Stuff i have learned from headspace and unifiedmindfulness.com , there are probably better sources (like a MBSR course), I will repeat the advice i got to learn from good sources or a good teacher, otherwise you could make a mistake that will make you give up and not get the most benefit from them (and i saw that happen).
Get a workout in, take a relaxing bath, or do some sort of zen doodling. The zen doodling with some chill/relaxing music in the background usually helps my brain just turn off.
I run a word in my head over and over. Thanks to my therapist, I was able to associate the word with a relaxing nap I took at the top of a mountain in Hawaii. It’s not hard. Think of a memory that relaxes you and makes you happy, then associate a single word with that memory
Really not sure if it counts as meditation, but sitting in nature.
I’m an avid bow hunter of whitetail deer. While I do enjoy the part of predator and prey, and a bonus of putting food on the table, the real reason I hunt is to go sit in nature for awhile.
I climb up into a tree, hang my bow, put on my release. If it’s morning, watching the sun come up in the woods and all the daytime creatures wake up is quite enjoyable. In the evening, watching the sun go down and all the daytime creatures settling in, and the nighttime ones coming out. I’m a spectator to the world we live in outside of society.
It’s quiet, I blend in, I’m as scent free as possible, and I sit still and quiet and I feel like a part of the woods around me. It makes me feel connected to the land and how I am one small part of the world we live in. It’s as close as I will get to any form of reality our ancient ancestors had.
I don’t know if it counts as meditation. But when I’m stressed I find a quiet place, close my eyes, and just monitor my body.
I try to listen to my heart beat, the tiny aches in my muscles that I tend to ignore, even the movements of my intestines. I find it calming to just retreat into the vast complex that is my body.
I know about two forms of meditation: mindfulness meditation and transcendental meditation. They’re both pretty much exactly the same, except in mindfulness meditation, you focus on your breath traveling through the tips of your nostrils, and in transcendental meditation, you focus on a sound/word/phrase in your head.
This guy explains transcendental meditation really well. If you want to try mindfulness meditation, then just change his instructions to focus on your breath instead of a sound, and keep the rest of the instructions exactly as they are: youtu.be/nBCsFuoFRp8
One thing to note is that there’s transcendental meditation, and then there’s Transcendental Meditation™. They’re the same exact thing, except with with transcendental meditation, you pick whatever sound you want, but with Transcendental Meditation™, you pay $1600 to have some dude sprinkle a bunch of essential oils or some shit on you and pick your sound for you. Plus, who knows what kind of recurring hidden fee nonsense you’re signing up for, so I suggest avoiding Transcendental Meditation™.
I try to focus on my thinking and stop focusing on thoughts. Like stare out a window or at a wall, see what thoughts pop up, acknowledge them, then let go. The goal being to just be there, without intrusion.
DISCLAIMER Meditation isn’t for everyone. Meditation adverse effects are a thing. Know what’s for you!
I start with box breathing (for a few cycles, until I can feel my mind and body relax), and then I go to normal breathing and focus on the breath, followed by whatever activity I find appropriate:
For general meditation, I just keep the focus on the breath, and if my focus shifts, I don’t make a value judgment about it. I just return to the breath as the thought leaves on its own. These are what I do for short 5 min “resets” between things like work and school.
For grounding (when I have more time or require a deeper “reset”), I will focus on my body’s connections to the elements (one at a time: the earth below me, the air through the breath, the fire in my cells, the water in my blood, and the “spirit” of my brain’s awareness)
For active self-work, I will visualize a safe/protective scene (in my case, a grove), then close my “mind’s eyes,” losing the scene, and doing a Light Body exercise. I then re-open the scene and take notice of the differences. This way, I’ve been able to “spelunk” into deep parts of my mind, forgotten memories, trauma responses, etc. I will follow the scenery and see/hear whatever my brain is triggering, all in the safe confines of my little grove/surrounding area.
If you make it to a deep, meditative state, be sure to become fully aware of your body before trying to move around. You might be a bit groggy or fall over. Personally, I have to leave the deeper state and become aware of sitting in my grove, and then become aware of my actual body.
Be sure to write down or otherwise keep in memory the things you learn from your brain during meditation :)
Some people experience anxiety, pain, and psychosis, sometimes for long durations. If you want to dig deeper into this, do a web search for “meditation adverse effects” and you’ll find a good bit of peer reviewed work in good quality journals.
I love meditation and it’s a major help in my life, but I can’t go around telling everyone it’s for them, because data suggests it’s definitely not for everyone! It seems to help most people though. Everyone’s gotta know for themselves.
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