Best Meditation Technique

[roypotter]

Which is the best meditation technique?

[GilesC]

Hi Roy and welcome to the Project Meditation community,

Originally Posted by roypotter

Which is the best meditation technique?

The answer is subjective. That means the best one is the one that works for you.

In my own subjective opinion, I find that any meditation technique that requires a focus on some sort of object or visualisation (e.g. the breath, or a candle or a guided meditation etc.) is not as effective at getting to the deep state of meditation as using the mantra based meditation technique as taught in Transcendental Meditation or the "Discover Meditation" that Michael provides for free on this site.

The mantra technique brings us away from thoughts quite quickly, and then the mantra can "do it's thing" without requiring focus. Some people think of the mantra technique as focused, though I think that's because their mind is making them put their focus on it and they are essentially forcing the mantra to repeat in their mind (sometimes in time with their breath), rather than just letting the mantra come and go at it's own pace and volume (for want of a better way of describing it).

There are many different techniques out there, and I've tried quite a lot of them, and mantra meditation is the one that I've found works best for me. Others are good too, but for different reasons, not necessarily for reaching a deep meditative state.

Hugs

Giles

[Anglepen]

Hi Roypotter

You'll not find a definitive answer to your question here I'm afraid, each of the numerous techniques (whilst all very effective) suit each individual better than others.

I personally favour watching the breath throughout the whole body (not just the nose or belly etc)
Breathing is a natural act that cannot be controlled to any extent, its the very nature of our existence.
You'll find threads dedicated to 'Mantra v Breath' in this forum and each has its champion, each is very effective and until you try them out for an extended period of time you'll not know what suits you

Just remember to not try and force anything to happen, meditation is fun, don't get bogged down with ceremony and technique and whats better than the other etc, just sit, be still, smile and see which method feels the more natural

We are all here to help you, if you want to private message any of us I'm sure I speak for the vast majority of members that wewill not mind.

Be happy
Kev

[peaceandkarma]

I always change my meditations as varity is the spice of life. Some times I use meditation cds. Some times a mantra, some times a mantra with mala beads. Some times visualisation meditations and some times affirmations.

[Karmoh]

Originally Posted by peaceandkarma

I always change my meditations as varity is the spice of life. Some times I use meditation cds. Some times a mantra, some times a mantra with mala beads. Some times visualisation meditations and some times affirmations.

Hi Peaceandkarma


Yes this is true, once you have established a good practice. The wise meditator would instantly know what is appropriate to use for any given situation, but in the early days it not wise to flit about between methods as this gives rise to grasping and can be demoralising for the beginner.



Peace

[Bryan555]

Hi Raypotter...

I do think Angelpen said it best: each style has its champion, each is effective, and you won't know know what's best for you, until you experiment with them. That's excellent advice, and there are so many good "old" posts just sitting in this forum...if you take the time to explore.

I was a bit surprised that Giles mentioned Transcendental Meditation (TM) as a possible source of instruction. Before trying TM, I would strongly advise that you Google the life of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: the "giggling guru" or "5th Beatle", who founded and ran that $300-million organization until his recent death. Both he and TM are, to put it mildly, somewhat controversial.

Actually, it's a good idea to noodle around on the Internet, as there are a whole host of cults, controversies and public misconceptions which surround meditation.

I think you'll find that, returning to this forum, you have entered a "safe zone" -- where very experienced meditators share their thoughts and advice generously.

Welcome aboard....

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by Bryan555

I was a bit surprised that Giles mentioned Transcendental Meditation (TM) as a possible source of instruction. Before trying TM, I would strongly advise that you Google the life of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: the "giggling guru" or "5th Beatle", who founded and ran that $300-million organization until his recent death. Both he and TM are, to put it mildly, somewhat controversial.

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If you read what I said, I was simply equating mantra meditation as the technique taught by TM, which is also the same technique that Michael teaches for free in the Discover Meditation download. So I certainly wouldn't recommend going and paying a fortune to learn TM, or any other technique as it's free, right here on this site, and without all the unnecessary ceremony and "initiations".

