MEDITATION - As A Spiritual Practice - No Dogma Allowed

DISCLAIMER: if you are a Bible Thumper or Islamist or any other such Religious Extremist trying to spread your religion, don't do it here. This thread is to remain free of such discussions. You will be smitten by your respective GOD if you do it here. This is a place for real spiritual progress or at least the discussion of such a thing.

NO DOGMA ALLOWED
Also please try to stay on topic

Now that that is out of the way, this is about meditation practices and a place to discuss various methods and techniques. I have dabbled in meditation for a long time, but have not ever really gotten on a steady long-term regimen, unfortunately. But I really wish I would, heh. But the beauty of meditation is that it doesn't require any subscription to ridiculous dogma. So all the benefits of a religion, but without having to compromise your intellectual integrity with unsubstantiated beliefs.

So as far as techniques go I've done lots of counting breaths, counting length of breaths, just observing breaths, body scans, mindful awareness of sounds, experiences, sensations, thoughts, etc. Anyway, I finally got around to doing this technique from Sam Harris (see video below) and it seemed very practical and I can definitely see the benefits of it. I think essentially what I took away from it was just seeing yourself NOT as something encased in a body or peering out from behind your face that is separate from the world and others and is tossed around by thoughts, emotions, desires, etc., but you are simply consciousness itself, pure, unadulterated awareness and thoughts, feelings, emotions etc. don't have any real connection to your core being. You are actually separate from your thoughts and feelings. And this I have known intellectually for a very long time, but this is a practice to experience it. I think it's an attempt to get at a non-dual state of mind.

Anyway, please share your thoughts, insights or other good guided meditation audio here. There's a couple pretty good apps that I've tried, "Calm" and "Headspace," but I haven't actually paid for the full experience yet. If anyone has, please do share your experience...

YouTube video

*thump* *thump*

Hi guys.

I don't know where to post this, but the Lord has been laying it on my heart for the past few days to tell people about Jesus. This burden is so strong that I have felt sick and very desperate to reach out to others and tell them about Jesus. I asked my Pastor if there were any ministries I could do through my church to serve God, but all he said to me was that if there was anything, he'd let me know. God has been driving me to serve Him so bad that I don't think I can wait much longer for an answer from my Pastor, I am desperate here and I don't think he understands just how urgent it is to witness to the lost. People are dying and going to Hell. That is no laughing matter.

So I am going to write a post and witness to the lost on here...

Dear person much loved by the Lord,

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like you and me. Have you ever thought about what happens after you die? I have. It has brought me much anxiety thinking about it, because I know that this life does not last forever and one day, we all will die.

A lot of people today do not think about where they will spend eternity, and this thinking is a big mistake.

But what happens after death? The Bible is the only book that can tell us what happens to us after we die. God Himself wrote this great book; it is probably the most important book that was ever written.

Do you mind if I quote some Scriptures? Some people get offended when I quote the Bible, but I never do. Do you know why? Because I am a Christian and I believe that Jesus is my Saviour. The Bible says so. And with that being said, I will give you some Bible verses to help you and educate you.

So what happens after we die? The Bible teaches that man is a tripart being composed of spirit, soul, and a fleshly body. At death, our souls separate from our body and goes back to God to be judged by Him. God will judge everything we do in the body, whether good or bad.

But here is the bad news. You see, nobody is truly a good person. You see, only God is truly good.

Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever hated anyone? If you have, then you have sinned. Killing others is also a sin, and yet you hear every day on the news that someone has murdered somebody else. Why? Because mankind are sinners and on their way to a burning Hell.

Rom 3:23 :
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Now that you know that no one is good in God's eyes, how do we then become good? How do we become vindicated before God? The Bible teaches that we need to have Jesus' righteousness but the only way to do that is to come to Him by faith:

Rom 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Rom 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

So you see that you need to believe in your heart that God raised up Jesus from the dead, and you also need to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord.

If you die without Christ, you will spend eternity in Hell. In our modern world today, people think that Hell is a place of never-ending parties and good times. They think that all of their friends will be there. But that is far from the truth. You would think that these people have never read the Bible, or that they have never taken it seriously.

The Bible teaches that Hell is a place of never-ending fire and torment, and my dear friend, that is not very much fun (this truth has scared a lot of people). It is a place of tears and no hope. It is darkness and loneliness. You won't be able to see anyone at all. It is eternal separation from God Himself. Since God is the Source of Joy and Happiness, that means that everything apart from Him is tears, sorrow, and no happiness. And that does not sound like very much fun at all, doesn't it?

