Meditation techniques

[Moon Momma]

I didn't know where else to put this so I decided to put it here since it's something "new" to me.

What are some good ways to get started on meditation? I know there are various techniques, like using music, guided meditations, focusing on breathing, etc.
What are some of the ways you meditate?

[Klucky]

My very simplest way is making sure I'm alone in the house (phones unhooked and "do not disturb" signs about as well), put on whatever instrumental music interests you, and let your mind wander for whatever amount of time you want. The more you meditate, the more you will see. ;)

As a note on the music, I suggest anything that stirs up emotions in you. You'll get better results that way, for better or for worse.

I hope that helps.

-Klucky

[Kalika]

When I meditate, I remove all distractions... (TV, phone, computer, pets, other people, etc). I usually sit cross legged on the floor with a lit candle in front of me and my hands resting palms up on my knees. Then I just focus on the candle flame, and let my mind go....

Hard to explain. :)

[dragonspirit 69]

I have to have complete silence and a dark room. Then I close my eyes and concentrate on a glowing orb ( the color changes depending upon mood, day, and all sorts of things ) which engulfs me. It's very relaxing and cleansing.

[DraconisArcanus]

This is still a difficult thing for me. I have yet to find what consistantly works for me. I usually will have soothing music, dark area, candles, insense and sit quietly letting my mind wander to its own desires or concentrate on the candle flame. Finding a quiet spot with 3 kids is not always easy!

[Moon Momma]

Finding a quiet spot with 3 kids is not always easy!

This is my problem as well! I have a toddler that is prone to waking up at any moment, and with a teenager in the house, the phone is constantly ringing.

[Ari]

Mindfulness of breathing is (nearly) always a good place to start; you can even do it chasing your kids around the house, cooking dinner etc if you have to. Most people begin by focusing on the physical sensation of breathing, eg the movement of air across the tip of the nose or breath filling the chest. Verbal types often find it helpful to count on the exhalation or inhalation as well - gives the mind something extra to do. When thoughts arise, acknowledge them and let them go. Letting your mind wander in this form of meditation is something you want to avoid; when you start thinking about something, mentally note "thinking" and then return to watching the breath.

Guided meditations are popular in the Pagan movement but they're not so great if you're strapped for time and don't have somewhere quiet. It's quite easy to get into a trance-like state that's much harder to get out quickly of than a mindfulness based meditation. In the beginning, it's also good to have someone talk you through the induction and coming out so if you're teaching yourself to meditate, I wouldn't recommend starting with a guided.

Hope this helps :)

[Moon Momma]

Thanks, Ari, it does help. And thanks to everyone who responded, you've been a big help!

[celticstorm76]

Moon Momma thanks for asking the question, I also need help in this area, and everyone was very helpful w/their answers as well. I believe this whole forum thing is a wonderful way to learn. Books are good but sometimes a person can be so much better.

[dragonspirit 69]

Here is one more way I use on a stressfull day at work. Go to the bathroom and hold you hands under warm running water and feel the negitivite wash away. I go this with my eyes closed and concentrating on my breathing. Try it while doing the dishes I tworks there too. :)

[Jeleia]

Here is one more way I use on a stressfull day at work. Go to the bathroom and hold you hands under warm running water and feel the negitivite wash away. I go this with my eyes closed and concentrating on my breathing. Try it while doing the dishes I tworks there too. :)
I do a similar technique in the shower... :)

[dragonspirit 69]

Water is so cleansing :colorful:

[turtlerain46]

Here's something I've found works really well for people who have never meditated, as a training/practice run. If you have windows media player, turn out the lights, and put some very relaxing, calming music. I found that this works better with headphones that speakers. Now put on one of those lovely little images that are on the media player. Take deep breaths, (i.e, 4 in, hold 4, exhale 4) and just unfocus your eyes a bit while staring at the screen and slip away. Once you've become comfortable in this method, move up to something else.

[forest_ranger06]

umm...yeah...i also have a lot of meditation trouble, and i've tried all of this stuff, but i still can't seem to get the hang of it...i think it's mostly because i can't visualize at all...

