How to not be scared of meditation?

[Saskia]

Hi all, thanks for your help! It's clear I was stuck in this one method I thought meditation should be. It's great to get this variety and affirmation there's no wrong way, if it just relaxes the mind and makes life more mindful/focused.

Personally, I meditate most effectively when I lay in bed and use a guided meditation, whether it is a CD or an app on my cellphone. This is a far cry from sitting in silence in the lotus position...

If you fear for your safety or have general fears of "letting go", it is best to address those fears at the very beginning of your meditation.

I've tried a couple of guided meditations and liked them after I got rid of my initial aversion towards "what will happen next." Turns out I'm a deeply suspicious person for "what if this tape tries to hypnotise me to do something crazy"! I really need to address the fear of letting go, agreed.

Try cloud-watching, or river watching, or staring into a fire

That's what I love doing anyway but didn't realise it would "count" as meditation. Thanks for pointing it out!

"Meditation is the practice of stilling the mind" - PRACTICE being the operative word.

- Be aware of and focus on, your breath - observing the sensations of the inhale and exhale - not just through nose, throat and lungs - but what happens to your tummy, back, and rest of your body. One section at a time.
- Listen to an audio meditation tape. Doesn't have to be specific to meditation.
A favourite of mine is listening to "Waiting for Cousteau" by JM Jarre.... - and I know I've done 30 minutes when the piece of music is finished. Wahey!
- Go for a walk and focus on the sensations of the exercise of walking. Alternatively you could do a rhythmic counting of steps... one two three, one two three... (Left, right, left, Right, left, right...)
- Lie under a tree in a garden and just listen to all the sounds around you. Whatever thoughts you have - let them be and let them go, as you continue listening to all the

"Nothingness"... letting go of who you are and just experiencing being "a particle/part of the whole". Sports people sometimes call it "the peak experience"

What should it feel like?... hmm - maybe like when you lie down to sleep, with no particular worries and you're in that space of just cosily resting and allowing whatever thoughts/images are there float past

Hi Tanga, thank you for your exhaustive list of options! Wow, it's wonderful to see there's so many paths to take and they could all work. I already do the ones I left on the list but didn't realise they would be meditation, I just think it's letting my mind grow still = tadah, that's what meditation is about

I guess I was too fixated on nothingness. To me nothingness is the black void you see first after closing your eyelids. But I realise now that deliberately focusing on that black boring void is actually something, it's not nothing. It's a thought and a focus, too. So I need to let go of my distorted understanding of nothing. I'm completely happy with that "one are all and all are one" type of nothingness, that's what I feel in yoga too.

I also play team sports and have experienced that wonderful oneness plenty of times (being one with others, alert but relaxed, highly observant) but I didn't realise before your message that it's actually the feeling meditation could/should bring.

I do walking meditations - that is when everything comes to me. I walk along peaceful streets, and just let my mind drift.

You might want also to try and find the root of your mind's idea that everything spiritual is just nonsense - why are you having this thought? Where does it come from? all good questions to ask yourself - and also to remember that *you* aren't your mind, and that you control the mind, and not the other way around

Hi Padma, I go for walks in the nature too and find it highly soothing and meditative, just didn't realise it counts as meditation

That's a great question about why I find spiritual difficult to believe. I guess it's:
- I have an inquisitive mind by nature and I love digging to the bottom of the matter. My mind always seems to come up with a follow up question for every answer, or question what happened. I trust my tarot cards, but also question them as coincidental messages all the time, even after seeing that they do work - because coincidence and wishful thinking can't be completely excluded.
- fear of realising that I've been childish and naive in believing in something that wasn't true
- fear of disappointment if I believe in something that turns out not to be true.

Yes, I understand I control my mind and not the other way around but I can't force my mind to accept something I'm happy to explore and I'm venturing to more spiritual waters but I guess the proof of scientific evidence of anything metaphysical will always nag at the back of my brain. I just have to decide whether I take that nag into account or not

 

[Saskia]

Like Padma I need to do moving meditation.
I find stillness when I'm active, be it swimming, riding my bike in the ravines, tai chi, yoga, walking, or running.
I realise that those are not conducive to astral travel or lucid dreaming, however. For that I need to be somewhere very still, lying down, and have a sense that I have no demands. I find it easier to do these either in the morning before I get up (or get up and go to the living room if it's early enough for there to still be stillness) or to go to bed early and do it there.

Hi AnemoneRosie, I'm like you, I relax the best with movement. I do yoga, swimming, walks, horse riding, bike riding... my mind lets go much easier when my body moves!

I've had a few lucid dreams by accident and that's such a wonderful experience I'd like to learn more. I guess it's the old fashioned trial and error. Maybe astral travel is too much to ask at this stage but I'll keep practising letting go and accepting what I see/experience. Thank you all again!

 

[mingbop]

Saskia I'm the same. I can't accept anything without proof, or at least very strong evidence. I'm a medium but I don't meditate. I find lying wth eyes closed listening to good loud music works better to clear my mind than meditation... when I try to meditate I end up working out the week's menus or decided what colour to paint the kitchen - it's a waste of time Cloud watching, water watching, bird watching, and music all work well.
And don't ever believe something just because others do - that's not being spiritual or special, it's just being daft! lol. Take what makes sense to you and discard the rest

 

[earthair]

Lots of wonderful ideas to try... http://www.meditationsociety.com/108meds.html

Including this one in answer to your initial question http://www.meditationsociety.com/week40.html

 

[Saskia]

Thank you Mingbop and Earthair!

I'm much more relaxed now about this whole meditation business. I've been doing various forms of meditation for ages without realising that they "count" as meditation, so no need to stress about "doing it right" And with all of your help, I'm sure I'll overcome my fears about letting go of control and seeing what my mind's eye wants to show.

 

[Bonny]

Hey Sask,

Have been teaching meditation for more decades than not...

Meditation is simply being in reality.

Darling, if you're scared of reality, then welcome those fears and meet those fears.
Meditation is not escaping or weirdo stuff.
It's being here. Now.
Just breathe, listen to the breath. That's meditation.
Pranayama might be a good first step. (We have heaps of yoga stuff going on in Aust now, you could sign up), sounds like you could do with a good accompanier to sit with you for awhile. You need to be a student. Your teacher will appear.
Sounds like a few misunderstandings have gotten in the way. Clear those up and the rest will follow. Fear will drop away Angel xx
Blessings be!

B