What are your meditation techniques?

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

BTW everybody, here's a re-post of my Huna Meditation guide. This is definately the easiest to get quick and significant results from in my experience, definately worth a try.

Instructions:

Sit somewhere quiet in a comfortable possition. I preferre cross-legged on the couch, since it gives all the back support and I can fully relax. But it's ultimately up to you and what makes you comfortable.

Now, calm your thoughts as much as possible, but don't beat yourself up if you can't, it'll come on it's own. Have no expectations, just appreciate what comes.
Look upwards, so you can see your eyebrows in your vision, and hold your eyes there. Focus on the point at the centre of your upward vision, then gradually shift your awareness so you notice your central and peripheral vision equally (but don't move your eyes to look directly at everything you're focused on.)
Now while in this possition, open your mouth and keep it open (comfortably, not wide). When you breath in, close the airway to your throat with the back of your tongue and breath in through your nose, getting full, slow, and deep breaths. When you exhale, breath out through your mouth taking twice as long as it took you to breath in. While exhaling, do a semi-loud breathing sound of "Haaaaaa" all the way out.
Repeat this without breaking the method, and you'll notice the effects relatively soon (like a minute or 2, maybe only 20 seconds). Your eyes may cross or shift in some way, mixing up your vision, which is fine. Don't worry about the results during the practice, just relax and keep going as long as you want.

[Coelho]

Gandalf, i did post a response in your thread in the lounge, about conversation skills. I did think that thread was more apropriate than this one.
I still need to write my meditation technique, but not now... the sunset is near (4.50 am here) and i didnt smoked yet!
Also, today i experimented a new technique and had some weird results, so i will try it again before write here.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Cool Coelho, I just tried a new one myself!

I'll post mine anyway, look forward to hearing yours!

I came across this one some random meditation site, which they called the "Star" meditation for some reason:wtf:. Basically the theory is tap into the flow of energy theat binds the whole universe, and use this "cosmic energy" to energize ones self as much as needed. I tried it and honestly it worked wonders.

So, here's what you do:

Stand with legs shoulder width apart and arms strait out. I've tried this sitting and with my arms more relaxed and it works too. turn your left palm upward and your right palm downward. Focus on feeling the energy of the whole universe all around you, feel it flowing through you (you won't feel it instantly, but just stay focused). Once you feel it, picture it flowing in through your left palm and filling up your solar plexus. After doing this a few minutes you'll feel that your core has been very energized. Once it is, then focus on continuing the energy through your left arm, into the solar plexus, then have it flow our your right. Bring it in with a deep breath in, and send it out with a slow breath out.

This practice was extremely energizing for me. A couple notes I found in this practice:

1. I find it very energizing just to let it fill the solar plexus and not actually bother flowing it out the right arm. The outflow is more for achiving a state of harmony, the initial fill is more for gaining energy.

2. You really do have to make your arms relatively strait. I tried this with my arms centered on my lap and just couldn't get it to work.

This has definately become a new favorite of mine.

[Coelho]

Well... first of all, im much of what Don Juan calls a "lyric sorcerer", meaning one who knows much theory and few practice... im too lazy and unmotivated to follow anything seriously, and thats why i never had many success with meditation and such.

Anyway... my 1st technique i learned when was 15, and it was called "autogen training"... the idea of the book it was achieve acid-like effects using just the mind. That was the first time i read about any relationships between psychedelics and meditation... so i think i can say that it was the beggining of my journey.

The first step was lay down, or sit in a confortable position. (i, lazy as i am, always lay down... and almost always fall in sleep...)
Then breathe deeply and concentrate in the weight of the body. Try to imaginate the body submerging in the couch, or melting, or anything which makes you aware of its weight.
In the start, keep repeating formulaes like "my right arm is heavy... my right leg is heavy... my left arm is heavy..." helps to feel the weight.

After mastering the feeling of body weight, when you can feel your body like a heavy mass of jelly, the next step is concentrate in the feeling of warmness in the whole body.
Formulaes like "my right arm is warm..." and so may help the begginers.
When mastered, those 2 techniques works wonders in matter of relaxing. The body feels like if you were in a warm bath, floating... its very pleasurable... and if done during 15-20 minutes can provide a very effective rest. I used to do this, and after this 20 minutes i would feel like i had slept several hours, and awoke well refreshed and disposed.

