Meditation Help!

[Chesna]

Howdy Everyone!!!

Well I am on a break from school and was thinking of working on some elemental meditations. They will also be used for my last class before I graduate this summer. My question, is, I think I suck at meditaton, but want to try to get better. What I would like from you all is your thoughts and ideas on learning to meditate. I love hearing how others do it. Do you have heaphones on with music, do you chant, stare at someone or thing ect? My problemis my mind wonders.. and then I lose concentration. I know I;ll have to start small.. may 10 minutes and work up, but any ideas would be great!!

Thanks,

Chesna

[David19]

I pretty much suck too at meditation, although i haven't had time to practice anything 'cause of university work (but now i've finished for christmas, maybe i'll get a chance).

But one course that i think is cool is Witchcraft From the Ground up (http://www.whywiccanssuck.com/learn0.html), i think it covers the basics and also this site http://members.aol.com/ivycleartoes/exel.html seems to have good elemental meditations for learning to connect with the elements.

Other than that, i can't think of anything else to add. Hope these help. :)

[Rin Daemoko]

The mind will wander, that's natural. You shouldn't try to repress it or ignore it, because that will negate your meditation. Rather, choose an object of focus. A traditional one is the breath, or the sensation of breathing. When your mind wanders, notice it wandering then return to your breath. You'll do this quite a bit in meditation. The thinking mind doesn't like to settle down very easily, but with practice it learns to.

It helps that when your mind wanders, you conciously label it, "thinking" then go back to your object of focus. Emotions are this way, too.

[Xentor]

Check the New Pagans' FAQ on meditation: http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=74450

[Tabbykitty]

Howdy Everyone!!!

Well I am on a break from school and was thinking of working on some elemental meditations. They will also be used for my last class before I graduate this summer. My question, is, I think I suck at meditaton, but want to try to get better. What I would like from you all is your thoughts and ideas on learning to meditate. I love hearing how others do it. Do you have heaphones on with music, do you chant, stare at someone or thing ect? My problemis my mind wonders.. and then I lose concentration. I know I;ll have to start small.. may 10 minutes and work up, but any ideas would be great!!


Im just a little curious, but what class will ur findings on meditation be used in? Is this an academic class in a school?

Personally one of the first questions that I asked myself was:
Why meditate at all?

For instance, do you meditate to:
1. relieve stress
2. achieve inner healing
3. reach an alternate state of consciousness
4. connect with a higher power



Once I answered my question. I was able to look for the kind of meditation that suited my goals.

One of the first things that I learned about going into a meditative state was becoming aware of what was happening in and around me. Start by sitting somewhere quiet... it doesn't have to be a dark place with a candle and then focus on feeling the tip of your nose or your fingertips, without touching it/them.

Write down the sensations that you feel (eg. warmth, buzzing.... etc)

The longer you can do this, just sitting there noticing the environment around you the better your focus becomes. You also become more aware of the things around you.

Alternatively you could take up a hobby that requires a whale of a lot of concentration for sustained periods of time. :)


I generally do meditations that require active visualisation and not the type that either calls for emptying out the mind or concentrating on the breath because my own mind tends to wander also. Also I like to know WHAT I am working with even when meditating.

Now, what I am going to say below is just based on my own experience in my local community:

One of the first things that I found out was that, contrary to popular belief, meditation is NOT a completely safe and harmless activity. Meditation puts a person into an alternate state of consciousness AND.... for some, suggestability.

What I am going to tell you now is an incident that happened in my local community. It was told to me by a person who was directly involved in the situation.

About a year or so ago, there was this guru from a certain country who .... like many other gurus, promised peace, wealth and good fortune to his followers. He taught a form of meditation that required his followers to hold a talisman he gave them and connect to or with him.

Of course, looking all sagely and wise, many people were persuaded to do it. However, for those who did, they found that their lives didn't get better, but a lot crappier..... so much so that they seemed to be plagued with bad fortune. Of course they asked the guru this and was given the usual answer that some bad stuff had to happen before the good stuff does. But the good effects didn't materialise at all.

In the end, some of his followers decided to do a bit of checking up on him and his credentials. Well, the guy had rather shady credentials and they found out... that whenever they connected with this guy, this guy had actually been draining them of their energy... naturally, he was doing pretty well, but the people around him suffered.

Well, the person who told me this said that he and his friends immediately broke off all energetic contact with this person and via SOME means, took back what was stolen from them.

Their lives improved significantly after that.


This is not the only account I have heard about people who have gotten some undesired effects from meditation....


My advice is..... in any meditation. Question the person who tells you anything. Ask who or what it is you are connecting to. KNOW without ambiguity WHO or WHAT it is you are working with.... even if it sounds like some mighty guru or deity.

I guess one of the safest alternatives is to simply work with the earth and nature.... the 4 elements... which is a good choice. At least you know what it is and what energies you are using or breathing in.

If, after reading this, you are still interested in some kind of meditation that involves working with the elements do message me.

my two cents

Tabbykitty

[Chesna]

WOW!!!
Everyone has some wonderful ideas!! I am going to try and work on some meditations soon. Has anyone chanted during a mediation as a way to focus or something??

Thanks

Chesna

[Rin Daemoko]

I find that chanting mantra leads to meditative states more quickly than just breathing meditation. I use chants as often as I can.

[Kalandriel]

I've never personally been a chanter, but a good, steady, and slow rythmic music in the background helps me to keep focused.

I also usually use candlelight as well, in a dark room to focus my eyes on.

I've tried closing them, but my brain thinks too much and wanders.

Still a meditation novice here though, and probably always will be!

[Ninjakitten]

Specifically elemental meditation, I use what I learned in ninjitsu. To sum it up, get the book called Ninja: Power of the Mind by my Grandmaster, Toshitora Yamashiro. Shhh! The secrets of the ninja, hidden for centuries, passed down from generation to generation amongst the mountains of Japan... now yours for $19.99! Order now! Since you are wanting to use the elements in your actions, this might not be inappropriate to your uses.

Edited to add: Hope that didn't sound sarcastic. I was serious about the book suggestion, but was making a quip about the "secrets" of us ninja these days.

[faerymom]

Those of you who use music, what cds do you use?

I, too, have a very hard time meditating. Always have. But, it's even harder for me to try to empty my mind when I'm alone with two young children (husband deployed.)

Glad to see that the mind wandering is normal, I have always had that problem.