Beginning Meditation?

[Grey]

Does anyone have any methods or resources they could share for beginning meditation? I am interested in practicing it as a way to practice self control, balance, and to manage stress or help with relaxation.

[Deebles]

Different techniques work better for different people. For beginners the standard advice is sit in a quiet area in a relaxed position with good posture. Breathe in for a four count, hold for a four count, exhale for a six or eight count depending on which is more comfortable. Focus on your breathing. Thoughts will come into your head and your body will want to move; acknowledge the thoughts and feelings, then let them go. Do this for as long as you are willing or able, and be patient with yourself; your body and mind will fight you. I shoot for between two minutes (for bringing my emotional state into balance) and twenty minutes (for energy work), but you may find that thirty seconds or less is all you can manage initially.

This is the foundation for every other meditation I've encountered. Sort of like learning the alphabet before tackling writing. Once you're comfortable with it, and that might take minutes or months, there's endless avenues to explore. Personally, I like meditations that involve white energy manipulation, but meditation is a complete tool box and is as diverse as the people who practice.

[Tysha]

The only thing I will add to Deebles excellent post, is try not to get annoyed with yourself if you are finding it difficult to deal with the thoughts that pop into your head. Some years back, when I was trying to pick up meditation again after illness, I used to get ever so frustrated with myself. As soon as I learned to let go of the frustration, I found it so much easier.

Getting into a regular routine might help too. Maybe set aside 5 minutes each morning and evening to practice, increasing the time spent meditating as you go on. I found doing so really benefited myself, in the morning it gives me a clear, sharper mind for the day ahead, and in the evening it calms me before going to sleep.

You may wish to keep a notebook handy, so when you have finished meditating you can easily record any thoughts, ideas or impressions that have come to you during your practice.

[TashRikil]

You know, I really thought I might have had something useful to add here. Turns out I don't. I should stop thinking about it so hard. Good job, Darkie.

[Sendo Shin]

The only other advice I've ever heard is if you find that the "standard approach" just isn't working for you - and we're talking you've been at this for months with no success, despite actual effort, not giving up in the first few attempts - you can always try the exact opposite.  Instead of resisting the urge to focus on your thoughts, embrace it fully.  Focus on all the thoughts that come to you, and don't dismiss any of them.  Try not to analyze them at this stage - you're going for focus, not thought.  Just hold them in your mind for as long as you can, adding any new thoughts as they come.  This approach will also take some time to figure out properly, but if it works, one of two things will happen.  Either you'll reach your limit and come out of the process feeling refreshed and recharged - meaning successful meditation has been achieved! - or you'll drop into the state you were trying for originally with the "standard approach" - and then you can start exploring everything else that's possible within the "cleared mind" meditative state.

Again, this is *not* a good approach for starting out.  It won't even work for most people, and even when it does, it's a lot harder to do successfully.  So consider this an intermediate approach, that might be necessary to getting to many of the other basic level activities you're aiming to do.