Meditation Experiences

[BigFan]

Hello everyone, I decided to make this thread to focus on meditation and it's benefits. I've always heard that it's very beneficial to meditate and that it will help with all aspects of life including lucids, etc.... I plan to test this out and meditate for a month. I am hoping to meditate for 20-25 minutes each day and possibly increase that as I get closer to the end of the month. I'm hoping to have some good results to report by then. I'll be writing my experiences here. A couple of things to note are that I've only meditated a couple of times and I plan to clear my thoughts in my meditation, none of the specific chakra ones, etc.... Any and all comments are welcome. Enjoy!

[BigFan]

Day 1: Tuesday May 18, 2010 Start Time: 8:34pm End Time: 8:55pm Time Elapsed: 21min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing thinking in and out with my breathing. Soon enough, I was able to only concentrate on the breathing. After a while, I began to feel my hands are slightly numb, my nose was acting a bit odd and I started to see some green and purple colors in my vision. I began vibrating with my heart beat back and forth and soon enough I forgot about my breathing. Then I began vibrating with my fridge since I was near the kitchen and started to see some blinking which was expanding to cover a quarter of my vision. At some points, I was seeing these different scenes, one of some wine glass breaking after it fell by accident in some restaurant. After a while, I found that I started to get exhausted and returned back to my breathing. I decided to give myself one more minute, not fully sure if I was able to meditate for the 20min I hoped for. A short while later, I started to feel uncomfortable and it felt like someone was watching me accompanied by some kid watching through the window with a grin pic which caused me to break my meditation just as my alarm sounded. Thoughts: I would say that it went pretty well. Some interesting sensations and the images were interesting as well

[BigFan]

Day 2: Wednesday May 19, 2010 Start Time: 8:41-8:42pm End Time: 9:05pm Time Elapsed: 23-24min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing thinking in and out and focusing on that. Eventually, I was able to focus on that, but, there were a lot of distractions since I usually have the window open for some nice calm sound. I started to vibrate with my heart beat every so often and some parts of my body tensed up. My two hands twitched a couple of times. I was hearing the beeping sound that I usually get when I go to bed and soon enough, I lost track of my breathing and found myself pretty deep in my meditation. It felt like the beeping sound was surrounding me and it felt like my eyes were going left to right over and over again as this was going on. Whether they actually were, I have no clue, since, I had them closed and wasn't trying to concentrate on them specifically. After a while, I decided that since my feet started to ache like the previous night, it was time to end it, even though I wanted to end on my alarm. I took a deep breath, slowly opened my eyes and saw the clock as 9:04. As soon as I saw that and thought about being off by a minute, my alarm beeped. Thoughts: As mentioned, a bit hard to start, but, was able to recover and make up for the lack of concentration as time passed. Some more sensations and I would say that I went deeper. I think having the window open and meditating at nightime really helps

[BigFan]

Day 3: Thursday May 20, 2010 Start Time: 8:31pm End Time: 8:37pm Time Elapsed: 6min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing like in my previous attempts. I was able to free myself of thoughts much faster than my previous two attempts. Soon enough, I could feel something moving around in my left foot then my right foot as well, possibly energy. As time passed, I felt my left hand twitch. I started hearing the beeping sound which was still pretty low and I started to concentrate on it. I planned to meditate a bit more after bed since I was interrupted before my time was up. Start Time: 11:05pm End Time: 11:11pm Time Elapsed: 6min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing like in my previous attempts. Like before, I was able to free myself of thoughts pretty fast, but, my back started to ache so I had to stop meditating. Thoughts: Nothing to add.

