How to meditate properly?

[Gem]

Originally Posted by hesitant_man

I'll take it a look, I meanthat I commit this hindrance.




I understand, the mind associates this with sleeping. Also I've read that the ego when doesn't have anything to do, then it tries to sleep.




I understand, yeah, the issue with guided meditation is that I just follow what the speaker tells to me, so I am not focused on my breath at all, and I don't have my mind totally empty, due to what the speaker is saying.

So, in the end, now I am doing meditation on my own, instead of doing meditated guides.

Thank you

When I studied meditation in a formal Buddhist context we started with the breath awareness and nothing else. In the formal sense this was practiced 11 hours a day. We woke at 4am for a two hour session, then from 8 til 11, then from 1 to 5, then from 5:30 til 7:30, before a dhamma discourse about the teachings. The breath meditation was practiced for at least 4 days totaling something like 45 hours of that practice. After that practice brought calm focus and sensitivity of mind needed for the more subtle aspects of full body awareness, we'd proceed. Body awareness has a few stages as well... but I can;t really go into all that... I only mean to say that the guided meditation which JB posted covers in 40 minutes what took me some months to accomplish, which why I consider it to be ...um... impractical. I find guided meditations are often like this. I can only speak from my own life experience, you see, and it's not like what I say is knowledge or true, or even advice. It's just conversation which you discern as seemingly sensible or not. It only means that you have be the one in the drivers seat ultimately free of influence. I merely suggest the simplest possible meditation is practiced to a small degree of mastery before moving forward to 'next steps'. But this is just what I say as it is my view. It's not knowledge in the form of me knowing it is true.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by hesitant_man

Ok, after one week I have to say that 90% of the times I've felt like sleeping. I use guided meditations, so from time to time the guides wake me up while they say instructions.

Is that normal to fall sleep? Do you know any kind of trick to avoid that?

I always make sure I meditate on either an empty stomach or at least two hours after a meal. I don't know if that's the trick.. (I never fall asleep during meditation) but I can imagine it may be of influence. I looked through the answers here but haven't seen anything on yoga yet. I can recommend joining a yoga class (combined with meditation). You will learn so many things there.. things you can all incorporate in your daily practice. If not for anything else.. you'll get more agile.

Personally.. I always accept the first few minutes of meditation as being an active phase.. The mind can't be calm immediately, so I tend to focus on breathing, affirmation, and visualizations for a while before I drop my focus on all of that..

[Compendium]

I have come to realize that spirituality means a lot of different things to a lot of different people the only thing I have really defined for myself is a belief in a higher power the rest of it I just go with the flow.

Mediation can be done in several different ways as you have outlined and I am going to share with you what I do. First of all I am a firm believer of cosmic balance, so it stands to reason if there are angels then there are also demons. I say this so you understand my full reasoning for what I do.
First I focus on my breathing and as I am doing this I relax. Once I am relaxed and it has been a few minutes I imagine a white light going from my feet into the earth and a light coming from source into my crown chakra as I breath in I bring the one up from the earth in a clockwise spiral and when I breath out I bring the one down from source they meet in my solar plexus where I meld the two together. I spread the energy through my body and into my hands. I use this energy to cleanse and balance my chakras and then I surround myself in white light for protection and float. I dont reject thought at this point I just let them float through. Once It has floated through I gently nudge it away. Even though my eyes are closed I am looking at the back of my eyelids. Sometimes images appear and flash away it all depends. I love meditating floating in the space of nothingness. Those thoughts you keep rejecting are your higher self trying to communicate with you so dont reject them let them come just dont grab on to it either. I started a meditation journal this is where the floaty thoughts go and get pondered on. I also put any images I get into my journal. The most difficult thing is to be totally open and free while meditating especially if you have unresolved issues. I personally meditate with crystals. My go to set has been placed into a necklace/pendulum I made. It consists of copper, amethyst (my go to crystal), angelite, lapis lazul, labrodorite, and quartz. If you have any questions feel free to ask away. Remember what works for me may not work for someone else. I put this meditation together with the help of my higher self/spirit guide whatever name you have for it. I am discovering I am an energy worker I think this is why I was guided to meditate in this fashion. I also meditate lying down at the moment. I did use the full lotus position, but found when I meditated for long periods my hips hurt and became a distraction. Also when you get into a deep floaty meditation dont be frightened if your body seems to disappear and your breath becomes some what shallow this is all normal.

Namaste`

[LadyMay]

When I mediate it's to activate my parasympathetic nervous system and bring me peace from anxiety (well, that's the idea anyway, but since I am traumatised I have to choose my moments wisely). The way I was recently taught to do it was to first focus on your body, then turn your focus in towards your breath. I find it grounding and strengthening mentally. I only even do like two minutes each night.