Meditation: The Good, The Bad, The Ridiculous

Anybody else meditate? Have you ever had strange "visions" (subconscious thoughts surface) while meditating? I meditate on a daily basis and find it very useful for stress - especially in ways that other activities just can't quite root out. I just wanted to know if anyone else out there does it.

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Permalink Reply by MikeLong on March 6, 2013 at 7:26pm

"Just acknowledge the thought and then let it go to focus on your breathing."

Yea me. too. I've tended to scold myself for allowing myself to think. Makes sense that it should be about acceptance.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Adamson on March 6, 2013 at 7:34pm

I know the feeling. Acceptance is part of letting go of control - to detach from the moment and just letting things be as they are. It's tough!

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Permalink Reply by Barry Adamson on March 6, 2013 at 7:00pm

The only way to get good at it is to practice - daily (at least in my case). The experience is awesome, and the world is a lot easier to deal with.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Adamson on March 6, 2013 at 7:58pm

My main reason for starting was because of stress taking a toll on my health. I became severely ill, which sucked because I was normally very active - Wing Chun, kettlebell training, and started power lifting too. Basically, I wound up with some weird infection that took almost two months to cure then found out on top that I needed surgery to repair bi-lateral hernia. I am now just slowly creeping back into Wing Chun, but meditation has been very beneficial.

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Permalink Reply by Ralph Day on March 7, 2013 at 8:27am

I aim for 30 minutes once per day. To try and eliminate distractions I wear earplugs (for sleeping too, I'm easily distracted) and find somewhere dark. Sometimes it turns into a quasi-nap, but the brain waves are getting something healthy out of it.

No visions but some daydreams. Breath control and focus. To help focus (not following trains of thought) I work the alphabet backwards, forwards, a-z, b-y and so on to the middle, and the phonetic alphabet...alpha, beta, charlie etc etc.

I notice less ease of falling asleep if I've missed meditating during the day.

Ralph

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Permalink Reply by Ralph Day on March 7, 2013 at 9:06pm

Bravo, not beta, jeez...only been using the phonetic alphabet for 40 years or so

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Permalink Reply by Barry Adamson on March 7, 2013 at 7:46pm

You don't need to take a class. In my opinion, you'd just be wasting your money. All you need is a private, quiet room, some candles and soft relaxing music. iTunes has a bunch of MP3s for meditation and you can also get apps for your droid, or iPhone. I am now teaching my wife and sons to do it.