Beginner at mediation, need some input

[Woogies]

First off, Greetings everyone!

So i've recently started mediation. Mostly because I believe that it is a great supplement to my religious beliefs, but aslo because I think it is a way to calm the mind and seek spiritual revelations.

I'm curious if I'm doing it "correctly". I normally sit cross legged in a quiet area (sometimes with ear plugs in) with my hands palms up on my knees.

Now I normally attempt to 'clear' my mind. I use the principle of simply observing my thoughts and letting them pass. Is it normal to find this difficult at first? I only have success for a minute or two.

After about 10min or so I usually slip into a half dream like state. I don't think I fall asleep, because i'm still slightly aware of my surroundings and I remain face forward (don't nod off). In this state my thoughts come less frequently, a couple at a time and they seem far off. Depending if my eyes (which are closed) are rolling back or face forward I notice blobs of color a shapes which I usually focus on.

Also usually after 10min I stop feeling my body and my breathing.


For those of you who made it through that long read I was wondering your thoughts. Are these common things to encounter when first beginning meditation? Suggestions and/or thoughts welcome!

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by Woogies

First off, Greetings everyone!

Hi and welcome to the Project Meditation community,

So i've recently started mediation. Mostly because I believe that it is a great supplement to my religious beliefs, but aslo because I think it is a way to calm the mind and seek spiritual revelations.

I'm curious if I'm doing it "correctly". I normally sit cross legged in a quiet area (sometimes with ear plugs in) with my hands palms up on my knees.

There's not really an exactly 'correct' way to do it. As long as you are comfortable, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep, then whatever position you choose is fine. Many people struggle to sit for lengths of time with crossed legs, so just sitting upright in a comfy chair is just as good. How you place your hands is up to you, and some different beliefs talk about placing one hand into the palm of another or placing the thumbs so they just touch etc., but I've not found any practical reason for this myself. One thing I was told about that is useful is to rest the tip of the tongue just touching the roof of the mouth just behind the top front teeth. In some Eastern traditions they say this is to complete the circuit of the energy meridian flow that is the microcosmic orbit, though it is also beneficial as it helps prevent your mouth from drying out too much if you are breathing through your mouth.

Now I normally attempt to 'clear' my mind. I use the principle of simply observing my thoughts and letting them pass. Is it normal to find this difficult at first? I only have success for a minute or two.

Yes, this does take practice, but you're doing it right. Some people try too hard to 'clear' their mind such that they put their focus on doing that, which means that they are so focused on clearing the mind that they are actually focusing on the thoughts so that they can clear them, which is counter productive. So, rather than attempting to clear the mind, my usual advise is to just observe the thoughts arising and let them pass. Inevitably there will be times when you attach to a thought and get carried away with it, but with practice you'll learn to recognise when this happens and bring yourself back to your practice of meditation.

After about 10min or so I usually slip into a half dream like state. I don't think I fall asleep, because i'm still slightly aware of my surroundings and I remain face forward (don't nod off). In this state my thoughts come less frequently, a couple at a time and they seem far off. Depending if my eyes (which are closed) are rolling back or face forward I notice blobs of color a shapes which I usually focus on.

Careful not to strain the eyes. Some people think that meditating requires them to force the eyes upwards (roll them back), but that just causes eye strain and can induce a headache. Just as with your body, let your eyes and your eyelids relax. Colours and shapes in the vision are normal, that's just neural-feedback from the brain to the senses (just as your eyes transmit light as neural impules to the brain, the brain also feeds back signals to the eye senses, just as we do when we're dreaming, and we then 'see things'.

Also usually after 10min I stop feeling my body and my breathing.

That's fine, let it go you don't need to focus on what the body is doing. The biology of the body will typically carry on breathing naturally, and you can just be aware of it without needing to know about it (if that makes sense).

For those of you who made it through that long read I was wondering your thoughts. Are these common things to encounter when first beginning meditation? Suggestions and/or thoughts welcome!

They're common yes, and the fact you indicate you know how many minutes into your meditation you are when you experience certain things, kinda indicates that you're not yet in a deep state of meditation, but that's ok, it doesn't mean you aren't meditating. When you reach a deeper state, time itself disappears... for example you will do a meditation of 20 minutes and it will seem like just a couple of minutes have passed.

Keep us posted how you get on.

Hugs

Giles

[olmate]

Welcome to the forum and your practice.

