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What exactly is meditation?
- Thread starter Eddi
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Secret Chief
Very strong language
Well, there's more than one type/method. Not to be dismissive but do tinterweb dictionaries not provide what you seek?
Quite simply, it is training and taming the mind.
I have looked but don't feel as though I properly understand it
I have gone along with a YouTube guided meditation video and it worked for me and thought it might be prudent to explore it further
Secret Chief
Very strong language
Ok. Well maybe this "non religious" approach will be of interest...
How to meditate for beginners - Mental wellbeing tips - Every Mind Matters
Secret Chief
Very strong language
I hope you find it beneficial.
Secret Chief
Very strong language
I might suggest you use a very simple meditation timer app. I have this one on my android phone:
I'll have a look at that, thanks!
PearlSeeker
Well-Known Member
From One Minute Wisdom by Anthony de Mello:
The Governor on his travels stepped in to pay homage to the Master.
“Affairs of State leave me no time for lengthy dissertations,” he said. “Could you put the essence of religion into a paragraph or two for a busy man like me?”
“I shall put it into a single word for the benefit of Your Highness.”
“Incredible! What is that unusual word?”
“Silence.”
“And what is the way to Silence?”
“Meditation.”
“And what, may I ask, is meditation?”
“Silence.”
How come?
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
When you start on an exercise regime, you do just five repetitions. Once you get the hang of it, stilling the mind is as easy and quick as putting a switch on or off.
Secret Chief
Very strong language
Hold on there! Not all types of meditation involve repetitions, since they are objectless/undirected. A maximum of ten minutes is also not a universal feature.
Some beginning steps and info.
Edited to add snippet: "Ever since the time of Pythagoras, though, Western mystics and sages have also recognized that the mind need not be the enemy of the spirit, if it’s brought into harmony with itself, with the larger human self of which it forms a part, and with the cosmos as a whole. The rational can be a vehicle for the spiritual: this is the premise (and the promise) of most Western mystical paths, and this approach was adopted into Druidry from the earliest days of the Druid Revival....
In this form of meditation, which is called discursive meditation, the thinking process is not stopped but redirected and clarified; thoughts are not abolished but made into a vehicle for the deeper movement of consciousness. This is typically done by focusing the mind on a specific topic, and allowing it to follow out the implications of that topic through a chain of ideas, while at the same time keeping it focused on the topic without straying. By doing this, the meditator gradually transforms thinking from half-random mental chatter into a powerful and focused way of understanding; at the same time, the knowledge that comes out of meditation of this sort can have a good deal of value on its own terms."
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What works for you does not necessarily work for everyone else.
My sessions last on average of 30 minutes. Monks meditate for an hour at a time.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
That I will not agree to, 'objectless/undirected'. The object still is stilling the mind. 10 minutes may not be a universal rule, but longer meditation is for pleasure/bliss or siddhis/woo. That should be avoided. Why not have a calm mind even while being engaged in your worldly duties?
First, this isn't a debate forum.
Second, what authority do you have to say what should and shouldn't be avoided with regard to meditative practice?
Secret Chief
Very strong language
We'll have to agree to disagree then. "Objectless" is a common term for practices such as zazen and when I have attended Buddhist establishments meditation periods are always longer than ten minutes.