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@ RS

Yeah man, I can relate to trying to explain this deep stuff to people who are just getting into it. Where to begin? What is important?

In the beginning, it is just hard enough to force oneself to sit down and do nothing for any length of time. There is always this inner voice which whines and moans trying to convince you that you are wasting your time, or that there are a million better things you can be doing.

The fact is, that you are not wasting your time, and there is nothing better you can be doing. Unless there is an immediate emergency going on, you can surely spare 15 or 20 minutes to calming your mind.

Once the mind begins to actually calm down, and the surface layer of stormy waters chills out, you can begin to glimpse the unfathomed depths that lie below -- A vast ocean of consciousness that can only be accessed once you shift your attention away from the antics of the ego monkey mind. By the time you can immerse yourself in this, you will grasp the value of this sitting practice, and it will become easier and easier to do... until you get to the point where you can't imagine going through your day without a little of this bliss. People can always find 20 minutes for brushing their teeth and taking a shower... but somehow the mind with which you experience everything in life is not worth an occasional house cleaning?

Hehehe.

Well, as far as techniques go, I am of the opinion that for beginners it matters very little what they do. They will likely fail at any technique they try, so the key is just to amass some discipline and wrestle with your mind often enough that it begins to give some ground. Once this space is cleared a bit... then you can start using the techniques to your advantage.

I would recommend something simple to start with. Mantras (as you have said) are as good a place as any. Better than most really, as they don't take anything other than repetition to work their magic. Other candidates for beginners are the classic "counting your breaths" & "candle staring" methods (moon staring is an interesting variant). All of these techniques are rather easy, and simply teach you to forgo the million thoughts racing around your dome for one simple thought. A beginner's mind will wander. But, if they gently bring their errant mind back to the task, they will begin to notice that the periods between wandering will grow.

Counting breaths is good to measure progress, as it is very easy to recognize milestones... like the first time you could do 100 breaths. It is also easy to force yourself to stay on task when you realize that you only need another 15 breaths to break your old record. For mantras, many people use a mala (rosary beads). This allows you to have a physical component to your meditation as you move a bead over every time you finish a mantra. A full circuit is easy to notice because you get back around to the big bead (often with tassles or whatnot). Then, you can count circuits without trying to count each and every repetition.

For busy minds, I find that some modern tools are quite effective at getting one over the initial hurdles. Binaural beats, isochronic tones, meditative sounds, and various other brainwave entrainment stuff can work wonders. Add in a pair of light glasses to flicker the brainwaves against your closed eyes and you will find that slipping out of Beta brainwaves and down into Alpha & Theta can be much easier. (Plus you can get some awesome visuals to occupy your frontal lobe) Personally, I find that I can get farther in 5 minutes of a light & sound session than I can with 20 minutes of pure quiet sitting... and I am already very adept at this.

The way I learned it, meditation is not this stuff we do to get into the quiet mindstate, but the state we achieve once we are there. These techniques are merely tools to help you achieve meditation. Meditation is thus the state achieved rather than the activity which got you there. Thus, for many beginners, it might take many tries before they even taste the outskirts of actual meditation. Even fairly adept practitioners might only measure their meditations in handfuls of seconds.

It tends to work like this. At some point in your practice, your busy mind will just get tired for a millisecond. It will simply take a breath during which you get a burst of expansion. It will quickly rebel against this and go back to bugging you, but you have seen its weakness, and after tasting the bliss, you will be better able to pursue it. Thus, you begin to have these moments more and more often. When you start to get good, you can reach them quicker and make them last longer. Eventually, the bliss becomes the basic state which is interrupted by moments of busy mind. As you progress the ratio of bliss to busy mind gets better and better... and then one day, you can just sit there and be completely untroubled by your mind for an entire session.

Well before this happens, though, you might begin to profit from some more involved and advanced techniques. It is also wise to combine your meditation practice with some other forms of external and internal energy work. Chi Kung or Yoga are obvious choices. But even just going out and wearing your body down with some good old fashioned exercise will work wonders. Go skiing or snowboarding, swim until you are tired, hike, jog, bike or whatever... then when you are nice and weary... try meditating. It will make a big difference.

