Seeking meditation advice

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Permalink Reply by Peter Stodolak on July 15, 2009 at 10:39am

Practice, it should become easier to focus after a while. Also I find moving meditation a nice way to change things up. When I absolutely can't stay still, just focus on how I'm moving. Focusing on stillness can be insufferable at times.

Also consider what it is that distracts when you try to meditate. Are you phsycially uncomfortable. Are you stressed, or perhaps you're anticpating something. Become aware of what it is that's taking you away from your meditation. Perhaps it's something you can address like your environment or posture. Or maybe you just need practice at escaping every day life.

Also it helps to remember some days you will be more focused than others. Don't beat yourself up too much when meditation doesn't go so well, remind yourself that next time can be better. If you find yourself persistently frustrated consider changing your approach.

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Permalink Reply by Marina on July 16, 2009 at 10:22pm

I agree Peter, as you practice, it becomes easier. I've been told that distraction is a form of avoidance. If you find that you're getting distracted, do not worry about it so much, however, being aware that you're getting distracted is a step in the right direction.

Before, I used to worry so much about the process of meditation - having the right posture, facing a certain direction, lighting a candle, putting music, saying a mantra, etc. But I could never sit still for more than 20 minutes. Then I realized, just like yoga, meditation is not about the posture or process, but it's a way of life. Eckhart Tolle once said that to breathe deeply is to meditate - because for a split second you're in the present moment. So I changed the way I approached my meditation - be present in whatever I'm doing: eating, walking, practicing yoga, washing the dishes, etc. By changing my approach, I didn't get frustrated as much, and my practice improved.

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Permalink Reply by satnat on July 16, 2009 at 11:51pm

Ooh, interesting!

That's something I've been trying to improve too: living in the present. Thanks for the reminder!

What mantras do you recommend? And do you use them to start off or as a constant chant?

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Permalink Reply by Marina on July 18, 2009 at 7:32am

I've used the mantras: "Om" or "Om Namah Shivaya". And yes, I would repeat it either out loud or in my head. But you can create your own mantras - it doesn't have to be in Sanskrit. Sometimes, I would play a chant cd while meditating. Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by satnat on July 18, 2009 at 12:38pm

that helps :)

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Permalink Reply by Steven Galindo on July 18, 2009 at 9:42am

It sounds like you are going through the same steps everyone who starts meditating goes through. One of the keys is to not be attached to trying to control the mind. Keep focussed on your mantra--I have a given mantra, but So ham or om work very well. Watch the thoughts that do come up without any attachment. Try to not use music it has an energy of its own and is also distracting in its own right. A quite place where you won't be disturbed is good. Also, you don't need to be too ambitious with the length of meditation. Try 10-20 minutes twice a day to begin with.

With gratitude,

Steve

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Permalink Reply by satnat on July 18, 2009 at 12:39pm

thanks for telling me everyone goes through this! i feel better understood.

i agree about the music--i'm not sure it's been helping.

i think a mantra would both keep me occupied and help me focus.

thanks!!

namaste

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Permalink Reply by Nityananda on July 20, 2009 at 5:33pm

Namaste!

After reading all replies to this post I can only think of the Kramas (or steps) in the Yoga path, regardless which style of yoga you are practicing or if you just want to meditate without doing any asana, the process is as follows:
Bahiranga (external) 1.Yama (don'ts) 2.Niyama (does) 3.Asana (posture) 4.Pranayama (breath control)
Antaranga (internal) 5.Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses) 6.Dharana (focus) 7.Dhyana (meditation) 8.Samadhi (consciousness)

I heard a lot (friends and students) that they can't reach samadhi or dhyana, and they get bored or frustrated in the precess.
Then I ask, are you following the Bahiranga and Antaranga parts of Ashtanga? and 98% of answers are NO.
It is for me like wanting to have a fruit without planting the seed.
You can "pretend" to be pregnant and go to a clinic, cry and push but if you are not pregnant nothing is going to appear. Even if you are pregnant you have to go through the process of nine months.

I will assume that in your home you have learned Yama and Niyama, in your Yoga Shala you are practicing Asana, and with the help of your teacher you are doing Pranayama.
So the Antaranga can be started.

Which is the first step? Right, it is Pratyahara, or withdrawal of the senses. But HOW? well, simple, just like a turtle, when a tiger is present the turtle will hide their limbs in order to remain safe. Similarly when all external 'dangers' like noise or any disturbance are present you can withdraw your senses, even to listen music with headphones is useful, don't get me wrong, it is not the goal, it is just the beginning. Here you can use any technique from meditation music CDs to guided meditations, from incense to oil massage before, from siting to laying on the ground, from walk to drive your car in the highway.... You get the idea.

Second step: Dharana or focus, here you can watch a candle or a river flowing or a DVD for meditation or for me it works to play some soft downtempo music in itunes and focus on the visualization of the fractals with the music colors. Now you are distracted no more. You can focus even in your work, there can be a party and you can still finish your maths.