[mucgwyrt]

I used to find it really really hard to meditate before I entered my witchy path, and now I find it ~so~ easy!
What's my secret you ask?
Circle casting - I always meditate within my circle. I think just the calm preperation and winding down of the mind as I cast helps a huge amount. I also feel there is a space around me which no earthly disturbances or distractions can enter into :)

[Keith Dragon]

It is said that the Tibetan Monks believe that our lives and our death is predestined, but our death is measured not in the number of days we will live, but the number of breaths we will take, and that the slower you breath, the longer you will live. This is the core of meditation, to slow your breathing to move your mind in to a higher state of consciousness.

With that, here is my take.

Meditaion only begins on the mat. You learn by sitting and emptying your mind. But in time, you will take your meditation practice, and incorporate it into every aspect of your life, work, exercise, love, sex, fun, everything.

One of the first problems people face when they first start meditating is what is referred to as "Monkey Mind". This is where your mind keeps racing from thought to thought, out of control. The first goal of meditation is to think about nothing. Then when you get to that point, you can control thoughts comming into your mind, and give it your complete focus and understanding, without other mental distractions.

But before you learn to meditate, you have to do one important thing, and that is deciding to commit to the idea that you want to learn to meditate. Once you commit to it, and not haphazardly practice it, you will start to grow in your practice. It will take usually a few months to really start see actuall benefits from it, but be assured, you will benefit greatly from it. You have to understand that it is like riding a bicycle, it will take time until you find your balance, and the worst thing to do is to get frustrated, cause that just fuels the Monkey Mind. Know that there is no bad meditation, each time you work and practice, you are getting better at it. Also know that this is something that you will use the rest of your life, so in time, you will master you mind, as long as you are committed to it. Even if it is only ten minutes a day, you are increasing your composure, practice, as well as mind control, and peace within it.

The first instance I realized that meditating was helping me was when I was driving down the highway and all of a sudden, the car in front of me began to spin out. In stead of panicking, I was come, with controlled breathing, and was able to guide my car around the spinning car, and not get hit. I feel that if it wasn't for meditation, I would have panicked and hit them.



Here is a simple way to start your practice, and be sure to mentally plan that you will practice it. Remember that the key to meditation is intention, which is reflected in your commitment to better control your mind.

I recommend doing two meditations a day, one in the morning for 5 minutes when you wake up, and one in the evening before you go to bed. The key is to keep it simple, don't jump in the deep end, or you'll just get frustrated. But the best posture is to sit Indian style, with your butt on a pillow for posture. Close your eyes and just focus on your breathing. There is more to meditation, but do this first until you get the hang of it for advanced meditations. The focussing on the breathing is impportant in the beginning for a few reasons. First, it gives your mind something to focus on and not jump from thought to thought. Secondly, one of the biggest problems people face is that they do not breath correctly, they take shallow breaths , not getting enough of oxygen in the blood. Third, it relaxes you, and establishes a physical rhythm in your mind. Finally, once you finish this cycle of meditation that I have given, you will not have to think about breathing anymore, and just do it automatically. Your breathing should be slow, and even, trying to establish a rhythm. Breath in slow, feeling the air come into your body, focus on the feeling of the air coming in, feel you stomach and lungs expanding. When you feel you have taken in as much as you can, without strain, hold for a few seconds, and then exhale as slowly as you inhaled. Feel the air leaving. In your meditations, you should focus on the sensations you feel, how your body is reacting, another key to meditation is physicl awareness. A knowing the internal parts of your body and mind. Do this simple meditation for 40 days, one in the morning, and one in the evening. (Why 40 days? It has been learned that it takes on average 40 days to establish a new habit with the mind) After 40 days, switch to 10 minutes each for another 40 days. I currently try to do 20-30 minutes in the morning and evening.

At first, try it without music. But if you find your mind is giving you problems, use music, but use a music that is rhythmical, like Shamanic Drumming, and preferably without words. Music with words will cause you mind to think about them. Also, use the rhythm to establish a breathing pattern, like one breath for every for beats. Breathing in time to the music will help your mind seamlessly merge with the music.

Some advanced techniques once you master the breathing, in suggested order of progression.

