Spiritual - Meditation Problems?... WTF MATE?

[Egnarodude]

Some of you have been reading my posts and commenting on them. So some of you will already will know what I'm talking about.

I have a friend Don who has had some really powerful experiences on LSD and has been trying to pick the pieces back up and start again. Those of you who have given Don advice over the past months, Don is really appreciative. Specifically Snapper and Nagognog2, Don gives his thanks.... Anyways moving on...

Since don is definitely making progress in this area, a few new thought processes are coming to mind. Or at least consciously. For one, he seems to pick up on bullshit easier. He has more self confidence etc... but something has been bugging him lately. Don has been trying the whole "quieting your mind" thing. I guess meditating. He does this in short short increvals mainly because he is not sure if he is doing it correctly or if he is gaining anything from it....

When Don sits down to meditate he used to slowly concentrate on every muscle in his body and concentrate on making them completely relaxed.... and then just sit... his mind was still racing so he wold attempt to quiet his mind. This seems almost impossible for don to do. When don tries to do this images are not floating through his mind... they are racing and almost uncomfortable. Although his eyes are closed he can feel his eyes jittering as if they are trying to find a central point and he must break through a wall he has created for himself. Part of Don tells himself that this is normal and makes complete sense to him, however I guess the more childish side of don simply wants this to not be a problem and he feels like there is something wrong with him and he gets discouraged and gives up quickly. The wierd thing is that although this feels completely uncomfortable, it feels so.... right... real...

If you are familiar with Don's experiences on LSD you will also remember this. There was an experience when don was sitting in a car with his gf at the time and made a decision to i guess... be alive... That was the most powerful , frightening, moving experience of his life. Its funny because in a way he was finding his mind and center the same way he was during that experience, it was somthing he recognized as he needed to do, but it wasnt something that he "decided" he needed to do, he simply recognized and obliged.

This being said.... it is like Don goes back to that experience whenever he "meditates" ....

Don is getting very discouraged with this whole process any advice / input would be appreciated.

[Heretic.Ape.]

Meditation is about not being caught up in mental processes. Don't worry that the mind keeps going, getting stressed about it just derails the process further. I would suggest vipassana meditation--simply spend 20 minutes slowly moving your attention starting at the top of your head down, making sure to be aware of sensation at EVERY place in between, to each little toe. This concentration on something tangible is very helpful in stopping the mind from all its chattering like a crazy coked up monkey. It is very relaxing and invigorating
Good luck, have fun, and the buddha's 5th noble truth: don't take yourself too seriously
h.a.

[dirk]

It's not that uncommon for someones first attempts in meditation to result in a situation where they suddenly realises how much "stuff" is going on in thier mind and they get a little freaked by it.

Like Heretic Apes says, the last thing you want is to be distracted by the fact that you have noticed that your mind is racing, it only makes things worse.

Eventualy, when you do have thoughts appear, you should be aiming to alknowledge that fact, but not get drawn into the thought. Just lett those thoughts arise, then dissapate, like the ripples on a pond after a stone has been thrown in.

If I need to stop paying tooo much attention to random thought processes, then I use a technique simmilar to that of HereticApe's, I just focus on my breath. As I inhale I focus on the "rising" sensation and as I exhale I focus on the "falling" sensation.

Just remember to breathe relatively normally though

[Perception Addict]

I know this sounds cheesy, but the 'desert island' thing works quite well for me. When beginning to meditate, i focus upon some place deep within my mind where i feel totally comfortable and at ease. I start with a fairly complicated picture of a landscape something, for instance a field or an old castle, or wherever i decide i want to be. Then, after all my energy and thoughts have been focused on creating this place, i begin to let parts of it go out of focus, letting any doubts and fears vanish as the landscape does. Ideally, you end up having removed all that's bothering you.

In other situations, i like to focus directly on whatever's bothering me, then picture a huge grid system in my mind, where i can catagorize and file away all my problems, etc. I like this because i feel like i've dealt with the problem, not just hidden it away, and it gives me that mental 'clean slate' feeling.

[Egnarodude]

Cool thanks guys,

what bothers me sometimes is the fact that when I meditate I feeling like i am doing something extremely important, but at the same time i realize that it is as simple as simple as just sitting,

so basically the consensus is just, this is normal and I should just continue what I am doing, and concentrate on breathing?... i guess?... ll

[Heretic.Ape.]

hehe, just wait till that weird sense that you're doing something important yet ultimately very mundane starts spilling over into the rest of your life. makes for an odd reappraisal of what constitutes "important".

[Egnarodude]

heh already there man... aka my dillema

[Nagognog2]

Om Money Ho Hum......or try the Zen method. Each in-breath - say NOT inside your head. Each out-breath - say I. Watch the monkey chatter it's head off! LOL!