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Guided meditation for beginners

393 points by spaceboy 10y ago

joekrill 10y ago
Cool! Love to see anything that promotes mindfulness and makes it more accessible to folks. Interesting that the sessions are so short -- I'm not sure I've seen anything shorter than 10 minutes before.
AznHisoka 10y ago
Has anyone experienced an improvement in any physical diseases/ailments from meditation?
- drzaiusapelord 10y ago
  I think meditation's primary effect, perhaps its only noticable effect for most, is lowered anxiety via learning how to focus thought which tends to lead to less worrying and such. Less anxiety means better sleep, earlier bedtimes, less cortisol in the body, etc. Over time these can affect us physically in an beneficial way. An eight week mediation course shrinks the part of the brain involved in anxiety: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/05/26/harvard-neuroscientist-meditation-not-only-reduces-stress-it-literally-changes-your-brain/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/05... From an anecdotal perspective I found taking a anti-cortisol herb (Rhodiola and Ashwaganda) gave me a comparable, but stronger, effect compared to what 30-45 minutes daily meditation gave me. Meditation lowers cortisol: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23724462 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23724462
- scorpioxy 10y ago
  Sort of. I have an autoimmune disease affecting my thyroid. When the thyroid is in hyper mode, I tend to get anxiety and panic attacks. Meditation has helped me a lot with those if the flareup is not severe. Because the result of meditating can be less stress overall. And stress is known to "aggravate" the immune system. It might lead to better wellbeing when talking about autoimmune diseases. But they do progress slowly so other factors could also be at play here. Unfortunately, not much is known about autoimmune diseases. There are a few theories(strong immune system, weak immune system, virus, contaminants..) but nothing conclusive yet. I try to stick to published and peer reviewed research when looking up information rather than mommy bloggers but not much is known for these diseases. Overall, I'd say introducing meditation as a frequent practice has been a positive thing in my life. Whether or not it helps with any chronic disease.
heyheyhey 10y ago
"The guided meditations from QuietKit offers three main benefits to anyone who uses them: Decreased stress and anxiety Increased focus Increased mindfulness (the ability to be aware of what's occurring at any given moment, but being able to choose how to act, as opposed to just reacting)" Are those three benefits purely anecdotal?
- bananabill 10y ago
  My money is on yes, unless they've developed a unit of measurement for focus and mindfulness which seems unlikely.
- ASpring 10y ago
  There has been quite a bit of research surrounding mindfulness meditation for a couple decades now. Here are some cursory studies addressing your three questions. They are easy to find on Google Scholar. Decreased stress and anxiety http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2010.0142 http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2010.0142 Increased Focus (specifically for people on the ADHD spectrum) http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/20825/MindfulnessADHD-Zylowska_et_al.pdf http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/20825/MindfulnessADHD-Zylo... I have to imagine mindfulness is a difficult concept to disentangle from meditation itself, however there do seem to be attempts to create measures for this: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1073191107313003 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1073191107313003 Here's a meta-analysis summarizing many studies about the effects of meditation. Effect sizes seem consistently positive albeit on the smaller side: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-012-0101-x http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-012-0101-x
- eagletusk 10y ago
  Is your question addressing QuietKit or meditation in general?If the later the results, some of which you have mentioned, are definetly not purely anecdotal see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation
- InclinedPlane 10y ago
  No, there's a ton of science on the benefits of meditation and mindfulness in treating stress, anxiety, depression (where it is as good or superior to any medication) as well as ADHD, drug addiction, etc. It's really a shame that American/Western culture denigrates meditation/mindfulness as "hippie dippie shit" because it is an astoundingly, life alteringly powerful life skill that absolutely everyone should learn.
jahbrewski 10y ago
Curious to hear from folks who have consistently meditated for a prolonged period of time (6mos+). What effects have you noticed?
- maxxxxx 10y ago
  The benefits are subtle but I am more aware of my emotions. Things that used to upset me don't have this deep impact anymore. I feel I am more deliberate in how things affect me. But I also studied a lot with Buddhists. I am not sure if meditation only without guidance of a teacher will have much of an effect.
- jupiter90000 10y ago
  Don't do it as much now, though have consistently over long periods in the past. Some benefits I experienced (subjective): - Thoughts do not have a grip over how I act as often. - probably related, lower likelihood of compulsively doing things. - Feeling more collected and relaxed in traffic and 'stressful situations.' - More likely to be able to pay attention to who I am talking with, what I am doing, etc, right now instead of thinking of things besides that. - Start of realization that who I am is not the internal dialog and procession of thoughts. This one is hard to explain. I think I am certain things due to my thoughts; that's just my thoughts though. - Noticing that thinking constantly about things using language puts reality into categories that are essentially made up. Anyway, your experience may be different. I highly suggest trying it.
  - chillwaves 10y ago
    > - Start of realization that who I am is not the internal dialog and procession of thoughts. This one is hard to explain. I think I am certain things due to my thoughts; that's just my thoughts though. This one for me is huge. You are not your thoughts. Took a really long time to understand.. it's almost like I am two people, the one who is thinking and the one who observes the thinking. Helps me distance my emotions and reflect on them in a more rational way (not obsess over mistakes, or worry too much about the future).
    - 10y ago
cptvideo2 10y ago
There’s also a well-known affect on blood-pressure (lowering) that comes from the breath control that’s at the core of most meditation practice. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stress-raising-your-blood-pressure-take-a-deep-breath-201602159168 http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stress-raising-your-blood... I don’t think that the cause of this is completely understood, but CO2 is a potent vasodilator. I’ve seen hatha yoga (physical yoga) practioners ditch hatha for prana-yoga (breath yoga) because they said it's a more powerful way to get to wherever yoga takes you.
- curun1r 10y ago
  One small nit to what you've said. Breath control is core to yogic practices, as you've mentioned, but it is not part of most meditative practice. Meditation typically involves breath awareness, but specifically not control. The idea is to observe the breath as it is, not how we would like it to be.