[BigFan]

Day 4: Friday May 21, 2010 Start Time: 8:45pm End Time: 8:51pm Time Elapsed: 6min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing. It was a bit hard to do so but I was eventually able to quit my mind. I started to hear the beeping sound which got louder until it seemed to hit a climax and stopped increasing from then on. I was interrupted before I could go farther. Start Time: 8:52pm End Time: 9:05pm Time Elapsed: 14min I sat in the lotus position and started to concentrate on my breathing hoping to be able to get to the same level I was in previously before I was interrupted. I had a hard time freeing my thoughts, since, I would get a random one everyonce in a while. I heard the beeping sound throughout the meditation. I felt some movement, possible energy in my right foot and a bit in the left. Parts of my body(stomach, right hand, etc....) got a bit cold from the breathing. I ended the meditation after I became a bit exhausted. Plan to try a bit more meditation before bed since I got a lucid dream last night. Thoughts: I wasn't able to go as deeply as I went on Day 2, but, I'm sure I'll get to that stage in the next couple of days, no need to rush

[BigFan]

Day 4 CONTINUED: Start Time: 11:28pm End Time: 11:45-11:46pm Time Elapsed: 17-18min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing. I was getting distracted but ignored all and proceeded. I started feeling weird sensations in my head and in my arms and legs. Parts of my body(stomach, right arm) began feeling cold possibly due to my breathing. My breaths began to shorten to the point where a small amount was good enough. I started hearing the same beeping sound from previous attempts. Soon enough, I started to spin. First, I was spinning to the right(counterclockwise) for a bit then I started spinning to the left(clockwise). After a while, I was spinning in both directions at the same time which is hard to explain. I eventually had to end my meditation to go to sleep. Thoughts: Several things interested me here. For starters, when I would try to get into SP, as much as I tried to control my breath to a certain level, there was always a time when I had to take a deeper breath because the previous breaths were insufficient. In this case, I just took very small breaths and was able to maintain it very well, so, I'm starting to wonder if getting into SP is as simple as meditation. Second, the spinning sensation. I've had some spinning sensations before but those were really random ones and only occurred a couple of times plus I wasn't meditating at the time. What was interesting about this was that I wasn't expecting to get very far. I also wasn't expecting to feel like I'm spinning in two different directions at the same time. It was very confusing as well, since, I was still in touch with everything happening around me(heard noise outside my house, in room, etc.....). Either way, next time, I plan to see how long the spinning will last before I stop meditation

[BigFan]

Day 5: Start Time: 8:45pm End Time: ~8:57pm Time Elapsed: ~12min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing. I was able to clear my mind of thoughts but every once in a while, a thought would come up which I would dismiss and it would pass. I got the beeping sound but nothing else and was a bit tired so I stopped. Thoughts: I was reading an article the other day about meditation and spinning and stumbled upon the symptoms of hyperventilation which included spinning, however, I didn't have any of the symptoms other than spinning, since, I wasn't lightheaded, dizzy, etc.... so I ruled it out. I noticed that I do infact control my breathing when meditating since I'm focusing on it and trying to clear my mind, however, I don't see how to not control it

[juroara]

A daily meditation journal? I like it, reminds me of my M.A.P book, I never got past day seven in that course . It's only been a few days, but how do you feel? Is it getting easier for you?

[ArcanumNoctis]

Cool, I'll be joining you in about a week. I have to draw up a check-list/chart for intensity etc.. Anyways, have you tried focusing on the concept of everything and nothing coexisting at the same time? It is unimaginable and should bring about a blankness in the mind, while at the same time making it expand. Might be easier than focusing on your breathing.

[BigFan]

