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Magical Meditation Corner

Me too!! It reminds me of Avatar a bit. All those beautiful glowy things.

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So beautiful and magical! :hearteyes:



Avatar! <3




The concept/visual designers of Avatar for sure talked alot about Bioluminescent as a Core Theme of the world. ^^

you might like this also..


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The concept/visual designers of Avatar for sure talked alot about Bioluminescent as a Core Theme of the world. ^^

you might like this also..


c0da7d2cc0d8bb984d09366d6fe6d4ab.jpg

Omg!! So pretty! :hearteyes::fearscream:
 
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I'm so sorry to hear this. It must have been really tough.. but I really admire that you seem to came a long way. That is really great! :)
Don't know what is worse about physical pain sometimes.. the hurting aspect.. or.. realizing one's limitations and boundaries.


Yeah. Exactly. ö.ö So, "self-induction"..? Okay.. thank you for sharing. It's really really crazy. Words don't really serve describing this..
I might have mistook "daydreaming" with meditating.. or rather.. letting it switch back and forth often without realizing what I was doing..


^^" I don't do drugs (#beingarealsnore..mainly because most often I don't think I can handle things as they are already.

Anyhow.. resetting and defragmenting a brain sounds rather extreme. What is that like? (PM is okay if this is too intense :)



Thank you thank you ^^ *sends lot of energy*

We all have our struggles that seem to be the most important one in the world sometimes...it’s good to remember the positive when that kind of thinking occurs I have found.
Thank you though for the kind words...I am leading a Chronic Pain Group meeting this Wednesday and the topic is all about "Learning to accept your pain”...which is unnatural and not easy...and the ego fights you every step of the way because it’s causing the majority of the mental stress and negative thought loops that cause depression/anxiety or aggravate PTSD or similar.
Have about 70 people showing up now...I was expecting about 20? Maybe 30?
It is actually about utilizing “entheogens” in order to break free of those loops and depression.
I can certainly recall my own experiences, but that is another big post I don’t have time to write right now...sorry!
I’ve always been very treatment resistant to depression that I have had since birth.
This was done out of desperation more than anything and it was the only thing that ever worked in any kind of significant manner.
The feeling of it being “defragmented” was not always fun by no means...and that is not my intentions with these substances.
There are many many studies now showing the positive effects of these things when done in the proper and medicinal manner...not just as a recreational waste of time.
I fully believe they saved my life...I don’t know that I would have kept going at that time.
This gal explains it very well...she took part in a trial to help those who were suffering depression/anxiety from being diagnosed with terminal illnesses.
What she says about “the harness” being lifted off her...was so right on.

Anyhow...I was thinking that maybe the pure binaural beats might be too difficult for some to listen to...also you don’t have to have the volume up very much at all...it should not be loud by any means.
I really like this one.

Thank you again for the kind words and energy!
 
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We all have our struggles that seem to be the most important one in the world sometimes...it’s good to remember the positive when that kind of thinking occurs I have found.
This is so so true... from the overall good things to the small positive daily things.. and being thankful..

Thank you though for the kind words...
Thank you again for the kind words and energy!
You don't need to thank me ..really.. . ..I enjoy sharing.. (just imagine what a smile can do to anyone when having a bad day.. or sharing some youtube videos on medidation *s*) and also ..we might get stuck in an infinite loop of thank yous (beware :p)..

I am leading a Chronic Pain Group meeting this Wednesday and the topic is all about "Learning to accept your pain”...which is unnatural and not easy...and the ego fights you every step of the way because it’s causing the majority of the mental stress and negative thought loops that cause depression/anxiety or aggravate PTSD or similar.
Have about 70 people showing up now...I was expecting about 20? Maybe 30?
wow, that's really great! and...that are so many people! are you nervous..? (I'll cross my fingers!)