  - thomyorkie 10y ago
    And yet another nit must be picked. Breath awareness is simply one way to meditate. There are a broad array of different meditation techniques and some do involve breath control.
  - autocorr 10y ago
    I'm not the OP, but it is an important distinction, breath control (pranayama) is yogic. While I can't speak for other traditions that feature meditation, at least in Theravada Buddhism, training of the breath is an essential part of the practice for the development of mindfulness (sati), beyond "observing the breath as it is." This gets de-emphasized in the modern vipassana movement focusing on "bare attention", but canonical interpretations of the Anapanasati Sutta [1] on the mindfulness of breathing to indicate that one only uses bare attention to "discern" long and short breaths, but "trains" oneself to become aware of the whole body, to calm bodily fabrication, and the rest of the items on the list. This is taken to mean that one can use right effort to breath in ways that are conducive to being aware of the whole body or ways of breathing that calm bodily fabrication, etc. So, while definitely not as gross as counting fixed durations like on the site linked, exerting oneself to influence the breath has a place in at least one very prominent non-yogic tradition. [1] http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html (perhaps the second most important sutta related to meditation in the Pali Canon, next to the Maha-satipatthana Sutta [2]) [2] http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html
michaelsbradley 10y ago
For those who might be interested in additional resources, a classic treatment of discursive meditation in the Western Christian tradition, a.k.a. "mental prayer," can be found in the Fifth Treatise (pp. 247–354, original numbering) of Fr. Rodriguez's masterpiece: https://archive.org/stream/PPCV-Manresa#page/n273/mode/2up https://archive.org/stream/PPCV-Manresa#page/n273/mode/2up And here is a fine essay on Lectio Divina, written sometime in the early 2000s: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QcuUot_6BQ3jgj1wJtsx-C5YrSUCZE2fOdpG4k5k8pg/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QcuUot_6BQ3jgj1wJtsx-C5Y...
- seltzered_ 10y ago
  To add on, I've been interested in Vinay Gupta's approach to meditation, which he recently codified/packaged with some other folks into an app: http://cuttingmachinery.org http://cuttingmachinery.org It basically revolves around an hour of meditation, but switches from mantra, to open awareness, to feeling negative emotions in 10 minute intervals. I'm probably not going to say this correctly, but I believe the intent is to get beyond just the ability to feel calm but have a better awareness of things (how we interact in the world, our emotions, how much it really matters, etc.) in our lives. There's also a multi-part podcast interview of him (which led to the app) starting at http://futurethinkers.org/enlightenment-vinay-gupta/ http://futurethinkers.org/enlightenment-vinay-gupta/
ben174 10y ago
I'm probably an ideal candidate for meditation because just the thought of it is nearly unbearable. "Wasting a whole ten minutes doing nothing?!" But it's hard for me to get past the feeling that it's a waste of time. As someone who is on public transit for two hours a day, and an owner of a nice pair of noise cancelling headphones - I wonder if I could make use of that time by doing this. Guess I'll give it a try.
- RangerScience 10y ago
  Definitely! I notice substantial gains from meditation almost immediately. Public transit can be extra challenging, but can also be helpful - in the way that you're supposed to let thoughts arise and then float away, you also let sensations arise and float away. If transit is crowded, you'll have more of those to actively let go of :D At a basic level, meditation is literally practicing letting shit go. This is useful, for instance, when people write bad code that really - you get the idea. Note: Definitely do NOT try to "squash" thoughts. Let them show up and float on away. This is not a goal oriented activity; you don't have to maintain an empty mind for two minutes, let alone two hours of transit. You'll notice more of what to do as you do it more, if that makes sense.
- yathern 10y ago
  I've dabbled in meditation, and I should certainly keep up with it because I noticed benefits as well, I just lack the self discipline. But your situation of "I'm too busy to meditate" reminds me of the old Zen quote that goes something like: "You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you're too busy, then you should sit for an hour."
- InclinedPlane 10y ago
  It's not doing nothing though, you're actually training your mind, but because you have to use your mind to train your mind you have to do so indirectly. It's very much like Mr. Miyagi training Daniel karate by getting him to paint fences and wax cars. The skills develop sub-consciously, but with practice, the skills still come. Learning how to "empty your mind" or more accurately to simply be a thought-spectator while avoiding getting swept away by thoughts as they flow through your mind may seem like "doing nothing". But imagine how useful it is to have those skills when you're trying to concentrate on something else? If you can avoid being swept away by random thoughts when you have nothing else to hold your attention, think you'll be better at concentration when you do have something? And that's just the tiniest benefit.
anotherevan 10y ago
Dalek Relaxation Tape https://youtu.be/e59guruVL4o https://youtu.be/e59guruVL4o
- yardshop 10y ago
  It relaxes me just knowing that it exists!
sharkweek 10y ago
I'm a full-blown a cynic, but after OCD and anxiety got the best of me, my therapist recommended I try meditation to both start and end my day, I've started to notice huge improvements. Can't recommend it enough. It's frustrating at first, the mind will just not stop wandering to worries every 10 seconds, but almost always on cue, the guided meditation would remind me "is you're mind wandering? no big deal, bring your focus back to your breath." Here's where I recommend starting - http://www.nytimes.com/well/guides/how-to-meditate http://www.nytimes.com/well/guides/how-to-meditate There are a few moments now where my mind will go entirely blank, and it's the most relaxing feeling in the world. I still get too excited when that happens to keep it sustained, but I can sense it starting to work. It's really helpful to check in for a few minutes throughout the day as well. Take something in visually, observe a feeling, listen to what your body is telling you. Sounds hippy-dippy, sure, and I'm not pretending to be a doctor or make medical recommendations, but for me, It Just Works (TM)
- Cozumel 10y ago
  When you've been doing it for a while your mind will be blank all the time, which sounds kind of bad but it's actually great, but the interesting thing is once you can control your own thoughts you'll start to realise that not all of them are yours. People are like radios and broadcast their thoughts, and you'll be picking them up without knowing it. You'll also be able to project them i.e influence people. Those powers known as 'siddhis' are just a fraction of what you can attain. Much like everything western though guided meditation is a horribly bastardised version of the real thing, if you're interested look into Raja Yoga when you're ready. Edited: http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1906-09rajayoga.pdf http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1906-09rajayoga.pd... This is the definitive course guide, the first lesson can take a year, 10 years, or a lifetime, don't go past the first lesson till you're ready. You'll know when you are.
