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Gurpreet-Singh earthyflavorance.biz"itive and gentle tunes, so as not to break your concentration. Another option is to turn on a small water fountain -"
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Once you've trained your mind to focus on just one thing at a time, the next step is focus on nothing at all, essentially "clearing" your mind. This requires tremendous discipline but is the pinnacle of meditation.
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Set aside enough time in your daily routine for meditating. The effects of meditation are most noticeable when you do it regularly
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Generally, however, the easiest time to meditate is in the morning
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Don't meditate immediately following a meal, or when you are likely to be hungry. The body's digestive system can be very distracting.
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Find or create a quiet, relaxing environment. It's especially important, when you're starting out, to avoid any obstacles to attention.
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If you play music, make sure it's calm, repetitive and gentle, so as not to break your concentration. Meditating outside can be conducive, as long as you don't sit near a busy roadway or another source of loud noise.
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Sit on level ground. Sit on a cushion if the ground is uncomfortable. You don't have to twist your limbs into the lotus position or adopt any unusual postures.
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The important thing is to keep your back straight, as this will help with breathing later on.
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Tilt your pelvis forward by sitting on the forward edge of a thick cushion
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Starting from your bottom, stack up the vertebrae in your spine, so that they are balanced one on top of another and support the whole weight of your torso, neck, and head. Done correctly, it feels as if no effort is required to hold your torso up.
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Relax your arms and legs. They don't need to be in any special position, just as long as they are relaxed and don't interfere with balancing your torso.
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You can put your hands on your thighs, but it might be easier at first to let your arms hang at your sides - the hanging weight helps reveal where things are out of alignment
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Relax everything, and keep searching for things that aren't relaxed. When you find them, (and you will), relax them. You may find that you can't relax them unless you adjust your posture so that you are better aligned
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You may also notice that you are twisted a little and need to straighten out. Little muscles in your face often keep getting tense, too.
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Let your attention rest on the flow of your breath. Listen to it, follow it, but make no judgments on it (such as "It sounds a little raspy...maybe I'm getting a cold?"). The goal is to allow the "chattering" in your mind to gradually fade away. Find an "anchor" to settle your mind.
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Try reciting a mantra (repetition of a sacred word
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A single word like "aum" uttered at a steady rhythm is best.
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Beginners may find it easier to count their breaths. Try counting your breath from 1 to 10, then simply start again at 1.
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To circumvent images that keep intruding on your thoughts, visualize a place that calms you.
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It can be real or imaginary.
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Imagine you are at the top of a staircase leading to a peaceful place. Count your way down the steps until you are peaceful and relaxed.
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Silence your mind. Once you've trained your mind to focus on just one thing at a time, the next step is focus on nothing at all, essentially "clearing" your mind. This requires tremendous discipline but is the pinnacle of meditation. After focusing on a single point as described in the previous step, you can either cast it away, or observe it impartially and let it come and then go
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At the core of meditation is the goal to focus and eventually quiet your mind.
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Naoto SakakibaraThe benefits of meditation can be experienced long before the practitioner has been successful in maintaining focus or clearing the mind, simply as a result of the practice.
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