I can certainly recall my own experiences, but that is another big post I don’t have time to write right now...sorry!
Please don't worry or stress yourself out about it.. ^^""

It is actually about utilizing “entheogens” in order to break free of those loops and depression.
I’ve always been very treatment resistant to depression that I have had since birth.
This was done out of desperation more than anything and it was the only thing that ever worked in any kind of significant manner.
What she says about “the harness” being lifted off her...was so right on.
The feeling of it being “defragmented” was not always fun by no means...and that is not my intentions with these substances.
There are many many studies now showing the positive effects of these things when done in the proper and medicinal manner...not just as a recreational waste of time.
I fully believe they saved my life...I don’t know that I would have kept going at that time.
This gal explains it very well...she took part in a trial to help those who were suffering depression/anxiety from being diagnosed with terminal illnesses.
I'm a bit at easy now.. I know a couple of people (that are very dear to me) who aren't necessarily as careful with substances as you sound writing about it in more detail.. and who suffer from depression every now and then throughout life..maybe even still searching for the right help.. that sure is not easy at all.. .. . if you found something that eases life and you take good care of you..that's good :)


Anyhow...I was thinking that maybe the pure binaural beats might be too difficult for some to listen to...also you don’t have to have the volume up very much at all...it should not be loud by any means.
I really like this one.

thank you for sharing, again ^^ When I wanted to try it out my headphones kind of disolved.. but I'll figure this out ^^"""

humm... let me see if I've something for you too... !




I listend to this sometimes in the bathtub with my ears under water :smile:
sound like water, wind blowing, light rays and birds to me <3
 
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This is so so true... from the overall good things to the small positive daily things.. and being thankful..


You don't need to thank me ..really.. . ..I enjoy sharing.. (just imagine what a smile can do to anyone when having a bad day.. or sharing some youtube videos on medidation *s*) and also ..we might get stuck in an infinite loop of thank yous (beware :p)..


wow, that's really great! and...that are so many people! are you nervous..? (I'll cross my fingers!)


Please don't worry or stress yourself out about it.. ^^""


I'm a bit at easy now.. I know a couple of people (that are very dear to me) who aren't necessarily as careful with substances as you sound writing about it in more detail.. and who suffer from depression every now and then throughout life..maybe even still searching for the right help.. that sure is not easy at all.. .. . if you found something that eases life and you take good care of you..that's good :)


thank you for sharing, again ^^ When I wanted to try it out my headphones kind of disolved.. but I'll figure this out ^^"""

humm... let me see if I've something for you too... !




I listend to this sometimes in the bathtub with my ears under water :smile:
sound like water, wind blowing, light rays and birds to me <3

Not too nervous...I would rather have too many people than like 3 people wander in on accident, lol.
No, surprisingly I have never had an issue with public speaking...and I have always worked in the medical field of one sort or another from working on an ambulance, the ER, the OR, assisting with open heart surgery.
I always test as a very assertive INFJ...doing crowd control on an accident scene or yelling at a junkie to “stop thrashing!”...to having to be perfectly cool under super stressful chaotic trauma room conditions, rushing upstairs to the CV-ICU to do an emergency bedside “chest reopening” in cases of bleeding...my mind switches modes and I go into my training/“trivial pursuit” mode where all my previous training as well as random facts are available to me and I know exactly what the next 5 steps are in an instant from practice over the years with a dash of intuition thrown in.
So I have that going for me at least.