  - mythrwy 10y ago
    If this were true I'd expect to see yogis running the world. Instead, running the world are people who I suspect aren't much into meditation.
hsitz 10y ago
The recording seems okay, but I find it really odd that the scripted voice says "feel your chest rise on an in breath, and feel it fall back down on an out breath." Chest-breathing is something to be avoided, especially in mediation, as it creates tension. The proper method of breathing is diaphragm-based breathing, otherwise called belly-breathing. This is not a trivial issue for meditation, really strange that they get it wrong. They should be saying, "feel your belly rise on an in breath . . . " and there should also be some instruction on proper method of breathing, since many people are unaware of the difference.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- kranner 10y ago
  Even with diaphragmatic breathing, your chest moves eventually as your lungs fill with air. I don't think these specific instructions promote controlling your breath by intentionally inhaling into your chest; they seem pretty passive.
  - hsitz 10y ago
    Yes, the chest will move very slightly in deep belly breathing. But no, this is not a trivial thing, the focus in breathing should be on the abdomen/belly, which is your center; not the chest, which is a source of tension, and especially full of tension if you're breathing up "into" your chest. Again, this is not a trivial thing, and you can easily check good sources on breathing (e.g., for meditation, singing, running) that will describe how belly breathing works. Chest breathing is actually not proper breathing in any circumstance; it doesn't use the diaphragm (the muscle designed for breathing purposes); it creates tension and doesn't allow breathing in as much air as belly-breathing; it's something we develop in our too-fast, too-stressful, too-nervous society. These are just two top results that turned up in search for 'chest breathing' and meditation, you could find many, many more: http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858?pg=2 http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-dep... https://yogainternational.com/article/view/diaphragmatic-breathing-in-3-key-yoga-poses https://yogainternational.com/article/view/diaphragmatic-bre... https://www.blinn.edu/counseling/Relaxation-Techniques.pdf https://www.blinn.edu/counseling/Relaxation-Techniques.pdf As a related note, breathing is of paramount importance in singing, which like meditation requires proper relaxation and deep breathing. Learning to how to belly breathe and get rid of bad habit of chest-breathing is one of the first things you'll learn from any singing instructor.
lappa 10y ago
Is it better to meditate with the sound of rain as provided with quietkit, or no sound at all?
- autocorr 10y ago
  If you happen to be a quiet place it will likely be easier to concentrate without the rain sounds. "Easier" in this sense is a bit relative, however. An environment with fewer external distractions will lead to a selection effect where you "catch" yourself more frequently and return back to the breath. Thus, you may feel like you're not concentrating well, since you "keep getting distracted." It's kind of like the Dunning-Kruger effect of the beginning meditation :) On the other hand I find music and background conversations especially distracting and like to listen to pink-noise or other non-varying noise sounds to make concentrating easier.
- metaphorm 10y ago
  whatever works for you
westoncb 10y ago
I started getting into meditation a few years ago after realizing the reason the world felt less 'real' than it used to was because I could never 'get out of my head' and have more direct interactions with external things. (For example, I finally went to Tokyo and moved to San Francisco and the difference each made was pretty minor—like looking at high res photos on the internet; it was a stark contrast to when I visited NYC seven years prior and was blown away just walking around. ) It soon became my number one priority after also realizing that all the times I remembered really enjoying myself, I was in that 'out of my head' state (you have a much better sense of presence, the 3Dness of things is much more apparent, smells, tastes, interpersonal interactions are all way richer). Anyway, I decided to make a wide survey of meditation resources from old religious texts to modern neuroscience inspired teaching, to a number of things in between. The first source that really made things click for me was watching some of the youtube videos from Ajahn Brahm. He's English, but trained as a monk in Thailand for many years, and has a background in physics. I think it's a combination that makes him pretty well-suited to explaining these concepts to techy Westerners. He's also got a light, humorous style to his lecturing, so it's easy to watch (if a bit cringeworthy [due to corniness] at times. And you'll get an occasionally bit of religiosity [he is a monk after all], but he mostly keeps it out.) I'd recommend this one for starters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEw2mHpVv9A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEw2mHpVv9A I also found bits of Jon Kabat-Zinn's "Full Catastrophe Living" to be very helpful in the early stages (it focuses on another form of meditation called 'body scan' which has some unique benefits, and can be easier for beginners. It's often the choice of style when teaching for therapeutic purposes). Edit: I'll also add the way I see meditation instruction fitting into the practice: there aren't that many concepts, but each has extraordinary depth, so you just have to keep revisiting regularly; you'll often find that if you've improved in your practice, you can go back and see the same old lecture and interpret it totally differently, even though it made a kind of sense the first time. You'd think you wouldn't need to be told, e.g., "just allow your thoughts to arise and disappear on their own" like a hundred times, in different ways—but you probably do :)
conception 10y ago
http://www.10percenthappier.com http://www.10percenthappier.com is my meditation for skeptics site. Worth checking out as well. They have a lot of good videos and a podcast.
- dominotw 10y ago
  meditation is to become happier, make more money etc
desireco42 10y ago
I hate guided meditation... to me this is complete opposite of what meditation should be. You can do this initial few times, but after that, you don't need any voice but your own in your head. That is if you are really doing meditation, if you want to pretend... then headspace yourself. Again, this is my view as someone who actually meditated for like 20+ yrs.
- koliber 10y ago
  I hate training wheels on my bike... to me this is complete opposite of what riding a bike should be. You can do this initial few times, but after that, you don't need any help but your own sense of balance in your head. That is if you are really riding a bike, if you want to pretend... then continue using training wheels yourself. Again, this is my view as someone who actually rode a bike for like 20+ yrs. --- Comes off a bit snarky, doesn't it? I think I see what you are trying to convey, and wrote the above so that others could get a feel as well, using a more tangible analogy.
