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Ah, synchronicity...This thread...Many thanks to DmnStr8 for it.

A few days ago, I saw this thread and said to myself, "when I have some time, I am going to contribute to that thread. I know it's got to be good because DmnStr8 started it...

Much respect.

I will begin with a small amount and attempt to contribute more, as I am able, over time.

Regarding the "eyes open or shut" questions & answers I give this interesting tidbit:

I "discovered"/"taught myself" meditation when I was about 8 years old in church surrounded by a family & community who were a truly loving, giving family & community. To add a little bit more context, my great-grandfather and my grandfather both helped build (both literally & figuratively) the small, country church that I grew up participating in every Sunday morning until I was 18 years old. It was originally a Quaker church, and there were still a large handful of traditional Quaker couples, albeit senior citizen-age, that still regularly attended Sunday services there when I was a little kid in the 60's & 70's.

Quakers practice meditation. Silent meditation. In church, the pastor would say at some point in the service, "and now we will observe a time of meditation" (this was distinct from the prayers, hymns and sermon that were all part of the old-school Quaker church). The entire congregation, which back then numbered at least 50 people if not more, would sit on the pews silently with their eyes closed for like 10, 15, sometimes 20 minutes at a time.

It was during this meditation period every Sunday that I learned to meditate with my eyes open. While everyone's eyes were closed, I would fixate my gaze and attention on a random thing in the main church room where we sat. It could be the carpet, it could be one of the stained glass windows, it could be the pastor's pulpit, or the hymnal in the book racks directly in front of me. Eventually, I found that I could "lose myself" doing this and that it felt good (in a sense; in another sense it felt rather weird).

So, every Sunday I would hone this ability more & more. It became a game or a challenge to see how quickly I could get myself into the peaceful, trance-like state. My ability to concentrate grew as I did this, week after week, month after month, year after year.

Years later, in my late teens, I was introduced to the concept of differing meditation techniques originating from Asia. Of course, I was intrigued and, other than all the body pain that I endured through in the first several years, I seemed to take to it like a fish takes to water. It came easily and naturally. However, all that was presented to me at the time regarding these new-to-me meditations were all eyes-closed, which I found to be a little more challenging than the eyes-open technique that I had grown up practicing.
So that is my contribution for today.

May Peace be with us all

<blockquote data-quote="Doc Buxin" data-source="post: 3793909" data-attributes="member: 29726">Ah, synchronicity...This thread...Many thanks to DmnStr8 for it.A few days ago, I saw this thread and said to myself, &quot;when I have some time, I am going to contribute to that thread. I know it&#039;s got to be good because DmnStr8 started it...Much respect.I will begin with a small amount and attempt to contribute more, as I am able, over time.Regarding the &quot;eyes open or shut&quot; questions &amp; answers I give this interesting tidbit:I &quot;discovered&quot;/&quot;taught myself&quot; meditation when I was about 8 years old in church surrounded by a family &amp; community who were a truly loving, giving family &amp; community. To add a little bit more context, my great-grandfather and my grandfather both helped build (both literally &amp; figuratively) the small, country church that I grew up participating in every Sunday morning until I was 18 years old. It was originally a Quaker church, and there were still a large handful of traditional Quaker couples, albeit senior citizen-age, that still regularly attended Sunday services there when I was a little kid in the 60&#039;s &amp; 70&#039;s.Quakers practice meditation. Silent meditation. In church, the pastor would say at some point in the service, &quot;and now we will observe a time of meditation&quot; (this was distinct from the prayers, hymns and sermon that were all part of the old-school Quaker church). The entire congregation, which back then numbered at least 50 people if not more, would sit on the pews silently with their eyes closed for like 10, 15, sometimes 20 minutes at a time.It was during this meditation period every Sunday that I learned to meditate with my eyes open. While everyone&#039;s eyes were closed, I would fixate my gaze and attention on a random thing in the main church room where we sat. It could be the carpet, it could be one of the stained glass windows, it could be the pastor&#039;s pulpit, or the hymnal in the book racks directly in front of me. Eventually, I found that I could &quot;lose myself&quot; doing this and that it felt good (in a sense; in another sense it felt rather weird). So, every Sunday I would hone this ability more &amp; more. It became a game or a challenge to see how quickly I could get myself into the peaceful, trance-like state. My ability to concentrate grew as I did this, week after week, month after month, year after year.Years later, in my late teens, I was introduced to the concept of differing meditation techniques originating from Asia. Of course, I was intrigued and, other than all the body pain that I endured through in the first several years, I seemed to take to it like a fish takes to water. It came easily and naturally. However, all that was presented to me at the time regarding these new-to-me meditations were all eyes-closed, which I found to be a little more challenging than the eyes-open technique that I had grown up practicing. So that is my contribution for today.May Peace be with us all</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Doc Buxin, post: 3793909, member: 29726"] Ah, synchronicity...This thread...Many thanks to DmnStr8 for it. A few days ago, I saw this thread and said to myself, "when I have some time, I am going to contribute to that thread. I know it's got to be good because DmnStr8 started it... Much respect. I will begin with a small amount and attempt to contribute more, as I am able, over time. Regarding the "eyes open or shut" questions & answers I give this interesting tidbit: I "discovered"/"taught myself" meditation when I was about 8 years old in church surrounded by a family & community who were a truly loving, giving family & community. To add a little bit more context, my great-grandfather and my grandfather both helped build (both literally & figuratively) the small, country church that I grew up participating in every Sunday morning until I was 18 years old. It was originally a Quaker church, and there were still a large handful of traditional Quaker couples, albeit senior citizen-age, that still regularly attended Sunday services there when I was a little kid in the 60's & 70's. Quakers practice meditation. Silent meditation. In church, the pastor would say at some point in the service, "and now we will observe a time of meditation" (this was distinct from the prayers, hymns and sermon that were all part of the old-school Quaker church). The entire congregation, which back then numbered at least 50 people if not more, would sit on the pews silently with their eyes closed for like 10, 15, sometimes 20 minutes at a time. It was during this meditation period every Sunday that I learned to meditate with my eyes open. While everyone's eyes were closed, I would fixate my gaze and attention on a random thing in the main church room where we sat. It could be the carpet, it could be one of the stained glass windows, it could be the pastor's pulpit, or the hymnal in the book racks directly in front of me. Eventually, I found that I could "lose myself" doing this and that it felt good (in a sense; in another sense it felt rather weird). So, every Sunday I would hone this ability more & more. It became a game or a challenge to see how quickly I could get myself into the peaceful, trance-like state. My ability to concentrate grew as I did this, week after week, month after month, year after year. Years later, in my late teens, I was introduced to the concept of differing meditation techniques originating from Asia. Of course, I was intrigued and, other than all the body pain that I endured through in the first several years, I seemed to take to it like a fish takes to water. It came easily and naturally. However, all that was presented to me at the time regarding these new-to-me meditations were all eyes-closed, which I found to be a little more challenging than the eyes-open technique that I had grown up practicing. So that is my contribution for today. May Peace be with us all [/QUOTE]