There is no way I could have done that right after I became disabled (I have ankylosing spondylitis ((you know it must be true if I know how to spell the damn words))), I had some serious anxiety/depression...it was so bad that if someone like a bill collector called (which I had no money to pay while I waited for disability to be approved) anyhow...it was so bad that I would lose my breath, my heart would pound, I literally could NOT talk to them.
This is going from super-stressful jobs for decades to being incapacitated.
So I was barely hanging on...had some negative drug reactions that almost stopped my heart and that kind of woke me up that I needed to do something more proactive about my mental and physical state.
I meditated every day but could only sit still for 10-15 mins at a time due to the anxiety.
I always stay fairly up to date on the leading edge of medical studies, and also things like the paranormal and etheric energy, etc.
(That’s a bunch of other posts)
Anyhow...like I said it was mostly out of desperation, but I wasn’t stupid about it....I looked up drug interactions, dosages, all the medical studies that showed how well it worked for depression/anxiety/PTSD/addiction/etc. far far better than than ANY anti depressive on the market - which I have tried most of only to have horrible side effects and no positive benefits, in many cases it made the anxiety worse.
So it was this or start to seriously consider electroshock therapy (I was seriously considering it).
The first time was a small dose and it wasn’t very pleasant but it was necessary.
It forced me, for about 6 hours to be present...fully present...it was very uncomfortable mentally at first.
But the more you let go and let it do it’s thing, the more pleasant it becomes.
The studies using fMRIs have shown that the entire brain gets to talk to itself via transmission lines that it doesn’t ever use...bypassing those pathways our thoughts normally travel that have become tainted by negative experiences...so that every thought that travels this path is seen through a “foggy lens” so to speak...the amygdala is highly overactive in people with D&A...for some reasons while it activates the rest of the brain...it quiets this overactive part that is the response center for pain and stress...there is also a dissolution of your ego to various extents...which is very enlightening in itself.
I liken it to being on a giant record that is stuck in a skip...every time it goes around the needle digs that skip just a little bit deeper until finally you can no longer see over the edge of the skip...the rest of the song is never heard, the songs to come are forgotten or given up on.
This bumps the needle and lets the rest of the record continue imho.
Plus...when very depressed you feel so alone and disconnected...this does just the opposite for you...it makes you feel hyperconnected and a part of everything and you feel only what I can describe as an overwhelming “spiritual love” without being religious...tears come easy...you ball your eyes out at the pure beauty you are witnessing after living in a drab and gray world for such a long time - in my case, a lifetime.
So...I advocate for the safe and therapeutic use of them now and my group is sponsored through a non-profit that is a huge entheogen advocate group up in this area.
Back to that first time...where I was fully present.
Guess who could meditate for hours upon hours after that?
Amazing!
And it was because of being able to meditate that I was able to help myself with the D&A that wasn’t wiped out by the experiences themselves...which they actually do somehow...and the great part is...they are non-addictive...and you only need to take them every 4-6 months...not popping an expensive chemical pill every day.
There is much more to it all than that...but the post would be huge...lol.
Hope that explains it better for you and for some others who seem to be curious.
Much love!
 
Not too nervous...I would rather have too many people than like 3 people wander in on accident, lol.
lol Yeah I know what you mean. Although the awkwardness and looks of people wandering in on accidents can also be a bit funny sometimes :p

No, surprisingly I have never had an issue with public speaking...and I have always worked in the medical field of one sort or another from working on an ambulance, the ER, the OR, assisting with open heart surgery.
I always test as a very assertive INFJ...doing crowd control on an accident scene or yelling at a junkie to “stop thrashing!”...to having to be perfectly cool under super stressful chaotic trauma room conditions, rushing upstairs to the CV-ICU to do an emergency bedside “chest reopening” in cases of bleeding...my mind switches modes and I go into my training/“trivial pursuit” mode where all my previous training as well as random facts are available to me and I know exactly what the next 5 steps are in an instant from practice over the years with a dash of intuition thrown in.
So I have that going for me at least.
This sounds like a very exciting experience. Wasn't it difficult in the beginnig (concerning Fe?)
I know that mode feeling (although my stories aren't that exciting like yours - fiuf). It supposely very skill sharpening and kicks in in stressful moments, doesn't it?