  - desireco42 10y ago
    :) It did came out quite a bit snarky. Completely justified criticism. It was late in a day. Oh, and I did rode my bike for more then 20+ years. I can prop it on back wheel and do few stunts even today. Impresses my kids.
    - koliber 10y ago
      However it came out, I appreciate you sharing your experience and point of view. As someone who is off of training wheels on the bike but still on commercial guided meditation courses, it's great to know that there's a lot more to come.
- fredoliveira 10y ago
  Based on your tone and use of sarcasm, I'd say your 20 year practice needs work.
  - 10y ago
kordless 10y ago
I'm a little late on commenting, but I'm gifted with Aphantasia. I've found it naturally contributes to meditation as I experience no visuals in my mind's eye. No visuals means no-thinking if you can wrangle the internal dialog under control.
vSanjo 10y ago
A question, and one that probably shuns any kind of methodical thinking and science, but there's always talk about 'rewriting' or 'rewiring' the brain. Plasticity and all that stuff. Are there thoughts I -should- be thinking, patterns I -should- be training or ideas I -should- be following to maximise the positive changes meditation has the potential to bring?
- JamesBarney 10y ago
  Most of the day we are aware of our 5 senses. We notice new sounds, new sights, and new sensations. But many times we don't notice new thoughts, new emotions, and new feelings. We're blind to ourselves most of the the day. When we practice mindfulness we practice listening, seeing, and feeling our thoughts. The whole point is to strengthen the awareness of our mind. Allowing us to notice changes to our inner world as we notice changes to our outer one. The way we practice this is by focusing on our breath, and noticing when our mind wanders. I first thougt the important part of meditation was the focusing. It wasn't. It was the noticing. That's what we're training when we meditate. And that's the part that we're rewiring.
  - AVTizzle 10y ago
    ^^ this.
- ktRolster 10y ago
  1) clear your mind of the chatter 2) soon you might have euphoric experiences. Go past them 3) learn what enlightenment is. Head towards it 4) find other like-minded people to meditate with (at a Zen center, for example)
- mbrock 10y ago
  You can do that. I don't know about the science but I suspect you could find some studies on "loving kindness" meditation, which is basically a Buddhist tradition of reinforcing nice emotions and thoughts.
- InclinedPlane 10y ago
ktRolster 10y ago
It might be worth visiting a Zen center in your area to meditate with monks. Meditating alone, it's harder to focus.
markestefanos 10y ago
For those interested in learning more, The Mind Illuminated is by far the best book I've come across on the topic. It's an extremely systematic college level manual for learning how to meditate. The author has a PhD in physiology, has been meditating for 40 years, taught neuroscience for years, and speaks Pali and Sanskrit, so he's able to read and interpret the original Buddhist texts. These combined allow him to teach with a unique depth and precision. Take a look at the Amazon reviews, and ask yourself if you've ever seen anything so highly rated: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrating-Mindfulness/dp/1501156985/ref=dp_ob_title_bk https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrati... I hope you find it as valuable as I did :)
- nonsince 10y ago
  Frustratingly, you can't get the kindle version if you live in the UK (I actually live in the Netherlands, which Amazon doesn't operate in at all, but my account is from the UK). The kindle version even shows up on the US site until I log in. EDIT: I tried to use Amazon.nl (they do have a kindle store, just not regular Amazon), they have the kindle version of the book but when I log in after buying it I'm told it's not available in my country
  - markestefanos 10y ago
    Email me (in my profile).
    - nonsince 10y ago
      It's not in your profile
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - markestefanos 10y ago
        Thanks, fixed.
nonsince 10y ago
I use the app "Headspace" as a meditation beginner. The monthly price after the first 10 sessions is a little steep (can't remember the exact price) but there's a lot of extremely high-quality content covering mindfulness in almost every aspect of life. I think it's worth the price.
- daneyh 10y ago
  I used this and got upto the 30min sessions. After a while Andys voice becomes counterproductive....but definitely good to get into it.
- omgwtfpmr 10y ago
  Seconded. I find Headspace enjoyable and very low on woo.
Willyfrog 10y ago
Are there any similar resources in spanish? I'm interested in passing this info to my wife, but unfortunately her english is not so good, so it would be a problem for her to follow the guides in the comments.
- paradisebunny 10y ago
  I can recommend the App Insight Timer. It is free and distributes user-uploaded guided meditations. Lots of languages and content to choose from! Highly recommended! edit: here is a link to their spanish content https://insighttimer.com/meditation-playlists/spanish-meditations https://insighttimer.com/meditation-playlists/spanish-medita...
  - Willyfrog 10y ago
    thanks! I'll check it
tshanmu 10y ago
https://smilingmind.com.au/ https://smilingmind.com.au/ is a great resource to get started as well.
savitur_it 10y ago
is better practice meditation not alone, but with a master or an experienced practicer of many years. Meditation can bring to light unconscious content. In ashtanga yoga of Patanjali (yoga sutra) the meditation (dhyana) is considered an high state of practice. For general relax and for stress, is better learning yoga(for example yoga nidra and some light pranayamas), some forms or chi kung and/or taichi
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
pb000 10y ago
A couple of things: If you want to learn meditation find yourself a teacher who will be able to guide you with your specific and personal needs, advantages and deficiencies in focus, character and views on outside world and on yourself, through this process. We are never taught what meditation is and how to do it right. None of the sources mention such important pre-requsite as understanding of human energy movement in breathing, human energy anatomy and physiology. So if you want to play with meditation is one thing, doing thing right will mean you have to have guidance. Second, As Salvador Dali said: don't be afraid of perfection, you will never reach it. Blank minds is a good but also a very hard and advanced concept beginner meditators will most likely not reach. It is very hard for the uninitiated person (by previous karma or other spiritual training) who is used to focus attention on outward to be able to go inward, let along still the mind. The best way is to distract your mind from 'uncomfortable' nothingness with count while you are doing breathing and visualization.
ge96 10y ago
It would be funny the narrator... "Now I'm slowly reaching into your pocket... to steal some of your money..." I'm usually freaking out all the time in my mind... "Oh god oh god oh god... this and that..." I find showering is where I collect my thoughts. Think about some problem I'm trying to solve. I don't know.

