I've been trying to practise all sorts of meditation for ages now, without a lot of success, my mind seems unwilling to settle to the task in hand lol. Last night I tried again for a longer period than normal, a basic breath counting thing, and after a few minutes I began to feel incredibly weird. My entire body was really really tingly, and I felt sort of like I was on a small boat in a rough sea, like I was being tipped forwards and back, and I also felt as though something was pushing on my back, I found myself leaning forward at a crazy angle after a couple of minutes. My head felt pretty normal and fairly conscious, as it usually does, but my body felt absolutely mental, and the two felt totally seperate. Then I began to feel a bit panicky about the weird body sensations I was getting. I often feel like my body falls alseep during meditation but my head remains conscious but I've never felt anything like that before. It was kind of a horrible feeling, discordant and I didnt like it. It sort of makes me wary of trying again. I'm going to guess that this isnt how meditation is supposed to feel...does anybody have any idea why it might be like that? Sorry if this isn't well explained, it was a really odd experience.

Classic case of hyperoxygenation and a need to get yer "sea legs".

Aye think Q has hit nail on the head there. When utillising breathing techniques for meditation two common problems are Hyperoxagenation (too much oxygen) and hyperventilation (breathing too fast)

Rather than going for the slow count of two (which takes concentration which sort of defeats the point) just relax let all the cares of the day slowly sink away, breathe casually rather than to a count.

Hi SquishyDragon.

One of the very best places to learn meditation is to find your local Friends of Western Buddhism centre. They tend to teach two techniques: Metta Bhavana and The Mindfulness of Breathing. The latter will be particularly useful to you and help you avoid what's already been mentioned and find a non-forced, cyclical breathing balance. You can try it at home yourself, it's not difficult, but the energy of group meditation can sometimes help you to fall into it. The other groups that are useful are the Brahma Kumaris or the Falun Gong. They are usually free or donation-based. Nothing beats a decent teacher.



Common misconception of meditation that you're there to beat your mind into something; make it submissive. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by the late, great Chogyam Trungpa has some useful guidance.

Essentially, to begin with, don't try forcing it to do anything. Just sit and let the ideas flow through. Follow a few of them if you want, observe the rest like fast-running water. It's not about telling your mind what to do but about guiding it - like a tap flows: cupping your hand to create a still pool or letting it flow through your fingers to a different place. You need to know the feel of the water before you can guide ti though. Keep breathing steadily and naturally, without trying to force your breathing. The longer you sit there, the slower the thoughts will come and the more regularly you do it the more your whole mind will start to slow down. But it's like putting the brakes on a car. Your physical body might be slowing down but your mind it the weight momentum within that keeps driving forward. Takes time for the clash of speeds to balance out.



Five minutes of good meditation beats two hours of poor meditation.



What's already been said by Q & E.



As for falling asleep, I've been in group meditation sessions where suddenly you’ll hear snoring from the back of the room Try meditating lying down, if you're going to fall asleep, don't worry - let yourself. Maybe you're just tired and need to be that relaxed. It'll stop happening after a while (some people it never does lol).



Yeah, you're trying too hard. Seriously, get yourself to a centre and meet some people who can give you a hand. A lot of things can influence, such as breathing, posture (very important), environment, expectations. Meditation can feel very different depending what sort of meditation you're doing, there are many varieties. But it shouldn't be a forced thing. You're just enthusiastic, that's all

Its the best feeling ever. Just sitting there in the dark, concentrating on nothing but yourself and the silence around you.

why are you trying to practise meditation?
is there a purpose such as relaxation or trance work or what...?

Well, I'm sure this is an interesting place for me to make my first post, outside of my introductory entry... But, as meditation is a big part of my path, I thought I'd add in my two cents (or pence, depending on your geographical position.)

Personally, I've never followed any set method to meditation. I tried to do the sort where you focus on a flame, but I end up just staring in fascination at the flame. (I must be kind of a pyro.) Then, I tried the breathing thing. Here's my main issue with that:

I become hyper-aware of my breathing. I start to feel as though I'm not getting enough breath and, therefore, begin breathing unevenly and experiencing anxiety.

This has happened to me many times, while I lie in bed, trying to go to sleep. (I have some issues with insomnia, too. Joy!) So, I have to very purposefully think of other things and stay my thoughts from my breathing pattern, or I'm sure to have a mild anxiety attack.

What has worked for me just sort of came to me naturally. The first time I had a successful meditation was when I was led through a guided meditation. So, when I started heavily meditating as a part of my path, I sort of let myself go and find myself going through a sort of journey (complete with images of this journey in my head) into the deeper levels of meditation.

The important thing to keep in mind, however, is to do what feels right. You can't force it, no matter how hard you try or how slyly you attempt it. If you're going to meditate, you're going to do so with the few basic knowledges one needs in order to do so. As I know them, it's to relax yourself as completely as you can...and let yourself go. If you're not going to meditate, you're simply not going to, in that moment.

Trying too hard will only frustrate and discourage you from trying, in the future. Therefore, to paraphrase a decently known phrase from the days of psychedelia, "turn off, tune in and drop off." If it happens, fantastic! If it doesn't, there's always tomorrow.