Some people take it to another higher level entirely by trying to wear down the left brain before going for meditation. The right brain doesn't tire out as quickly (or even ever quite completely) as the left. Thus, if you do some sleep deprivation or fasting, you can push your left brain into passing out while your right takes over. This phenomenon is discussed in much spiritual literature and even the modern neuroscience meets spirituality tome A Stroke Of Insight (Jill Bolte Taylor) does a good job of explaining it.

This can be rather extreme, and I certainly don't recommend this for beginners. Hardcore monks are often not truly prepared for what can occur. There are sects of mystics who grow out their hair (or a ponytail at least) to tie this to a hook or eyelet on the wall behind them when they really go for it... this way, when they inevitably fall asleep while meditating, their hair being pulled jerks them back awake. In this way, you can enter a very bizarre wake/sleep state that is a lot like a heavy harmala dose or a powerful disso experience.

At any rate, while there are quite a few things I could say about this further, this post is already getting quite long. Perhaps as the thread progresses, I will add more and divulge some of the intermediate and advanced methods that come later... as interest arises.

Be well brother.
HF

<blockquote data-quote="Hyperspace Fool" data-source="post: 3507802" data-attributes="member: 10791">@ RSYeah man, I can relate to trying to explain this deep stuff to people who are just getting into it.&nbsp; Where to begin?&nbsp; What is important?In the beginning, it is just hard enough to force oneself to sit down and do nothing for any length of time.&nbsp; There is always this inner voice which whines and moans trying to convince you that you are wasting your time, or that there are a million better things you can be doing.The fact is, that you are not wasting your time, and there is nothing better you can be doing.&nbsp; Unless there is an immediate emergency going on, you can surely spare 15 or 20 minutes to calming your mind.Once the mind begins to actually calm down, and the surface layer of stormy waters chills out, you can begin to glimpse the unfathomed depths that lie below --&nbsp; A vast ocean of consciousness that can only be accessed once you shift your attention away from the antics of the ego monkey mind.&nbsp; By the time you can immerse yourself in this, you will grasp the value of this sitting practice, and it will become easier and easier to do... until you get to the point where you can&#039;t imagine going through your day without a little of this bliss.&nbsp; People can always find 20 minutes for brushing their teeth and taking a shower... but somehow the mind with which you experience everything in life is not worth an occasional house cleaning?Hehehe.Well, as far as techniques go, I am of the opinion that for beginners it matters very little what they do.&nbsp; They will likely fail at any technique they try, so the key is just to amass some discipline and wrestle with your mind often enough that it begins to give some ground.&nbsp; Once this space is cleared a bit... then you can start using the techniques to your advantage.I would recommend something simple to start with.&nbsp; Mantras (as you have said) are as good a place as any.&nbsp; Better than most really, as they don&#039;t take anything other than repetition to work their magic.&nbsp; Other candidates for beginners are the classic &quot;counting your breaths&quot; &amp; &quot;candle staring&quot; methods (moon staring is an interesting variant).&nbsp; All of these techniques are rather easy, and simply teach you to forgo the million thoughts racing around your dome for one simple thought.&nbsp; A beginner&#039;s mind will wander.&nbsp; But, if they gently bring their errant mind back to the task, they will begin to notice that the periods between wandering will grow.Counting breaths is good to measure progress, as it is very easy to recognize milestones... like the first time you could do 100 breaths.&nbsp; It is also easy to force yourself to stay on task when you realize that you only need another 15 breaths to break your old record.&nbsp; For mantras, many people use a mala (rosary beads).&nbsp; This allows you to have a physical component to your meditation as you move a bead over every time you finish a mantra.&nbsp; A full circuit is easy to notice because you get back around to the big bead (often with tassles or whatnot).&nbsp; Then, you can count circuits without trying to count each and every repetition.For busy minds, I find that some modern tools are quite effective at getting one over the initial hurdles.&nbsp; Binaural beats, isochronic tones, meditative sounds, and various other brainwave entrainment stuff can work wonders.&nbsp; Add in a pair of light glasses to flicker the brainwaves against your closed eyes and you will find that slipping out of Beta brainwaves and down into Alpha &amp; Theta can be much easier.