I've always had an interest in meditation. the peacefulness. the introspection. Unfortunatley, i seem to suffer from an almost non-existant attention span. Having searched the nexus for a while, iv found some really helpful and insightful things. For fellow members of the nexus on the search for the path of meditation; i highley recomend the below to links:
https://www.dmt-nexus.me...spx?g=posts&m=189924
https://www.dmt-nexus.me...spx?g=posts&m=176941

a big thanks goes to D_Juggz and GalactivatedMuse for the information and initial posts.

so to you nervana seekers; what is it you think of while meditation? how is it you practice such an act? my issue seems to lie in that when i try to relax and generaly achieve the peaceful state, my mind goes a mile a minit. so far, i try to concentrate on breathing technique and go from there. to little sucess? anyone have any good tips?
id also love to welcome peoples thoughts on meditation, the benefits its brought them. even perhaps their favourite methods of mediation and setting.

check out the second post in this thread. when sitting I usually think about whatever, letting the thoughts happen until they quiet down. sometimes it'll take thirty minutes of relaxation before there's peace.

consistent practice helps a lot.

I've spent years reading books about Buddhism. I've also tried to meditate with little success. I don't know if salvia is legal where you live, but one hit of plain leaf will pacify your ego and quiet your mind (at least temporarily).

IMO, seeking liberation through meditation has been a big failure. Realistically, probably less than one percent of monks actually get anywhere close to some type of enlightenment. If meditation were more of a success, more people would be practicing meditation than opting for western type consumer/money driven goals.

Hundreds of years ago, Buddhist monks realized that it was a bad idea to desire nirvana on a personal level. They decided to make a vow not to enter nirvana until all beings were liberated. Well, here we are in 2010, and I don't see any beings being liberated anywhere.

SWIM did a lot a TM (Transcendental Meditation) many, many years ago, some of the concepts were good, but the result are no better than this;

http://www.relaxationresponse.org/steps/

Here's a link with more ideas you might try;

http://www.co-bw.com/Brain_meditation_handbook.htm

And by the way, SWIM has found DMT produces an afterglow of clarity and calm that is in itself a meditative state, lasting for hours and sometimes days.

Even during DMT, SWIM can hardly do anything else other than "Focus On Now", which is really what meditation is all about. :idea:

I've always found that the more you want something during meditation, the less likely you will get it. You'll get so caught up in expectations that you have, that you will miss what is there. I always like to start with focusing my breathing and then cleansing my energy and chakras. I try not to focus on any negative, only positive. Replace your don't's with do's. What I mean by that is, DO concentrate on love and peace. If you concentrate on NOT having your brain go a mile a minute, it most likely will. From a relaxed state you can ask yourself (or anything out there) to show or comunicate in whatever way, anything you or it wants to tell you. Also, as GalactivatedMuse stated in a post I read earlier, it helps tremendously to visualize a 'bubble' of light or energy, with the intent that only peace/love/higher vibrations can enter. I also find it helpful to 'root' myself to Earth.

The first step is to realize that meditative state is our most natural state. So natural and intimate to us in fact that its a "non-state'...and everything else is a state. For meditation, all you need to "do" is to stop "doing" everything ur doing. ANYTHING you "do" to attain that "non state" will take you away from it...so just STOP, and do nothing at all.

you don't need any "techniques" or "methods" or "strategies" to be what you already are and always will be. that is the ego playing tricks, and you must realize it for what it is. So...simple BE, and let go of all your "techniques". Please watch this video: Rest As Awareness, and you'll understand much better.

you know why you get frustrated? its because you're trying to attain a certain state. you have goals, and expectations. let them all flush away, and realize that there is nothing to attain..NOTHING AT ALL. EVERYTHING is ALREADY here. if you encounter frustration, then accept it, acknowledge it, and observe it...and keep doing that. you're mind will make you think that this is a waste of time, and you're not getting anywhere because it always wants MORE. it is programmed for "doing"...whereas your true nature is not to "do", but to "be".

Rest in the empty space. Realize there is nothing to gain, and no goal to reach. This is all there is.
Try to imagine this for a few minutes: you are going to die (you know this with certainty) in the next 5 minutes. How will you live your life then? You would live it with a high awareness which would arise naturally, since conflict of any sort wouldn't be serving any purpose anymore. Techniques, and methods will only distract you since they are a product of the mind, designed . Listen to your deepest intuition, and live ur life by that

You should try out vipassana meditation. I did many different kinds over the years, and went to many different teachers. For me, and everyone is different, I have found the most success in vipassana meditation, which is also called insight meditation and is the type used by buddhist, vipassana was the origional teachings of the buddha. There is no mantra's, or focusing on this image, this shape, color, god or what ever. The problem there is a level of dogma. The point of vipassana is to observe yourself as you are, and not as you would like things to be. So its a process of scanning the body and using sensations as a tool in meditation. Its working with something thats actually happening in your body, as it is, not as you would like to create. Its through the insite of arising and passing away that these sensations will have, that will lead you to the deeper realization and understanding of yourself/reality. Things arise so they may pass away. Even bliss states in meditation that allot of people think is the end goal, they must not be held on to, because they are a trap just as much as the heavy gross sensations. Equonimity is needed. I can't go into detail about how to do vipassana, it must be taught by a legit teacher. But they have centers all over the world. You first need to take a 10 day course. Its completely free, they will feed you and house you, you just have to follow the program. Its 10-11 hours of meditation a day for 10 days, in complete silence, no writing, no talking, no gestures. They do it in a way where they can prove to you within the 10 days the method, if you work hard. So when you leave its not just an idea, but an experience that shows you its worth.

http://www.dhamma.org/
All money is donated, all time by teachers and people running/serving you, are donated. What I learned long ago in my spiritual journey is ask yourself two questions. How much money are they asking from you? And are they trying to boost up a spiritual leader/is the main focus around the teacher. If either are these are true, its a good chance you are wasting your time. True knowledge will always be free, or pretty close to, if it is given by someone who actually understands these truths. And second, if the focus is around the teacher, this is another clue that the purity of the knowledge isnt there.

Vipassana is one of the only ones that I have gone too, where both questions fell on the side of truth. They are not asking a penny from you, as they house/feed and teach for 10 days, and honestly I don't even remember the teachers name, they do it for service, not name recongition, thats clear when you are there.

Just follow your heart...

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

I also have the attention span of a mayfly

After practicing meditation (or attempting to) for around 15 years, I've finally settled into a regular meditation practice of about 30 mins a day in a neutral standing position (a basic Chi Gung posture)...a few years ago I asked a Chi Gung teacher if I was doing it right. He laughed and said that after over 25 years of meditation practice he still didn't know if he was doing it right...

The key for me has been regular practice. I still wonder "what am I doing this for?", "am I doing it right?", "is this a completele waste of time?", my mind often races, I get distracted and forget what I'm doing and I've certainly never experienced any mystical states while meditating (although of course I did really want to ), but the regular practice seems to have a subtle positive effect in my day to day life so I keep doing it...I don't really understand what happens or why it works (and I've actually read "Zen and the Brain" haha!) but something happens and it does

Along with the wise words of Phantastica and recommendations of dpwishy, I would also suggest reading or listening to Brad Warner (http://hardcorezen.blogspot.com/) who writes about his experiences as a chap who worked in Japan for a sci-fi movie company/Zen monk/plays bass in a hardcore band. He's down to earth and has some interesting thoughts about meditation.

Keep on keeping on!

Just being aware is mediating, you are awareness.

You ask about the benefits of meditation. I would say the real major benefit is the realisation that the yabbering nutter that keeps crapping on all day in your head is not who you are (a relief for some of us ). When you can sit for several minutes at a time without a single word being said in your head, you at last start to feel (maybe for the first time?) the real essense of 'you' that has existed all the time, but had been drowned out by 'yabbering monkey-mind'. Apart from anything else, it's a wonderful peaceful experience to give the monkey half an hour off.

