What am i doing wrong?

[dutchiexx]

Originally Posted by Sitrit

Hi!
I have tried to meditate for a few monts now. I close my eyes and focus on my breth. Then i can sometimes feel that I'm getting into a meditate state. The problem is that i do not get into trance or get any visions as i read that people do. Am I doing something wrong?

there are many different opinions of what meditation "is"
there are many different types of meditations.
there are 2 main types of meditation.

#1: quieting the mind and just simply "be" in the current moment.this is actually the most common type of meditation in this modern age.focusing on your breathing is a simply a easier way of "being" in the current moment.
when you shift your awareness to the current moment, your mind becomes quiet, you will see that its impossible to live in the current if you keep thinking about the things in the past that you experience and/or your future experiences, so in order to live in the "now" you must first let go of the past and future. once you do this, your mind will be totally silent, the stillness of your mind will not be a subtle event, it will smack you in the face at full force, meaning, when it happens, you will know, it will be impossible to miss the moment when your mind settles down. once you enter this state, you will naturally become aware of all the possible things you can do while in this state, its as if you fully retreat inside your own mind and you gain the ability to play in it as if it were a sandbox.at this point, you forget that your meditating, you become so absorbed in your mind, that you totally forget every thing about this world and your physical life, nothing seems to matter anymore, all your problems and stress will vanish once you shift your mind away from the physical and more into the non physical aspects of existance.
its literally like the only thing that matters to you is the current task that your doing.while in this quiet state, when ever you visualize something, you will see it super clear and detailed without much effort, once you see it, it will stay there and you will be free to examine your visual up close, you can even feel if you want.when your mind goes quiet, you become aware of many things that you take for granted, you longer feel the need to judge or label anything, you no longer have any needs or desires, its like you become perfectly happy, you feel as if you already have everything you need, so just sit back, relax and observe your mind and thoughts.your thoughts are a product of your brain, the illusion of self commonly makes us think that our thoughts are who we are, how ever, this is not the case, "you" are the awareness/ consciousness thats a step behind your thoughts, so once you begin to observe your thoughts as they come and go without judging them, then you begin to shift your consciousness more toward the real "you" instead of the thoughts that your brain produces.

if you wish to quiet your mind, try this.

count in your mind up to 5.
1...2...3...4...5
now notice the space in between each number as you count.
have you noticed that the moments between the numbers are completely silent and that you do not have any thoughts popping into your mind?
that moment of silence between the numbers is the desired state of mind you want to be in.
find that space between thoughts and just stay in it.
while trying to stay in the silent state of mind, your brain will throw random thoughts at you, just let them come and go, just observe them, seperate yourself from them, a god example of doing this would be this..

for instance, lets say that that your trying to quiet your mind and then out of no where a sentence begins to form in your mind..

" how long will this take for my mind to go quiet?"

the ideal way to handle a situation is to cut off the thought before it finishes.
this is why observing your thoughts are important because if your not aware of your thoughts then you will easily get side tracked and loose focus on your goal.
so for a example, you would do this when the sentence forms..

" how long will this/...."

(the " /...." represents you cutting off the thought and shifting your awareness back into the current moment)

once you master this, your mind will become quiet very easily.

#2: this is pretty strait forward, the second main type of meditation is focusing your mind on to one thing, doesnt matter what, as long as you stay focused on it, eventually, your mind becomes silent due to the lack of random thoughts because your mind would be so focused on that one thing that you simply dont give your brain a chance to think about anything else.

[anthony c]

Originally Posted by dutchiexx

" how long will this take for my mind to go quiet?"

the ideal way to handle a situation is to cut off the thought before it finishes.

This is the only thing i don't agree with dutchie. I also done that and when i use to talk to people i would stop in the middle of the sentence and not finished what i wanted to say and then only notice it when people was still looking at me. It happened a few times.

You have to observe the thought and allow it to finish and just Allow the thought without getting attached to it. Also do not get upset at yourself or about the thought. You have to detach yourself away from the thoughts and just let them come and go like dutchie said but i would not stop/cut the thought off in the middle of a sentence. I will become easier with practice.

this is why observing your thoughts are important because if your not aware of your thoughts then you will easily get side tracked and loose focus on your goal.
so for a example, you would do this when the sentence forms..

" how long will this/...."

(the " /...." represents you cutting off the thought and shifting your awareness back into the current moment)

once you master this, your mind will become quiet very easily.