There is no way I could have done that right after I became disabled (I have ankylosing spondylitis ((you know it must be true if I know how to spell the damn words))), I had some serious anxiety/depression...it was so bad that if someone like a bill collector called (which I had no money to pay while I waited for disability to be approved) anyhow...it was so bad that I would lose my breath, my heart would pound, I literally could NOT talk to them.
This is going from super-stressful jobs for decades to being incapacitated.
So I was barely hanging on...had some negative drug reactions that almost stopped my heart and that kind of woke me up that I needed to do something more proactive about my mental and physical state.
I meditated every day but could only sit still for 10-15 mins at a time due to the anxiety.
I always stay fairly up to date on the leading edge of medical studies, and also things like the paranormal and etheric energy, etc.
(That’s a bunch of other posts)
Anyhow...like I said it was mostly out of desperation, but I wasn’t stupid about it....I looked up drug interactions, dosages, all the medical studies that showed how well it worked for depression/anxiety/PTSD/addiction/etc. far far better than than ANY anti depressive on the market - which I have tried most of only to have horrible side effects and no positive benefits, in many cases it made the anxiety worse.
So it was this or start to seriously consider electroshock therapy (I was seriously considering it).
The first time was a small dose and it wasn’t very pleasant but it was necessary.
It forced me, for about 6 hours to be present...fully present...it was very uncomfortable mentally at first.
But the more you let go and let it do it’s thing, the more pleasant it becomes.
The studies using fMRIs have shown that the entire brain gets to talk to itself via transmission lines that it doesn’t ever use...bypassing those pathways our thoughts normally travel that have become tainted by negative experiences...so that every thought that travels this path is seen through a “foggy lens” so to speak...the amygdala is highly overactive in people with D&A...for some reasons while it activates the rest of the brain...it quiets this overactive part that is the response center for pain and stress...there is also a dissolution of your ego to various extents...which is very enlightening in itself.
I liken it to being on a giant record that is stuck in a skip...every time it goes around the needle digs that skip just a little bit deeper until finally you can no longer see over the edge of the skip...the rest of the song is never heard, the songs to come are forgotten or given up on.
This bumps the needle and lets the rest of the record continue imho.
Plus...when very depressed you feel so alone and disconnected...this does just the opposite for you...it makes you feel hyperconnected and a part of everything and you feel only what I can describe as an overwhelming “spiritual love” without being religious...tears come easy...you ball your eyes out at the pure beauty you are witnessing after living in a drab and gray world for such a long time - in my case, a lifetime.
So...I advocate for the safe and therapeutic use of them now and my group is sponsored through a non-profit that is a huge entheogen advocate group up in this area.
Back to that first time...where I was fully present.
Guess who could meditate for hours upon hours after that?
Amazing!
And it was because of being able to meditate that I was able to help myself with the D&A that wasn’t wiped out by the experiences themselves...which they actually do somehow...and the great part is...they are non-addictive...and you only need to take them every 4-6 months...not popping an expensive chemical pill every day.
There is much more to it all than that...but the post would be huge...lol.
Hope that explains it better for you and for some others who seem to be curious.
Much love!
Uff man I don't know what to say.. I had a couple emotional reactions reading through this.. seriously.. I can only imagine what you went through and for what I know you stay positive. That's pretty strong.

thank you for sharing, Skarekrow :)
 
Can I even have the audacity to claim that I practice meditation if I only do it sporadically?

I don't even remember why I started it, if it was the anxiety I had felt in recent months, the pain and anger I struggled with before I had taken time off, or the research into the system I assisted on. Fact is, it made me realise a few things about myself and others, which had me not only appreciate the art of meditation but also had me find a place within that is stable and comfortable even in the fluctuations that life throws at us. It taught me that I can make peace with the other sides or facets within me by realising what they are.

It's hardly the same as what others have gone through and experienced, but I feel that we do experience the same oneness (with fluidly differing nuances of course ;) ) when we meditate.
It is still rather new to me, and I think I have been experimenting more than practicing. Still, I believe it had a positive effect on me and the way I perceive things. I have quickly proceeded from a guided relaxation meditaion and tried binaural beats as well as other frequencies, but in trying I felt a resistance which was rather easily overcome by having the frequencies "hidden" beneath music and sounds in tracks. Maybe I have been doing something wrong too, like playing the track too loudly, I don't know. The most comfortable frequencies for me are 417 and 528Hz (according to the tracks I have been listening to).

