Meditation

[Reklats]

What happened?

[Draven Chen Zhen]

What happened?

 

I tried self-hypnosis, and now I think I'm a monkey j/k

[markusan]

I have been meditating for many years and would suggest that it is completely different from hypnosis. Meditation, though very calming, is all about acute awareness, and fixed concentration. Lapsing into sleep or some trancelike state is not meditating. Even in the deepest meditative state you can still choose to be aware of your surroundings if you wish. With Vipashna, or insight meditation, you actually choose a subject to study deeply while you are meditating fully aware of the subject and closely observing your own thought processes.. Also if you are meditating correctly you are far less likely to be influenced by anyone else than if you are in a normal state. There are various forms of meditation but my favorites are to have a fixed subject of concentration. That is either a mantra, a word or a sound to repeat to yourself, or my preference is to concentrate on my breath. Feel your breath going in and out your nostril and count them, up to ten, then start again. If you lose count, don't worry just start again at one. at some stage you'll lapse into a daydream or l;ose concentration but if you have firmly set your intention to meditate, your mind will automatically come back to the breath, and then just start counting again. Relax, don't get too fierce about it. My advice is go to a good buddhist group with a good teacher. It's not rocket science and the danger is if you over complicate the process then your mind gets fixed on distractions rather than finding one point to rest on. And be patient, like any good training it takes time. I suggest a buddhist group not because I am buddhist but because I find their techniques the simplest and most direct. After all they've been making a science out of it for a long time...oh yes, and they're cheap!