#2: this is pretty strait forward, the second main type of meditation is focusing your mind on to one thing, doesnt matter what, as long as you stay focused on it, eventually, your mind becomes silent due to the lack of random thoughts because your mind would be so focused on that one thing that you simply dont give your brain a chance to think about anything else. .

[dutchiexx]

Originally Posted by anthony c

This is the only thing i don't agree with dutchie. I also done that and when i use to talk to people i would stop in the middle of the sentence and not finished what i wanted to say and then only notice it when people was still looking at me. It happened a few times.

You have to observe the thought and allow it to finish and just Allow the thought without getting attached to it. Also do not get upset at yourself or about the thought. You have to detach yourself away from the thoughts and just let them come and go like dutchie said but i would not stop/cut the thought off in the middle of a sentence. I will become easier with practice.

i see, this may be true for you, but for me, it seems like when i catch my brain throwing a random thought at me the best thing for me to do is just discard it the moment i notice it, its like i see the thought as irrelevant and toss it away, when i do this for a few minuets, its like my mind just gives up creating thoughts because it knows that i will simply dismiss them, this is when i enter a highly relaxed state, it feels like i begin to tap into the full potiential of my mind and self, i adopt a higher perspective of being, i begin to see anything involved in this physical world as petty, simply doesnt matter to me anymore, i instead begin to direct my mind more towards the non physical.
this may not be the case for everyone, but from my own experiences this is the assumptions that i gain from them.

[anthony c]

Originally Posted by dutchiexx

i see, this may be true for you, but for me, it seems like when i catch my brain throwing a random thought at me the best thing for me to do is just discard it the moment i notice it, its like i see the thought as irrelevant and toss it away, when i do this for a few minuets, its like my mind just gives up creating thoughts because it knows that i will simply dismiss them, this is when i enter a highly relaxed state, it feels like i begin to tap into the full potiential of my mind and self, i adopt a higher perspective of being, i begin to see anything involved in this physical world as petty, simply doesnt matter to me anymore, i instead begin to direct my mind more towards the non physical.
this may not be the case for everyone, but from my own experiences this is the assumptions that i gain from them.

Sure i can see that and it worked for me two but i had a bad experience with that and if you don't have bad experiences, i guess there is nothing wrong with that.

If someone can just observe thoughts and just allow it to be and know that the thought will pass, then you will be at peace with thoughts.

I don't think someone can really go all day with no thoughts so to me it's better to be at aware of them and be at peace with them but just my opinion.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by anthony c

Sure i can see that and it worked for me two but i had a bad experience with that and if you don't have bad experiences, i guess there is nothing wrong with that.

If someone can just observe thoughts and just allow it to be and know that the thought will pass, then you will be at peace with thoughts.

I don't think someone can really go all day with no thoughts so to me it's better to be at aware of them and be at peace with them but just my opinion.

As the overall game plan is the peace of mind, it will include pleasing and unpleasant experiences because that's life. There is a deeper element of unconditional peace where one is still stable regardless of the type of thought or sensation being experienced. This already exists deeper in, but can also be cultivated with practice. It is a deeper thing because in order to process past trauma and other sorts of blocks one has to be at peace in themselves while the emotional storm rises all around them or moves through them. This comes into to daily life as one keeps an even keel even if everything in life is going wrong. It also becomes very important to later on when subtle body goes into high motion. In short, without stopping thoughts and without allowing thoughts, one can simply be aware of these thoughts as they come and go. It's more about getting to the truth of things than trying to make things the way you want them. The problem is deeper though because the anxiety emotion arises like some sort of panic, and it's terribly disruptive - the vibe of it generates all sorts of strange thoughts and it becomes very unsettled. My view is not to make anxious thoughts and emotions go away, on the contrary, making them go away is giving them way to much importance. One can be conscious of their own personal psychological reactivity, and becoming conscious is the name of the game.

This doesn't mean one is going to have a experience and be like 'oh my meditation was so peaceful'. In my experience as a novice, meditation was often painful and emotionally trying, very difficult sometimes, but you can't realistically expect the process of purification or healing to be 'pleasing'. It is bound to be difficult at times, as one has to come to terms with their past traumas. their lived experience, and themselves as a whole. It's better to see the work as 'rewarding', and one can sit daily with their body and mind - just as it is - and learn. Get to know. Become conscious of what's actually going on with oneself. Get to the bottom of things, as it were. Understand.

[Seekerofsolace]

This thread was very informative and helpful. Thank you!