&nbsp; (Plus you can get some awesome visuals to occupy your frontal lobe)&nbsp; Personally, I find that I can get farther in 5 minutes of a light &amp; sound session than I can with 20 minutes of pure quiet sitting... and I am already very adept at this.The way I learned it, meditation is not this stuff we do to get into the quiet mindstate, but the state we achieve once we are there.&nbsp; These techniques are merely tools to help you achieve meditation.&nbsp; Meditation is thus the state achieved rather than the activity which got you there.&nbsp; Thus, for many beginners, it might take many tries before they even taste the outskirts of actual meditation.&nbsp; Even fairly adept practitioners might only measure their meditations in handfuls of seconds.It tends to work like this.&nbsp; At some point in your practice, your busy mind will just get tired for a millisecond. It will simply take a breath during which you get a burst of expansion.&nbsp; It will quickly rebel against this and go back to bugging you, but you have seen its weakness, and after tasting the bliss, you will be better able to pursue it.&nbsp; Thus, you begin to have these moments more and more often.&nbsp; When you start to get good, you can reach them quicker and make them last longer.&nbsp; Eventually, the bliss becomes the basic state which is interrupted by moments of busy mind.&nbsp; As you progress the ratio of bliss to busy mind gets better and better... and then one day, you can just sit there and be completely untroubled by your mind for an entire session.&nbsp; Well before this happens, though, you might begin to profit from some more involved and advanced techniques.&nbsp; It is also wise to combine your meditation practice with some other forms of external and internal energy work.&nbsp; Chi Kung or Yoga are obvious choices.&nbsp; But even just going out and wearing your body down with some good old fashioned exercise will work wonders.&nbsp; Go skiing or snowboarding, swim until you are tired, hike, jog, bike or whatever... then when you are nice and weary... try meditating.&nbsp; It will make a big difference.&nbsp; Some people take it to another higher level entirely by trying to wear down the left brain before going for meditation.&nbsp; The right brain doesn&#039;t tire out as quickly (or even ever quite completely) as the left.&nbsp; Thus, if you do some sleep deprivation or fasting, you can push your left brain into passing out while your right takes over.&nbsp; This phenomenon is discussed in much spiritual literature and even the modern neuroscience meets spirituality tome A Stroke Of Insight (Jill Bolte Taylor) does a good job of explaining it.&nbsp; This can be rather extreme, and I certainly don&#039;t recommend this for beginners.&nbsp; Hardcore monks are often not truly prepared for what can occur.&nbsp; There are sects of mystics who grow out their hair (or a ponytail at least) to tie this to a hook or eyelet on the wall behind them when they really go for it... this way, when they inevitably fall asleep while meditating, their hair being pulled jerks them back awake.&nbsp; In this way, you can enter a very bizarre wake/sleep state that is a lot like a heavy harmala dose or a powerful disso experience.At any rate, while there are quite a few things I could say about this further, this post is already getting quite long.&nbsp; Perhaps as the thread progresses, I will add more and divulge some of the intermediate and advanced methods that come later... as interest arises.Be well brother.HF</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hyperspace Fool, post: 3507802, member: 10791"] @ RS Yeah man, I can relate to trying to explain this deep stuff to people who are just getting into it. Where to begin? What is important? In the beginning, it is just hard enough to force oneself to sit down and do nothing for any length of time. There is always this inner voice which [i]whines and moans[/i] trying to convince you that you are wasting your time, or that there are a million better things you can be doing. The fact is, that you are [i]not[/i] wasting your time, and there is nothing better you can be doing. Unless there is an immediate emergency going on, you can [i]surely[/i] spare 15 or 20 minutes to calming your mind. Once the mind begins to actually calm down, and the surface layer of stormy waters chills out, you can begin to glimpse the unfathomed depths that lie below -- A vast ocean of consciousness that can only be accessed once you shift your attention away from the antics of the ego monkey mind. By the time you can immerse yourself in this, you will grasp the value of this sitting practice, and it will become easier and easier to do... until you get to the point where you can't imagine going through your day without a little of this bliss. People can always find 20 minutes for brushing their teeth and taking a shower... but somehow the mind with which you experience everything in life is not worth an occasional house cleaning? Hehehe. Well, as far as techniques go, I am of the opinion that for beginners it matters very little what they do. They will likely fail at any technique they try, so the key is just to amass some discipline and wrestle with your mind often enough that it begins to give some ground. Once this space is cleared a