1. Breathing through the eyes. As you breath in and out, imagine that the breathing is coming in and out of your eyes. Feel it coming in through the eyes, and leaving through the eyes. This will help stop another difficulty in meditation and that is "Monkey Eyes" Where your eyes constantly look for something to focus on. This will help to keep them still, which is the end goal.

2. Breathing Light. As you breath in, imagine the breath as white light filling your body. Then as you breath out, imagine Dark light leaving your body. Associate the Light coming in with things that your love in life, and with the Dark light leaving, imagine the things that your a worrying about, or bothering you leaving your body.

3. Physical Awareness. Before you begin to meditate, think of a part of your body you want to think about. Then in meditation, focus your mental awareness on the part. The easiest starting point is to meditate with your palms up hand resting on knees, and imagine a point in the middle of your palm. In time, you will feel pressure there as if someone is pressing against it. Focus on this point for the duration of the meditation.

4. Chakra Meditation. Adding onto the Physical Awareness technique, learn about the 7 Chakras, or energy centers in you body, they are in line with your spine, and connect energy to all your vital oragans. There are also minor Chakras, but I'll leave you to learn about that on your own. In your meditation, focus on one of the Chakras, I suggest the Root Chakra, which is located at the base of your spine. Also, your Third Eye, is actually the Sixth Chakra and located in the center of your forhead in line with your spine. If you have questions regarding Chakras, ask, and I'll answer as best as I can.


Also, know that there are different forms of meditation, depending on the intent of your will. Here are some of them.

1. Basic Meditation. This is simply to balance your mind, and bring it back to center. To relax.

2. Healing Meditation. This is used when you have an injury, or feeling ill, you meditate focussing on what needs to heal, remembering what it was to not feel that way, and breath into what needs healing.

3. Manifestation Meditation. This is used to manifest things into your life, or out of your life. Meditate, imagining what you need or want to happen to you as if it already happened. But one thing to be aware of, is this is based on intent. And what you manifest must be pure of heart, and not ego driven.

4. "Where am I" Meditation. During meditation, focus on a part of your body, any part, and with your mind, sense, is what you are focusing on above, below, in front of, or behind where you feel your thoughts are coming from. Example. The top of my head, I sense is above me. My nose is in front of me. My chin is below of me. As your do this, slowly narrow the search, until you find the point inside of you where your consciousness exists. This is very powerful.

5. Centering Your Senses. This takes the "Where am I" a step further. With your awareness, focus on your ears, then move to your ear canals, and bring your awareness in through your ears till you reach the ear drum. Imagine a line of energy through those two points. Once there, imagine another line coming between your eyes, and out the back of the head, and imagine both line crossing. Focus on the crossing point, and do the "Where am I". Warning, you will feel some wild sensations, like flashes of light in your mind, buzzing noises, your body electrified.

There is much more, but I will leave it at this so as to not completely overwhelm you. If you have any questions, please ask. I will help as best as I can.

As, I meditate everyday for at least an hour. Typically 30 min, in morning and 30 min, at night. And it has helped dramatically in my life. But, also be aware, that it becomes like a drug, you become addicted to it, but not in a bad way, you begin to discover many new things about yourselfm and find you keep wanting more.

With that, fare you well.

Keith Dragon

[mucgwyrt]

That's really helpful Keith, thankyou for all that!!
I'd never thought about the breathing through the eyes thing, sounds like a really good way to stop looing at things :)

[FroggieThePunk]

I find the sitting on the floor, possibly on a pillow (if your floor isn't very comfortable)removing my clothes except my pants (I find loose less is best and losse fitting is good to as I see my clothing as armour of a sort) and assuming "the lotus position" works well when coupled with breathing techniques and soft, classical or jazz music. Basically for the lotus position, if you are not familiar with it, is like when you were a kid and told "to sit indian style", except with your feet on top of your les instead of underneath. Rest your hands in a relaxed position on top of your knees, remember placement of your hands is important to meditation. For the breathing, breathe in your nose, as deep as you can. Then breathe out your mouth and empty your lungs. Then breathe out more. Empty your lungs as much as you can. Now hold it for a little while, not to long, you don't want to start gasping for breathe, and then repeat. I'd say try not to think of anything, but that never works for me. Just relax and concentrate on the music or whatever you wish to meditate on. Sometimes a candle helps, sometimes not. Just remember, meditation takes practice, and is not something that is over and done with in five minutes. Time usually paces slowly for me when I meditate, but you get used to it. Have fun!