Warmly,
Wyn

Be patient with yourself, try and make sure you wont be disturbed, turn off the phone etc and be comfy.

Meditating is so beneficial in so many ways. By learning to hold and sustain a thought clearly in your minds eye you will build your level of competence and concentration. This concentration of your thought is essential for basic psychic self defence such as strengthening your aura to shield you from any harmful energy and will almost certainly strengthen your other abilities of thought whether magical or mundane too as well as helping solve problems, find tranquility etc.

I’d suggest reading psychic Self-defence and Well Being - Denning, Melita which explains really well how to strengthen your aura and about energy fields etc.
Also look for any meditation books by Shakti Gawain most simple ones are Meditations and Creative Visualisations, i found these were simple, well written and easy to follow and give a good basic understanding of meditation and its benefits.

For me the best way seems to be to light a candle somewhere close to me to focus on when I "come around" play something gentle in the background without too many lyrics to get side tracked by. Get comfortable usually lying down and slow my breathing until the brain waves change (alpha state), then allow the mind to drift. It doesn't always come first time but i think if you practise it will become increasingly easier.

I would suggest if at all possible that the first couple of times you try a guided meditation if you can. This is something you would need someone else more experienced to help you with and involves them talking to you and “guiding the meditation” through the steps of regulating breathing, perhaps basic light concentration through the body, chakra rebalancing or any number of relaxing experiences or journeys to allow your mind to travel, such as the sea, the mountains, a private garden or sanctuary etc. This helps give you focus until you have reached a level of ability where you are able to sustain clarity of thought and hold it yourself competently. Once you've been guided acouple of times it will almost certainly be easier by yourself the next time you try and something simple like the above is a good place to start in building a solid foundation to work from later on when you'll be able to go deeper into the mind at will.

Hope some of its useful. Let us know how you get on and good luck.

BBs lantern_Light

Squishy - has meditation stopped feeling weird? Did you find a centre or refine your practice?

We hear from so many people when there's a problem - it's always nice to get a follow-up and find out if things got solved?

Oh dear, that's be the capacity builder in me raising her ugly head lol

Hi this is my first post. I realise this is thread is oldish but hopefully someone will pick it up.

I'm new to paganism having explored many other religions and not finding anything that I can relate to enough to commit to.

I've read this thread with interest. I was lucky enough to go to a Friends of Western Buddhist Order class in London several years ago. Their loving kindness meditation was very helpful to me, particularly with their encouragment to begin by loving myself. I think that was the first time that I realised its not necessarily selfish to love yourself.

I've since moved away from London and haven't yet found a suitable class. I've started to practice on my own and seem to be able to generate a sense of well being by focusing on breathing, candle flames and generating a sense of connection with nature/universal light.

However I'm wondering if there are any more experienced people out there who have any other suggestions. I'm wondering if there are any pitfalls I should look out for. Am I likely to come across any negative energies/spirits? If so how can I protect myself?

How has it been going for you Squishy?

Happy Solstice to all who read this.

Hiya, I've been using meditation for a while, and I must admit, at first it was really difficult to relax enough to let go of my conscious thoughts and 'go under' into the meditation. I kept trying, different times of the day/night, etc., until i was given a c/d which contained a guided meditation. I didn't think it was going to be much good, but I decided to give it a go and see how I got on. The first time I used the disc, I was so deep into the meditation that my other half and eldest step-daughter thought there was something medically wrong with me!! What was weird though, I could hear them talking, I understood what they were doing and saying, but I was so deeply relaxed that I couldn't respond to them. When I came out of the meditation, I felt relaxed but really energised and have found it easier to meditate since then. When I've been ill and find it uncomfortable to sit and meditate, I lay down on some comfy cushions and play the c/d again, afterwards I feel great and seem to heal faster. I've also begun to incorporate meditation into my reiki treatments and have had astounding results, and repeat bookings from the clients, too!! Meditation can be used to ground yourself before doing any magic work, to bring you closer to your Deity, to introduce yourself to your guides and for them to introduce themselves to you! Meditation is extremely useful, even if you just use it to relax after a busy day at work, or before you go out on that big date! I'll try to locate the c/d and post it's title and other details for you, if you feel you may want to give it a go. The most important thing to remember though, is to relax and enjoy, if you have to 'try' then you're trying too hard! Take some time out and just chill before attempting your next meditation, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results. I hope this helps in some way, please let me know how you get on, until then, enjoy your new found skills xx

Hey Lainee, any luck on finding the CD? I know there's loads of guided meditation CDs available but it's always comforting knowing somebody thinks it's worthwhile.

The last time I tried meditation was a couple of years ago, and it was in order to relax me. I calmed my breathing and then focused on relaxing every muscle in my body, working on individual limbs and bits of limbs (!) at a time. I ended up feeling like I weighed 10 tonnes and freaked out because it felt like I was too heavy to move myself. I eventually WAS able to move myself, but meditation isn't something I've ever gone back to trying!