bit... then you can start using the techniques to your advantage. I would recommend something [i]simple[/i] to start with. Mantras (as you have said) are as good a place as any. Better than most really, as they don't take anything other than repetition to work their magic. Other candidates for beginners are the classic "[i]counting your breaths[/i]" & "[i]candle staring[/i]" methods (moon staring is an interesting variant). All of these techniques are rather easy, and simply teach you to forgo the million thoughts racing around your dome for one simple thought. A beginner's mind [i]will[/i] wander. But, if they gently bring their errant mind back to the task, they will begin to notice that the periods between wandering will grow. Counting breaths is good to measure progress, as it is very easy to recognize milestones... like the first time you could do 100 breaths. It is also easy to force yourself to stay on task when you realize that you only need another 15 breaths to break your old record. For mantras, many people use a mala (rosary beads). This allows you to have a physical component to your meditation as you move a bead over every time you finish a mantra. A full circuit is easy to notice because you get back around to the big bead (often with tassles or whatnot). Then, you can count circuits without trying to count each and every repetition. For busy minds, I find that some modern tools are quite effective at getting one over the initial hurdles. Binaural beats, isochronic tones, meditative sounds, and various other brainwave entrainment stuff can work wonders. Add in a pair of light glasses to flicker the brainwaves against your closed eyes and you will find that slipping out of Beta brainwaves and down into Alpha & Theta can be much easier. (Plus you can get some awesome visuals to occupy your frontal lobe) Personally, I find that I can get farther in 5 minutes of a[i] light & sound[/i] session than I can with 20 minutes of pure quiet sitting... and I am already very adept at this. The way I learned it, meditation is not this stuff we do to get [i]into[/i] the quiet mindstate, but the [i]state[/i] we achieve once we are there. These techniques are merely tools to help you achieve meditation. Meditation is thus the state achieved rather than the activity which got you there. Thus, for many beginners, it might take many tries before they even taste the outskirts of actual meditation. Even fairly adept practitioners might only measure their meditations in handfuls of seconds. It tends to work like this. At some point in your practice, your busy mind will just get tired for a millisecond. It will simply take a breath during which you get a burst of expansion. It will quickly rebel against this and go back to bugging you, but you have seen its weakness, and after tasting the bliss, you will be better able to pursue it. Thus, you begin to have these moments more and more often. When you start to get good, you can reach them quicker and make them last longer. Eventually, the bliss becomes the basic state which is interrupted by moments of busy mind. As you progress the ratio of bliss to busy mind gets better and better... and then one day, you can just sit there and be completely untroubled by your mind for an entire session. Well before this happens, though, you might begin to profit from some more involved and advanced techniques. It is also wise to combine your meditation practice with some other forms of external and internal energy work. Chi Kung or Yoga are obvious choices. But even just going out and wearing your body down with some good old fashioned exercise will work wonders. Go skiing or snowboarding, swim until you are tired, hike, jog, bike or whatever... then when you are nice and weary... try meditating. It will make a big difference. Some people take it to another higher level entirely by trying to wear down the left brain before going for meditation. The right brain doesn't tire out as quickly (or even ever quite completely) as the left. Thus, if you do some sleep deprivation or fasting, you can push your left brain into passing out while your right takes over. This phenomenon is discussed in much spiritual literature and even the modern neuroscience meets spirituality tome [i]A Stroke Of Insigh[/i]t (Jill Bolte Taylor) does a good job of explaining it. This can be rather extreme, and I certainly don't recommend this for beginners. Hardcore monks are often not truly prepared for what can occur. There are sects of mystics who grow out their hair (or a ponytail at least) to tie this to a hook or eyelet on the wall behind them when they really go for it... this way, when they inevitably fall asleep while meditating, their hair being pulled jerks them back awake. In this way, you can enter a very bizarre wake/sleep state that is a lot like a heavy harmala dose or a powerful disso experience. At [i]any[/i] rate, while there are quite a few things I could say about this further, this post is already getting quite long. Perhaps as the thread progresses, I will add more and divulge some of the intermediate and advanced methods that come later... as interest arises. Be well brother. HF [/QUOTE]