This was one of my first tracks which feels nice even though it is loopy.

Since then, I've been on the lookout for more music with the right vibes for each mood, because I have noticed that sometimes the one works whereas at other times it just doesn't feel right. Sometimes a track that was soothing before suddenly is making me too energetic to concentrate. I have yet to see what that is about.

Even when not meditating, but simply reading or walking, I sometimes like to listen to this kind of music, as shared here already. For those occasions, I have found a yt channel which sometimes gives me just what I need. The music here has a familiarly alien feel to it, though I suspect the feeling is partly of a cultural nature.


Anyway, I just want to add that this thread is amazing and I'm looking forward to learning from you all :)
 
Can I even have the audacity to claim that I practice meditation if I only do it sporadically?
hmm, I don't know.. do you dare? meditation has most impact when done with routine.. then again...your nature is more intuitive and you might hate routine.. so if you can afford finding a balance between your nature and the personal reasons why you are meditating.... I think you're fine..? ;P

I don't even remember why I started it, if it was the anxiety I had felt in recent months, the pain and anger I struggled with before I had taken time off, or the research into the system I assisted on. Fact is, it made me realise a few things about myself and others, which had me not only appreciate the art of meditation but also had me find a place within that is stable and comfortable even in the fluctuations that life throws at us. It taught me that I can make peace with the other sides or facets within me by realising what they are.
<3 <3 <3
I also enjoy it alot..the self-centering and self-awareness aspect.. and..at the same time ...letting it all go..

It's hardly the same as what others have gone through and experienced, but I feel that we do experience the same oneness (with fluidly differing nuances of course ;) ) when we meditate.
It is still rather new to me, and I think I have been experimenting more than practicing. Still, I believe it had a positive effect on me and the way I perceive things. I have quickly proceeded from a guided relaxation meditaion and tried binaural beats as well as other frequencies, but in trying I felt a resistance which was rather easily overcome by having the frequencies "hidden" beneath music and sounds in tracks. Maybe I have been doing something wrong too, like playing the track too loudly, I don't know. The most comfortable frequencies for me are 417 and 528Hz (according to the tracks I have been listening to).
❍ hihi
Experimenting isn't bad..right? Life is about change.. we are no stagnant beings and...actually.. we live in a world that is focused on fitting in and being flexible... rather than figuring out who we are and what fits natural to us.. experimenting is just exactly this.. in this world full of never ending possibilities (and hence never being enough)...if you don't have anyone who tought you this... it's even more important to try new things out without feeling bad that you might skip to another one (possible natural fit as there are also so many different meditation exercises).
Whenever I ask myself "am I doing this wrong" ..and I don't feel like it's working not even after a time.. (some exercises need more time to show some kind of result..).. I try to remind me of that. It just might not be the natural fit yet. :relaxed:

Qi Gong saved my life once.. that was long long ago... I totally forgot about it in the middle of life.. and to be honest: sometimes it's too much during exercising, but I remember I got there once..I will get there again.
It's like my energy is bleeding out and then all these things about not really being completely caught in the physical world/body, make sense.



This was one of my first tracks which feels nice even though it is loopy.

Since then, I've been on the lookout for more music with the right vibes for each mood, because I have noticed that sometimes the one works whereas at other times it just doesn't feel right. Sometimes a track that was soothing before suddenly is making me too energetic to concentrate. I have yet to see what that is about.

Even when not meditating, but simply reading or walking, I sometimes like to listen to this kind of music, as shared here already. For those occasions, I have found a yt channel which sometimes gives me just what I need. The music here has a familiarly alien feel to it, though I suspect the feeling is partly of a cultural nature.