Note that after doing this relaxation, its not good just jump up from the couch... even because sometimes its almost impossible. The body is very relaxed, and it needs to become used to tension again. So, when you finish the relaxation, you must "re-awake" the body very slowly. Move the fingers of one hand, open and close them. You will notice that there is a need of great effort for doing so, it seems you became weaker... then, after it, move your hand, slowly. Then, slowly, move the arms, then the toes, feets, legs, neck and head. After it, its very good and pleasurable to stretch all the body... i think its what most resembles the feeling of had slept a lot.

If this exercises were done for more time (30min-1h), the final effect is much like a indica stone. When you finish, you feel very slow, peaceful, happy, and so... in fact, the first time ever i did use weed (ate some raw weed), i described the effects i had (a light body stone) as "the same of 2 hours of relaxing".

But that are only the two inicial steps. After being deeply relaxed, heavy and warm, you must concentrate in the breath. Try to feel the breath, and forget anything else. You must be all breath, and nothing else.
Again, formulaes like "im all breath..." may help.
When mastered, you feel like the breath is the only thing that exists... its hard to describe, but its very pleasant also.

After mastering the awareness of breath, you must concentrate in the heartbeat. When you were breathing calmly and relaxed, focus your awareness on your heart beating. Feel the beats of it. Feel them propagating throught all the body. It was an interesting feeling... i could actually feel the heart beat, and then the wave generated by it run through my body, i could feel the beat going down to my legs until the toes, going down to my arms until my fingers, and going up until the head... it was weird, but very nice.

That 4 techniques were the only i actually mastered. For me, the pleasurable feeling i got with them were enough, at that time, so i never went further with this techniques. Anyway, the next steps are:

Concentrate in a heat coming from the solar plexus. Try to feel it like if there was a small ball of fire in it, which radiates heat for all the abdomen.

Next, you must feel your forehead confortably cool. Again, it is accomplished by imagining the feeling of coolness in the forehead.

An interesting use for this relaxation techniques is somewhat caled "positive thinking", "self-hipnosis" and such. The idea is keep repeatedly a thought into the mind while the body is relaxed during the practice. Like, after feeling your breath, heart, heat in the plexus and cool in the forehead, concentrate in a thought like "i will achieve good grades", or "i will stop smoking cigarretes", or anything you wish. If repeated enough while the mind is relaxed, it can have amazing results.

Anyway, this are the body techniques. The next step are the mind techniques.

After having you body relaxed and having accomplished everything above, you must visualize some color. You must see a color with your eyes closed. I really dont know how, as i never mastered it and am a very poor visualizator. Im only translating the book, but im sure lots of peopls can do this, after enough training.
The eyes must be looking to the "third eye", a point in the forehead somewhat above the between the eyes. When mastered this technique, the people must be able to see a uniform field of a color in front of the closed eyes. The author call the color you see as "personal color". It says that is not a previously choosen color, but rather the color you see when the eyes are closed. (I see black , as my eyes are closed , but as i said, im not a good visualizator.)

Mastered this technique, you must visualize any color you wish, at your choice. Choose the color, relax the body with the techniques, and then visualize the choosen color.

Next step is to visualize concrete objects. After relaxing and visualizing colors, you must try to visualize an object. Anything. You must practice it until you actually "see" the object as if you were looking at it.

After visualizing concrete objects, the next step is visualizing abstract things, like "justice", "happiness", and such. The book says that after mastering this, many people feels like tripping... they see things, or hear things, or whatever...

The book continues, and the next step is visualizing some feeling. You must concentrate in the feeling that comes to your mind, and visualize it.

Mastered it, you must visualize a choosen person. It helps to visualize persons that you have not stong feeling toward they, as this feelings usually hinders the visualization. When mastered, this technique allows to feel what are our real feelings towards the people visualizated.

And, at last, you may use it to ask questions to your inner mind. After mastering all the prevoius techniques, you may be able to ask a question while your mind is in this "alterated state", and watch what are the responses.

Well... after almost one hour of heavy translating/typing, i discovered a site that covers all the body techniques i described above... If i knew it, it would have saved me a lot of time... anyway, the explanations there are more detailed, so the link is:

Autogenics -- A self-help training schedule

Well... later i will post the another techniques ive tried... even cause its the longest post i ever wrote.