393 points by spaceboy 10y ago

Cool! Love to see anything that promotes mindfulness and makes it more accessible to folks. Interesting that the sessions are so short -- I'm not sure I've seen anything shorter than 10 minutes before.

AznHisoka 10y ago

Has anyone experienced an improvement in any physical diseases/ailments from meditation?

drzaiusapelord 10y ago
I think meditation's primary effect, perhaps its only noticable effect for most, is lowered anxiety via learning how to focus thought which tends to lead to less worrying and such. Less anxiety means better sleep, earlier bedtimes, less cortisol in the body, etc. Over time these can affect us physically in an beneficial way. An eight week mediation course shrinks the part of the brain involved in anxiety: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/05/26/harvard-neuroscientist-meditation-not-only-reduces-stress-it-literally-changes-your-brain/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/05... From an anecdotal perspective I found taking a anti-cortisol herb (Rhodiola and Ashwaganda) gave me a comparable, but stronger, effect compared to what 30-45 minutes daily meditation gave me. Meditation lowers cortisol: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23724462 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23724462
scorpioxy 10y ago
Sort of. I have an autoimmune disease affecting my thyroid. When the thyroid is in hyper mode, I tend to get anxiety and panic attacks. Meditation has helped me a lot with those if the flareup is not severe. Because the result of meditating can be less stress overall. And stress is known to "aggravate" the immune system. It might lead to better wellbeing when talking about autoimmune diseases. But they do progress slowly so other factors could also be at play here. Unfortunately, not much is known about autoimmune diseases. There are a few theories(strong immune system, weak immune system, virus, contaminants..) but nothing conclusive yet. I try to stick to published and peer reviewed research when looking up information rather than mommy bloggers but not much is known for these diseases. Overall, I'd say introducing meditation as a frequent practice has been a positive thing in my life. Whether or not it helps with any chronic disease.

heyheyhey 10y ago

"The guided meditations from QuietKit offers three main benefits to anyone who uses them: Decreased stress and anxiety Increased focus Increased mindfulness (the ability to be aware of what's occurring at any given moment, but being able to choose how to act, as opposed to just reacting)" Are those three benefits purely anecdotal?

bananabill 10y ago
My money is on yes, unless they've developed a unit of measurement for focus and mindfulness which seems unlikely.
ASpring 10y ago
There has been quite a bit of research surrounding mindfulness meditation for a couple decades now. Here are some cursory studies addressing your three questions. They are easy to find on Google Scholar. Decreased stress and anxiety http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2010.0142 http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2010.0142 Increased Focus (specifically for people on the ADHD spectrum) http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/20825/MindfulnessADHD-Zylowska_et_al.pdf http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/20825/MindfulnessADHD-Zylo... I have to imagine mindfulness is a difficult concept to disentangle from meditation itself, however there do seem to be attempts to create measures for this: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1073191107313003 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1073191107313003 Here's a meta-analysis summarizing many studies about the effects of meditation. Effect sizes seem consistently positive albeit on the smaller side: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-012-0101-x http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-012-0101-x
eagletusk 10y ago
Is your question addressing QuietKit or meditation in general?If the later the results, some of which you have mentioned, are definetly not purely anecdotal see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation
InclinedPlane 10y ago
No, there's a ton of science on the benefits of meditation and mindfulness in treating stress, anxiety, depression (where it is as good or superior to any medication) as well as ADHD, drug addiction, etc. It's really a shame that American/Western culture denigrates meditation/mindfulness as "hippie dippie shit" because it is an astoundingly, life alteringly powerful life skill that absolutely everyone should learn.

jahbrewski 10y ago

Curious to hear from folks who have consistently meditated for a prolonged period of time (6mos+). What effects have you noticed?

maxxxxx 10y ago
The benefits are subtle but I am more aware of my emotions. Things that used to upset me don't have this deep impact anymore. I feel I am more deliberate in how things affect me. But I also studied a lot with Buddhists. I am not sure if meditation only without guidance of a teacher will have much of an effect.
jupiter90000 10y ago
Don't do it as much now, though have consistently over long periods in the past. Some benefits I experienced (subjective): - Thoughts do not have a grip over how I act as often. - probably related, lower likelihood of compulsively doing things. - Feeling more collected and relaxed in traffic and 'stressful situations.' - More likely to be able to pay attention to who I am talking with, what I am doing, etc, right now instead of thinking of things besides that. - Start of realization that who I am is not the internal dialog and procession of thoughts. This one is hard to explain. I think I am certain things due to my thoughts; that's just my thoughts though. - Noticing that thinking constantly about things using language puts reality into categories that are essentially made up. Anyway, your experience may be different. I highly suggest trying it.
- chillwaves 10y ago
  > - Start of realization that who I am is not the internal dialog and procession of thoughts. This one is hard to explain. I think I am certain things due to my thoughts; that's just my thoughts though. This one for me is huge. You are not your thoughts. Took a really long time to understand.. it's almost like I am two people, the one who is thinking and the one who observes the thinking. Helps me distance my emotions and reflect on them in a more rational way (not obsess over mistakes, or worry too much about the future).
  - 10y ago

cptvideo2 10y ago

There’s also a well-known affect on blood-pressure (lowering) that comes from the breath control that’s at the core of most meditation practice. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stress-raising-your-blood-pressure-take-a-deep-breath-201602159168 http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stress-raising-your-blood... I don’t think that the cause of this is completely understood, but CO2 is a potent vasodilator. I’ve seen hatha yoga (physical yoga) practioners ditch hatha for prana-yoga (breath yoga) because they said it's a more powerful way to get to wherever yoga takes you.

