Cant Set For A Meditation Technique

[Viking]

I feel like a lot of meditation technique are too ambiguous and when I try to sit and do them Im just sitting and getting confused as to what should I do, or I think im not doing it right. I also have this feeling "is this meditation for me?" and I get put off track.

there are also a TON of meditation techniques so I feel paralized and cant choose a single one.

I also have a strong feel of urgency, like I really have to find the right technique right away or else ill just waste time.

are all meditation techniques valid? I feel like a lot of meditation techniques that are on some blogs and stuff like that are simplified wrong versions of the original technique.

[Dodo]

Try one method I like doing:

Gaze into your closed eyelids and really look. What colours do you see? Do you see any mind projections? No? Good! Look beyond the blackness. What is infront of it? Behind it? To the left? To the right? Become aware of that emptiness, nothingness. 

Imagine a line of symmetry in the middle. Everything to the left and right - mirror images. 

The same yet opposite, like your hands, like your eyes. Like nothing and everything.

All the while asking the question: Who am I? Who is looking?  Whoo is on the other side? See that experientially you cannot seee the subject, but you know it is there. Perhaps it is transparent or perhaps, like the eyes, it cannot turn to look at itself, or perhaps, dare I say it, it's not there!

Or another question,  dealer's choice!

I've had experienced trips while doing this.

Btw, make your own techniques,  experiment. Why be so confined and limited to one practice. Different things work for different people. 

Edited October 21, 2017 by Dodo

[LaucherJunge]

4 hours ago, Ilya said:

I feel like a lot of meditation technique are too ambiguous and when I try to sit and do them Im just sitting and getting confused as to what should I do, or I think im not doing it right. I also have this feeling "is this meditation for me?" and I get put off track.

there are also a TON of meditation techniques so I feel paralized and cant choose a single one.

I also have a strong feel of urgency, like I really have to find the right technique right away or else ill just waste time.

are all meditation techniques valid? I feel like a lot of meditation techniques that are on some blogs and stuff like that are simplified wrong versions of the original technique.

It seems to me like your ego is trying to rationalize out of your practice.
You can try to start with something simple, just focus on breathing, that was Buddhas main technique. Of course even in focus on breath there are many variations, I know a really great Shiva technique, that Osho taught. Follow your breath and focus on the moment when you are done with exhaling and inhaling, the moment when your breath stops you drop out of existence for that instant. Also focus on breathing is in my opinion the easiest technique to even keep on doing after your actual meditation practice, you can just do it 24/7 basically.

Edited October 21, 2017 by LaucherJunge

[Viking]

@LaucherJunge what is breathing meditation for? I dont see anything beyond practicing concentration

[LaucherJunge]

12 minutes ago, Ilya said:

@LaucherJunge what is breathing meditation for? I dont see anything beyond practicing concentration

Your life in the physical body is deeply connected to the breath, in fact it is the breath itself. So by the means of breath you are able to see beyond that which it fuels eventually.
The only thing that keeps going even in the deepest state you could ever imagine, where you are basically dead deep in meditation you still are going to have breath even if it is very slow.

[EndofMe]

@Ilya I am not an expert meditator, but I believe that any technique that stills your mind and draws you inside, rather than outside, is a correct technique. At least the simple versions get you in a routine and train your to be able to sit still. Then you can delve into more advanced techniques. Everyone is different, which is why there are probably so many different ways to do it. And then you run into the problem that a lot of people think that their way is the right way. What I am saying is that there is no right way, unless you are doing what is the opposite of meditation- drawing within.

@Dodo's technique is a good one. One that I have recently learned is to concentrate on the back of your head, in the indention where the spine meets the skull. Close your eyes and imagine that you are looking from that point, not from your physical eyes. What you want to do is look through your skull, from the back to the front (to your eyelids) , and get lost in the void in between, with your eyes turned slightly up towards your eyebrows. This works better for me, because it was always to hard for me to just sit there and stare at the back of my eyelids (even though that's  really what you are still doing) 

[Nahm]

@Ilya sit down and meditate. Just return your focus to your breathe. Let go of so much thinking. 