[Coelho]

Another "technique" i use... not exactly a technique... its more a help for concentrating the mind.
I go for a walk, and try to concentrate all my attention in hearing the sounds outside me. As you know, we humans have a tendency to speak to ourselves all the time. But, for meditating, is good to keep the mind silent, what is very difficult (at least for me), because of this constant flow of internal talk.
So, i try to move my attention from this internal talk to the outside sounds. I found that walking helps doing it. With practice, you can hear a lot of sounds of the things surrounding you, you may almost "see" only hearing the sounds... like... i cross many streets without looking, just hearing if there is some car near or not.
I noticed that being stoned out of my mind helps a lot, cause i need to keep walking and acting normal, even if my mind is racing, so i MUST concentrate all my attention in the task of walking "normally" and hearing, and doing so, there isnt any attention left to the internal talk.
When you master it, you become able to shut up the internal talk at will, just focusing your mind in another thing.
I think that was the technique most useful for me until today, cause stopping to talk with myself always was (and still is) my biggest problem.
Who would imagine that walking stoned in the streets would be a meditation technique?

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Another "technique" i use... not exactly a technique... its more a help for concentrating the mind.
I go for a walk, and try to concentrate all my attention in hearing the sounds outside me. As you know, we humans have a tendency to speak to ourselves all the time. But, for meditating, is good to keep the mind silent, what is very difficult (at least for me), because of this constant flow of internal talk.
So, i try to move my attention from this internal talk to the outside sounds. I found that walking helps doing it. With practice, you can hear a lot of sounds of the things surrounding you, you may almost "see" only hearing the sounds... like... i cross many streets without looking, just hearing if there is some car near or not.
I noticed that being stoned out of my mind helps a lot, cause i need to keep walking and acting normal, even if my mind is racing, so i MUST concentrate all my attention in the task of walking "normally" and hearing, and doing so, there isnt any attention left to the internal talk.
When you master it, you become able to shut up the internal talk at will, just focusing your mind in another thing.
I think that was the technique most useful for me until today, cause stopping to talk with myself always was (and still is) my biggest problem.
Who would imagine that walking stoned in the streets would be a meditation technique?

I actually do this all the time Coelho, it's a huge stress reliever, it creates a remarkable and clear perception, and helps me feel happy again. Personally though I don't find being stoned helps for any kind of meditation, in fact it hinders it.
But anyway you're right, you can train the brain to be able to control thought processes, with any meditation technique really. I've learned to shut the thoughts off completely or make them race at will now, it's very handy and makes bus rides more enjoyable:thumbsup:

[snowblind]

in rewiring your brain, well the science school of this is just beginning to emeger in pni whihc is psycological nureal imumiology and nureal kinetics. which is exactley that, rewiring the brain. look it up its well interesting

no worries gandalf hope it helps you feel enegrised

peace

[Coelho]

Interesting to read about your "star technique"... even more interesting is that in the same day i had read (in that link posted by Inferius) some techniques for extracting energy from things, and had tried it too. Coincidence?

My first attempt was toextract energy from the Earth. I lay down, relaxed, and started to visualize a flow of energy coming from the Earth and entering my back (as i was lying down)... i dont know if it was because i was focusing all my mind in this thought and therefore concentratingvery well, or if the technique works even in the first attempt... anyway, i felt VERY good... i wouldnt say i was "energized", but i felt a great well-being, and achieved a very deep relaxation.

Next day, i went to uni, stoned of course. My home is somewhat far from there, so the bus i take travels a lot until arrive there, and during the traject it goes near the sea. Then i tried to extract energy from the sea, and from the setting sun.
The bus was going westwards, so the sun was in front of me, and low in the horizon. Then i visualized the "energy" coming from the sea below me (i was in a large bridge) as small drops of water, rising, and passing through me. Also, i visualized the sun shining through me, and lighting this small drops, so they would reflect the light and shine, like small drops of transparent silver... it was a very beautiful image... and when i arrived at the uni, i was feeling very, VERY peaceful. It was a peacefulness different from i feel when i just smoke, so i know it wasnt caused by the weed. It was deeper, like if my innerest soul were calm and peaceful... it was very good and pleasurable.
And the mind image of rising drops of water, lighted by the setting sun was beautiful indeed...

[Coelho]

Personally though I don't find being stoned helps for any kind of meditation, in fact it hinders it.

Well... in this specific case, i use the mind confusion caused by the weed as a help. If i were sober, walking would be a very normal thing, i would not need to think to walk, it would be an automatic thing.
But, as im stoned, i MUST concentrate to keep walking normally. So, i use the confusion as an way to force myself to concentrate.
And also ive noticed that weed enhance my senses, so its easier to pay attention to the sounds and such. Like someone said, its a bit of "cheating", but nevermind...

[Iambreathingin]

I've began to use these methods while sitting in the bottem of the shower.

Try it, it's fantastic xD