supermarket :)

Couple questions.

1. Who here meditates?

2. What "exactly" is meditation. I'm stuck between to things. Ive read that it is focusing on one thing, such as a mantra, candle flame, breath, etc and shutting out all thoughts, but I've also heard it's LETTING the thoughs flow and finish, and then simply letting them go. Which is it?

4. Ive searched all over the web, and can anyone link me to a "good" or "correct" way to meditate, or atleast give me some instuctions.

3. When I play a video game called tribes, I capture the flag. The whole time Im "skiing" or sliding down hills, gaining momentum, and capturing their flag, and bringing it back to my flag. Basically, after playing for 3 years it involves NO thought, and my mind often is in a calming, sedated mood, and I generally think about philosophy, life, meaning, purpose, etc without monitoring or realizing my thoughts. I kind of let them flow.

Is that a form of meditation? If not, id like to tell you my mind never flows as good as it does when Im doing this.

Hedons

I meditate. I feel I am more sucessful if I do it while high.

"Ive read that it is focusing on one thing, such as a mantra, candle flame, breath, etc and shutting out all thoughts, but I've also heard it's LETTING the thoughs flow and finish, and then simply letting them go. Which is it?"

You description is perfect. So which is it?
Both! If you don't let a thought flow and finish you will never be able to clear your mind of it.
When I get started on a thought, I simply can't let it go. I keep a little digital recorder handy so if I get a thought, I can purge it from my head onto the recorder so I continue on with my meditation. Incidentally, my favorite focal points are candles, camfires, or our patio fireplace.

"4. Ive searched all over the web, and can anyone link me to a "good" or "correct" way to meditate, or atleast give me some instuctions."

I can't recommend any web sites for this. I think you need to just do it. Supermarket, It sounds like you have been pretty sucessful (at least by my definition) at meditating. Can you duplicate your pre-OBE experience? If so, you're on your way. I haven't gotten past that pre-OBE stage yet, but I'll keep at it. Each time I do, I will become more accustomed to the feeling, and eventually I expect that the fear factor will evaporate. By the way, I notice aa distinct "level" I get to mentally before I can even get to that pre-OBE stage. Keep at it.

"3. When I play a video game called tribes, I capture the flag. The whole time Im "skiing" or sliding down hills, gaining momentum, and capturing their flag, and bringing it back to my flag. Basically, after playing for 3 years it involves NO thought, and my mind often is in a calming, sedated mood, and I generally think about philosophy, life, meaning, purpose, etc without monitoring or realizing my thoughts. I kind of let them flow."
"Is that a form of meditation?"

I don't think it is a form of meditation. You may or may not understand what I am about to say.
Did you ever drive somewhere, walk or ride a bicycle somewhere? Somewhere that is routine? You do the same trip or route several times a week? Perhaps you arrive somewhere and you know you got there, but you don't really remember the trip? It is almost like your mind and body are on autopilot. Your mind and body got you there, but in such a way that it didn't really require conscious thought to do it. That is probably closer to a form of day dreaming or perhaps a learned preconditioned, almost instinctual response (in the example of video games). It doesn't sound like what I have experienced as meditation.

BTW, I got a Proteus light and sound machine (mind machine) as a Father's Day gift. In case you're not familiar with them, a mind machine puts out frequency in the form of light and sound that your brain picks up and does something called "entrainment". Your brain will mimic the frequencies that it is exposed to. Example, set it to Delta waves, and you will go to sleep. Theta - dream state, Beta - Alertness, Alpha - relaxed consciousness. Or any combination thereof. If comes with 50 programs and can take up to 100 custom programs.

In the instructions, they specifically say not to use it if you're epileptic or under the influence of a psychoactive. After some experimentation with it, I decided to try it high. Wow! Makes meditation a whole new experience. I am trying to use it to induce OBE. I have been researching OBEs lately. During OBE's most peoples put out a brain frequency of between 7.0-8.0 Hz of an EEG (Electroencephlograp h - Brain Frequency Monitor).

The Proteus come with software which enables you to program any frequency, tone, and intensity as you please. I haven't done it yet, but I will eventually make an OBE program. I am also researching NDE's to try the same thing.

I'll keep the board posted as to my results. There is a learning curve here.

-Hedons

__________________
New and improved! Now with flushable applicator.

mysticwolf

Dayna,
What hedons says makes a good deal of sense. When meditating one must first let thoughts, tensions etc. flow in order to reach the state of pure concentration. I have a very good friend who was for many years a follower of "The Way" ahich involved an intense meditatitve cycle. He asures me that with discipline, meditation can in fact take you "higher" than any stone can (though he still blazes occasionally) One of the sites that he recommended to me is
<a href="http://www.seriousseekers.c om/" target="_blank">http ://www.seriousseekers.c om/</a>
It doesn't deal directly with meditation per se, but contains a huge ammount of resources for those interested in a transcending experience. It contains a list of excellent books and has audio resources, etc..

supermarket :)

Thank you both, like a nice cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer day, that hit the spot

Vidiot

i personally use the zazen method. that's what worked for me (i tried a few different meathods).

__________________
i want to die with a hard on.

bigtokenessum

I began to get into meditation through a sleep exercise I learnt. I sometimes have trouble falling asleep so I tried a technique I'd heard about on TV. You focus on parts of your body starting at your toes & gradually relaxing them. By the time you get to the head you often fall asleep. This is something I adapted to learn to meditate, though learn doesn't seem an appropriate word for it. Maybe it's more like something you allow yourself to do.
Sorry, stoned ramblings. But yeah, focus on relaxing yourself so much that other thoughts eventually vanish.

__________________
"Religion is the opium of the masses." ~Marx