[InfinitePotential]

@Ilya I've had the exact same problem.  It helps to set a clear intention like: "I will do noting meditation for the next 20 minutes" or whatever you want to do.  And if that doesn't work, "Do Nothing" is a perfect technique to default to.  For example if while you're meditating you're like "do I want to do this technique or that technique" and constantly thinking over and over and switching between techniques, you can just totally relax all effort and rest and "do" a non-technique. 

[Dodo]

I had a "trip" today using the technique I specified earlier.

Today was different as I experimented with adding the sun to this meditation.  

Here's what you can try to do and test this yourself.

I decided to close my eyes and gaze into the eyelids while directed at the sun. This made the colour really orange-y.  Then, I would turn away from the sun and keep gazing.

Then I realized I was looking at a space which I could transform the colours at will. I would say Green and it goes green, red, it goes red. I made it many different colours. Fun to play with. 

Then, when I decided to make it transparent, i was able to see it as empty space and now i could see a full blown HD landscape. 

--

Another experiment with the sun was to look at it for a second and "trap" some light inside. Then, i would concentrate on the light and it felt like I was moulding it into whatever I wanted. 

It would also from time to time act as an actual lamp allowing me to see things that were there but were in the dark before that light appeared! Its like imagining lights on a movie set and the set forms by itself. 

It started flashing really quickly at one point, like it was alive! Then I saw an angel floating around. 

Then, as I became aware of the empty space behind me, I could see infront of me something like a trail ,  as if I was something moving towards my center and I was moving rapidly, leaving behind a trail, a beautiful trail.

 

What such an incredible experience. The Sun's light is powerful,  I will continue the experiments!! So exciting 

 

Edited October 21, 2017 by Dodo

[YaNanNallari]

I just do concentration practice followed by either "do-nothing" or according to Leo's mindfulness video. And self-inquiry.

[ZX_man]

@Ilya  Alan Watts once said that meditation is the ultimate waste of time. 

 

The technique you choose ultimately doesn't matter. So work on finding a simple one which resonates with you and stick with it.

Edited October 22, 2017 by ZX_man

[Alenka]

On 10/21/2017 at 9:42 AM, EndofMe said:

I believe that any technique that stills your mind and draws you inside, rather than outside, is a correct technique.

I agree with @EndofMe

I used to have the same issue, but then I decided to flip it around and since it was a fact that I was confused as to what meditation technique to use (because there are SOOOOOO many haha), I just accepted that I was confused and made finding the proper technique for me part of my spiritual journey. The process of trying out different techniques became part of my meditation and my spiritual practice. So trying out new techniques became fun.

I did an online 5-week introduction class to meditation techniques (there was mindfull breathing, chakra mediation, loving kindness meditation, mantra mediation and just breathing exercises), each week one type of meditation, the point of that was to "sample" and see what works and what doesn't. And it was mind blowing to feel how each meditation would work completely differently but always towards the same thing

Sampling the meditations was great, because throughout the week I grasped the technique a little more everyday and it gave me a glimpse at how it was working on me. I would say give it at least a week, two if you want to explore deeper, or three or four...

With any kind of meditation, what is important is consistency, once you find one that resonates with you, stick with that and do it daily. No matter what technique, you have to throw yourself into it, do it with all your willingness, "like your head is on fire", and you'll see that you will go deeper and deeper automatically.

Don't forget to have fun on your journey

[liquid]

I'm having the same "problem". Last year I did a lot of mindfullness meditation and that really transformed me. When i was out walking I tried to notice feelings, sounds and what I could see. I have done some of the "do-nothing-technique" but I find that a bit hard If my mind is talking/thinking a lot, because I have nothing to fall back to. Another good one is to count your breathing 1-10, when you can do that for 5min you change to 1-5, then only count 1-2 and lastly you don't count at all but just feel your breath, this is a good concentration practice. Personally I believe that if you put to much visualization it will ruin the purpose of meditation because you will then just be so much from reality. Anyway I'm gonna try this one: