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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Meditation Beginners Key Points

Meditation

Beginners Key Points

 I am going to use a little space to focus on meditation. I feel from what I am learning thus far it plays a big part in the path to Enlightenment.
  
So welcome to the second post on meditation methods. In each post, I hope to share with you valuable information that will help you and me understand the various methods of meditation and their benefits. In this post, we are going to talk a little bit about learning to meditate and why you should consider trying it yourself.

With most of us living fast-paced lifestyles trying to balance work, family and social lives can take it’s toll on our mental and physical well-being. Learning to meditate can bring a sense of calm and inner happiness to our lives and help promote feeling of peace and tranquility that often times gets lost when we are busy trying to juggle everything we have to accomplish on a daily basis.

The practice of meditation is a gateway into our inner consciousness, resulting in an enhanced awareness of your own existence and your overall relationship to the universe.

Whether you are looking to answer the age-old question, “Who am I and why am I here?” or simply to implement simple relaxation techniques to help ease your mind. Meditation may just be the answer for you.

Meditation has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years and it has many different cultural contexts, some of which transcend the boundaries of any one specific culture. There are literally hundreds of established techniques on how to meditate and it’s up to you to decide which method will fit best into your lifestyle. You can have your choose between many different schools of thought and it may take you a bit of testing to find a technique that best suits your personality, so be prepared to try out several methods before you find the right one.

According to Eastern philosophy, to meditate means to think on the eternal, or rather to expand your consciousness until you are at one with the universe as a whole. This philosophy is based on the belief that transcendental emotions like grief, euphoria or even love can fade away, but the universe is forever.

Even if you’re not interested in the metaphysical implications of meditation it has undeniable health benefits. It incorporates many relaxation techniques that can help you erase the negative feelings that come with the stress of leading a hectic lifestyle.

Learning to meditate can have positive effects on stress-induced illnesses like heart disease and high blood pressure. In conjunction with traditional approaches to medicine, meditation can target the root causes behind stress-based conditions by helping you to calm and clear your mind.

You don’t have to have any special tools or your private own meditation garden. You can meditate anywhere you feel comfortable. You can meditate sitting, standing or lying down, in a chair, on the floor. or even walking. Learning how to meditate isn’t difficult either.
There are many products like books and DVD’s available. There are also online programs that can teach you the basics and chances are if you are luckier than me there may be classes and instructors in your local area that can guide you through each step of the meditation process, provide tips on appropriate posture and teach you how to create the ideal setting for your meditation session.

As we meet other people who meditate, I've encountered a few who will boast about their endurance for long meditation sessions—maybe even hours at a sitting. Don’t be tempted to change your practice to “ keep up.” Meditation is not meant to be a competition.

Key Points I Have Learned

1. You should be comfortable enough to concentrate, but not so comfortable that you feel the urge to fall asleep. (Very important lol)

2. When just starting meditating, stick with one method at a time. During this first 2 to 3 weeks. Don’t read or listen to any other meditation information during this foundation building stage. The reason for this is not that you should close your mind to new information but, that you should focus on action and getting real results – and not to focus theories and ideas.

Chances are if you are like me you have already read quite a bit about meditation for beginners, watched or listened to some guided meditations online and maybe even tried meditation a few times. Some of these programs might have worked for you. But you were not able to stick with it for whatever reason. Our only focus, right now, should be to get into the HABIT of meditating so we can start getting the benefits as soon as possible. Then we can take the time to experiment and read up on the expanded theories.

3. We have to make an effort to be mindful of our mood and thoughts when NOT meditating. 
This will benefit us in the long run when we do meditate to help focus.
 
4. Prepare ahead of time for distractions. Get a drink of water, turn off the phone and go to the bathroom before a session to eliminate additional distractions that can be avoided.

5. Keep the mind focused on using just one program for a set number of days and should see better results than by switching back and fourth.

No more excuses. It's time for us to STOP THINKING about meditation and START DOING IT..


Tomorrow we will be talking about unlocking our hidden potential through meditation.I hope you join me on this Path we can seek Enlightenment together. 

The Self Proclaimed Solitary Buddhist
 


Saturday, December 19, 2015

Update On My Journey

Update On My Journey

What have I been up to? 

I created a Facebook page (The Path 108

I've joined a group in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition (World Of Interbeings)

With so many different Buddhist traditions it's not an easy task  to choose which to follow. They all have very similar core beliefs which helps. Without a teacher to guide an individual the task becomes more difficult after the core beliefs.  What I am concentrating on is taking bits of each tradition that feels comfortable to me at this point and putting them together to make my practice. 

I am in the process of creating my own Sangha. If anyone reading this has any suggestions on starting one please leave a comment or email me. 

Even though I am alone in my current journey doesn't mean I can't take steps to change that.