A daily meditation journal? I like it, reminds me of my M.A.P book, I never got past day seven in that course . It's only been a few days, but how do you feel? Is it getting easier for you? As much as I looked, I could never find anyone who seems to have documented their attempts with good descriptions of what they experienced and I disliked how everyone mentioned it was good, but, there wasn't as much proof as I would have liked, so, I decided to try it myself and get my own proof of whether it's worth it or not. I don't feel any different to be honest but that might change. My second and third day(in bed) are probably my best two attempts and I think I went pretty deep especially the third. I would say it is getting easier than what I started. I mostly just sit in the position and think in and out with my breath. Having said that, I am in fact controlling my breathing when I do this and I'm not deep breathing, mostly try to maintain the same rate of breath as awake, possibly a bit less. My Day 6 would explain why I think it got easier as well. It's in the post below Cool, I'll be joining you in about a week. I have to draw up a check-list/chart for intensity etc.. Anyways, have you tried focusing on the concept of everything and nothing coexisting at the same time? It is unimaginable and should bring about a blankness in the mind, while at the same time making it expand. Might be easier than focusing on your breathing. Well, focusing on breathing is pretty easy for me and I find I can pretty much clear my mind decently fast, although, I do get the eventual thought every once in a while which I dismiss and that concept seems mind boogling to me I do find it a bit difficult to ignore all distractions if there is some noise such as talking in my house, but, I usually just hear it but don't think about what is said, so, I would say I'm doing pretty well. I'm interested in getting a day where it's absolutely calm as in no sound and I'm not tired so that I can see how deep I can really get. Since I'm focusing on my breathing, it becomes voluntary and I find that I'm controlling it but I haven't found another solution assuming there is one Also, if you want to join me, it's fine by me, however, I would prefer another thread and then I can link it to mine at the start and you could do the same if you want. Main reason for this is so that people who read the thread don't start getting confused between our experiences especially if we get more people joining in

[BigFan]

Day 6: Start Time: 9:29pm End Time: 9:40pm Time Elapsed: ~11min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing. I felt like I got into it much faster than before, however, there were some noises in my house but I wasn't evaluating what was being said, mostly just hear and forget. Every once in a while, a thought would come up which I would dismiss and it would pass. I got the beeping sound, along with my left finger twitching and my fingers especially right ones felt odd when I first started. I did feel my heart beat and was rocking a bit back and forth like in previous attempts with the beat. My back started to ache so eventually I stopped. Thoughts: Should be able to get some good attempts in the next couple of days, so, I'm hoping for some new experiences, possibly the spinning again so that I can see what comes after. I found that instead of thinking in and out with my breath, if I thought breathing in and out(hard to explain what I mean), it helps to get a bit deeper, so, I plan to try that in my next attempt.

[BigFan]

Day 7: Start Time: 9:21pm, 9:31pm End Time: 9:31pm, 9:39pm Time Elapsed: ~18min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing. I decided to change my hand positions to a circle in the middle instead of on the two on the side. I was able to clear thoughts, but, everyonce in a while, I got one which I dismissed. I did feel some small vibration that were rhythming with my heart. I felt what seemed like energy in my whole right arm but soon faded as I was interrupted. After resuming, I had the same feeling in one or two of my left fingers which faded quickly as well and I continued my meditation until I felt tired and decided to stop for the evening. Thoughts: It is getting easier to get into meditation since I've been on it straight for 7 days now. I do find that I will get thoughts coming in every once in a while and that a quiet atmosphere is most beneficial to experience the full effects since even a single word could throw me off course

[BigFan]

I wanted to give a little update for those who are/were watching this little project. I did get to have a couple more short meditations which had some similar results to the ones above. I've been extremely busy since then and considering I was tired, I had to put this project on hold since I should be relaxed when meditating and not fighting with myself to stay awake. I might restart this project in the near future. I will revive this thread when/if that happens. Thanks for all your support

[cybereality]

Very cool. I always think about getting into meditation but I never have the motivation. If you continue this I'd love to hear how it goes.

[ArcanumNoctis]

I wanted to give a little update for those who are/were watching this little project. I did get to have a couple more short meditations which had some similar results to the ones above. I've been extremely busy since then and considering I was tired, I had to put this project on hold since I should be relaxed when meditating and not fighting with myself to stay awake. I might restart this project in the near future. I will revive this thread when/if that happens. Thanks for all your support Coolio, I'm about to start my project. Made a checklist with logs, want me to e-mail you a copy for when you start again?

[deXtrous]

Does anyone find it really really hard to mediate when you have something on your mind? If I have something to think about, like a party tonight or something, I just can't bring myself to silence my mind.

