Which meditation technique would you recommend to a total beginner?

[Judy2]

i've recently revised some of Leo's older videos and this has sparked my interest in giving meditation another try.

what meditation technique would you guys recommend to someone with virtually zero experience in that area?

so far i've experimented with a little bit of strong determination sitting and some guided meditations. sometimes these methods are effective in calming my mind, other times not so much because my focus is still centred on totally unrelated, random thoughts.

i would love to hear what has given you the best results. if you have general insights and tips as to what my expectations/goals during meditation should be, please let me know:)

[Someone here]

The "do nothing " technique.  Just watch your thoughts and don't do anything. 

Just watch them. Let them come..let them go..let them do their worst.. let them drive you crazy and you don't care. let them. But don't you try to stop them ..let them. Just surrender 100%.

do nothing and watch what happens. You're actually just doing just absolute zero. You've turned yourself 
off and you have the attitude of: even if I die right now..so what?   It doesn't matter. Even if my  worst fear manifests..good..  let it.

It seems difficult. But it's  not really.. it seems difficult but it's easy if you do it.. try it. Get by yourself and just sit down..put your hands  together and do absolutely nothing. Don't tell yourself you're watching or you're practicing anything at all. Give all practices up.. give it all up. This will send you into amazing levels of peace and serenity. 

Good luck !

[Judy2]

@Someone here  Yes, I have heard of that technique before. The problem I find with that is that supposedly there is some kind of difference between being aware of thought, and sitting and thinking while being unaware that that's what I'm doing. When I'm not focussed enough, which is 99% of the time, I'll just sit there and be so absorbed in thought that I don't even realise that that's what's happening.

I assume that the goal of meditation should be to develop focus and meta-awareness of thought? And the question is, how can I get there without wasting hours sitting there and believing I'm making progress with my meditation technique, when in truth I am only thinking, rather than being aware of the fact that I'm thinking... absorbed in the content rather than aware of the structure of thought.

Edited April 11 by Judy2

[gettoefl]

First mediation should see a change in one's whole lifestyle. Getting up before one's fellow man is key. And thus getting to bed suitably. Meditation is taking charge of one's whole existence. This is my world and I am going to stage manage it meticulously from minute one to minute back to sleep. I know that I create every single person and situation I see. If I do so mindlessly, my life is chaos and drowning. If I do so in full command of myself, I bring vision and passion and grace and power. Meditation is my day prep to get body mind in sync to bring about my highest unfolding. Beauty is I need do nothing. And the truth is, I can do nothing. All I need to is sit in willingness. And align with the higher me. I am powerless, it is unlimited. I know nothing, it controls every molecule. My job is to switch me off. When stuff arises, I let it come and let it pass. It is trying to lead me off track. I pay attention and I take heed to all that happens and I don't concern myself or involve myself. I am readying myself for the day at hand. This is my recharge time even more important than my sleep and my food. I am aligning myself with the real me, the one who sees through eyes of innocence and wisdom. I need have no plans or worries. Everything is stacked in my favor if I just trust every moment and every situation. People around me are good not bad. When I see their goodness, I automatically see my own. Meditation is the time spent preparing me to greet and welcome everything as the perfect unfolding of divine loveliness. All is wonderful today. 

[Someone here]

23 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

I assume that the goal of meditation should be to develop focus and meta-awareness of thought? And the question is, how can I get there without wasting hours sitting there and believing I'm making progress with my meditation technique, when in truth I am only thinking, rather than being aware of the fact that I'm thinking... absorbed in the content rather than aware of the structure of thought.

Just take a moment to observe your thoughts. Notice that there is a gap between them. Right ? It's not like thoughts are going on24/7..correct? there is a gap between every two thoughts .it lasts for few seconds between each thought and the next one. . There’s a space or a gap between this thought and the arising of the next thought. With time and practice the gaps become  much bigger . At first you will experience them as short breaks between thoughts. But as you pay attention the gaps become bigger and bigger until you see that the entire background of  your mind is spacious.it’s a big gap. And all the thoughts that come however many there may be cannot obscure the gap.

Keep on noticing this gap and not react to the thoughts in between..As you keep doing this the  gaps keep growing. You know you are doing it right when you  start to have the sense that the gaps are actually much truer much more real than all the superficial little thoughts that bubble up and can seem so important.

