I sometimes have trouble relaxing as a lot of people do, has anyone found meditation helpful and if so where did you learn your technique?

Ta

I don’t meditate as such as find it’s boring and leaves me sluggish, tunnel vision and emptiness aren’t enjoyable. The time and scheduling needed meant I saw it as a calendar chore. After dietary change, exercise and sorting out the right sleep necessary, it works for me to reach into memories of being in peaceful or inspiring places, and interact there, changing the viewpoint, remembering the way things moved around you, people, conversations and music. I can access when I need to, rather than having to set myself determined time. Daydreaming in essence. I learnt my own method sitting on hills for days/weeks at a time, at functions both ends of the spectrum, hi-boots and barefoot.

Thanks destructo thats helpful

I don’t meditate as such…

You don’t meditate at all. Ruminate, perhaps; but definitely not meditate. The whole point of meditation is to focus on the now, by staying with an even breathing and letting thoughts (and daydreams) pass by without consideration. We can learn a lot about ourselves by understanding the thoughts/feelings that try to distract us from meditation. If one does it properly, one should feel calm and focused afterwards, and indeed quite alert. It takes practice and a lot of discipline to be able to meditate ‘productively’.

A friend of mine has just done a 10-day vipassana and found it very useful for not only learning how and why it’s good to meditate, but also how and why not to.

I meditate, only in a simple manner but it helps me to break out of a funk if I can’t solve a problem or something is really peeing me off. It helps to kind of restart your OS so you can approach a problem from new.
I don’t susbcribe to any of the spiritual bollocks that often accompanies it. It’s an excellent technique for mind control and mind relaxtion, thats it.

I just concentrate on becoming aware of the point when I change from breathing in to breathing out and vice versa. You don’t have to be sat down or anything, I do it in the queue at the supermarket..

Yes, a lot more since I got fast broadband

Cheers guys, any recommended reading?

Or attending? http://bit.ly/K5iWlz 29th April – 8th May at the bottom of the Peaks. Come and go as you please. A non-commercial camp based on Magic Hat donations.

@Three-Fish, Sorry about the description, my ‘day dreaming’ puts me out of local awareness and time distorts. I can slip in pretty fast because of having been able to meditate earlier in life. Personally I choose to interact which helps me recover when i finish. Blankness doesn’t work for my mind. The time and effort needed to achieve what your mate is trying to do is in my past. The Op just needs some guidance to take the kettle off the boil for now and if he thinks it’s for him then maybe he’ll put the time and effort in someday.

I started last year on my 30th birthday (I was at a course) and have slowly built up to doing it pretty much every day.

It has has a dramatic positive impact on my life, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.

I’m not in the least bit religious and look at it as a tool for personal development, rather than some mystical experience.

My advice would be to do little an often, rather than trying to do lots in one go.

Yes, a lot more since I got fast broadband

😀