curun1r 10y ago
One small nit to what you've said. Breath control is core to yogic practices, as you've mentioned, but it is not part of most meditative practice. Meditation typically involves breath awareness, but specifically not control. The idea is to observe the breath as it is, not how we would like it to be.
- thomyorkie 10y ago
  And yet another nit must be picked. Breath awareness is simply one way to meditate. There are a broad array of different meditation techniques and some do involve breath control.
- autocorr 10y ago
  I'm not the OP, but it is an important distinction, breath control (pranayama) is yogic. While I can't speak for other traditions that feature meditation, at least in Theravada Buddhism, training of the breath is an essential part of the practice for the development of mindfulness (sati), beyond "observing the breath as it is." This gets de-emphasized in the modern vipassana movement focusing on "bare attention", but canonical interpretations of the Anapanasati Sutta [1] on the mindfulness of breathing to indicate that one only uses bare attention to "discern" long and short breaths, but "trains" oneself to become aware of the whole body, to calm bodily fabrication, and the rest of the items on the list. This is taken to mean that one can use right effort to breath in ways that are conducive to being aware of the whole body or ways of breathing that calm bodily fabrication, etc. So, while definitely not as gross as counting fixed durations like on the site linked, exerting oneself to influence the breath has a place in at least one very prominent non-yogic tradition. [1] http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html (perhaps the second most important sutta related to meditation in the Pali Canon, next to the Maha-satipatthana Sutta [2]) [2] http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html

michaelsbradley 10y ago

For those who might be interested in additional resources, a classic treatment of discursive meditation in the Western Christian tradition, a.k.a. "mental prayer," can be found in the Fifth Treatise (pp. 247–354, original numbering) of Fr. Rodriguez's masterpiece: https://archive.org/stream/PPCV-Manresa#page/n273/mode/2up https://archive.org/stream/PPCV-Manresa#page/n273/mode/2up And here is a fine essay on Lectio Divina, written sometime in the early 2000s: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QcuUot_6BQ3jgj1wJtsx-C5YrSUCZE2fOdpG4k5k8pg/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QcuUot_6BQ3jgj1wJtsx-C5Y...

seltzered_ 10y ago
To add on, I've been interested in Vinay Gupta's approach to meditation, which he recently codified/packaged with some other folks into an app: http://cuttingmachinery.org http://cuttingmachinery.org It basically revolves around an hour of meditation, but switches from mantra, to open awareness, to feeling negative emotions in 10 minute intervals. I'm probably not going to say this correctly, but I believe the intent is to get beyond just the ability to feel calm but have a better awareness of things (how we interact in the world, our emotions, how much it really matters, etc.) in our lives. There's also a multi-part podcast interview of him (which led to the app) starting at http://futurethinkers.org/enlightenment-vinay-gupta/ http://futurethinkers.org/enlightenment-vinay-gupta/

ben174 10y ago

I'm probably an ideal candidate for meditation because just the thought of it is nearly unbearable. "Wasting a whole ten minutes doing nothing?!" But it's hard for me to get past the feeling that it's a waste of time. As someone who is on public transit for two hours a day, and an owner of a nice pair of noise cancelling headphones - I wonder if I could make use of that time by doing this. Guess I'll give it a try.

RangerScience 10y ago
Definitely! I notice substantial gains from meditation almost immediately. Public transit can be extra challenging, but can also be helpful - in the way that you're supposed to let thoughts arise and then float away, you also let sensations arise and float away. If transit is crowded, you'll have more of those to actively let go of :D At a basic level, meditation is literally practicing letting shit go. This is useful, for instance, when people write bad code that really - you get the idea. Note: Definitely do NOT try to "squash" thoughts. Let them show up and float on away. This is not a goal oriented activity; you don't have to maintain an empty mind for two minutes, let alone two hours of transit. You'll notice more of what to do as you do it more, if that makes sense.
yathern 10y ago
I've dabbled in meditation, and I should certainly keep up with it because I noticed benefits as well, I just lack the self discipline. But your situation of "I'm too busy to meditate" reminds me of the old Zen quote that goes something like: "You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you're too busy, then you should sit for an hour."
InclinedPlane 10y ago
It's not doing nothing though, you're actually training your mind, but because you have to use your mind to train your mind you have to do so indirectly. It's very much like Mr. Miyagi training Daniel karate by getting him to paint fences and wax cars. The skills develop sub-consciously, but with practice, the skills still come. Learning how to "empty your mind" or more accurately to simply be a thought-spectator while avoiding getting swept away by thoughts as they flow through your mind may seem like "doing nothing". But imagine how useful it is to have those skills when you're trying to concentrate on something else? If you can avoid being swept away by random thoughts when you have nothing else to hold your attention, think you'll be better at concentration when you do have something? And that's just the tiniest benefit.

anotherevan 10y ago

Dalek Relaxation Tape https://youtu.be/e59guruVL4o https://youtu.be/e59guruVL4o

yardshop 10y ago
It relaxes me just knowing that it exists!

sharkweek 10y ago

I'm a full-blown a cynic, but after OCD and anxiety got the best of me, my therapist recommended I try meditation to both start and end my day, I've started to notice huge improvements. Can't recommend it enough. It's frustrating at first, the mind will just not stop wandering to worries every 10 seconds, but almost always on cue, the guided meditation would remind me "is you're mind wandering? no big deal, bring your focus back to your breath." Here's where I recommend starting - http://www.nytimes.com/well/guides/how-to-meditate http://www.nytimes.com/well/guides/how-to-meditate There are a few moments now where my mind will go entirely blank, and it's the most relaxing feeling in the world. I still get too excited when that happens to keep it sustained, but I can sense it starting to work. It's really helpful to check in for a few minutes throughout the day as well. Take something in visually, observe a feeling, listen to what your body is telling you. Sounds hippy-dippy, sure, and I'm not pretending to be a doctor or make medical recommendations, but for me, It Just Works (TM)

Cozumel 10y ago
When you've been doing it for a while your mind will be blank all the time, which sounds kind of bad but it's actually great, but the interesting thing is once you can control your own thoughts you'll start to realise that not all of them are yours. People are like radios and broadcast their thoughts, and you'll be picking them up without knowing it. You'll also be able to project them i.e influence people. Those powers known as 'siddhis' are just a fraction of what you can attain. Much like everything western though guided meditation is a horribly bastardised version of the real thing, if you're interested look into Raja Yoga when you're ready. Edited: http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1906-09rajayoga.pdf http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1906-09rajayoga.pd... This is the definitive course guide, the first lesson can take a year, 10 years, or a lifetime, don't go past the first lesson till you're ready. You'll know when you are.
- mythrwy 10y ago
  If this were true I'd expect to see yogis running the world. Instead, running the world are people who I suspect aren't much into meditation.

