when practised regularly.

After meditation, you will be in a nice relaxed state, perfect for visualisation, and so you may want to practise your visualisation sometimes while listening to the music. If you have enough time you could even do 10/20 minute meditation then 7 minutes gratitude then 7 minutes visualisation

Try it and let us know how you go on,

I wish you much peace and joy

P.S. Here's a success story about passing exams...

I passed my exam with 100!

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by Uplift

Thats an interesting one. Anything we are totally absorbed in, focused on exclusively is meditation. Hence terms like pre - meditated.

As Hazel says, it is surely a matter of semantics.

If I were to be totally absorbed in and focused on my totally disturbing and abusive childhood (it's not true, just an example ) and the emotions that it gives me, would you call this meditation?

Typically, the word meditation is related to the practice of quietude; stilling the mind and/or, depending on the 'type' of meditation, putting the focus on a single thing in the present moment, wether that is the breath, or a guided visualisation, or using a tool like a mantra to bring oneself away from the mental thoughts.

I personally would not consider being absorbed in and focused on 'anything' as the practice of meditation. I think to suggest otherwise is perhaps a little bit of a generalization.

Edit: If you haven't already, I can recommend the thread posted by Ta-Tsu-Wa:
Principles of Meditation & Entrainment

Hugs

Giles

[Uplift]

Gidday Giles, this is where the interesting bit is. Many people expound and intellectualise about their truth as being God, or whatever term, and as everything being an illusion, etc, etc, etc. Yet the truth is they continually dont actually believe or reinforce that belief in the slightest, nor can they demonstrate that in the slightest. So, lets see, if you meditate on one subject, an enlightened one in your judgement, you are God, and meditating brilliantly, and if you meditate on another, a less savoury one in your judgement, you aren't God and aren't meditating properly at all?

The question is about visualisation and meditation. I answer from my experience. I am very results based, which I am also very gratefull for. So, for instance, if some one says to me, I understand all about motors, yet they simultaneously can't get their car to start, and I want to get my car to start, I dont see the point of going down that road. If I keep changing the spark plugs, and the car won't start, time for something new. Despite whatever is talked about meditation, about being God and all that, I have only ever met one person remotely able to continually demonstrate the ability to control reality and show anything like the likes of Buddha, Jesus, Ramana did, or other outstanding people in history, that have obviously made massive impressions in that field. And, no offense, but that person's direction, and my experience of that is a lot different to the masses of 'still sitters', stilling away endlessly.

Its all funny, if you want it to be. Like Edwin honestly, sincerely wants to help people and give advice to someone about the amasing benefits of his technique. Yet, at the same time he tells how its a great achievement that he can still do his technique, proudly and happily describing difficult life circumstances? Either he loves and is addicted and attached to those difficult circumstances, or hasn't a clue how to alter them. He however can be, to quote Robbins again, 'dirt honest'. He could easily think, 'whooa, wait a minute, what am I saying here? I have and am creating difficult life circumstances (visualisation). Forget it, I'm ditching this and trying something new'. Enter rapidly a typically, horrified, insulted pattern, 'but wait, my technique is great and it helps me cope with difficulty, who needs or even wants indescribable bliss... dont they know its just an illusion to us real seekers anyway?

Personal training is great, a great reminder and wake up call for me. People come in a certain state, wanting a different state. We all have our beloved stories. So simply, its really this simple, say you weigh 200lbs, and want to weigh 100lbs. Whatever you think you know, is totally irrelevent to weighing 100lbs (pay attention here Mr Vitale, I'll save you, but, this is only available until midnight, and only for a few, chosen, special friends, and after I've shown you, for an incredibly generous, discounted fee, I'll direct you to someone who can actually show you, for an incredibly generous, discounted fee, who will then direct you to someone who can actually show you, for an incredibly, generous discounted fee, who will...). Its obvious and simple. The sooner you ditch that story, that pattern, the better. But, as a personal trainer, that's when you get to clearly see attachment, ego, whatever, in full flight (don't take this as me saying I don't do it either). Yet, some people are able to adopt a whole, entirely new story just like that, and wow, its amasing, and miraculous, results manifest rapidly. Now, I know Edwin will be excitedly thinking, great, its that easy, thanks so much Uplift, I'll just ditch this ludicrous story, and get a whole new, difficult circumstance free one!!! Hooray!!! No more difficult circumstances, its easy!!! As for Joe, poor old God, its a bit too much for the Unlimited Almighty Being to help him lose some weight. Some things are just too tough, even for God.

So, whether we are the master sitter, stiller, focuser, meditator, describer, whatever, until you really, honestly realise and know who is doing all of it, making any of it possible, its a stab in the dark at best. As far as meditation and visualisation, Jesus said all about growing trees in the ocean, moving mountains, etc etc. Well, Mr Jesus, silly fellow, shut up, and sit still, stop your unenlightened, disallusioned fidgeting, healings, miracles and moving mountains and get on the program... sounds like the magnificence of primary school assembly! Poor kids!

[Edwin]

Leave me out of it please

[MetaCognition]

I don't mean this the wrong way uplift, as you certainly make some points that are well thought out and have their place.

But there just seems to be an endless amount of spite/arrogance in your post, which seems to be the complete opposite of the entire community here on this forum. It seems like you really have something to prove...I wonder who is the one trying to prove it?

It seems you are trying to intellectualize the entire meditative process, looking for tangible results, which ultimately just feeds back into the loop of "doing meditation" instead of entering the meditative realm of consciousness and taking that clarity into the "tangible" world with you.

Of course, this is just my interpretation and I do not want to throw insults, I am just letting you know how the post came across to me.