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View Full Version : HOW to meditate ? Please share some 'technical' details



Explorer
20 March 2010, 10:20 PM
I mean what works best for you, or what helped you most when you got started ?

Here's what I found so far:

- Covering the eyes, like with a dark towel placed over the head and face, is better (for me) than simply closing the eyes. I'm not sure why, but somehow it seems to create more 'stillness' in my head, where before there was agitation.

- Pranayama (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsEZylK8sDA) helps, but I don't know how much of it I should do, should I slow down at some point, or keep going throughout the meditation ?

- Sitting in a certain place of the house for this, also helps, and I have found a good one, flat, with some support for the back :)

Now here's what I really don't know:
What Mantra to use, if any ?
Should I find one and stick to it, or have a few different ones ?
Do things like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7_cYRAIdTs) (on headphones) have some effect, or do I have to do the chanting myself ?
If I do the mantra chanting, then out loud, or at some point quiet the voice and keep that mantra going internally ?
Mudras - What's good to start with ? Do finger positions have a great influence ? I see mudras used in many places, so I imagine they do have some effects.
Tibetan Singing bowls - I have 2 of them, handmade, hand quality. How would I use them in meditation, if at all ?Finally, anything that could help with.. how should I say, health ? Diligence ? Focus & organization ?

During the past 7-8 months I've made a LOT of bad decisions, starting from a job that has me working in 3 shifts (they keep changing, day, evening, night, my body can't form a stable sleep pattern like this) and finishing with little exercise, so-so nutrition, and mindless activities when I get back home drained of energy.

So I'm looking for something short, like 15-30 minutes daily, something straightforward that I can do to help me gain back control and get on track. Any recommendations ? I don't have any religious affiliations, I am open to any technique, visualization, deity or manifestation that you think might fit here, just throw some good ideas my way :)

Einherjar
23 March 2010, 04:11 PM
A mantra will help because it will keep your mind focused on one thing instead of allowing it to wander and contemplate things outside of a state of stillness. You can really use any one. If you wanted to you could make up something ridiculous and just repeat that. Some people will say that certain words have different energies and mental states they invoke, so perhaps you may want to try one that has been used for a long time and has built up energy through it's use. Eventually you would want to have one that you stick with, but different mantras have different rhythms and since the recitation is meant to correlate with your breathing it may take a while to find one that fits your body's natural rhythm. So experiment in the beginning and when you find one that works well for you, stick to it.

I've never used external audio sources in my meditation but I believe they could help, though the process may be much more fulfilling if you sit there and focus on the mantra by saying it yourself.

I believe chanting out loud or internally is more of personal choice. I find it easier to focus on if I'm speaking it out loud, because then my mind wanders less. I usually whisper it without actually using my vocal chords.

I don't really have any experience with mudras or tibetan singing bowls, so hopefully someone else can expound upon that for you.

I would also recommend finding an asana that works for you. Make sure your back is straight though.

Also keep in mind that your mantra should have a direct relationship with your breathing (pranayama) so that you recite the mantra the same amount of times on the inhale as you do on the exhale. There are other more advanced techniques that involve shortening the inhalation and lengthening the exhalation but they take a bit of practice to get used to.

Hope that helps a little.

Eastern Mind
23 March 2010, 06:40 PM
Vannakkam:

Pranayama is a key in the beginning, yes. A simple one is equal counts in, equal counts out, diaphragmatically (sp?). Most gurus wouldn't recommend any mantras besides AUM unless initiated (mantra diksha) by a bona fide guru. Of course that might be hard to find, and sometimes its given freely without due consideration for the power of the mantras.

But what is the purpose of meditating? What are you trying to accomplish from meditating. I would think you should have a clear answer to that first.

Aum Namasivaya

devotee
23 March 2010, 09:13 PM
Namaste Explorer,

Meditation is best learnt through a guru. However, you may like to have detail information from the following book :

Metaphysical Meditations ( authored by Paramhansa Yogananda)

http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/Metaphysical-Meditations-p18.html


OM

yajvan
24 March 2010, 11:37 AM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté E,


- Covering the eyes, like with a dark towel placed over the head and face, is better (for me) than simply closing the eyes. I'm not sure why, but somehow it seems to create more 'stillness' in my head, where before there was agitation.
On closing the eyes what do we wish to do?

1. Calm the mind & the body
2. Reverse the birthing process ( what's that?)
3. March to turīya
4. Quench the mind in pure awareness ( samādhi)
5. Come back to the field of action with more pure awareness infused in one's awareness
6. Act - this stabilizes the pure awareness in one's being - this is the basis of karma yoga
7. Repeat the process on a daily basis


If you wish to read some additional insights on this matter, consider this HDF post:
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3312 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3312) I must admit the referenced post is really advanced reading, yet at the time we did not create the Uttara folder section as yet.



praṇām

Explorer
25 March 2010, 04:15 PM
Hello and thank you all for replying, I am actually considering all advice received


Namaste Explorer,

Meditation is best learnt through a guru. However, you may like to have detail information from the following book :

Metaphysical Meditations ( authored by Paramhansa Yogananda)

http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/Metaphysical-Meditations-p18.html


OMI know, and wish I had a guru, but so far in Romania where I live, I have found none yet. Also there seem to be no Hindu temples here in my city, nor Buddhist ones for that matter. Just Abrahamic ones.