If you think about it, it is fairly bizzare that we think in words in the first place - if you're not communicating to someone else, why use words? We all know that the use of words restricts our thoughts to what can be expressed by pre-made constructs. So that is another benefit of meditation - experiencing thinking without words.

Also, once you have quietened everything down, you have more of your 'attention' available to observe things. For example, if a memory floats to the surface, you can notice how it makes you feel in your stomach/solar plexus/heart etc., and let it work itself out without 'thinking mind' charging in making value judgements/comparisons and even changing the subject altogether before the newly emerged memory has had a chance to do its thing.

I would say that those simple things are what has been the main benefits for me. Other things do seem to naturally emerge from that daily inner peace though, such as greater compassion, a much greater ability to understand people whose actions you dislike, and a desire to help others who are struggling etc...but just the mental peace is way reason enough to meditate IMO.

As to 'how to do it'...I would say sit cross-legged on a mat on the floor, but with your butt sitting on a substantial cushion, so that it is higher than your legs. Back comfortably straight, but not bolt-upright. Eyes closed. When starting out I found the best way to start quieting your inner-monkey is to count the breaths. Breathe in and just think o---n---e---- and a little silent pause before you exhale, and then breathe out t----w-----o---, silent pause, then breathe in t---h---r--e---e--- and so on. It's not yet strictly 'no thought', but it rather cleverly gives the monkey something to concentrate on so it has no time to think! Very effective. Pretty soon you can just 'observe' the breaths without counting...and eventually you can forget about the breaths altogether and 'just sit there' and observe what emerges...or just enjoy the peace.

Finally, my favourite piece of advice was from Jack Kornfield, who compared quieting monkey-mind to training a very young puppy. You say 'stay-y-y', and the puppy sits for 2 seconds then wanders off. So you pick it up and bring it back again without getting cross with it. Stay-y-y, it wanders off, and every time it does, you just quietly put it back and start again. Your mind will keep starting up the yabber, and at first you won't even notice it has happened. But as soon as you do notice, don't beat yourself up about it - just smile, put back the puppy, and start again.

So that's my experience (so far). 20 minutes a day is all I have ever done, but it brings my life great calm and space, and you certainly notice it if you ever stop.

Limeni

Just sit friend, don't try to achieve a state. It will arise on its own.
Watch the thoughts come and watch them go, watch your restless state.

LOVE

once again. really insightful contributions from everyone, some great links and pointers aswell. god i love this place.
i think im going to just take the sit and relax approach. hopefuly i can progress from there and ill be the next buddah in no time! not that im aiming for that or anything
as always, hugley appreciated people.

Kundalini meditation works exceptionally well. It helps one to form a solid balance between mind and body. I've reached some awesome heights during Kundalini. I have seen the universe wrap around me, myself being the center of all things, I came out feeling like a new man.

I spent allot of time teaching meditation back in the day. For those who cannot get anywhere with regular meditation I always recommend Tai Chi 24 form is best. It takes a good while to learn to do it correctly and it should not be rushed. It is meditation in motion and once one has gotten a strong grasp on it they usually take to standard meditation practices much easier.

Kundalini for sure.

I think that certain techniques are very helpful to find your center. Then it becomes much easier to let your mind rest on nothingness. With nothingness, space and discipline we achieve peace. With peace within we have it externally. Set your intentions on love. That truly is all you need as a starting stone for meditation. Open the infinite now more. Find the eternal timeless self in this moment as you read this.

Everything is this moment.

If you can grab two seconds of this.. next time you can get three. then four.. Keep going thousands of times if needed throughout your day. That moment.. this moment. Love filling it.

From this point.. this peace descending with energy harmony and alignment you can manifest anything into your life. But what you want has greatly changed at this point.

Looking forward to hear what you find!