Meditation (see post 8)

[justGhostie]

Alright, i've found skirting around the idea of meditating is running me into walls, seeing as most of the workings and such i would like to do normally would have meditating somewhere in it. But so, the problem is, that im always thingking about SOMETHING. And those somethigns randomly make me twitch when im trying to clear my mind. Call it stress, i might agree. But does anyone have any tips on how would be a good way to go about meditating? Seeing as im still new at the whole Pagan thing, this seems like a solid subject to take a stab at.  

[The Bookwyrm]

You're always going to think, whether you're meditating or not. Focus too hard on not thinking and you're going to end up thinking about not thinking, so the trick is to focus your mind in on one thing. Say, for example, a candle flame. Other thoughts are going to enter into your mind, but you have to just let them pass instead of persuing them.

The twitch could be stress, or it could be nerves jumping; try finding another position, one that you're going to be comfortable in, and see if that helps. Meditation doesn't always have to be done sitting cross-legged on the floor; it can be done while laying down or seated on a comfortable chair. wink  

[Ezinu]

i agree with gypsy and try not to push the thoughts out as more then just let them flow out on their own it may take a bit of time but the more you do it the faster you will be able to blank you mind it took me a long time before i could even get my mind to be quite for a sec most spell work has you meditating on something the out come of the spell what your goal is and i twich as well but its from releasing stress when your body relaxes it twiches alot like when someone is sleeping they will twich at the begining alot because their body has been wound up so tight all day.  

[Starlock]

Yup... meditation isn't neccesarily so much about blanking out the mind as much as it is attaining a state of focus that we rarely get in everyday life. You can attain an altered state of consciousness by jogging, for example, or by fixating on a task like working on art pieces (I know I end up in that state sometimes when I'm painting sculptures... suddenly an hour has flown by and I feel like it's been only ten minutes). Meditation can be as much about being hyper-aware of your environment as it is about relaxation. I often just open up my senses to the environment around me and let it flood in. There are definately 'thoughts' there (well, I'd call them sensations), but once you get to this state where you feel one with the environment around you... you've got something there. It's a hard thing to describe... xd  

[ratgirl34]

I managed to meditiate twice. The second time was infinitly easier and more relaxing, but the phone rang before I came out of it and I got snapped out of it. Felt like the time I touched my thumb to an electric fence, I could feel the pulse rin down my thumb and disapear by the time it got to my wrist. But this time the pulse was going through my whole body, infinitly faster and I couldn't 'pull my thumb away' so to speak.

Now when ever I try to meditate I hear a phone ring (when there isn't one ringing) and get freaked right out of trying. And last time when I did manage to keep trying I had the same problems you are having all over again!

When I was most comfortable in my meditation I was sitting in front of my computer of all things. I closed my eyes and thought of a white light slowly spreading through my body, I thought only of counting slowly from one to ten while it filled my body. And I havn't been able to do it since...  

[Jezehbelle]

There's a plethora (wheee) of different ways to meditate. Emptying your mind sounds a little more eastern. How can you meditate on something if you aren't allowed to think? You don't have to stay still either. I know plenty of people who use Tai Chi and Yoga as a means to meditate. 3nodding

Actually there was an article about meditating in either this months or last months Prevention Magazine -- there's an abundance of benefits you can get from meditation. 3nodding It helps to with high blood pressure, insomnia, weight gain, concentration, depression, and your immune system.
And it'd cheap. mrgreen

I'd focus on relaxing first. For example, when I first started meditating, I would focus on my feet, like there was a ball rolling through them, making me aware of any pain they had inside them and letting it go. Then I'd move up to my shins and so on until I got to my forehead.

It takes practice. You're not going to be a master meditator right off the bat and it'll be difficult for a while, but practicing helps a ton, even if you don't really meditate for too long or too deeply.  

[born2rock16]

~Ghost of a Rose~

Alright, i've found skirting around the idea of meditating is running me into walls, seeing as most of the workings and such i would like to do normally would have meditating somewhere in it. But so, the problem is, that im always thingking about SOMETHING. And those somethigns randomly make me twitch when im trying to clear my mind. Call it stress, i might agree. But does anyone have any tips on how would be a good way to go about meditating? Seeing as im still new at the whole Pagan thing, this seems like a solid subject to take a stab at.

I'm new to all of this, but I found some stuff on meditatating here......:

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/chakras/meditations.htm

so, I've been trying to meditate too, and this gave me some ideas, but listen to all of these people too.....they're awesome!!!

L8er!!  

[Winter Black]

This is something I've wanted to do research on, but I don't know where to start.
I know runes, cards, dream interpereatation... I know mythology, and legend, and even, in some cases, the day to day life of the past. I know spells, the writing of spells, the casting of spells... And I know, for the most part, herbs and stones.
The one thing I don't know is Meditation. And this is funny, because that should be the simplest thing.

