for those of you that do
what are your little rituals that help you better relax and meditate?
what do you usually meditate about? or is it just to clear your mind?
i burn incense (nag champa or superhit) and rub oils on my pressure spots like my temples and wrists (nag champa oil is so yummy)
i have a cd of mantras chanted in hindu as well

im in a mood today, hopefully i can start doing my yoga more often again too


so what do you do when you meditate?

I can't do it.

INSATIABLE said:

says who???
why not?

i think meditation is a wonderful thing, though i don't necessarily believe that "formal" meditation is necessary as long as you have something that puts you into that mindstate of serenity and inner focus.

for me, it's usually rote tasks that get me into a meditative state. when i have a big, boring, tedious job at work, i can usually make myself enjoy it simply by letting it become a meditative exercise. i do this at home a lot too, for example when i have to file new music into my CD binders...verrry meditative.

and sometimes, when i'm home alone and it's quiet, i can just lie down and meditate, though it's not something i really "prep" myself to do. it's just a process that i think comes naturally to everyone.

i am sure that trained meditation is worlds more healthy and effective... though my little household methods get me through the days.

Well, before this thread is locked due to lack of interest or non participation, I'd like to add a few things:



1) You should do simple breath count meditations until you can control your mind from wandering for at least 15 minutes--this is an imposibly long time if anyone has ever tried it. Paying attenting to your breathing is a good excercise becuase you focus on something that you must do--breath. So you're homing your senses around that one particular necessary excercise. It also teaches you to breat deeply from your diaphram--also important to mediation and posture.

2) One of my favorite things to meditate on is suffering or compassion. It helps me to become less angry with people throughout the day--not easy to do, but worth the effort

3) I aslo used to go to Kadampa Buddhist meditation classes here in Tampa under Kadam Lucy or Kadam Nick--both white folks skilled in the ways of meditation.

I like lighting candles when doing it, but this is only for the hippy effect and neither detracts nor adds to the actual act of meditating.

Anx said:

i should try that more often
im always the type of person that has to prepare myself for it rather than just let it happen @ will
although, the only other time i know it happens is when im creating, i get in this zone, and when im done im so relaxed

i had a 5 hour drawing class every thursday this past year, on that same day, i would have morning yoga classes...thursdays were my favourite days when i was in school

IrresistibleB1tch said:

just stare in2 the wall?
do you find after a while you dont realize what you're staring at because you're so far gone in2 your thoughts?

SammiJ said:

Because I fall asleep.

Maybe I could try doing it with a kitten in my shirt or while doing jumping jacks. When do you know you're done? How do you know when to stop? What if there's no way to escape noise? Some people say meditation is concentration, and others say it's clearing your mind of every thought and worry possible. Well, that can't be entirely conceivable. Again, I'd fall asleep.

SammiJ said:

yeah, it's kinda like one of those hidden picture things.... except that there's never a picture

thoughts definitely come up, no doubt. or music... drives me nuts. but you just bring yourself back around and try again.

SammiJ said:

I have practiced yoga for 18 years....long before it became the 'trendy' thing to do...in the studio with a group, I practice Ivengar yoga in a Bikram atmosphere - now popularly called "Hot Yoga". Never, ever practice in a cool room or outside in a chill...you need the heat to loosen your muscles.

For meditating, I prefer a quiet, darkened room....otherwise I do not have any ritual per se....sometimes I am in the mood for incense, sometimes candles; sometimes my eyes closed, sometimes not; sometimes background sound, sometimes not.

I have been meditating for so long that I can do it almost anywhere - even without anyone knowing it.... a city bus, a busy airport, my office at work. Like anyting else, it takes practice.


Have a good meditation!