[ArcanumNoctis]

Does anyone find it really really hard to mediate when you have something on your mind? If I have something to think about, like a party tonight or something, I just can't bring myself to silence my mind. Think of something that silences your mind. Like everything and nothing happening at the same time. It is rather unimaginable so it should either keep your mind blank or wondering.

[allensig3654]

I have been meditating almost daily and documenting for a while now. Here is my latest entry. Had a great session today. Total time was around 50 minutes. I laid in cross legged position and focused on relaxing my body. For a while I moved my dream hands in sand to try and actually feel it happening. After about 15 minutes of nothing happening I gave up and just relaxed. I felt a pressure in my head, but it dissipated very quickly. After about 30 minutes something great happened. I realized how good it felt to be in this state of relaxation and stopped trying to do anything and just enjoy this feeling. After about 5 minutes of truly relaxing, I lost all feeling in my body. It felt like I was melting. I ignored these feelings because every time I paid attention to them they would be less intense. I continued relaxing completely and enjoyed the feeling of pure relaxation when I started falling. I felt as if I weighed 1000 pounds and was falling into blackness. This kept going on for a while until I felt nothing. It was a really weird feeling, but it felt as if I was a part of the room. It felt as if I had no body and was just floating there. I laid there for a while thinking I would start to see hynagogic imagery of some sort, but got nothing. Actually, the mediation music I was listening to did sound more vibrant. It was as if some of the tunes were ringing excessively. It was a really good feeling so I just laid there until I felt it was time to get up (had to go to work soon and did not know how long I was laying there)

[ReachingForTheDream]

I'm really interested in this thread and how your meditation ends up! I've never really been patient enough to meditate much. However, I did try chakra meditation once or twice. Ever since then I've had LDs every few nights at the very least. I don't know what I did, heck I don't believe that I even did the meditation properly or to its full extent, but it seems to me like it helped. Hopefully it will help you too!

[BigFan]

I have been meditating almost daily and documenting for a while now. Here is my latest entry. Had a great session today. Total time was around 50 minutes. I laid in cross legged position and focused on relaxing my body. For a while I moved my dream hands in sand to try and actually feel it happening. After about 15 minutes of nothing happening I gave up and just relaxed. I felt a pressure in my head, but it dissipated very quickly. After about 30 minutes something great happened. I realized how good it felt to be in this state of relaxation and stopped trying to do anything and just enjoy this feeling. After about 5 minutes of truly relaxing, I lost all feeling in my body. It felt like I was melting. I ignored these feelings because every time I paid attention to them they would be less intense. I continued relaxing completely and enjoyed the feeling of pure relaxation when I started falling. I felt as if I weighed 1000 pounds and was falling into blackness. This kept going on for a while until I felt nothing. It was a really weird feeling, but it felt as if I was a part of the room. It felt as if I had no body and was just floating there. I laid there for a while thinking I would start to see hynagogic imagery of some sort, but got nothing. Actually, the mediation music I was listening to did sound more vibrant. It was as if some of the tunes were ringing excessively. It was a really good feeling so I just laid there until I felt it was time to get up (had to go to work soon and did not know how long I was laying there) Very nice, I haven't gotten that far when I was trying, but, I did get some spinning at one time and I felt that the last couple of small sessions that I had were pretty good, as in I was able to clear my mind much faster. At one point, I felt like I was sinking and the room was spinning, but, I was tired when I was meditating, so, that could have been the reason Thanks for reading Very cool. I always think about getting into meditation but I never have the motivation. If you continue this I'd love to hear how it goes. I might continue it, but, things have gotten busy on my end and I don't have the time to dedicate to it plus going off on vacation messed things up. I'll update this thread if/when I continue meditating. Thanks for reading Coolio, I'm about to start my project. Made a checklist with logs, want me to e-mail you a copy for when you start again? Thanks, but, no thanks. My main goal was just to write down what I felt along with the times and how long I meditated for, so, keep it simple for both me and the reader. I'm sure that checklist is great though Thanks for reading Does anyone find it really really hard to mediate when you have something on your mind? If I have something to think about, like a party tonight or something, I just can't bring myself to silence my mind. I would just write it down on a piece of paper or just let it pop up but ignore it. Think of it along the lines of "I'll get back to you" Thanks for reading I'm really interested in this thread and how your meditation ends up! I've never really been patient enough to meditate much. However, I did try chakra meditation once or twice. Ever since then I've had LDs every few nights at the very least. I don't know what I did, heck I don't believe that I even did the meditation properly or to its full extent, but it seems to me like it helped. Hopefully it will help you too! Well, I had an LD one of the nights I meditated. I can't remember the exact date though, but, I remember that I meditated for 5-10 minutes or so before bed and then just jumped it and had it, so, it's possible it helped. I've tried to communicate with my subconscious or at the very least think of lucidity when I have cleared my mind so that I get it imprinted so to speak. Not sure if that worked though I'll update this thread whenever I start again Thanks for reading

