The Rev

Just interested in everyone's meditation experiences, or lack thereof.

I meditate daily, following a zazen-like practice of focusing on my breath, for about 30 minutes or so. It's helped me alot with anxiety and helps me keep my head about me in emotional situations. I haven't had any cool visuals or other experiences meditating, or anything. I tend to find that just staying focused is enough to keep me busy.



The Rev

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catastrophe

I do when I have time, or feel I need to.

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“Liƒë Is a Drëam,
From Which Wë First Must Wakë
Bëƒorë Wë May Drëam Again…”
RIP Gov

“To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.”

..gzagenius

no, i never have really, idk what you wanna call "meditating" soooo

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everythings cool as i float downstream

Waves

Sleep is a form of meditation ;D

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On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

Sugar420

prayer

verklingen

I used to meditate very often, at least twice daily, for a good two and a half years or so. I would perform yoga stances and breathing exercises. I used to read Bhagavad-Gita and sit for hours meditating in the lotus position, thinking I was becoming enlightened. But all this effort to illuminate my consciousness was nothing but mental and physical gymnastics.

I didn't realize this until I stopped considering Bhagavad-Gita and other Vedic texts as a scholar -- picking apart the verses and ascribing my own meaning to them based upon my worldview -- and began to consider them, with the humility which a scholar lacks, as absolute truth. It was then that I abandoned my previous lifestyle and adopted the life of a devotee, chanting and glorifying the names of God with devotion by utilizing the Hare Krishna maha-mantra:


The chanting of this simple, 16-word verse has advanced my spirit further than all my hundreds and hundreds of hours worth of meditation. When I first began the chanting I did not have any true devotion to Krishna. I had simply read a few articles at www.krishna.org and seen that, according to the Vedas, chanting the holy names of God was the prescribed method of liberation for our age. So I took up the chanting as an intellectual curiousity, chanting this simple mantra instead of listening to the radio while driving around.

After a mere few days of this, I began to notice that there was a subtle yet distinct change in my attitude toward things. I found that at times when I would normally step outside and have a couple bowls, I was already satisfied with my mindset enough to not want to have it altered. I found that when I would normally find myself watching television, I would rather read Bhagavad-Gita or articles I had printed out at work from www.krishna.org. I later came to realize that this was due to the transcendental nature of the maha-mantra's sound vibration; that by merely chanting and hearing the names of God, I had reawoken the dormant love of Krishna which accompanies our spirit-soul in our heart and that this love was beginning to blossom.

That was a mere month ago, and even now this love is still blossoming. The simple chanting of this mantra is enough to impart whoever makes a practice of speaking it with eternal bliss, and leads invariably to an eventual return of the soul to its original status as full of konwledge, full of bliss, and eternally associating with Krishna in His spiritual abode.

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“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

JahBohl

Only when glass is at my lips and a lighter is in my hand.

But next time I puff a bowl (today at 3:30) I'm going to say 4 Hare Krishna's, 3 Hail Mary's, 2 Allah Akbar's, 1 Lecheim and an Ooohhhmmmmm.....just to cover all bases

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"If you know what life is worth, then you would look for yours right here on Earth" ~Peter Tosh

I'm in favor of it as long as it's multiple choice. ~Kurt Rambis, on drug testing

turmaline

When I draw, I see it as meditaion, usually for a couple of hours or more, when i have time, I do it.

Dutch Action

All I need is Hu.

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And so, Arthur, we learned that gambling is bad and yet in a certain sense, isn't life itself a gamble? You can never be sure of anything. Like who would have thought that dolphins could go bad and that fish were magnetic? Not me, no sir, not me.

JahBohl

China's leader helps you meditate?

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"If you know what life is worth, then you would look for yours right here on Earth" ~Peter Tosh

I'm in favor of it as long as it's multiple choice. ~Kurt Rambis, on drug testing

SweetSativa

^Have used 'Hu' often. Yeah frequently but not as often as I should. Like turmaline said, there are some activities that I see as meditative. I am no artist but something about doodling or messing around with pencil or paints is really cool for the spirit (and MUSIC is like no other). It seems like I get too tired and run-down any more and I just sleep (which is good too )

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"Why is it that when people talk to God, we call it praying but when God talks to people, we call it crazy?"- Touched by an Angel
http://www.youtube.com/user/immelody.../0/DDRj93dQ0O0

wanderlust

I meditate every once and a while, my goal is to start up a nice little daily practice... but i've found out that i'm currently much too lazy.

Waves

just take some shrooms and sit down for a minute...or what seems like a minute

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On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

Ego Tripping

HAHA

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Ego Tripping

Same. Today will probably be a good day for that.

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snapshot

I tried to yesterday, but it was hard. We bought some fake E (not us, his gf) and no one took any. It was lexapro. I took it for the hell of it around 7 and by the time I got home at 11 I could feel like something was being blocked in my mind. I couldn't concentrate. It was such an unnatural feeling. Like my mind was really noisy, but someone put up a brick wall somewhere in my mind to keep me from calming the sounds. It reminded me why I stopped taking anti-depressants in the first place. I just couldn't get into any kind of zone.

Usually I just read to fall asleep but this night I'll try it again.

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We are all atheists about most of the gods that society has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.
-Richard Dawkins

WHEREAMI?

Well, i've been zoned out naturally ever since i was a kid, now i can really zone out and i call that meditation.

espiex

I meditate in different ways from time to time. They break down into 'full' and 'empty' mind I guess.

Sometimes it's just sitting at peace and not thinking at all, just feeling the peace. Relaxed, clear minded.

Sometimes (more often when I'm stoned) I find it hard to clear my mind so I just follow and observe thought patterns, branching off on thoughts which spring from other thoughts and seeing where the trail goes -if that makes any sense whatsoever. I like to see how far away I can get from what I was first thinking of, which can lead me into childhood memories or all sorts of strange places.

Sometimes I clear my mind and concentrate on my senses, just 'watching' the input from them, hearing in particular.

Sometimes I clear my mind and try to expand my consciousness or my feeling - I can't really render that one appropriately in words, but it's cool.

Most of the time though I'm just too lazy to do most of these things except as I go off to sleep, but it really benefits you if you do it properly and regularly, particularly the relaxing one.

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