[Someone here]

23 minutes ago, gettoefl said:

First mediation should see a change in one's whole lifestyle. Getting up before one's fellow man is key. And thus getting to bed suitably. Meditation is taking charge of one's whole existence. This is my world and I am going to stage manage it meticulously from minute one to minute back to sleep. I know that I create every single person and situation I see. If I do so mindlessly, my life is chaos and drowning. If I do so in full command of myself, I bring vision and passion and grace and power. Meditation is my day prep to get body mind in sync to bring about my highest unfolding. Beauty is I need do nothing. And the truth is, I can do nothing. All I need to is sit in willingness. And align with the higher me. I am powerless, it is unlimited. I know nothing, it controls every molecule. My job is to switch me off. When stuff arises, I let it come and let it pass. It is trying to lead me off track. I pay attention and I take heed to all that happens and I don't concern myself or involve myself. I am readying myself for the day at hand. This is my recharge time even more important than my sleep and my food. I am aligning myself with the real me, the one who sees through eyes of innocence and wisdom. I need have no plans or worries. Everything is stacked in my favor if I just trust every moment and every situation. People around me are good not bad. When I see their goodness, I automatically see my own. Meditation is the time spent preparing me to greet and welcome everything as the perfect unfolding of divine loveliness. All is wonderful today. 

Bro this is dope as fuck . Is it written under the effect of drinking 🍻?  What's that you're about to take a sip from in your pfp 😂? 

Much love man . 🙏 

[gettoefl]

6 minutes ago, Someone here said:

Bro this is dope as fuck . Is it written under the effect of drinking 🍻?  What's that you're about to take a sip from in your pfp 😂? 

Much love man . 🙏 

Haha thank you for your kind words my lovely. No it is a pet topic of mine. I have the knee marks to prove it. 

Edited April 11 by gettoefl

[Someone here]

3 minutes ago, gettoefl said:

Haha thank you for your kind words my lovely. No it is a pet topic of mine. I have the knee marks to prove it. 

You're welcome bro .

Not to give your ego a stroke but whenever I see you chiming in in a topic I just go like "finally someone who is ACTUALLY awake in this forum 😂 ".

 

[Norbert Somogyi]

@Judy2

You don't need to set unrealistically metaphysical goals for meditation right away, different people use it for different reasons. Focus, clarity, calmness, reduction of background noise (overthinking), general well-being - granted that doesn't fully utilize the potential of meditation due to shorter sessions in comparison - but who cares? As long as it is helping you, and the regularity and discipline you can form will help you either way.

Furthermore no need to punish yourself for your mind derailing from time to time, it is natural. The mind doesn't like to stay in one place for long, you need to train it up. Meditation is like training a muscle, although progression is not as linear. Either way, the more you do it the less derailing you will experience. 

I've begun with guided meditations long ago (The Honest Guys youtube channel - for anyone who remembers from 2015-ish), they were great! Later on I experimented with different techniques, but what worked best for me is expanding my focus to whatever bodily sensations I have during the session. It's a little hard to explain, but it's like focusing on your field of awareness all at once - might be a little too much as a beginner.

Try to focus on your breath, the sensations of the air flowing in and out of your nose - or just an imaginary point. Good luck!

[gettoefl]

13 minutes ago, Someone here said:

You're welcome bro .

Not to give your ego a stroke but whenever I see you chiming in in a topic I just go like "finally someone who is ACTUALLY awake in this forum 😂 ".

 

Aww that is nice of you, but you beat me hands down on the philosophy side of things; and truth is I am swimming against the tide most of the time, in life I mean. Nobody is willing to listen. 🙁

[Judy2]

@Norbert Somogyi thank you for explaining, that makes sense.

 

[Judy2]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

Just take a moment to observe your thoughts. Notice that there is a gap between them. Right ? It's not like thoughts are going on24/7..correct? there is a gap between every two thoughts .it lasts for few seconds between each thought and the next one. . There’s a space or a gap between this thought and the arising of the next thought. With time and practice the gaps become  much bigger . At first you will experience them as short breaks between thoughts. But as you pay attention the gaps become bigger and bigger until you see that the entire background of  your mind is spacious.it’s a big gap. And all the thoughts that come however many there may be cannot obscure the gap.

Keep on noticing this gap and not react to the thoughts in between..As you keep doing this the  gaps keep growing. You know you are doing it right when you  start to have the sense that the gaps are actually much truer much more real than all the superficial little thoughts that bubble up and can seem so important.

alright, thank you:)

 do you have some guided meditation to occasionally remind you of that, or is it something you remind yourself of during a meditation?

[Someone here]

1 hour ago, Judy2 said:

alright, thank you:)

 do you have some guided meditation to occasionally remind you of that, or is it something you remind yourself of during a meditation?

Ur welcome .

No I don't use guided meditation . I don't even meditate that much .  I meditate maximum 1 hour in the morning of my  day offs from college.  I just simply watch the blank space between thoughts. And that's it . That's all it takes to calm down your monkey mind chatter and relax and enjoy the present moment.  Because that's all there is to do in life . I mean imagine you have so much free time ..what the fuck are you gonna do with your life?  Yes you can try this and that ..but at the end of it all you will be back to baseline and bored. So all that is left is to just bask in being and chill out on nothing. 

