I find that I frequently suggest that meditation might be helpful in a whole variety of situations. However, many people have peculiar ideas about what meditation involves.
I'm going to try and clear some of these misconceptions up.
1.What is meditation?
Take a slow, deep breath. Let it out slowly. Repeat. While doing that, focus on the feeling of breathing in and out. Congratulations! You've just meditated!
2. Do I have to sit with my legs painfully twisted under my butt?
No. Sit down, stand up, lie down, get into a warm bubble bath, hang upside down from a tree branch, stand in line in the store, etc. These are all fine. If you want to, sit in an awkward way and meditate, but you don't have to.
Note: if you meditate while laying down, you'll most likely fall asleep. This is not always a bad thing. This is how I fall asleep quickly when under stress.
3. Will I have visions, meet God, commune with spirits?
No. If this happens, you are probably falling asleep and experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations. Take a nap and try again later.
4. Do I need a teacher?
No. I learned by reading instructions in The Secret of the Golden Flower (1699), and the instructions are pretty much the same as I've been taught in other places by other people.
People have been writing "how to meditate" books for centuries - because it can be taught through written instructions.
A teacher CAN be useful, but is not at all necessary.
5. Do I need a mantra? (A "mantra" is a short phrase mentally repeated to keep the mind from wandering).
No. About 40 years ago there was a thing being promoted as "transcendental meditation." The promoters claimed you need a mantra, and sold them to followers.
Most folks just count breaths (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, repeat). If a person wants a mantra, they can use one. Pick your own - A nice line from one's religious teaching ("in the beginning was the word and the word was god") or something taken from a song ("shine on harvest moon" works just fine, as does "lambs eat oats and does eat oats and a kid will eat ivy too").
6. Can I levitate?
No. It's possible that you may feel like you are levitating. If this happens you are breathing too slowly and getting light headed. Breath a little faster and the feeling will stop.
7. Is meditation some kind of pagan religious ritual?
No. It is a technique for relaxing the mind. It CAN be, and often is, a part of a spiritual practice.
However, it isn't inherently religious. Military snipers are taught to meditate so they can shoot straighter. Used secularly, it is secular. Used religiously it can be a useful spiritual practuce.
I'm going to try and clear some of these misconceptions up.
1.What is meditation?
Take a slow, deep breath. Let it out slowly. Repeat. While doing that, focus on the feeling of breathing in and out. Congratulations! You've just meditated!
2. Do I have to sit with my legs painfully twisted under my butt?
No. Sit down, stand up, lie down, get into a warm bubble bath, hang upside down from a tree branch, stand in line in the store, etc. These are all fine. If you want to, sit in an awkward way and meditate, but you don't have to.
Note: if you meditate while laying down, you'll most likely fall asleep. This is not always a bad thing. This is how I fall asleep quickly when under stress.
3. Will I have visions, meet God, commune with spirits?
No. If this happens, you are probably falling asleep and experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations. Take a nap and try again later.
4. Do I need a teacher?
No. I learned by reading instructions in The Secret of the Golden Flower (1699), and the instructions are pretty much the same as I've been taught in other places by other people.
People have been writing "how to meditate" books for centuries - because it can be taught through written instructions.
A teacher CAN be useful, but is not at all necessary.
5. Do I need a mantra? (A "mantra" is a short phrase mentally repeated to keep the mind from wandering).
No. About 40 years ago there was a thing being promoted as "transcendental meditation." The promoters claimed you need a mantra, and sold them to followers.
Most folks just count breaths (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, repeat). If a person wants a mantra, they can use one. Pick your own - A nice line from one's religious teaching ("in the beginning was the word and the word was god") or something taken from a song ("shine on harvest moon" works just fine, as does "lambs eat oats and does eat oats and a kid will eat ivy too").
6. Can I levitate?
No. It's possible that you may feel like you are levitating. If this happens you are breathing too slowly and getting light headed. Breath a little faster and the feeling will stop.
7. Is meditation some kind of pagan religious ritual?
No. It is a technique for relaxing the mind. It CAN be, and often is, a part of a spiritual practice.
However, it isn't inherently religious. Military snipers are taught to meditate so they can shoot straighter. Used secularly, it is secular. Used religiously it can be a useful spiritual practuce.
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