Meditation.. how do you do it?

**ItsRobsLife** · 23-12-2010, 04:45 AM

I've often thought about it, even thought I was doing it, but was only daydreaming. I've heard that meditation can be very good for the psyche. Not only does it have a calming influence, but it also helps change bad habits, behavioral disorders, something to do with disassociating from materialism.

I know there are some monastery hideouts in Thailand where you can go and learn the techniques, but I never made it that far. So how do you go about it..? You're supposed to sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and think of nothing for ten minutes? Doesn't sound hard.

**Stinky** · 23-12-2010, 04:52 AM

I usually do it sat upright with a glass of chilled vodka, if I do it enough times I will drift off to some far away place of peace and tranquility.
Beats sitting and blanking my mind hands down.

**Thormaturge** · 23-12-2010, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by ItsRobsLife

You're supposed to sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and think of nothing for ten minutes? .

I think you will find that most of the population has got this mastered and can think of nothing while walking about, without the quiet, and with their eyes wide open, all day long.

**Davis Knowlton** · 23-12-2010, 09:51 AM

Quietly......

**sunsetter** · 23-12-2010, 10:00 AM

bloke i went to school with bought a book on meditation and self hypnosis,went to asda, got his shopping, went to read the book in the park, self hypnoed himself and got his shopping all robbed, twat

ive tried it a few times,meditation, and it does give you a really calm feeling when you come back, the first time is a bit of a shock to be honest,got to be in a quite place though

**billy the kid** · 23-12-2010, 08:05 PM

rob, sit , sit, ok now breath quietly and be aware of it and nothing else for 10 mins.
like a puppy, breath in through ur nose an out through ur mouth.
peace.

**DrB0b** · 23-12-2010, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by ItsRobsLife

So how do you go about it..? You're supposed to sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and think of nothing for ten minutes?

No, not at all. The type of meditation taught in Theravada monasteries is Vipassana meditation, insight meditation. It's a technique which teaches you to become aware of reality. It's not passive and it's not about thinking of nothing, it's about observing and becoming aware of the actions of your mind and body and, eventually, the clear-minded observation and understanding of everything that passes for reality. If you want to learn it you really need to go to a temple, even if only for a week or so - although longer is better, to learn the basic techniques of sitting and walking meditation. In my case I stayed at a temple for a month, learning and meditating 14 hours a day, as I didn't have the self-discipline, space, or quiet environment to do all the required exercises on my own. Once you've been taught how to meditate then 10 minutes a day is usually enough to maintain your meditative skills but the initial learning process is gruelling for most of us Westerners.

All Thai children are taught this form of meditation in school.

More here; Vipassan

**Bangyai** · 23-12-2010, 09:04 PM

^ Whilst back in the U.K. , a friend who practices zen meditaion arranged a meeting for 3 of us with a zen nun visiting from Canada and we discussed and practiced this kind of ' awareness ' meditaion which I thought was similar to Gurdjeffs ' self observation ' practice.

However, the crux of the matter is overcoming laziness. I had a lot of time on my hands at the time but I could never find the time to keep up the practice.

**DrB0b** · 23-12-2010, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by Bangyai

However, the crux of the matter is overcoming laziness. I had a lot of time on my hands at the time but I could never find the time to keep up the practice.

I agree, that's why I think some kind of residential course is best to start with.

**billy the kid** · 23-12-2010, 10:26 PM

the old brain demands order
and when you sleep you have dreams
which put some order back
after the turmoil of the day
instead of counting sheep before you sleep
go over the things that have happened during your day
and try to correct what you have done or said
and dreams will rarely occur
because you have already put some sanity(order) back in place.
meditation is the absolute absense of self .(thought)
difficult i know because thought always always looks for a way to butt in
if it is self motivated then it isn't meditation.
in other words ,you can sit cross legged with the mantra coca cola
and you will eventually find a peaceful aura after 10 or 20 mins or a few hours
but that is as far as it goes
if that is what you want, hey no probs.

