Hi how are we team I want to get into meditation clear the mind a little any tips would be great never really had any experience so beginner so as much info as possible please ✌️ and 🌈

The variety that would probably match what you're after would be mindfulness meditation. Or, just going for extended slow walks through nature where all you have is natures television to stimulate the senses.. that's a form of meditation in itself.

You can also work on the back-end, that is clearing up the things in your life that cause you stress and clutter the mind in the first place. Which everyone should do anyway. Diet, exercise, sleep, making time for yourself and cutting out as much crap as possible.

Through both of those you can create a 'space' or physiological pattern where you're at ease, which through consistency gets stronger and easier to fall into during 'normal life'. The best anchor you can use is your breath, because controlling breathing is easy and can rapidly shift your inner physiological state (look up sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system states).

I think the best advice is to not treat meditation as a compartmentalized thing you sit down and do for 20 minutes a day and then go back to a life of utter bullshit. That's a totally Western approach to things that is just, well, shit. Life is a movement not a pose.

Thanks my friend I’ve been meaning to start walking sounds like a good idea and maybe start running a little I think that could be my time to myself with all this lockdown thanks heaps for the advice cheers ✌️ and 🌈

Life is most definitely a movement. Which is why it's important to learn to be able to hold a sense of equanimity. Though there are many forms of "meditation", the most basic techniques are oftentimes the most effective at achieving states of calm and detached awareness, and learning the workings of ones own mind in the process.

A sitting meditation practice allows one the opportunity to turn down the chatter, but before this happens one must become okay with the fact that there is a seemingly endless flow of thought. "Zazen", or Zen Meditation is literally 'the art of doing nothing'. How hard is it to do nothing? It's one of the most difficult things to do - the mind makes this so. The mind knows all the tricks to get your attention. Just when you think you've fooled the mind and got yourself into a state in which you are not thinking of anything, it knows exactly what will interest you and does it so quickly that you had no chance to even expect that it was conspiring for your attention. So in taking a detached approach to the endless flow of thought, not getting 'hung up' on thoughts as they arise but simply letting them arise, and then letting them fall, one learns to be able to relax into life, into thoughts, into emotions, into situations.

Then the obvious problem arises in focusing on letting go of the thoughts. If you are focusing on the letting go or prioritizing the elimination of thoughts then that is where your attention lies - and then you are not really doing 'nothing'. So there are little tricks that one can do to focus the attention in such a way that your mind loosens.

The simplest trick involves focusing on taking calm, relaxed breaths from the belly up and letting the air fall out. Your breath is your focal point. Any time the mind tries to lead you somewhere you bring your attention back to the breath. And you continue doing this for as long as you can. Each time your mind starts - back to the breath.

Another trick is the repetition of a word, phrase, or prayer to achieve the same state of focused attention. There are many ancient mantras, names of God, or phrases that people have used for millennia that one can use, but it's important at the beginning to choose one that you resonate with. The method is the same, each time the mind begins to take you somewhere, brin your attention back to the word or phrase you are intoning.

I believe it was Ram Dass who gave the metaphor of the mind as a choppy ocean - the thoughts being the torrent of waves constantly crashing in on one another. When one does mantra, the repetition of the word or phrase is like a single drop that produces a ripple, from the center out, in essence calming the choppy waves of thought.

This takes practice to do, which is why it is called a practice to meditate. The goal of Zazen is to move past this state of focusing ones attention to stop it and settle into a state of detached attention to whatever is, and letting the mind sedate itself as its available focal points cease to hold attention.

Over time and consistent practice, the ability to slip into a meditative state becomes easier to slip into - not always, but you will recognize the state of consciousness and you will recognize what state of mind you are in for the day (most meditators recommend beginning the practice in the morning, which I would agree with).

As a beginner, i would recommend starting with one of the basic methods of mantra or focus on the breath. However, I fully agree with xss27 that the point of all this is to be present and enjoy the moment. Whether its taking a walk in nature and really focusing your awareness on what you are feeling with the senses, or doing something that you love which brings you fully into the present such as creating something, building something, moving the body (martial arts, sports) etc.. whatever that is that brings you fully into you, is meditation - and a form of higher consciousness. Ones vital faculties are alive and overflowing.

How does one achieve happiness? Find your purpose, and do things that give you purpose. When one has purpose, there is no room for boredom or depression. If meditation is a tool that helps you feel purposeful, then do it. If not, it might be a beneficial practice, but it doesn't have to be. Mindfulness in as many moments as you can muster will help to bring a sense of purpose.

Good luck on your journey

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The Headspace app is quite good, although it does cost money. You can try to first 10 sessions for free, although they are only 10 mins each as compared to the full-length sessions which can go for 15 or 20 mins. Another reason to try Headspace is that it's a little bit more than meditation as it has helpful analogies, animations, and visualization techniques.

Cheers spiro I’ll have a look into that sounds interesting but I tell you I went for a couples of runs the other night first time since primary school and wow felt amazing after that saying about you kneed to experience it to understand it people use to tell me I feel good after exercise man I use to laugh damn it’s so true when I jumped into bed my mind was so peaceful I could feel it as one not in a mental sense but physical sense like it was the one that did the running not my legs etc and the visuals so much clarity cheers lots of love ✌️ and 🌈