hsitz 10y ago

The recording seems okay, but I find it really odd that the scripted voice says "feel your chest rise on an in breath, and feel it fall back down on an out breath." Chest-breathing is something to be avoided, especially in mediation, as it creates tension. The proper method of breathing is diaphragm-based breathing, otherwise called belly-breathing. This is not a trivial issue for meditation, really strange that they get it wrong. They should be saying, "feel your belly rise on an in breath . . . " and there should also be some instruction on proper method of breathing, since many people are unaware of the difference.

deleted 10y ago
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kranner 10y ago
Even with diaphragmatic breathing, your chest moves eventually as your lungs fill with air. I don't think these specific instructions promote controlling your breath by intentionally inhaling into your chest; they seem pretty passive.
- hsitz 10y ago
  Yes, the chest will move very slightly in deep belly breathing. But no, this is not a trivial thing, the focus in breathing should be on the abdomen/belly, which is your center; not the chest, which is a source of tension, and especially full of tension if you're breathing up "into" your chest. Again, this is not a trivial thing, and you can easily check good sources on breathing (e.g., for meditation, singing, running) that will describe how belly breathing works. Chest breathing is actually not proper breathing in any circumstance; it doesn't use the diaphragm (the muscle designed for breathing purposes); it creates tension and doesn't allow breathing in as much air as belly-breathing; it's something we develop in our too-fast, too-stressful, too-nervous society. These are just two top results that turned up in search for 'chest breathing' and meditation, you could find many, many more: http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858?pg=2 http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-dep... https://yogainternational.com/article/view/diaphragmatic-breathing-in-3-key-yoga-poses https://yogainternational.com/article/view/diaphragmatic-bre... https://www.blinn.edu/counseling/Relaxation-Techniques.pdf https://www.blinn.edu/counseling/Relaxation-Techniques.pdf As a related note, breathing is of paramount importance in singing, which like meditation requires proper relaxation and deep breathing. Learning to how to belly breathe and get rid of bad habit of chest-breathing is one of the first things you'll learn from any singing instructor.

lappa 10y ago

Is it better to meditate with the sound of rain as provided with quietkit, or no sound at all?

autocorr 10y ago
If you happen to be a quiet place it will likely be easier to concentrate without the rain sounds. "Easier" in this sense is a bit relative, however. An environment with fewer external distractions will lead to a selection effect where you "catch" yourself more frequently and return back to the breath. Thus, you may feel like you're not concentrating well, since you "keep getting distracted." It's kind of like the Dunning-Kruger effect of the beginning meditation :) On the other hand I find music and background conversations especially distracting and like to listen to pink-noise or other non-varying noise sounds to make concentrating easier.
metaphorm 10y ago
whatever works for you

westoncb 10y ago

I started getting into meditation a few years ago after realizing the reason the world felt less 'real' than it used to was because I could never 'get out of my head' and have more direct interactions with external things. (For example, I finally went to Tokyo and moved to San Francisco and the difference each made was pretty minor—like looking at high res photos on the internet; it was a stark contrast to when I visited NYC seven years prior and was blown away just walking around. ) It soon became my number one priority after also realizing that all the times I remembered really enjoying myself, I was in that 'out of my head' state (you have a much better sense of presence, the 3Dness of things is much more apparent, smells, tastes, interpersonal interactions are all way richer). Anyway, I decided to make a wide survey of meditation resources from old religious texts to modern neuroscience inspired teaching, to a number of things in between. The first source that really made things click for me was watching some of the youtube videos from Ajahn Brahm. He's English, but trained as a monk in Thailand for many years, and has a background in physics. I think it's a combination that makes him pretty well-suited to explaining these concepts to techy Westerners. He's also got a light, humorous style to his lecturing, so it's easy to watch (if a bit cringeworthy [due to corniness] at times. And you'll get an occasionally bit of religiosity [he is a monk after all], but he mostly keeps it out.) I'd recommend this one for starters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEw2mHpVv9A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEw2mHpVv9A I also found bits of Jon Kabat-Zinn's "Full Catastrophe Living" to be very helpful in the early stages (it focuses on another form of meditation called 'body scan' which has some unique benefits, and can be easier for beginners. It's often the choice of style when teaching for therapeutic purposes). Edit: I'll also add the way I see meditation instruction fitting into the practice: there aren't that many concepts, but each has extraordinary depth, so you just have to keep revisiting regularly; you'll often find that if you've improved in your practice, you can go back and see the same old lecture and interpret it totally differently, even though it made a kind of sense the first time. You'd think you wouldn't need to be told, e.g., "just allow your thoughts to arise and disappear on their own" like a hundred times, in different ways—but you probably do :)

conception 10y ago

http://www.10percenthappier.com http://www.10percenthappier.com is my meditation for skeptics site. Worth checking out as well. They have a lot of good videos and a podcast.

dominotw 10y ago
meditation is to become happier, make more money etc

desireco42 10y ago

I hate guided meditation... to me this is complete opposite of what meditation should be. You can do this initial few times, but after that, you don't need any voice but your own in your head. That is if you are really doing meditation, if you want to pretend... then headspace yourself. Again, this is my view as someone who actually meditated for like 20+ yrs.