Third step: Dhyana, finally we can 'meditate'. All previous parts where simply processes to take you here. Now there are two types of meditation: Saguna (with form) and Nirguna (formless). Most of the zen meditations are pointed to Nirguna, formless and void, nothing, reject of everything, not accept fear nor Love. Then the other option is Saguna, to meditate in a Yantra (geometrical form of a Mantra or Ishtadeva), Mantra (word or words in Sanskrit) and Rasa (or relationship with God, this will be explained in detail soon).

I wanna focus in Saguna Dhyana Yoga, and I will explain these three parts.
a) Yantra: is a geometrical form of a sound or being. For example there is the Surya Yantra (form of the Sun) or the Sree Yantra Mandala (form of the Sree potency of God) to mention a couple. One way to meditate is to draw them by yourself, always from left to right, from top to bottom, clockwise. Every line has to be made at once and then you can color. After that you sit and concentrate on every line, number, words and colors, gradually you'll be able to close your eyes and hold that image in your mind.
b) Mantra: (my favorite:) there are many options, you can chant by yourself or listen someone else (even a CD). I apologize if anybody feels uncomfortable, but for me only mantras in Sanskrit will help you for sure. Now which mantra is best for you? some people believe that you can create your own mantra o change it, but it's like if a doctor says, take one pill for 7 days, and you change the dose for 7 pills one day, what will happen? Right, you can get more sick. Just follow as given. I use a lot this CD "All One" of Krishna Das and just repeat the Maha Mantra in your mind or chant it loud.
c) Rasa: there are 5 relationships, Santa Rasa, Sakya Rasa, Dasya Rasa, Vatsalya Rasa and Madhurya Rasa.

I always recommend to follow Krame-krame (step by step) every process to achieve the result, to get the fruit.

Finally Samadhi, the state of consciousness which has it's own parts.

Sincerely look where you are and start walking.
I wish you the best,

with affection, Nityananda Das

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Permalink Reply by Jason deCourcy on July 21, 2009 at 11:24am

For my own meditation practice I find not fighting it helps and do what feels right for that day. Some days I will meditate for 20 minutes and other days I find it better to meditate only for a few minutes like 3-5 minutes but a few times that day. Much like physical exercise on the days you just don't want to exercise it is better to go and workout for even a few minutes and keep the cycle going without it feeling horrible, than to skip a day or feel bad about the practise and start to dread it.

I also find Jon Kabat-Zinn's Guided Mindfulness Mediation CD's are helpful (Yellow cover). The Body scan meditation gives you something to think about and focus on. The Sitting meditation has very little actual talking on it but I find when Jon speaks every so often that it helps nudge me further along, breaking up the practice for that session. Both are great on days I know I need some extra help in staying focused.

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Permalink Reply by Dr. R. Sinha on July 21, 2009 at 12:39pm

Hari Om,
A lot of excellent advice on the hows of meditation.
I'd like to add that after a while one needs to carry out a reality check. Irrespective of the type of meditation or its frequency, you need to ask yourself whether the effects of your new found calmness and clarity are manifesting in your daily life. Has there been an evening-out of your daily energy levels and spikes of activity? Do you find yourself adjusting to change with greater ease? Are your decisions more focussed? Do you notice any positive difference in your relationships with spouse, children or collegues?
Swami Satyanand keeps on emphasising this practical aspect of yoga as the only yardstick to judge whether you're deriving the best from your yoga sadhna.
Hari Om Tat Sat

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Permalink Reply by satnat on July 21, 2009 at 3:42pm

Thank you so much, everyone.

Tons of useful food for thought!

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Higdon on July 27, 2009 at 10:59pm

When I need insight on
this matter, I often turn to the yoga sutras and the Gita. In specific I would recommend practicing slowly with attention primarily on comfort and stability. I find it useful to cultivate a sense of surrender and devotion. Keeping in mind that the asanas are solely to prepare for meditation, keep it simple and balanced on the six movements of the spine, flexion, extension, twisting and sidebending. Also do some simple poses or mindful movement to balance internal and external rotation in the hips and shoulders. In keeping it simple (aparigraha) allow the focus to be with pranayama. After a short and sweet asana practice, I invite you to sit in your most comfortable seat (ideally siddhasana or lotus, then swastikasan or sukhasan) try a few rounds of bhastrika, spend some time with kapalabhati and anolum vilom. Then chant your favorite mantra then Om. After the pranayama stay seated, meditating on the object of your choice, or pay attention to the senses reaching out from the quiet, percieve the formless infinite beneath the veneer of vrittis, or if simply witness the self subtly rocked waxing and waning with the breath, resting in the pause at the top and bottom of slow subtle breath.

For me pranayama is the key to raja yoga or the higher limbs. Practicing asana in a way that releases the organs and allows the body to yeild to breath, seems to bring me the deepest meditation and longest glimpses of the spontaneous breathless bliss state. Spontanaety and child-like playfulness are wonderful tools. In the west it seems we often become very rigid and willful. These qualities seem to arise from a striving rather than sacrifice, arresting the striving by perceiving the infinite, we act without attachment to fruits of action. Finally the study of Ayurveda the scriptures and contemplation of the play of the gunas, purusha and prakriti, and the elements can help qualify experience. I feel like going on but that's all for now ;p if you'd like a bit more info about pranayama let me know. Be well...

Love,
Matthew

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