[mothwench]

*nod* i have been struggling with what keith dragon calls the monky mind. the best advice i got was to try not to shove the thoughts away into "drawers" as i had done before, but to visualize them as balloons floating in and out of my mind. after a while i was able to "see them coming" from far away and then i'd simply visualise a brief gust of wind that would blow them in the direction they were coming from.
hope that made sense.

@keith: i did have a question on chakras a while ago, i found the thread, it's here (well, actually the question i'm still wondering about is further down the page, not in the first post.) : http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=33935&page=2&pp=10
never can get enough input and ideas on the chakras. :)

[mucgwyrt]

My 2cents (as I was once and I guess I still am big into chakras)

Opening your lower to chakras doesn't impede the processes of your upper ones, it merely balances them out. I.e. if your top two chakras are really open you have your head in the clouds, whereas if your bottom is open to balance it (think of the heart as the centre of a pair of old-fashioned scales) you can still be as spiritual when you want to be, but can also be more practical when you want to be too. Opening your lower chakras doesn't close your upper ones :)

[mucgwyrt]

PS - I have the same problem. Apparently I have an underactive Root, an overactive sacral, an underactive solar plexus, an underactive heart, and underactive throat... and the top two are beautifully harmonious :lol:

[Keith Dragon]

Mothwench

Just wanted to answer your thoughts, and questions.

First, in regards to Monkey Mind, thinking of them as balloons is a great analagy. The thoughts come and go, but the problem is when the mind attaches to one. Two other ways that have worked for me, one is a sort of reverse psycology method where I flood my mind with thoughts flowing them as fast as I can. This creates a resonance in my mind and my thoughts become like background noise, and I can seperate myself from them. And the sound in my mind usually leads to my second technique, chanting Ohm. Whether out loud or in my mind. Chanting Ohm creates a resonance that keeps the thoughts out of your mind. Also, Ohm is considered "The SOund of the Universe" and chanting it, puts your mind in sync with the world around you.

Second, in regards to chakra and your question. I know many people, including myself, that are dealing with the same thing. I opening all my upper chakras, and disregarded my lower chakra problems, because I didn't want to deal with them. But this made me unbalanced. Think of your body, and the house for your spirit. If the foundation, or lower chakras are not balance, the rest of you will be unbalance, and if the upper chakras are open too much, you become top heavy and can tip over. But, it is easy to get lost and want to push further into the upper chakras, too find the peace you are searching for. But you are just delaying the problems at hand, and they will come back to haunt you least expect it.

As for my thoughts on the chakras, there are many schools of thought, and the best advice is to trust your instincts, and make your own interpretations by studying your own body. Remember, noone has the absolute truth but only their interpretation of their relative observations. For me, I've heard 5 chakras, 7 ,9 ,and even 15, major chakras. What I see in myself is 7 major chakras within my body proper, I used to think I had 8, but in studying, I found I was misinterpreting a minor chakra as a major. I do believe we have more, but they exist outside and are chakras we share with the universe. I have come to feel however another level of chakra, or eigth chakra, but it is not separate of the 7 major, but it is all the 7 chakras working as one. Think of each chakra as a sphere of energy, and the eighth chakra is one shpere encompassing all 7 major chakra. (like I envision the Sixth sense not being a separate sense than the other five, but all the 5 senses working as one)A sort of hierahcy of chakras. There are also, 144 minor chakras, and I've only just begun exploring those. I tend to look at it as each joint having a minor chakra, and also the palms, and sole of the feet. We also have what are called nadi(s) which are energy pathways connecting the chakras, and also these are tied to the meridian system, or the basis of acupuncture.

Also, think of your self as having the Earth below and the Heavens above, and you are the horizon between Earth and Sky. With that, the three lower chakras, Root-Sacral-Solar Plexus are your connection to the Earth. The Upper Chakras, Throat-Brow(Third Eye)-Crown, are your connections to the Heavens, Your Heart Chakra is the center, where the Earth and Heaven meet.