[Reinhardt]

SO did this meditation help improve lucid dreaming more? I also started about 4 days ago and also get the spinning sensation in all directions.

[BigFan]

SO did this meditation help improve lucid dreaming more? I also started about 4 days ago and also get the spinning sensation in all directions. Unfortunately, I had to put it on hold since I went on vacation and haven't gotten back into it yet. I got kind of an LD one of the nights I meditated, but, my meditation was quick(5min or so), so, not sure if that contributed. Whenever I get back into it, I'll be updating this thread. Thanks for reading

[IndigoGhost]

SO did this meditation help improve lucid dreaming more? I also started about 4 days ago and also get the spinning sensation in all directions. Yes, very yes

[BigFan]

In order to have lucid dreams, one has to be aware of his environment IRL which would cause one to be aware in their dreams and notice inconsistencies which would cause them to go lucid. The pace of life and lack of time causes difficulties for one who is interested in maintaining their awareness throughout the day. Of course, alternatives exist to help one obtain lucidity. These techniques include but are not limited to DILDs, WILDs and MILDs. Personally, I've been concentrationg on RCing daily for a good while, trying to WBTB+WILD and using mantra(MILD) before going to sleep, however, there has not been much success with any of these methods. Even after recognizing dreamsigns, RCing to them is difficult because they seldom happen IRL, likewise, getting to SP during a WILD attempt hasn't been accomplished yet even with a good amount of determination and using mantras hasn't helped in obtaining lucidity either. What this means is that in order to obtain lucidity, I have to find another path to it and this is the main purpose why I decided to revive this thread. I plan to start meditating again to achieve lucidity. I still plan to attempt WBTB+WILD and RC when I first wake up along with a possible mantra before bed since the end result is to gain lucidity. I plan to follow a similar format to the one that I have used in this thread. One thing that will be included is whether lucidity has been achieved that night, so, that one can get any idea of what the success rate is along with any other odd occurrence that could be attributed to meditation. To make a couple of things clear, I have completely stopped doing RCs about a week ago and there is no set time for how long I will meditate in a day. It could be as short as 10 minutes or as long as I find suitable. This would also allow me some flexibility but it'll likely be done before going to bed so that I am able to focus on lucidity before falling asleep.

[BigFan]

Day 0: Tuesday July 13, 2010 Time: ~10min I sat in the lotus position and concentrated on my breathing. Pretty soon, my mind was a blank. It was an interesting feeling. I could hear my breathing and see the blackness but nothing else. When I was deep in it, I tried to think about lucidity to try and elicit some kind of response from my subconscious and to try to implant the idea into my mind. When I felt satisfied, I stopped the meditation and slowly opened my eyes. It felt like I have zoned out and that my eyes needed to adjust. Thoughts: This was mostly to get me back into meditation. It was rather short and sweet as well Lucidity achieved: Nope, however, I did have a rather long, intense dream