The Meditation Thread.

[The Alchemist]

I really needed to read something like this. I've been spending much time about this matter since 3 years ago, when i think i "woke up".
Maybe i reached what is called "enlightment", even if it sound like a too "difficult word".
I think that the main knowledge is that we must live the present moment as it is, just letting things be........
I've suffered for all my life of depression, anxiety, i had a big trauma which made me live a total useless and unhappy life. I had some states of shock which were like terrible nightmares to me, i felt separed from reality (it's what is called "derealization"), i couldn't work, study, speak.....
Until one day i realized that i just have to live the moment, and it magically all disapperead.

[arcticwolf]

"As meditators, we all must have a goal, for if we do not have a goal, we will simply be groping in the dark blindly following somebody's instructions on meditation. There must certainly be a goal for whatever we do consciously and willingly. It is not the Vipassana meditator's goal to become enlightened before other people or to have more power or to make more profit than others, for mindfulness meditators are not in competition with each other.

Our goal is to reach the perfection of all the noble and wholesome qualities latent in our subconscious mind. This goal has five elements to it: Purification of mind, overcoming sorrow and lamentation, overcoming pain and grief, treading the right path leading to attainment of eternal peace, and attaining happiness by following that path. Keeping this fivefold goal in mind, we can advance with hope and confidence to reach the goal."

[arcticwolf]

"Once you sit, do not change the position again until the end of the time you determined at the beginning. Suppose you change your original position because it is uncomfortable, and assume another position. What happens after a while is that the new position becomes uncomfortable. Then you want another and after a while, it too becomes uncomfortable. So you may go on shifting, moving, changing one position to another the whole time you are on your mediation cushion and you may not gain a deep and meaningful level of concentration. Therefore, do not change your original position, no matter how painful it is.
To avoid changing your position, determine at the beginning of meditation how long you are going to meditate. If you have never meditated before, sit motionless not longer than twenty minutes. As you repeat your practice, you can increase your sitting time. The length of sitting depends on how much time you have for sitting meditation practice and how long you can sit without excruciating pain."

[arcticwolf]

"After sitting motionless, close your eyes. Our mind is analogous to a cup of muddy water. The longer you keep a cup of muddy water still, the more mud settles down and the water will be seen clearly. Similarly, if you keep quiet without moving your body, focusing your entire undivided attention on the subject of your meditation, your mind settles down and begins to experience the bliss of meditation."

[arcticwolf]

"The mind can never be focused without a mental object. Therefore we must give our mind an object which is readily available every present moment. What is present every moment is our breath. The mind does not have to make a great effort to find the breath,for every moment the breath is flowing in and out through our nostrils. As our practice of insight meditation is taking place every waking moment, our mind finds it very easy to focus itself on the breath, for it is more conspicuous and constant than any other object."

"Do not verbalize or conceptualize anything. Simply notice the in-coming and out-going breath without saying, "I breathe in", or "I breathe out." When you focus your attention on the breath ignore any thought, memory, sound, smell, taste, etc., and focus your attention exclusively on the breath, nothing else."

[arcticwolf]

"In spite of your concerted effort to keep the mind on your breathing, the mind may wander away. It may go to past experiences and suddenly you may find yourself remembering places you've visited, people you met, friends not seen for a long time, a book you read long ago, the taste of food you ate yesterday, and so on. As soon as you notice that your mind is no longer on your breath, mindfully bring it back to it and anchor it there. However, in a few moments you may be caught up again thinking how to pay your bills, to make a telephone call to you friend, write a letter to someone, do your laundry, buy your groceries, go to a party, plan your next vacation, and so forth. As soon as you notice that your mind is not on your subject, bring it back mindfully."

[arcticwolf]

"Also, the mind does not stay all the time with the feeling of breath. It goes to sounds, memories, emotions, perceptions, consciousness and mental formations as well. When we experience these states, we should forget about the feeling of breath and immediately focus our attention on these states--one at a time, not all of them at one time. As they fade away, we let our mind return to the breath which is the home base the mind can return to from quick or long journeys to various states of mind and body. We must remember that all these mental journeys are made within the mind itself."

[The Alchemist]

Thank you Arctic, it's all very useful for me (even if i don't follow any proper course).
Btw, have you ever had a strong experience of pain, sufference in your life?? Have you ever experimented a real pain, which make you see life as "totally dark"??? That was my true "school".
Btw it's very interesting what you wrote, i meditate and try to be as more aware as possible in everyday life, but without a goal (it would project me too much in the future, and i would probably forget that the present moment is all).
Ok, i'm just wanting to know more

[Osprey]

Thank you Arctic, it's all very useful for me (even if i don't follow any proper course).
Btw, have you ever had a strong experience of pain, sufference in your life?? Have you ever experimented a real pain, which make you see life as "totally dark"??? That was my true "school".
Btw it's very interesting what you wrote, i meditate and try to be as more aware as possible in everyday life, but without a goal (it would project me too much in the future, and i would probably forget that the present moment is all).
Ok, i'm just wanting to know more

You know what?
Pain, suffering and love are relative.
One can only suffer pain when one expects something better.
So, here's my answer to all who suffer total and complete darkness.
Stop expecting anything from anyone.
Consider youself to be that alien stranger who comes from outside expecting nothing and builds a life from the scratch.
When you have no expectations, you have no suffering.
Expect only from One person and that is you.
You can do it. No one else will do it for you. Not even God.

[The Alchemist]

You know what?
Pain, suffering and love are relative.
One can only suffer pain when one expects something better.
So, here's my answer to all who suffer total and complete darkness.
Stop expecting anything from anyone.
Consider youself to be that alien stranger who comes from outside expecting nothing and builds a life from the scratch.
When you have no expectations, you have no suffering.
Expect only from One person and that is you.
You can do it. No one else will do it for you. Not even God.

What you wrote is the basis of Buddha's teachings (we have to stop desiring to stop suffering, in other words).
Btw, these are only "philosophical" concepts, do you really know how to be "yourself"?? This is real freedom.
We're ouselves only when we live the present moment, with no interference of our mind. When we're present, when we can feel and not think.
This is enlightment, imo. Try not to think.