We tend to look at the Root as the bottom, but thinking of this, people tend to look at it as an end or beginning. But another analogy, is to think of your self as a conduit of Universal Energy, And it flows through you in both directions, in thrugh the crown and out the base, and vice versa. If there are blockages in the chakras, the energy does not flow properly, like have a clogged fuel line in your car. Negative emotion, which causes the blockages, is like cholestorol for the soul, clogging your spiritual arteries.

Here's a meditation to help clear the chakras, and help visualize this flow of energy.

Use the base techinique I mentioned before, but this time visualize a ball of white energy in your root chakra, as you inhale, lift the ball of energy up through the other chakras, reaching the crown at the end of the inhalation. Then exhale visualize the ball of energy bursting like fireworks in a shower of energy the sprinkle down upon and around you to collect back into a ball of energy at the root at the end of the exhalation. This stimulates the Kundalini energy as well as helps to remove any stagnant energy in the chakras.

Understand that if you have made a conscious decission to spritually grow and improve your self. Then you cannot ignore the blocked or stagnant chakras, because they won't clear on their own, only you have the power to fix and clear them. And also understand that with crystals, they are tools, not saviours. They only have the power that you yourself put into them. As is the same with all symbols. They are merely tools to help you focus your energy. Be it a cross or pentacle, or crystal.

Like I said before, this is merely what I have discovered in my own practice, only take what I say as truth if you can validate it for yourself in your own practice. Hopefully I have given you some tools to experiment with, but you may see something different. Just follow your instincts, for only you know what's best for you.

Keith Dragon.

[mothwench]

Mothwench

Just wanted to answer your thoughts, and questions.

First, in regards to Monkey Mind, thinking of them as balloons is a great analagy. The thoughts come and go, but the problem is when the mind attaches to one. Two other ways that have worked for me, one is a sort of reverse psycology method where I flood my mind with thoughts flowing them as fast as I can. This creates a resonance in my mind and my thoughts become like background noise, and I can seperate myself from them. And the sound in my mind usually leads to my second technique, chanting Ohm. Whether out loud or in my mind. Chanting Ohm creates a resonance that keeps the thoughts out of your mind. Also, Ohm is considered "The SOund of the Universe" and chanting it, puts your mind in sync with the world around you.

i can imagine this technique working well, too. i shall try it when the balloon thingy doesn't work.


Second, in regards to chakra and your question. I know many people, including myself, that are dealing with the same thing. I opening all my upper chakras, and disregarded my lower chakra problems, because I didn't want to deal with them. But this made me unbalanced. Think of your body, and the house for your spirit. If the foundation, or lower chakras are not balance, the rest of you will be unbalance, and if the upper chakras are open too much, you become top heavy and can tip over. But, it is easy to get lost and want to push further into the upper chakras, too find the peace you are searching for. But you are just delaying the problems at hand, and they will come back to haunt you least expect it.

it was actually never my plan to open the upper ones at all. they just were that way. :huh: and i know very well what you mean by top heavy. this manifests itself in every way possible, even physically.


As for my thoughts on the chakras, there are many schools of thought, and the best advice is to trust your instincts, and make your own interpretations by studying your own body. Remember, noone has the absolute truth but only their interpretation of their relative observations. For me, I've heard 5 chakras, 7 ,9 ,and even 15, major chakras. What I see in myself is 7 major chakras within my body proper, I used to think I had 8, but in studying, I found I was misinterpreting a minor chakra as a major. I do believe we have more, but they exist outside and are chakras we share with the universe. I have come to feel however another level of chakra, or eigth chakra, but it is not separate of the 7 major, but it is all the 7 chakras working as one. Think of each chakra as a sphere of energy, and the eighth chakra is one shpere encompassing all 7 major chakra. (like I envision the Sixth sense not being a separate sense than the other five, but all the 5 senses working as one)A sort of hierahcy of chakras. There are also, 144 minor chakras, and I've only just begun exploring those. I tend to look at it as each joint having a minor chakra, and also the palms, and sole of the feet. We also have what are called nadi(s) which are energy pathways connecting the chakras, and also these are tied to the meridian system, or the basis of acupuncture.