We all experience different things. Reflecting on when I started this journey (with similar motivations as yourself - mine being Christian meditative practice), the instructions I followed now seem quite funny looking back:

The impossible instructions were:

1. Get comfortable - almost an impossible thing to do initially - aches, pains, iches, twitches, numbness, gas and a myriad of other conditions ...

2. Relax - yeah right!! After the day I have just had ... or am about to have...

3. Say your mantra from begining to end of the meditation. Piece of cake... until after about the third repetition when the mind takes over.

But I am pleased to report with practice, routine and persistence it, like most other things we do with practice, my level of mastery developed. Meditation is now woven into the very fabric of my life (including my spiritual life).

In one sense, you have already completed the most difficult part - deciding to start and learn. In addition, there is an excellent (and free) course that can be downloaded on this site. I highly recommend it.

Look forward to hearing of your experiences...

Nothing but the best...

Olmate

[ericr]

Originally Posted by olmate

But I am pleased to report with practice, routine and persistence it, like most other things we do with practice, my level of mastery developed. Meditation is now woven into the very fabric of my life (including my spiritual life).

Olmate

That is the most significant thing. Making daily meditation part of one's routine, even if only for 5 - 10 minutes, is the key to slowly allowing that quiet mind to develop.

It's the daily practice that matters because the effects are cumulative.

Eric

[physicalillusion]

Im a beginner As well i have maybe two weeks worth of exp ranging from 30-45 min a day so far and i was wondering how far and deep does the trance state go and how do i go deeper,i also have a hard time keeping my back straight and i can't sit in FULL Lotus position because of my ankles condition (I twisted my ankles one to many times in my life and when i sit in Lotus it hurts) so it's very difficult for me to sit full lotus or even half lotus,what i do is sit on my bed cross legged eastern Asia style slightly arch my back against a big body pillow and start by counting my breath inhale 1 exhale silent inhale 2 exhale silent all the way to ten and then i attempt without counting is this technique ok or is it a MUST keep your back straight and if so how do you live to tell about it LOL

[GilesC]

Don't confuse trance states with the state of meditation. Whilst the two terms are often used interchangeably, the origin of the word "trance" has a meaning of "fear of evil", and typically is used to refer to a state of mind other than the one awareness that is truly found in meditation. However, we know what you mean, so....

To get to a deeper state of meditaion, simply requires practice. You can't force yourself to do this, because forcing yourself requires focus on that intention, and that intention is itself a thought and thus you would keep yourself in your mind of thoughts rather than letting go and getting down to that deeper state.

Let go of the idea of having to do the lotus position etc. for meditating. It's not necessary. Sitting with your back upright is preferable as the head can rest on the neck and the neck is supported by the back without any conscious effort required to keep yourself upright or hold the musles in position, however, it doesn't suit everyone, so you need to find what is comfortable for you.

Have you tried downloading the free "Discover Meditation" CD's from this site? If not, I recommend you do.

Hugs

Giles

[physicalillusion]

Thank you for time and the reply

I see now,i always thought that trance states and meditation go hand in hand due to the altered states of awareness one receives doing the practice.

Unfortunately,i do not have an MP3.
Never thought i would need one however,i might get myself a cheap one specifically for the practice.

Thanks again Giles ^_^

[GilesC]

You can download the MP3's and use your computer to burn them to CD's, then listen to them on a CD player.

Hugs

Giles

[fourwinds_one]

Hi all. I'm not sure If I should have started a new thread with this or not but here goes. I performed a search for altered states and this is what came up.
Problem: I can't get altered states.
History: I became a member and at first an avid meditative practitioner when I found the free gift downloads (big thanks for that too!). I had great success with and enjoyed the benefits of meditation, but for some reason I got off the wagon. I apparently forgot about the wood cutter and took a long absence from practicing. Like 2 years. But, before this I could let myself get super relaxed and into deeper states consistently in very short time and it only took a week or 2 from knowing nothing to super deep states.

Now: I decided to pick it back up and have been trying to remember and listen and relistening to the mp3s but i can't seem to let myself get to the altered states. I knew coming in from my prior experience and the lectures to not "expect" and that altered states wouldn't happen every meditation session. However, I have been back on the wagon for a month and altered states are a big time no go. I find this disappointing to say the least. I can spend a 20 min session and get very relaxed and come out with a clear head but not those super clarity moments where time seems to stop and huge chunks of understanding are readily available. How do I get those back!? I'm gettin desperate here ladies and gents.

[pollyanna]

Hi there and welcome to the community

you could get the LifeFlow demo and play it quietly while you meditate. It may give you the kick start to get you meditating again.

Hope this helps and wish you much peace and joy