Thread: How to meditate

Hi

Im no expert but I can give you a description that may help as a starting point. Below is a link to one of the meditations I practice regularly.

http://www.fwbo.org/mindfulness.html

It might be worth looking for Buddhist centre that run a meditation night near you. They are very welcoming and it is generally acceptable if it is just the meditation your interested in. They will run guided meditations for beginners (like the one above - but someone will ring a bell at each stage and talk you through it a litle).

theres loads of different types of meditation and its important to find one that suits you. Dont become disillusioned if you find it difficult - most people find it hard just to sit still for a few minutes. This meditation is not as active as a Lucid dream (if thats what you want try a vizualisation Meditation) - it is a lot more subtle.

I found after practicing for a while I could focus better, and when my mind wanders I am more able to bring it back. Its given me better awareness in other things to. Ive seen no dramatic changes in my Lucid ability since I started meditating. I`m more in control of the hecticness of the dream and have cut it down so there are no new images just blackness a couple of times.

People who have been meditating for many years are often able to stay aware throughout the whole process of sleep or as much of it as they want. Sounds pretty awesome.

Anyway hope that helps you.
Ed

If you are interested in meditation, seeking a class over meditation would be your best efforts. If you have the ability to attend a class where you can use an electroencephelograph (EEG) to see a readout of your brain waves, you will have the opportunity to learn what a state of meditation feels like as it is nothing more than a specific intensity of beta theta and alpha combinations.

I am currently reading a book by Anna Wise that explains how she has used the EEG to help students of meditation by giving them a mental marker once she see the specific brain wave pattern of meditation on the EEG. This give students a mental buoy so they can easily find their way back to their meditation states.

She also claims that many people 'meditate' daily, weekly, and monthly, but never achieve a state of 'meditation', but merely a state of thinking. She said she had one student that complained that his idea of meditation was very different from the way her other veteran students described it. This student had been meditating for 12 years. When she connected him to the EEG and had him start his meditation in the usual manner, his brain waves revealed a relaxed body but a very consiousness. He was basically thinking. With a bit of guided fantasy, she was able to help lower him into a more subconsious state until the EEG displayed the brain waves associated with a meditative state. He was then able to progress in his meditation quickly.

Meditation is not something that you can grasp instantly, or something that you can become a master of overnight. I have been meditation for 13 years and I am far from being a satisfactory student of meditation. It takes not only practice and discipline, but a type of mental maturity that is hard to put into words. Like lucid dreaming, once that desired states is reached, it is very easy to fall out of it by thinking "WOW, I'm meditating".

The beauty of meditation is attempting to reach the level of mastery as buddha, he could reache a state of meditation and sit quietly for 'days' without his meditatve state being interrupted by the outside world, hunger and most importantly, his own mind.

The lucid state of dreaming is nothing more than a sleep induced scenario where one 'stumbles' upon a moment of true enlightenment. Meditation will allow you to reach this state and exit there until one is ready to rejoin the physical world again. However, it is a long journey to conquer this kind of control over your own mind.