this is awesome. i use seven too, by the way. you see the eighth chakra as a combination of all seven, in a similar way that i correspond the chakras to the elements. for me, the first four chakras correspond to the four elements, the fifth is a combination of two, the sixth is a combination of three, the seventh is a combination of all four elements. i have no eighth one tho, as far as i know. :)


Also, think of your self as having the Earth below and the Heavens above, and you are the horizon between Earth and Sky. With that, the three lower chakras, Root-Sacral-Solar Plexus are your connection to the Earth. The Upper Chakras, Throat-Brow(Third Eye)-Crown, are your connections to the Heavens, Your Heart Chakra is the center, where the Earth and Heaven meet.

similarly, for me the element of the heart chakra is air... where earth and heaven (for me the sky ;) ) meet.


We tend to look at the Root as the bottom, but thinking of this, people tend to look at it as an end or beginning. But another analogy, is to think of your self as a conduit of Universal Energy, And it flows through you in both directions, in thrugh the crown and out the base, and vice versa. If there are blockages in the chakras, the energy does not flow properly, like have a clogged fuel line in your car. Negative emotion, which causes the blockages, is like cholestorol for the soul, clogging your spiritual arteries.


that's a very good way to visualise bad energy, one i hadn't come up with before... i might just steal that idea... :eyez:
:) oh, and i've realised the chrystals are really just symbolic. but i do have a strong need for visualisation, and symbols help alot. also, never underestimate the placebo effect. ;)

thanks for all the great input, keith and macha. you've been most helpful. :woot: i still find it fascinating that there is this vast majority of lack of root around the pagan community.

edited to add: here's that test, if anyone is interested... http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/chakratest.php

[Cappy]

Do you guys do any "preperation" for meditation? I'll explain.
When I was younger (maybe 12 or 13) we(my family and I) went to see a medium. This woman was channeling an energy that was called Zseda(I think, it's been a while). Basically, she said that most people aren't grounded enough, that children were getting new illnesses (due to TV, drugs, whatever.) ie ADD & ADHD because they weren't "connected". She said that in order to ground children, they need to run around barefoot or visualisation.

This is what she tought:

Sitting cross legged or feet flat on the floor, visualise roots growing from your feet and extending all the way down to the centre of the earth. When that is done, picture roots growing from the top of your head and gowing up into the "Source".

I do this before meditation, to insure that I won't go flying somewhere(it's happened :rolleyes: ). I also put up what I call a bubble "sheild" of light. But the grounding is pretty trippy. After some practise, you can start to FEEL the roots growing out of your body.

[LittleRhiannon]

I also have a lot of trouble with meditation, but the one method that always works for me is dance meditation. I just play music, usually irish fiddle or drumming, and dance. My mind clears and I don't usually have stray thoughts. Sometimes, when I'm really out of breath, I'll just lie down and go into a meditation from there, and I've found it's easier than just sitting down and trying to meditate.

[mothwench]

Do you guys do any "preperation" for meditation? I'll explain.
When I was younger (maybe 12 or 13) we(my family and I) went to see a medium. This woman was channeling an energy that was called Zseda(I think, it's been a while). Basically, she said that most people aren't grounded enough, that children were getting new illnesses (due to TV, drugs, whatever.) ie ADD & ADHD because they weren't "connected". She said that in order to ground children, they need to run around barefoot or visualisation.

This is what she tought:

Sitting cross legged or feet flat on the floor, visualise roots growing from your feet and extending all the way down to the centre of the earth. When that is done, picture roots growing from the top of your head and gowing up into the "Source".

I do this before meditation, to insure that I won't go flying somewhere(it's happened :rolleyes: ). I also put up what I call a bubble "sheild" of light. But the grounding is pretty trippy. After some practise, you can start to FEEL the roots growing out of your body.