**CaptainNemo** · 24-12-2010, 04:45 AM

Originally Posted by DrB0b

I agree, that's why I think some kind of residential course is best to start with.

What kind of fuckhead would pay for shit like that?!

Isn't half an hour on the throne every day enough meditation?!

If that don't work, just have a wank, and soak up the post wank daze.

I was once tricked into 45 mins of Zazen in some Japanese village... which was a bit disconcerting... constantly expecting something to happen in a few seconds time for such a long period of time was quite exhausting, and not particularly "spiritually" whatevering.
I think this idea that you need some special place and paraphernalia and instructions from some system in some book is so out of date ...as much as the makey-uppy shit in any silly "religion" is.

If it's actual mediation you're interested in, then there are no instructions... just sit under a tree, or in a canoe, or in a derelict building, whatever... and make it up as you go along... all the other shit to do with dressing up, shaving your head and saying special words over and over again, and sitting in some decrepid 3rd world monksquat, and bimbling around like a late-20something being all fucking worldy-wise-all-of-a-sudden is for attention seekers.

Personally, I reckon going back to primeval stuff like sitting in a forest; sitting by the sea; gazing into a fire/sunset/crepuscule/clear night sky, is as about as good as it gets.

**DrB0b** · 24-12-2010, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

What kind of fuckhead would pay for shit like that?!

It's free, you buffoon.

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

If it's actual mediation you're interested in, then there are no instructions... just sit under a tree, or in a canoe, or in a derelict building, whatever... and make it up as you go along

That's not meditation, that's arsing around.

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

all the other shit to do with dressing up, shaving your head and saying special words over and over again, and sitting in some decrepid 3rd world monksquat, and bimbling around like a late-20something being all fucking worldy-wise-all-of-a-sudden is for attention seekers.

Sure, that's why none of that is done when studying Vippasana.

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

Personally, I reckon going back to primeval stuff like sitting in a forest; sitting by the sea; gazing into a fire/sunset/crepuscule/clear night sky, is as about as good as it gets.

Of course, nice way to spend your time. Still got FA to do with meditation. Next time you're zoning out under a tree bring a book, that way way you might actually learn something.

**billy the kid** · 24-12-2010, 08:09 PM

pray Dr. BOb what is it you're actually learnin ?
as i understand it meditation happens when self is absent.
which means the mind is fully awake
and after a period,,, you may say,, 'fok what happened to the time'?

**DrB0b** · 24-12-2010, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by billy the kid

as i understand it meditation happens when self is absent.

There are many different types of mediation. They do not all have the same goal. What you're describing sounds like Samathi meditation. What I'm describing is Vipassana meditation. No Thai Temple would teach you Samathi meditation without you first becoming proficient in Vipassana.

**billy the kid** · 25-12-2010, 12:02 AM

yes , but what do you actually get out of it
besides the slowing down , peaceful ish state
there are as many methods or systems as there are
Masters or Gurus which are popping up all over the place
As far as i can see , people have to dump absolutly everything
that they have 'ever' been taught about religio or so-called Meditation
There is no mystery about it. That only exists as a carrot.
neither is it intellectual though the act itself is intelligence operating
and this intelligence is universal and in every living ting.
not the 2nd. hand stuff you get from a book that says,
do this and 'you' will be rewarded ,,,,in the future !!!
Meditation is in the now and thought is always trying to muscle-in
Thought has it's place but the fooker demands all your space.
Without thought, self, the unconditioning takes place
ie no judging or comparing, just observation with eyes, ears and smell.
no method no system no master no fokin gurus.

