Where do I begin?

[Spiritlite]

I started by doing this.
I spent a minute a day for a few days just closing my eyes and focusing on my breath.
Then after I was comfortable I upped it by a minute or more depending on how comfortable I was.
Until I hit thirty minutes.
I focus on my breathing to take my mind off things, if I thought of something I enveloped it in a bubble and let it float away.
Also maybe a good meditation CD is good for you to start with.
Don't go into it with nerves or expectations.
Spiritlite.
PS Yoga is wonderful for meditation.

Originally Posted by Lucy Chessor

I would like to feel more intune with myself and try to de stress myself with meditating. I have never done anything like this before and am nervous, apprehensive. I would appreciate any words of advice on how to get started and what can I expect to happen, how will I know if I am doing it right?
I'm sorry if I am asking the obvious....

Xxx

My best suggestion to you is.. go and practice these tools..

They will make your life stress free.. (with practice)

http://www.masteringalchemy.com/eenergytools.html

Meditation can fix but it's not very effective.. I have found studying with my teacher and using his tools.. allows you to create the meditative state while walking around

What's the point of meditation if you spend 20 minutes.. do it and then go back to fighting with your husband, arguing with a customer.. whatever is causing the stress.. sometimes it fix's and sometimes not.. I say, fixing the reason your fighting/arguing allowing stress is the greater fix..

[athribiristan]

Originally Posted by themaster

Meditation can fix but it's not very effective.. I have found studying with my teacher and using his tools.. allows you to create the meditative state while walking around

This IS the ultimate goal (or at least one) of meditation but this is nothing you should be worrying about in your initial meditative experiences. Meditation is a broad term for breathing and/or visualization techniques which enable or aid you in acheiving altered states of consciousness or awareness. There are dozens (at least) of formal techniques and hundreds of individual formats, most of which work to some degree or another.

I recommend starting with something simple, like some breathing excercises. Focus on your breath and being fully present in the moment. Some pointers for people who are new to meditating:

First of all make sure you are comfortable, hydrated, and have used the bathroom. Nothing like the call of nature to unfocus the mind.

Make sure you are grounded. This is not necessary but it does offer helpful benefits. Grounding creates a connection between you (specifically your first chakra) and the center of the Earth. It can take any form you are comfortable with, any image that cements the idea of the connection in your mind. This connection gives you a way to bleed off excess energy or emotions that might come up during your meditations. Any time you ecounter something that you don't want to deal with you can push it down your grounding cord to be absorbed harmlessly by the Earth.

A common issue when first getting started is difficulty clearing your mind. There are many useful ways to deal with this. The simplest is don't try. Whenever a thought enters your mind, don't fight it. Examine it, think about it, ask questions about it. Who's thought is this? Where did it come from? If its mine, what is the source of it?

Lastly, I would say this: you are just taking the first steps in a long journey. Be patient and work to establish a firm foundation (meaning a basic meditation practice) that you can use as a jumping off point for more advanced techniques. This can take months or years depending on how dedicated you are. Eventually your goal should be to spend most if not all of your time in this state, then you can start in on some more advanced stuff.


With Love
athribiristan

I was going to ask the same question.