*grins* i have adhd. and i'm always barefoot when i'm at home even in winter. and i also do preperation work, i sort of buzz around the space i want to meditate in cleaning and arranging, even if there's nothing to clean or arrange. :twitch: i do the root thing as well, it's a technique i learned when i read about the root chakra.
:)
@little rhiannon: :woot: that sounds like a great idea for these jittery, energy-filled phases i have where i can't seem to sit still. and your post makes me think of...
*dance, baby, dance... put that magic spell on me ...* :hehehehe:

[banondraig]

This is still a difficult thing for me. I have yet to find what consistantly works for me. I usually will have soothing music, dark area, candles, insense and sit quietly letting my mind wander to its own desires or concentrate on the candle flame. Finding a quiet spot with 3 kids is not always easy!

yeah, that's hard to work out. i'm in the military. my building has something over a hundred college-age boys in it. it seems like someone is always blasting their stereo, frequently the guys across the hall. :rolleyes: this weekend i get the room to myself, though! :colorful:

[Keith Dragon]

On Preparation:

Usually what I do is clean the space of debris in which I meditate, I typically have a particular spot that I do it in. I usually wash to clear the body of negative energy. Sometimes I use incense. In the morning, I do some stretching, and sometimes Qi Gong or T'ai Chi.

[Thalias_Smile]

I didn't know where else to put this so I decided to put it here since it's something "new" to me.

What are some good ways to get started on meditation? I know there are various techniques, like using music, guided meditations, focusing on breathing, etc.
What are some of the ways you meditate?
i prefer doing so outdoors--like in a local park...just pick a nice out-of-the-way spot, and close my eyes. I recently took an online course on Buddhism, and used a simple breathing exercise in that kind of meditation. Just focus on the breathing, and dont worry about "emptying" your mind completely--that is impossible. Just let the thoughts flow in and out like water. Sit under an old tree, either oak or willow, those seem to work best for me. Sit cross legged on or near a part of the root which is most like a seat (lol), close your eyes, and BREATHE...use the sounds of nature as your music...

[celticstorm76]

:floating: I just recently had to go to a buisness meeting for a few days (stressful) and it's hard to find time and good place to do any meditation when sharring a room w/a non pagan, ironically I was in the in door heated pool and I was the only one in the pool so after swimming a few laps I layed back floated and it was the most relaxing and concentrated meditating I have done in a long time, I would never had thought to do it but now I look forward to the warmer nights to enjoy this more often. BB :sunny:

[mucgwyrt]

*nod* i have been struggling with what keith dragon calls the monky mind. the best advice i got was to try not to shove the thoughts away into "drawers" as i had done before, but to visualize them as balloons floating in and out of my mind. after a while i was able to "see them coming" from far away and then i'd simply visualise a brief gust of wind that would blow them in the direction they were coming from.
hope that made sense.

@keith: i did have a question on chakras a while ago, i found the thread, it's here (well, actually the question i'm still wondering about is further down the page, not in the first post.) : http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=33935&page=2&pp=10
never can get enough input and ideas on the chakras. :)

I tried out your balloon thing the other night when I meditated with my beau (not in a circle), and it works wonders! Thanks for that!

[mucgwyrt]

thanks for all the great input, keith and macha. you've been most helpful. :woot: i still find it fascinating that there is this vast majority of lack of root around the pagan community.

edited to add: here's that test, if anyone is interested... http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/chakratest.php

I pulled some Tarot cards for my chakras last night, and got some really good results -
For my root I actually got the Ace of Disks, so maybe I'm not as out-of-touch as I thought!

[Anahita]

I absolutely LOVE fourfold breathing. It grounds and centers me almost instantly. Also, it's something that you can do at work to destress and no one will really notice. Basically, you breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, exhale for four counts, and hold with no breath for (you guessed it!) four counts. When I want it to, fourfold breathing can pop me right into a trance after 1 or 2 cycles.

I would also recommened experimenting with different body positions to see which makes you most confortable. I have a lot of trouble meditating sitting with legs crossed. I have a much easier time kneeling with my feet under my butt. If I know I'll be that way for a little while, I'll stick a pillow between my thigh and calf.

I usually need a focus so I work best with taped guided meditations, chanting mantras (I love "Om"), staring at a candle flame, etc. A good one to try that will also build visualization skills is entering a tarot card. Visualize the card getting larger, and then step inside. See what the people have to say. The side benefit is getting to know your tarot better.

Good luck finding something that will work for you.

- Anahita