**DrB0b** · 25-12-2010, 01:00 AM

Originally Posted by billy the kid

yes , but what do you actually get out of it
besides the slowing down , peaceful ish state
there are as many methods or systems as there are
Masters or Gurus which are popping up all over the place
As far as i can see , people have to dump absolutly everything
that they have 'ever' been taught about religio or so-called Meditation
There is no mystery about it. That only exists as a carrot.
neither is it intellectual though the act itself is intelligence operating
and this intelligence is universal and in every living ting.
not the 2nd. hand stuff you get from a book that says,
do this and 'you' will be rewarded ,,,,in the future !!!
Meditation is in the now and thought is always trying to muscle-in
Thought has it's place but the fooker demands all your space.
Without thought, self, the unconditioning takes place
ie no judging or comparing, just observation with eyes, ears and smell.
no method no system no master no fokin gurus.

You gain the awesome and mystical ability to write correctly formatted gibberish-free text. You also get +2 on your armour class.

**billy the kid** · 25-12-2010, 01:38 AM

+2
i'm as a barn door
wide open.
merry xmas doc.

**blue** · 25-12-2010, 02:02 AM

Originally Posted by billy the kid

instead of counting sheep before you sleep go over the things that have happened during your day and try to correct what you have done or said and dreams will rarely occur

but I like dreaming ,as I rarely have bad dreams ,and sometimes even have lucid ones ,so why would I need to do as you say ?

**billy the kid** · 25-12-2010, 02:29 AM

like when on opium ! or when you have nothing in your system.
i don't believe they come out of the blue.
it seems to me there is a connection between
awake and sleep
like a safety valve
dreams sort out the brain that has been
damaged with the hussle and bussle of everyday life
this will vary with different people
some dreams re-occur and maybe there isn't a lot that can be done
soldiers who have been in action know about this.
tink there is an order from which the brain operates
safety valve to stop you goin crazy.
whatever concerns you in the day may come back in your dream.
if you always have nice dreams den your life must be so cooooool.

**blue** · 25-12-2010, 03:04 AM

Originally Posted by billy the kid

there is an order from which the brain operates safety valve to stop you goin crazy. whatever concerns you in the day may come back in your dream. if you always have nice dreams den your life must be so cooooool.

my life aint that cool i just about worry about things the awake time .

what if i'm already crazy ,what am i going to dream about then ?

**billy the kid** · 25-12-2010, 03:29 AM

crazy shit i guess
i find the language sometimes ancient
impossible to translate
as a part of the brain, what we inherit is probably
100's of 1,000's of years old
anyway it may all relate to what goes on
with life around us
you certainly don't seem like a crazy guy
the aim of the game for the brain is survival and sanity
ie when i decide to smoke a cigarette
i have a lil cough without thinkin
cause the body is warned that smoke is on the way.
safety valve yeh.

**ItsRobsLife** · 25-12-2010, 04:01 AM

It's interesting that the Buddhist methods are quite distinct from all others, instead of calm disassociation, taking a break, it seems to use aversion therapy to train the autonomic system, for instance I've read that Buddhist monks have meditated on rotting human corpses to become immune to the pleasure of flesh.

I guess that would work, even if a tad extreme.

But where to begin? I want to meditate if it gives me a positive result, but to get that I have to work on it, and I know I'm not good at keeping the ball rolling on these types of thing.

So my meditation would be so that I should stop being lazy, but I can't just sit there and think that can I? Surely I have to focus on something that strikes at my autonomic system, so that the thought of being lazy gives me a negative reaction causing me to autonomically strive for the positive.

So how do you frame a issue to focus on?

**longway** · 25-12-2010, 08:07 AM

^ Its sounds like you are talking about neuro linguistic programming, rather than meditation, there are quite a few books around about using it to overcome various problems like laziness. No idea if it will work or not.

**Thormaturge** · 25-12-2010, 09:53 AM

If you decide to meditate for, say, ten minutes, how do you know the ten minutes are up? Get someone to stop you? Set an alarm? Pangs of hunger?

**DrB0b** · 25-12-2010, 10:08 AM

^
Set an alarm. I use a cheapo digital watch.

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