Meditation

Tips on meditation? I've started doing 10 minutes once per day. Is this enough? Also something has changed. I have tried meditation before long ago but never felt like it did anything and gave up on the habit. Now I get a pretty intense sensation sometimes if I can get into it. Like I'm almost going out of my body, it's mildly euphoric, even a little scary sometimes. Am I going in the right direction? My goal is to reduce stress and just see what happens if I keep it up. What is meditation even supposed to accomplish? Just a more right-brained state of consciousness?

I guess it depends on what you want to achieve. It directs your brain towards a certain state, so you could do anything. Such as strengthen certain emotions/outlooks, train your concentration and awareness, physiological control, or more spiritual goals. I also do 10 minutes a day, mainly to notice any pent up thoughts and then for practicing concentrating on a certain thing without interruption.

>>4408 >What is meditation even supposed to accomplish? What is exercise supposed to accomplish? Depends on who you ask. The goal of meditation for Buddhists is to work towards realizing the unconditioned, aka. Nirvana. The goal of meditation for Hindus is union with Brahman. The goal of meditation for Gnostics is gnosis, aka. communion with the divine. The goal of meditation for occult practicioners is psychic aptitude. The goal of meditation for modern laypeople is to better manage difficult emotions, such as stress and anxiety. The goal of meditation for athletes, artists or enterpreneurs is to strengthen one-pointed concentration. And some people meditate simply without having any specific goals in mind, which is great too. The effort and time required is dependent on your goal. If you just want to simply reduce stress, then low amounts are sufficient. >Now I get a pretty intense sensation sometimes if I can get into it. Like I'm almost going out of my body, it's mildly euphoric, even a little scary sometimes. Am I going in the right direction? These kinds of experiences are normal. If your goal is to reduce stress, then don't just don't pay them much attention. Just focus on relaxation instead.

>>4413 >These kinds of experiences are normal. If your goal is to reduce stress, then don't just don't pay them much attention. Just focus on relaxation instead. Not that person. What happens if you pay it attention and what circumstances would you want to?

>>4416 Depends on many factors. I accidentally astrally projected once, but it can also lead to weird dissociative states that screw with your regular life. I recommend keeping things simple. KISS principle applies to meditation as well.

>>4408 meditation is meant to allow you to reset. throughout the day you have so much stress and thoughts going through you head. and it helps you train your mind to be more clear and disciplined. how much time do you think you need to meditate? if you wanna go for hours, go for hours. if you wanna just do 10-20 minutes and that works for you go ahead. meditation is about your mind and your body.

Its worth reading literature from those doing it long before you. I wouldnt say its more important but its probably more helpful than anon advice, which still could of course have great things in it because its topical. No disrespect intended, im sure theres some great advice in lainons words here. But il provide what I think isnt being provided. Look into the "two types of meditation in buddhism" . Theres a lot of nonsense out there but I think this webpage has a good overview https://buddhistteachings.org/calm-vipassana-insight-samatha/ Of course meditation extends beyond buddhist traditions. Islam http://courses.washington.edu/disisme/Our_Encyclopaedia/Entries/2008/9/8_Divine_Intoxication_and_Sobriety.html Christianity https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/gnostic-meditation/ Judaism https://breslov.org/hitbodedut-jewish-meditation-how-to/ Why bother reading these though? Just because its clear that meditation is something humans have learned over and over again in different parts of the world. Reading each cultures history of meditation can give you a better grasp of what it fundamentally is you are trying to do.

>>4408 read the mind illuminated by culadasa. it's probably the best. written by a neuroscientist who studied with tibetan monks and translated the dhammapada.

>>4408 Is there way to induce a trance state? Any methods or books/links are appreciated.

>>4408 Meditation is just repeatedly bringing the mind to a specific object or mind-state, defined positively or negatively. It's a tool. Buddhist practice is aimed at purification of the heart. What defines the aim of a meditation depends on your intent. The moral quality of intentions that you can sustain / act with reliably is dependent on how pure your heart is.

Ill meditate like 30m to 1h before bed and It causes far more vivid dreams

I couldn't ever achieve a "different" mind state meditating, it seems as though thoughts bubbling up in my head regularly every couple seconds is inevitable. I still find meditation makes me "notice any pent up thoughts" and it does feel like a "reset", so I still try it occasionally. Something that I find interesting in this thread is that several people mentioned using meditation not just to clear their mind, but also to focus it on some idea, emotion or object. How does that work, and what are the effects? I know the most popular technique is to focus on your breathing, but there are others based on listening, looking at a still spot, etc. I am not sure how to meditate on an idea however.

>>7908 >it seems as though thoughts bubbling up in my head regularly every couple seconds is inevitable. wrong, you can do it. it can be very difficult for some people, so you think it's inevitable, but it isn't. It's possible once you get the hang of it. Why do you think monks go in a fuarrrking mountain away from civilization to master meditation? If it was easy they'd be able to do it in NewYork too. The idea is not to have "an empty mind" but instead have a "clear mind". Very different concepts since you can't really have an empty mind. It doesn't work that way. This is where the focus-on-idea thing comes from. The point isn't to not think anything but to direct and control your mind for a certain period of time. You can focus on number of things: >just being and sitting there, observing your thoughts as they come and go but not boarding the train so to speak, not following them and letting them pass >breathing >love&light stuff >god >anything really. maybe you have some idea about the person you want to become; you can focus on that. there are many types of meditation and I'm not nearly as knowledgeable on any of them so do your own research. This is just the gist of it. What they all have in common is focusing on one thing and being present. Sounds simple, isn't simple. And by that definition even mundane chores like cleaning, washing the dishes and so on can become meditative practices if you do them deliberately and if you are "all in" in the moment.