[Judy2]

@Someone here okay i'll try that:)

[Carl-Richard]

First set the intention that you will be completely ok with just sitting meditating for the next whatever minutes. Try setting an alarm clock for e.g. 15 minutes so you don't have to keep track of time or become insecure about not sitting for long enough. Increase the alarm clock by 5 minutes every session.

Sit with your legs crossed in an upright but relaxed position. Take three deep breaths. Start scanning the sensations in your body and try to relax and release any tension you may find, starting from your feet, moving up your legs, to your stomach, chest, back, shoulders, arms, neck, head. Then do it one more time. When you reach the head again, move your attention to the sensations of the rising and falling of your breath (pick an area e.g. around your chest or nostrils).

Keep your awareness of the breath. Then become aware of sounds in the room or the silence. "Hear" the silence. Then become aware of tensions in the body, relax them or let them dissolve. Feel the small movements of your body as you sit there, let the movements run their course. Feel the fluctuations of small tensions in your body, encourage the unwinding of tensions.

Keep your awareness of all these things. Then become aware of your thoughts. Try to see when the next thought pops up. See what it's about. Try to become aware of the silence between thoughts. If you notice you lose yourself in thoughts without knowing that you are thinking, return to the breath, re-establish awareness of sounds in the room, awareness of the movements and tensions in the body, and repeat.

If some thoughts seem to bother you more than others, e.g. if it's something you need to do today, write it down so you can stop thinking about it and address it later that day. If the thoughts are simply general concerns or anxieties about your life or things that may or may not happen, simply let them go. Simply tell yourself "whatever happens to me, I will be fine". And as you sit there, simply re-assert that you will be fine with just sitting there for the rest of the meditation until the alarm clock rings.

 

Other things you can do is become aware of the visual fluctuations behind your closed eyelids. Become really curious about what they are made of, why they happen, why they move the way they do. Try to really become intensely aware of them. Observe them with all your attention.

Another thing can be to try to actually enter a state of samadhi (no thoughts) and pure void devoid of forms. Try to release yourself from the tensions of the body so much that you become weightless, try to literally leave your body behind, pretend like you're dead, like a corpse just sitting there. You want to feel like you are sitting so still, so relaxed and are so present with the sensations in your body that your sensations equalize and you enter a state of anesthesia, feeling like your body slowly becomes numb. And the more numb it becomes, the more you distance yourself from your body and the further into pure awareness you go. Here, your concentration should be intense. Also, your breathing should be intense, but not in an excessively labored "breathing method" kind of way, but rather your breathing must be filled with sensuality and love.

Another general tip is to try to feel the natural euphoric sensations of the breath (and the body in general) and immerse yourself in that, try to almost make it orgasmic. 

Edited April 11 by Carl-Richard

[Applegarden8]

Completion process, nirbhaya dhyaana, shadow work, guided meditation.

Sitting by yourself for extended periods of time is absolutely the hardest thing to do, but if you feel good doing it, then you have the grace and sufficient infrastructure to experience life existentially.

[Judy2]

11 minutes ago, Carl-Richard said:

First set the intention that you will be completely ok with just sitting meditating for the next whatever minutes. Try setting an alarm clock for e.g. 15 minutes so you don't have to keep track of time or become insecure about not sitting for long enough. Increase the alarm clock by 5 minutes every session.

 

11 minutes ago, Applegarden8 said:

Sitting by yourself for extended periods of time is absolutely the hardest thing to do, but if you feel good doing it, then you have the grace and sufficient infrastructure to experience life existentially.

This is actually something that doesn't make sense to me yet, at least from my current point of view. It seems contradictory that meditation is about allowing intuition and feeling to unfold, while i am also supposed to discipline myself at the same time and resist certain impulses (like getting up and doing something because an emotion tells me to do that).

How do i reconcile discipline and intuition in my meditative practice? When i'm too "intuitive", the meditative practice usually fails by day 2 lol.

[UnbornTao]

It depends on your goals, but a good one is:

Gently pay attention to the breath, or to a physical sensation that is rather constant, like the tip of your fingers touching. When you notice you've gotten distracted, immediately bring attention back to the object of your focus. It is useful to keep the practice dynamic instead of mechanical, letting what arises to be fully experienced. 

Or do nothing facing a wall and see what comes up.

Edited April 11 by UnbornTao

[Judy2]

@Carl-Richard thanks for all the detailed suggestions, i'll try that:)

[Carl-Richard]

26 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

Or do nothing facing a wall and see what comes up.

I just thought about staring yourself in the mirror, like really close up into one of your eyes, could be interesting, because you get a super detailed feedback of how still you are and what microcorrections you need to make, you amplify the state you are trying to create by presenting it directly in front of you, and by making your own eye an object, you deconstruct the sense of being centered in that very thing you are looking at.

 

23 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

@Carl-Richard thanks for all the detailed suggestions, i'll try that:)

👍

Edited April 11 by Carl-Richard