How Do I Meditate?

[rodentmouse]

i  think  you  should  just  do as much research  into  meditation as possible, saturate  your mind  with  all  the knowledge  and philosophy  behind  it  and  make  up  your own  mind  about  how to go about learning it  with  all  the tecniques  you have  just researched.

this  may or may not  work  for  you  but it  does for me....

i  think  it  is a simple  way  to  glimpse   at  being  in a meditative state  without  actually being able to meditate...

at night,  simply go  outside  and  look into the   star filled sky and  start contemplating  the  vastness of  the  universe.

This  really  works  for  me  when  i  dont have the patience  for  a meditation session  (im still learning myself)  and  it  really  clears my mind..    it mskes me  forget  about  all  the trivial  things which  bug me  because  when  i  aknoledge the  incredible  universe,  they dont seem to matter...

which is  why  i meditate anyway,  its just  that the   night sky method  doesnt nearly  need as much  focus, concentration, awareness or  discipline.

[Nick]

phanteprotectsme,

There is a great little book. It's only about a hundred and forty pages or so. The first two chapters will be all that you'll need. It's called Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitkin. I read it a number of years ago and liked it so much that I bought copies for people. Back in the 90's I started doing zen meditation at the Zen Center of Los Angeles. I still use it today, It's really pretty simple. You focus on your breath. You start by counting breaths up to ten, then go back to one, then up to ten, then back, and so on. After a while, you can stop counting and just follow your breaths, and after that you'll get to a place where you don't even need to follow your breaths. The counting, and so on, is needed to steer the mind away from the random mind chatter we all have.

Hope this suggestion helps. I agree also with rodentmouse that research into different methods would be good b/c what works for one may not for another. Good Luck.

[phanteprotectsme]

Could anyone help me learn to meditate? I know nothing about meditating and I want to learn how to. Please tell me in easy to understand terms because I am just a beginner at all this.

Thank You![]