What I want to know from you guys is if you can meditate, how you meditate, where you seem most comfortable when you do meditate, and what kind of things I should be researching on meditation.
Also, feel free to mention anything else you think I should know in regards to meditation, that I may or may not already know, but would love to hear again anyways.

The reason I'm making this post is because every time I've tried to meditate, no matter what position I'm in, where I'm situated, who I'm with (or, not with, even), I just can't seem to get centered. I twitch, and move, and my mind won't stop thinking, and no matter how many times I try and get rid of my thoughts, ten more attack me out of no where. And when I get rid of those, it happens again.
My biggest problem is that I can't not think. I always have two or three thoughts floating in my mind that are important, and even if I don't pursue them, they either come back exactly, or come back in a different form. And no matter how I push them away, it never stays that way.
I want to keep my mind clear for at least a minute, but I can't keep less then three thoughts from my mind at any given time.
Its annoying.
Even when I try to focus on one thing, like a flame, or a dot, or a blank piece of paper, the rest of my thoughts seem to try and fill in the space of what I'm focusing on. So, it will be me, sitting, or laying, and focusing on a cloud or a leaf, and suddenly two thoughts will pop up. Lets go with the leaf. The first thought will be something like "thats a really ugly green," and the other one would be more along the lines of "whats the point?" And they will hit simultaneously, and not only confuse me, but throw me right out.
And sometimes, when I do get my mind cleared, a voice from no where will randomly snap me back into (or, if you prefer, out of) focus, and I'll be right back where I started.
And by a voice from no where, I mean a whopper of a yell from in my own mind. Like "blank blank blank CANDICE! Ah! [no longer in focus]" And I have no idea what the hell that is, either.  

[Jezehbelle]

There's two main types of meditation that I can think of. This zen like meditation, is when your brain shuts up, and the other is on focus. It's a sort of misconception that it has to be quiet, or still.

You have a busy brain, like me.

I have serveral thoughts at the same time a lot. The only parts where it "hurts" me is where I'm trying to talk to someone and they end up getting confused about what I'm talking about because it comes out garbled when I'm speaking... Or when I'm trying to go to sleep at night and my brain is going over time thinking about Theodosis the First, astronomy, and my old American Lit teacher and how they're all connected, and my brain won't shut up...
However, when I'm writing a paper or something similar, it helps because I only have to think about it for a few minutes and I have alot of the connections already.

The problem is when you think about not thinking about things, your brain goes, "HEY WAIT A MINUTE!" Because it's not how things should go with a normally overactive mind. Even things on the subconcious surface so that your brain can be really thinking.

Instead of focusing on something materially abstract, like a candle flame or a dot or something, focus on something that matters to you. Close your eyes and see with your mind, poke it into creating something else for you to focus on.

Candles are too easy for your head. There's nothing to focus on. Your brains saying "hey, that's just a candle, but think about this this and this!"
Challenge it a bit by thinking in the abstract. If you're actively thinking about something, visualizing, if you will, then it might become a bit easier. You won't fall asleep and if other thoughts get in the way, you and mentally boot them. If they come back, it's no big deal, because your main focus is on this other thing that your brain is creating.

You could create in your mind a scene that you put yourself in, for example. Or something that helped me learn Tarot cards, and what helps me learn new decks when I get them is looking at a specific card and studying it for a few minutes. Getting the images and colors and shapes and so on.
Then I get comfy, and start focusing on it, and imagining that I'm in this card and learning it from a different perspective. Or even taking a card and figuring out what it means for me right then, focusing on a situation now or to come.

In Tai Chi, I focus on my hands. In standard meditation for me, it depends on what's going on. For a long time, it took me a while to figure out how to focus on one kind of thing at a time without otherthinks getting in the way. Now, it's pretty easy to get my mind to do things. I standardly, am laying on my bed and just start with focusing on my forehead and what I'm wanting to meditate on. Its just easier for me, then my body follows.

Make it active focus than active "getting rid of thoughts".  

[Faith-The1Slayer]

~Ghost of a Rose~

Alright, i've found skirting around the idea of meditating is running me into walls, seeing as most of the workings and such i would like to do normally would have meditating somewhere in it. But so, the problem is, that im always thingking about SOMETHING. And those somethigns randomly make me twitch when im trying to clear my mind. Call it stress, i might agree. But does anyone have any tips on how would be a good way to go about meditating? Seeing as im still new at the whole Pagan thing, this seems like a solid subject to take a stab at.

there r many ways to go about medatation if u want me to teach u pm me