Anyway, I just want to add that this thread is amazing and I'm looking forward to learning from you all :)
thank you so much for sharing those YT findings! <3

Actually it's quite fun collecting tunes for different foci/function.. some for relaxation, meditation, mental fantasy travels, focusing, sleeping, energizing optimistic happy mood and so on..

hihi yeah :blush: the magic of music <3
 
Recently I've tried meditation again to deal with some issues. I used to do it quite regularly about 10 years ago but then I felt I was becoming too stable so I stopped. I didn't use any sound background back then. I've enjoyed listening to monks chanting etc., but somehow it feels different from meditating. Partly it feels like cheating a bit because it's possible to fill my consciousness with the meditation music so that nothing else gets in. It can be very comforting and relaxing though. A lot of meditation music on youtube wasn't very helpful, because if there are too distinct melodies, I immediately start to focus on them. Maybe it's because I play instruments myself and can think or feel through harmonies etc., so clear snippets of melodies feel like someone is whispering something nearby.

Back then I also tried binaural beats, although higher frequencies than what @Skarekrow posted earlier. With high frequencies it seems that my mind gets sort of numb instead of relaxed. I don't want to use nature sounds because at one point I used to listen to them while sleeping, so even now they immediately start to make me drowsy.

Maybe the problem with using music or sounds this way is that if I'm sitting in a quiet environment, the thoughts that start popping into my head can be very revealing. So I will become aware of the issues I have or at least of the things my mind doesn't want to do. Or sometimes it's easier to just start daydreaming, because that's a pleasant way to spend time, but that is also just another distraction popping up because my mind doesn't want to face the inherent emptiness. So at least I become more aware of the resistance. Yet now I find that meditating with music is helpful because I'm once more a beginner compared to ten years ago, and I also have more intrusive thoughts at the moment. With the music on it was possible to stay quiet much longer without thinking anything.
 
Recently I've tried meditation again to deal with some issues. I used to do it quite regularly about 10 years ago but then I felt I was becoming too stable so I stopped. I didn't use any sound background back then. I've enjoyed listening to monks chanting etc., but somehow it feels different from meditating. Partly it feels like cheating a bit because it's possible to fill my consciousness with the meditation music so that nothing else gets in. It can be very comforting and relaxing though. A lot of meditation music on youtube wasn't very helpful, because if there are too distinct melodies, I immediately start to focus on them. Maybe it's because I play instruments myself and can think or feel through harmonies etc., so clear snippets of melodies feel like someone is whispering something nearby.

Back then I also tried binaural beats, although higher frequencies than what @Skarekrow posted earlier. With high frequencies it seems that my mind gets sort of numb instead of relaxed. I don't want to use nature sounds because at one point I used to listen to them while sleeping, so even now they immediately start to make me drowsy.

Maybe the problem with using music or sounds this way is that if I'm sitting in a quiet environment, the thoughts that start popping into my head can be very revealing. So I will become aware of the issues I have or at least of the things my mind doesn't want to do. Or sometimes it's easier to just start daydreaming, because that's a pleasant way to spend time, but that is also just another distraction popping up because my mind doesn't want to face the inherent emptiness. So at least I become more aware of the resistance. Yet now I find that meditating with music is helpful because I'm once more a beginner compared to ten years ago, and I also have more intrusive thoughts at the moment. With the music on it was possible to stay quiet much longer without thinking anything.

Thank for sharing that...I can totally empathize with what you wrote.
It truly is a “practice”, no matter how many years or decades one keeps at it.
And there are so many ways of doing it...what works for one at one point will definitely change over time as you keep progressing.
I don’t always use binaural beats, but when I do I keep them very low...the point isn’t to drown out your thoughts but to help your mind sync up with the frequency.
But yes, some people do prefer alpha or gamma beats (higher frequency)...but you can still have a higher frequency (higher pitch) tone with a binaural beat of 4 Hz for example.
I like low tone, lower frequency, sometimes with white or pink noise.
But that is mainly just to drown out the outside world with earbuds in...too many distractions sometimes.