Yes, TM has had controversy, but so have many other things. I don't think we can judge it too harshly when it's been a very beneficial meditation technique for so many people. Without it, we may not even be in todays position with this project meditation site.

Hugs

Giles

[Bryan555]

Giles wrote: "Yes, TM has had controversy, but so have many other things. I don't think we can judge it too harshly when it's been a very beneficial meditation technique for so many people. Without it, we may not even be in todays position with this project meditation site.''

I wasn't judging TM harshly. Just pointing out that both Mahesh and his creation have had a long, controversial -- and quite profitable -- history. Quite funny in many ways, too. The Beatles wrote "Sexy Sadie" as a thinly-disguised parody of the Maharishi.

Certainly worth a Google search, if someone were considering TM as their introduction to meditation.

Oh, by the way, Giles, my last sentence -- about experienced meditators sharing their advice so generously -- was a tip of the hat in your direction.

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by Bryan555

Giles wrote: "Yes, TM has had controversy, but so have many other things. I don't think we can judge it too harshly when it's been a very beneficial meditation technique for so many people. Without it, we may not even be in todays position with this project meditation site.''

I wasn't judging TM harshly. Just pointing out that both Mahesh and his creation have had a long, controversial -- and quite profitable -- history. Quite funny in many ways, too. The Beatles wrote "Sexy Sadie" as a thinly-disguised parody of the Maharishi.

And the Beatles did later say that they were wrong to comment against the TM movement (or whatever it was they did exactly, I'm no big Beatles fan), and actually since then did agree about the benefits of meditation.

The TM organisation is a bit of a funny one. It seems it started off with the best of intentions, and the cost of learning was not at all unreasonable (they actually still do offer to teach for free or whatever one can afford, with the suggestion that it should be, at the last I heard, £1,200 if one could afford it). Over the years, it seems that some influences within the organisation caused the "recommended price" to increase drastically, at which point many of the teachers who disagreed, broke away from the organisation and set up their own teachings under similar and different names, for free or for reasonable costs. Also, the teachings of the mantra changed, as originally there were just two mantra's taught, one for males and one for females, though the maharishi also said himself that any mantra could be used; yet later the number of mantras increased (at the last count there were 16 different ones) and the students were told that these mantras were/are personal to themselves and should not be divulged to anyone, but it was not told to them that there was/is just a limited list of mantras and that these were/are simply allocated based on the age of the person at the time they learn TM. The mantras are also said to relate to the names of Hindu deities, though I've not bothered to go check on that, though the initiation into Transcendental Meditation does include the teacher giving praise to Hindu deities certainly.

Certainly worth a Google search, if someone were considering TM as their introduction to meditation.

Like the following (posted by someone with a grudge aginst TM, but contains all the information about it including the mantras used, so don't look if you don't want to know them)

The TM Techniques

Oh, by the way, Giles, my last sentence -- about experienced meditators sharing their advice so generously -- was a tip of the hat in your direction.

That's very kind of you Bryan. Your challenges to my understanding are always welcome too as it's good to be able to refresh our minds with what we "know" against what we "believe" we know.

Hugs

Giles

[Bryan555]

That's a very interesting link. Also quite funny in spots. Much thanks, Giles.

I think it's sad that a significant number of people confuse, or conflate -- (a wonderful word; too seldom employed) -- TM with the practice of meditation itself. Obviously that doesn't apply to members here, but it's much more common than I'd care to think.

To me, TM has always been the McDonald's of meditation. Worse, actually. We have a low-quality McDonald's rip-off here in the Philippines, called Jollibee. I think of TM as kind of the Jollibee of meditation. But, as you said earlier, a lot of people first learned to meditate there. So it's not all bad.

Also reminds me of The Relaxation Response, that book about 25 years ago, by Herbert Benson, M.D. It was sort of "TM for people who hate spiritual stuff, and don't want to pay much". But I think it was a huge best-seller. I was given a copy once, but never actually read it. From what I recall, it was a highly-effective relaxation technique, and definitely mantra-based.