I am hoping that the Internet will allow me to get enough knowledge in Video format, since it is usually more direct than written text. This is especially useful when learning techniques like Pranayama, where one benefits from seeing the example.


Vannakkam:

Pranayama is a key in the beginning, yes. A simple one is equal counts in, equal counts out, diaphragmatically (sp?). Most gurus wouldn't recommend any mantras besides AUM unless initiated (mantra diksha) by a bona fide guru. Of course that might be hard to find, and sometimes its given freely without due consideration for the power of the mantras. I try to learn Pranayama directly from videos online, and found this is good enough to get started. The rest comes from practice I suppose. As for mantras, today I went with one of my favourite mantras, namely the one of Manjushri. So far, so good :)


But what is the purpose of meditating? What are you trying to accomplish from meditating. I would think you should have a clear answer to that first.

Aum NamasivayaI have reached a rather wretched state right now, both physically, mentally and morally. As such, I am looking to get back on track, and fulfill my potential. As some faiths say, to be born a human is a rare chance, not to be squandered lightly. Since I've squandered a quarter of a century already, it is perhaps time to find something more useful to do :)



If you wish to read some additional insights on this matter, consider this HDF post:
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3312 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3312) I must admit the referenced post is really advanced reading, yet at the time we did not create the
Uttara folder section as yet.



praṇām Many thanks for that link yajvan, I went through it, and found the advice on focusing on the silence between mantras, particularly effective.

Now to clarify: Today I sat down, covered my eyes and face with a towel, blocking out all light, and started chanting my favourite mantra: Om A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhih - the mantra of Manjushri. The only things I know of it is that it stands for the wisdom aspect of the Buddha, that it has no literal meaning, and also that it's supposed to be very beneficial. I also like the fact that it sounds 'alien', more so than other mantras, when chanted in overtone. This allows me to get some distance from material things or situations that I might be attached to.

So today's experience was pretty good, having done this towel thing a few times now, and having settled on a specific place in my room to do it, I feel that things are starting to stabilize, and go on a good course.

I focused more on the silence between chantings, not on the mantra itself, and this freed my mind from always correcting the way I chant overtone. Even if the sound was off, I would observe the effect that the mantra had on the second of silence that followed. How did it shift the space?

I perceived a rather green glow after the mantra sound, like it had a 'green' and uniform influence on the world around, an equalizing effect, like a reset.

Also I felt that the silence after my mantra was connected to the silence after many devotees' mantras, throughout history. The pronunciation may have differed, but the silence was still connected somehow. This was a very balancing sensation, like a whole bunch of devotees had my back :)

I liked the way my voice started to sound towards the end, when my throat was warmed up and used to overtone, and also thought the Buddha and/or any deities listening, might like it as well. I figured it is good to better ourselves and stay in good health, so that when we offer mantras to the ones above, our offerings are fresh and vibrant.

Here are 4 images I saw during the meditation:
http://www.queeky.com/share/drawings/abstract/80100/mantra-meditation.jpg

The first (upper left) is what the energy of the mantra felt like on the inside of my face / cheek bones, the second (upper right) is the sound of the mantra, how the overtone frequencies offer a more 'decorated' sound to the gods, and it also has a great effect on the body. I'm not too sure about the last two, but they seemed strong enough to stick. I think there might have been a second set of spheres below those 3, continuing that pyramid thing further down, to a wider base. The 3 stone towers on the island, no idea whatsoever.

Many thanks everyone for the replies, if it's ok I will drop some updates here from time to time, to track my experiences. Namaste :)

yajvan
25 March 2010, 08:32 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté E,


I focused more on the silence between chantings, not on the mantra itself, and this freed my mind from always correcting the way I chant overtone. Even if the sound was off, I would observe the effect that the mantra had on the second of silence that followed. How did it shift the space?

I perceived a rather green glow after the mantra sound, like it had a 'green' and uniform influence on the world around, an equalizing effect, like a reset.

Also I felt that the silence after my mantra was connected to the silence after many devotees' mantras, throughout history. The pronunciation may have differed, but the silence was still connected somehow. :)

It is good to hear of your progress... Let me offer one thing that IMHO will serve you you well. Kṛṣṇa informs us in Chapter 6 of the bhāgavad gītā to 'expect nothing' during one's practice. What does this suggest? Yesterday my experience during mediation was wonderful , ghee I hope today is the same. This sets an expectation. This creates some strain, some waiting for something to occur. This pulls one away from the easiness of the practice. Hence the mind is waiting for something to occur and this impedes one's practice.

Note - this does not apply to any-one's actions outside of their meditation during activity. One remains dynamic and goes about their business.

...thought this was worthy of note.


praṇām