I was just telling someone else that when my mind wanders I will use visualization techniques like picturing lying on the rock where I caught my one and only fish when I was camping at age 11.
I can feel the cold rock under me, the smell, the sounds....I keep going deeper and deeper with the details until I really start to almost feel like I am there.
Or I will picture myself sitting at the bottom of a deep lake, able to breathe of course...and again, just keep getting more and more detailed...it is quite peaceful for me...but I would encourage everyone to find such a place to go in their mind...it can be most helpful to keep out random thoughts.
Take care, good luck!
 
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I've wondered whether to make a comment here or not because my experiences of meditation are almost all in the form of contemplative prayer and it's very difficult for me to separate the pure meditation "techniques" from the whole experience. The trouble is that the prayer aspect could derail the main focus of the thread. There are some things that maybe add to the general discussion so far. A lot of the techniques to quieten the mind are exactly the same as people have described here, though the use of continuous sound recordings would not be helpful if they persisted throughout the whole of a meditation session. Breathing and mantra based techniques are great and I've used both of these. Perhaps the most significant apparent difference from most of the comments so far is that in the end contemplation is not something that you do - it's something that happens to you if you are "lucky" and you become it, at least for a while. Like in most other forms of deep meditation, your ego is set aside when all is going well. So the main work that "I" can do is to use meditation techniques to make myself ready, but the rest is not in my gift. I suppose it's a bit like fishing - you have to get your gear set up go to the river bank, cast your line then wait for a bite. For those who feel alienated from and put off by a religious perspective of meditation, I would suggest looking at the Zen descriptions of meditation leading up to an experience of satori, which sounds like a very similar experience but free of any god content.

I would like to say I meditate regularly in the way that people like @Skarekrow recommend, and for about 7 years I did for at least 30 minutes each morning. But when we went through a series of family crises 2-3 years ago I was so filled with distractions and anxiety that I had to give up and use more formulaic approaches. This sort of meditation can happen in short flashes of a few seconds or a few minutes at a time though as well as in more set-aside time, and that has been my lifeline.
 
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I've wondered weather to make a comment here or not because my experiences of meditation are almost all in the form of contemplative prayer and it's very difficult for me to seperate the pure meditation "techniques" from the whole experience. The trouble is that the prayer aspect could derail the main focus of the thread. There are some things that maybe add to the general discussion so far.

For those who feel alienated from and put off by a religious perspective of meditation, I would suggest looking at the Zen descriptions of meditation leading up to an experience of satori, which sounds like a very similar experience but free of any god content.

Hey there, happy to see you joining here, too ^^
I don't mind "derailing" (detours usually have many precious things to discover).. and I'm sure everyone else is okay with that, too.
Furthermore, since the topic is spiritual there is nothing wrong about religious approaches at all. :) I very much appreciate your attentiveness though! <3
(Just to clear that up.. I had some other reasons why I didn't wanted to incorporate religion in the other topic about beliefs..)

Please feel free to add and explain what you like.. :)
 
on a sidenote:

So I got some headphones and tried out the first binaural clip @Skarekrow posted. (I wasn't meditating but just checking if these headphones were any good :) )
First I was twitching.. it was a bit unpleasant.. and I think it reminded me of some sounds. For example a place I lived for a couple of years.. the buildings facing each other were so close that some noises (from machines or vehicles..cannot really say what but there was one specific 'dark' almost aching tune) would echo and build itself up.. This one from the clip is more soothing.. so after the first twitch (and feeling like someone was holding my head on the temples for a while).. it actually feels much better than the one it reminded me of for a short moment. (Actually I have bad hearing.. so I always wonder if I hear things much differently..and I might have some HSP tendencies....to decribe it carefully..) There are a couple of more tunes in distinctive spatial situations that remind me of this and also how it feels to .. meditatively ..."blank out"..
(it's kind of weird.. I think there are two states of focus when listening to the clip.. one that goes very vividly "whup whup whup"... and one that is.. with a feeling of actively 'tuning in' that more like a long "whuuuuup". If you laugh here at my whup-eloquence, it's okay... that's rather my playful side *lol*)

thanks for the clips! I'm curious how and what meditating (as in "practicing") with it will be like. ^^
 