koliber 10y ago
I hate training wheels on my bike... to me this is complete opposite of what riding a bike should be. You can do this initial few times, but after that, you don't need any help but your own sense of balance in your head. That is if you are really riding a bike, if you want to pretend... then continue using training wheels yourself. Again, this is my view as someone who actually rode a bike for like 20+ yrs. --- Comes off a bit snarky, doesn't it? I think I see what you are trying to convey, and wrote the above so that others could get a feel as well, using a more tangible analogy.
- desireco42 10y ago
  :) It did came out quite a bit snarky. Completely justified criticism. It was late in a day. Oh, and I did rode my bike for more then 20+ years. I can prop it on back wheel and do few stunts even today. Impresses my kids.
  - koliber 10y ago
    However it came out, I appreciate you sharing your experience and point of view. As someone who is off of training wheels on the bike but still on commercial guided meditation courses, it's great to know that there's a lot more to come.
fredoliveira 10y ago
Based on your tone and use of sarcasm, I'd say your 20 year practice needs work.
- 10y ago

kordless 10y ago

I'm a little late on commenting, but I'm gifted with Aphantasia. I've found it naturally contributes to meditation as I experience no visuals in my mind's eye. No visuals means no-thinking if you can wrangle the internal dialog under control.

vSanjo 10y ago

A question, and one that probably shuns any kind of methodical thinking and science, but there's always talk about 'rewriting' or 'rewiring' the brain. Plasticity and all that stuff. Are there thoughts I -should- be thinking, patterns I -should- be training or ideas I -should- be following to maximise the positive changes meditation has the potential to bring?

JamesBarney 10y ago
Most of the day we are aware of our 5 senses. We notice new sounds, new sights, and new sensations. But many times we don't notice new thoughts, new emotions, and new feelings. We're blind to ourselves most of the the day. When we practice mindfulness we practice listening, seeing, and feeling our thoughts. The whole point is to strengthen the awareness of our mind. Allowing us to notice changes to our inner world as we notice changes to our outer one. The way we practice this is by focusing on our breath, and noticing when our mind wanders. I first thougt the important part of meditation was the focusing. It wasn't. It was the noticing. That's what we're training when we meditate. And that's the part that we're rewiring.
- AVTizzle 10y ago
  ^^ this.
ktRolster 10y ago
1) clear your mind of the chatter 2) soon you might have euphoric experiences. Go past them 3) learn what enlightenment is. Head towards it 4) find other like-minded people to meditate with (at a Zen center, for example)
mbrock 10y ago
You can do that. I don't know about the science but I suspect you could find some studies on "loving kindness" meditation, which is basically a Buddhist tradition of reinforcing nice emotions and thoughts.
InclinedPlane 10y ago

ktRolster 10y ago

It might be worth visiting a Zen center in your area to meditate with monks. Meditating alone, it's harder to focus.

markestefanos 10y ago

For those interested in learning more, The Mind Illuminated is by far the best book I've come across on the topic. It's an extremely systematic college level manual for learning how to meditate. The author has a PhD in physiology, has been meditating for 40 years, taught neuroscience for years, and speaks Pali and Sanskrit, so he's able to read and interpret the original Buddhist texts. These combined allow him to teach with a unique depth and precision. Take a look at the Amazon reviews, and ask yourself if you've ever seen anything so highly rated: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrating-Mindfulness/dp/1501156985/ref=dp_ob_title_bk https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrati... I hope you find it as valuable as I did :)

nonsince 10y ago
Frustratingly, you can't get the kindle version if you live in the UK (I actually live in the Netherlands, which Amazon doesn't operate in at all, but my account is from the UK). The kindle version even shows up on the US site until I log in. EDIT: I tried to use Amazon.nl (they do have a kindle store, just not regular Amazon), they have the kindle version of the book but when I log in after buying it I'm told it's not available in my country
- markestefanos 10y ago
  Email me (in my profile).
  - nonsince 10y ago
    It's not in your profile
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - markestefanos 10y ago
      Thanks, fixed.

nonsince 10y ago

I use the app "Headspace" as a meditation beginner. The monthly price after the first 10 sessions is a little steep (can't remember the exact price) but there's a lot of extremely high-quality content covering mindfulness in almost every aspect of life. I think it's worth the price.

daneyh 10y ago
I used this and got upto the 30min sessions. After a while Andys voice becomes counterproductive....but definitely good to get into it.
omgwtfpmr 10y ago
Seconded. I find Headspace enjoyable and very low on woo.

Willyfrog 10y ago

Are there any similar resources in spanish? I'm interested in passing this info to my wife, but unfortunately her english is not so good, so it would be a problem for her to follow the guides in the comments.

paradisebunny 10y ago
I can recommend the App Insight Timer. It is free and distributes user-uploaded guided meditations. Lots of languages and content to choose from! Highly recommended! edit: here is a link to their spanish content https://insighttimer.com/meditation-playlists/spanish-meditations https://insighttimer.com/meditation-playlists/spanish-medita...
- Willyfrog 10y ago
  thanks! I'll check it

tshanmu 10y ago

https://smilingmind.com.au/ https://smilingmind.com.au/ is a great resource to get started as well.

savitur_it 10y ago

is better practice meditation not alone, but with a master or an experienced practicer of many years. Meditation can bring to light unconscious content. In ashtanga yoga of Patanjali (yoga sutra) the meditation (dhyana) is considered an high state of practice. For general relax and for stress, is better learning yoga(for example yoga nidra and some light pranayamas), some forms or chi kung and/or taichi

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pb000 10y ago

A couple of things: If you want to learn meditation find yourself a teacher who will be able to guide you with your specific and personal needs, advantages and deficiencies in focus, character and views on outside world and on yourself, through this process. We are never taught what meditation is and how to do it right. None of the sources mention such important pre-requsite as understanding of human energy movement in breathing, human energy anatomy and physiology. So if you want to play with meditation is one thing, doing thing right will mean you have to have guidance. Second, As Salvador Dali said: don't be afraid of perfection, you will never reach it. Blank minds is a good but also a very hard and advanced concept beginner meditators will most likely not reach. It is very hard for the uninitiated person (by previous karma or other spiritual training) who is used to focus attention on outward to be able to go inward, let along still the mind. The best way is to distract your mind from 'uncomfortable' nothingness with count while you are doing breathing and visualization.

ge96 10y ago

It would be funny the narrator... "Now I'm slowly reaching into your pocket... to steal some of your money..." I'm usually freaking out all the time in my mind... "Oh god oh god oh god... this and that..." I find showering is where I collect my thoughts. Think about some problem I'm trying to solve. I don't know.