Anx said:

Actually, you're very correct in this.
One of the outcomes of meditiation is teaching us to be mindful--to find solace in the turmoil that surrounds us. You can meditate walking to and from the bathroom at your workcenter simply by concentrating on your steps.
You can meditate doing the things Anx described, or doing menial chores. It's called "Stilling the monkey mind"--this helps one accomplish all manner of things they otherwise would place an opinion on--like, lawd, I don't want to do the dishes again. Well, turn that into a meditative excercise, and you'll not only relieve yourself of the stress of having junk lying around, you'll be training your mind at the same time.

Imago said:

in regards 2 ur first comment.

as to what u mentioned about the candle, i have some information on candle gazing as a form of meditation
has anyone tried it? i think i might tonight


and yeah, breathing excercises are fun too, my yoga teacher had taught me to breathe in from the belly, then continue upward through the chest and throat, and exhale going down from the throat to the chest to the belly...great way 2 focus

Another form of meditation, and one I am just now learning to try out is excercise. I'm trying to concentrate on the task at hand and not on my discomfort or pain in trying to achieve desired results.

I'm not very good at it, but I'm trying.

INSATIABLE said:

having my chanting cd on helps
and suttle smells like nag champa incense
if you focus on your breathing, u shouldnt fall asleep too easily

It's called Ambien, Xanax and Valium.

SammiJ said:

yoga is very healthy for you.
My only problem with it is that it's influenced by a religion that believs that if you peal away at the layers of yourself, you get to a true self.

This is not possible in my view, becuase once you peal all the layers away, you arrive at nothing--no seperate self. So I look at Yoga as a Mind/Body health program and not so much spiritually.

Imago said:

that would be hard 2 do
some of our yoga positions are so tricky, its hard to remain focused and not fall out of position

let us know how it goes

Imago said:

im not sure what i see it as
but i enjoy it and i always feel beautiful and great after i'm done

cubic61052 said:

18 years!
wow that is truly amazing, i hope to keep it up for that long as well
i just dont want to pay to do it, i have a mat and i do it at home, but it always is more fun to do it in a studio - again, you need to pay... so im working on keeping it up @ home
once i get back 2 school i'll be able to use the gym there anytime i'd like

SammiJ said:

I LOVE the smell of Nag Champa. Can't burn it anymore as I've been working my ass off trying to get my lungs back into shape from allergies.

I'm quite wound up with an oversized amount of negativity from anger, hurt, stress and the like. Exercise keeps it at bay but I bet it'd be good for my body to learn how to relax n' thangs. I'll keep up on this thread and learn apply what I've learned. Can't hurt. Thanks.

INSATIABLE said:

i would take imago's advice too
turn your excersing into a meditation practise as well

something that i've been doing lately too is laying down or sitting up (which ever i feel is comfy @ the time)
and blow bubbles....
i have a lil jar of bubble mix, and i'll blow bubbles for hours
and i watch ever bubble possible and as they pop, i picture them as problems or thoughts that are plaguing me, when they pop, my thoughts cease...

its actually quite relaxing, dunno if i would totally consider it meditation tho

Imago said:

Very Taoist of you. I can do this to get rid of a headache or body ache if I'm alone in a very restful situation. I have "thought off" pain simply by isolating it and meditating on it without placing negative value on it. It's hard to explain, but it works. I haven't learned to do this "on the fly", like at the gym or at work.

SammiJ said:

Anx said:

i get what you're saying
kind of acknowledging that it's there and allowing your body to experience it in order for it to correct itself

SammiJ said:

The great thing about yoga is once you know it, you can practice alone and with no props/equipment, if necessary. Obviously, a mat helps, but you don't even have to have one.
I do well with the energy surrounding a room full of people practicing yoga, so I do a class and practice at home.
If you are new to it, make sure you are watching your form as well as your back alignment
....you can hurt yourself if you are not careful.

SammiJ said:

yeah. i had a really horrible cramp in my leg once, and after losing a couple of hours of sleep over it, i just chilled out, laid on my back, tried to relax my mind, and thought "okay, what are five words i can use to describe this pain? what color would it be? if it were a person, what would it look like?"

before i knew it, the cramp was gone.