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I used to do it quite regularly about 10 years ago but then I felt I was becoming too stable so I stopped.
I would like to say I meditate regularly in the way that people like @Skarekrow recommend, and for about 7 years I did for at least 30 minutes each morning. But when we went through a series of family crises 2-3 years ago I was so filled with distractions and anxiety that I had to give up and use more formulaic approaches.
... ^^" It's kind of helping to hear, that I'm not the only one who experienced something as really helpful and good and at some point for some reason just stopped in order to re-find or adapt it some time later... I try not to be too hard on me..

but somehow it feels different from meditating. Partly it feels like cheating a bit because it's possible to fill my consciousness with the meditation music so that nothing else gets in.
With the music on it was possible to stay quiet much longer without thinking anything.
What was your first intention/focus? Stop a loop of thoughts (some kind of freeing yourself act).. or letting unconscious thoughts appear (maybe not judging them but just giving them room to be and pass on)?

But that is mainly just to drown out the outside world with earbuds in...too many distractions sometimes.
I sometimes struggle with this too, what Skare said. Sometimes it's hard to ... disconnect.. or self-center... and outside distractions (or the outside as itself) are easier to come by with sounds, tunes or music.... I don't think of it as cheating though.. but that depends on what or why I am practicing some specific exercise..

what works for one at one point will definitely change over time as you keep progressing.
This and.. different exercises for different reasons... maybe there is one solution for all.. but I don't know :)

Maybe it's because I play instruments myself and can think or feel through harmonies etc., so clear snippets of melodies feel like someone is whispering something nearby.
I can imagine this to be very true ^^ If it's something you're expert in (means: distinctive perception of) you have alot more to process. - I've more trouble with guided exercises.. there is too much going on when I hear the voice of someone.. trying to help me calm down or envision something.. I've to process stuff like.. how the person speaking feels, the intent behind all pauses and intonations.. so on and so forth... there is a bit irony in the moment when somebody tells you to "relax", then stops talking for a couple of minutes and then suddenly comes back in and making you jump by the question "now that you are relaxed-...!" xD

I don't want to use nature sounds because at one point I used to listen to them while sleeping, so even now they immediately start to make me drowsy.
I wonder.. I mean there are relaxing techniques that work with suggestions...at some point you just give an impuls (a word perhaps) that triggers body relaxation. Maybe you've "programmed" yourself to being drowsy by nature sounds...? (which wouldn't be bad at all...)

I was just telling someone else that when my mind wanders I will use visualization techniques like picturing lying on the rock where I caught my one and only fish when I was camping at age 11.
I can feel the cold rock under me, the smell, the sounds....I keep going deeper and deeper with the details until I really start to almost feel like I am there.
thank you for sharing this precious piece! I love this.. ^^ I've a place too.. but I somehow lost track of how to get there..it's kind of emberassing to admit...

I suppose it's a bit like fishing - you have to get your gear set up go to the river bank, cast your line then wait for a bite.
...and I enjoy how this image loops back in *hihi*

Or I will picture myself sitting at the bottom of a deep lake, able to breathe of course...and again, just keep getting more and more detailed...it is quite peaceful for me...but I would encourage everyone to find such a place to go in their mind...it can be most helpful to keep out random thoughts.
Hmh, underwater.. I share this.. maybe because being underwater softens every sound around.. maybe there is also something about a primary state.. life comes from water.. and it's how we absorbed our first impressions of the world before being born into it...
 
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