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Beginner Meditation (advice)
as a new comer to the practice of Buddhism, I was wondering how often I should meditate & for how long? I was thinking daily for at least 5minutes for the first few weeks & then later push myself to 10minutes for the next couple of months and build up from there. Opinions? also I tend to get distracted easier when I try to meditate in silence or rather focus on a certain element. I seem to focus more if I am listening to meditation music but even then get thrown off concentration a few times, is this ok? & any suggestions on how to over come this?? any other advice/input is welcome also :]
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As far as the distractions go, that just kinda comes with being a human. Amazon, or whatever online bookstore you have access to has several free books on the basics of meditation. There are others on here with more experience than me. I'm sure they will be along shortly
I plan on making this part of my daily routine starting today :]
As far as concentration goes, for now, do what YOU thinks helps out best. Honestly, getting distracted is normal, even to advanced meditators. Two things have helped me with my concentration. The first is a mantra: "Bud" breathing in and "dho" breathing out. The second is being mindful the amount of air I breath in and out.
"Breathing in a short breath, I am aware that I'm breathing in a short breathing. Breathing in a long breath, I am aware that I am breathing in a long breath" - Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"
If you are close to a meditation center, Buddhist sangha , or even a Yoga studio, I would suggest visiting and asking for formal instruction. My meditation practice became much smoother once I took a few classes.
I hope this helps you out.
Most people can not or would not meditate.
They can however chill out.
What about chilling out whilst looking at an inspirational picture, flower, candle
or bowl of water . . . As you look, the mind wanders. Just gently bring it back to the object.
This is simpler than vipassana. :thumbsup:
In addition, you don't have to limit meditation to just sitting. You can also mix it up by doing walking meditation. One method is to mark a path about 50ft in length, and mindfully walk back and forth while focusing on the sensation of the feet as they rise, touch the ground, and so on. An alternate method is to focus on the breath instead, and try to walk at a pace that matches, such as take 3 steps with the in-breath and 3 with the out, which takes a bit more effort. I prefer to walk repeating a mantra while focusing on the sensation of my steps myself, breaking each word of the mantra in half, one for the right foot and one for the left: bud-dho, dham-mo, san-gho, par-ents, tea-chers. Just for reference, there's an ample amount of free, quality resources online as well. A few books on meditation that I'd recommend, for example, are Frames of Reference (pdf) and Keeping the Breath in Mind (pdf) by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. I've also found Thanissaro Bhikkhus's series of talks on meditation helpful, as well, not to mention his recorded Dhamma talks that almost always focus on various aspects of meditation. I'm sure others can point you towards other quality resources too.
Here's a video that may help-
Cheers
Then when a thought comes you welcome it with kindness say 'thinking'. You feel your breath on the outbreath and on the inbreath there are no rules which signifies the part of awakening that happens on its own and that you don't need to control. Every once in awhile touch into your heart about your feeling and why you are meditating.
Her (pemas) five points of meditation are:
1. be a friend to yourself
2. see what is there in your meditation
3 sit with the most difficult feelings, thoughts, body, states etc
4. be in the present
5. no big deal; let every experience pass and come and go
You could say it to yourself or record yourself saying it.
Modify if that helps
I'm gonna start by . . . relaxing my body a bit
I am sitting
could be standing
could be lying
but I am sitting
I gotta . . . cushion under my buttocks
and . . .
. . . I am slowing down my breathing
mostly by breathing out . . .
there an in breath
and there an out breath . . .
and . . . I am gonna do that again . . .
I am gonna breath in
and . . . I am going to breath out
and one more
in
ahhh . . . and out . . .
My head's straight . . .
and I am going to continue . . .
sitting . . .
grounded!
I can feel my buttocks!
. . .can feel my feet
and my knees
. . . can feel my whole body
feel my head . . .
head straight
back straight
and I can feel . . .
. . . can feel my breathing . . .
. . . can feel my breathing . . .
. . . coming in . . .
and coming out . . .
very gentle . . .
very simple!
. . . and I am just sitting . . .
. . . am I waiting?
. . . am I expecting?
am I . . .
just sitting . . .
breathing in . . .
in and out again . . .
Where is . . . my . . . mind?
is it in my body?
Am I . . . feeling . . .
What am I feeling . . .?
agitated?
am I feeling calm?
. . .
am I feeling . . .
am I feeling anything?
am I just sitting?
breathing . . .
"Mindfulness in Plain English" is one of the best (free or otherwise), and it is highly recommended by me and many others. You can spend a lifetime following its simple and practical approach to meditation.
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html
Also, you don't want to get caught up in reading more than you are practicing.