So my dear friend, for your own eternal safety, I pray that you will accept Jesus Christ into your heart today, and make Him Lord over your life.

If you have done this, you need to find a Bible-believing church where you can grow in God's Word. And you also need to find out what God wants you to do with your life, so that you may serve Him.

Blessings,
Jacqueline

Though I'm not an atheist and am Christian, meditation has actually helped me through one of the most spiritually challenging times of my life when I was dealing with an existential crisis. For a couple of weeks I would experience these moments of anxiety where I was plagued by my greatest fear where I felt emotionally disconnected from everything around me to the extent to which I wasn't really emotionally present. I knew that the fear was irrational, but that knowledge didn't really get rid of the anxiety, and it basically flared up as an intrusive thought, so at first I would try to not think about it... which would lead to me thinking about it, or I would try to think about something else, which would either be a feeble attempt or only delay the problem of me experiencing anxiety whenever confronted with that thought.

So I used a sort of meditation and breathing techniques to get myself into a more calm and relaxed emotional state when confronting the intrusive thoughts so I could rationally dispel them and not be as disturbed by the thought whenever considering it, and that gradually lessened my anxiety, and now it's completely gone.

Drugs do that to a person...

Now tell us more about God.

Originally posted by Beniboybling

[extensive douchery]

Your God will smite you.

Originally posted by Patient_Leech
Your God will smite you.

Originally posted by Beniboybling
Drugs do that to a person...

This is a really good one...

OboD7JrT0NE&t=511s

Originally posted by Beniboybling
*thump* *thump*

Hi guys.

I don't know where to post this, but the Lord has been laying it on my heart for the past few days to tell people about Jesus. This burden is so strong that I have felt sick and very desperate to reach out to others and tell them about Jesus. I asked my Pastor if there were any ministries I could do through my church to serve God, but all he said to me was that if there was anything, he'd let me know. God has been driving me to serve Him so bad that I don't think I can wait much longer for an answer from my Pastor, I am desperate here and I don't think he understands just how urgent it is to witness to the lost. People are dying and going to Hell. That is no laughing matter.

So I am going to write a post and witness to the lost on here...

Dear person much loved by the Lord,

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like you and me. Have you ever thought about what happens after you die? I have. It has brought me much anxiety thinking about it, because I know that this life does not last forever and one day, we all will die.

A lot of people today do not think about where they will spend eternity, and this thinking is a big mistake.

But what happens after death? The Bible is the only book that can tell us what happens to us after we die. God Himself wrote this great book; it is probably the most important book that was ever written.

Do you mind if I quote some Scriptures? Some people get offended when I quote the Bible, but I never do. Do you know why? Because I am a Christian and I believe that Jesus is my Saviour. The Bible says so. And with that being said, I will give you some Bible verses to help you and educate you.

So what happens after we die? The Bible teaches that man is a tripart being composed of spirit, soul, and a fleshly body. At death, our souls separate from our body and goes back to God to be judged by Him. God will judge everything we do in the body, whether good or bad.

But here is the bad news. You see, nobody is truly a good person. You see, only God is truly good.

Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever hated anyone? If you have, then you have sinned. Killing others is also a sin, and yet you hear every day on the news that someone has murdered somebody else. Why? Because mankind are sinners and on their way to a burning Hell.

Rom 3:23 :
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Now that you know that no one is good in God's eyes, how do we then become good? How do we become vindicated before God? The Bible teaches that we need to have Jesus' righteousness but the only way to do that is to come to Him by faith:

Rom 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Rom 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

So you see that you need to believe in your heart that God raised up Jesus from the dead, and you also need to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord.

If you die without Christ, you will spend eternity in Hell. In our modern world today, people think that Hell is a place of never-ending parties and good times. They think that all of their friends will be there. But that is far from the truth. You would think that these people have never read the Bible, or that they have never taken it seriously.

The Bible teaches that Hell is a place of never-ending fire and torment, and my dear friend, that is not very much fun (this truth has scared a lot of people). It is a place of tears and no hope. It is darkness and loneliness. You won't be able to see anyone at all. It is eternal separation from God Himself. Since God is the Source of Joy and Happiness, that means that everything apart from Him is tears, sorrow, and no happiness. And that does not sound like very much fun at all, doesn't it?

So my dear friend, for your own eternal safety, I pray that you will accept Jesus Christ into your heart today, and make Him Lord over your life.

If you have done this, you need to find a Bible-believing church where you can grow in God's Word. And you also need to find out what God wants you to do with your life, so that you may serve Him.

Blessings,
Jacqueline

Originally posted by Adam_PoE

I've always preferred to meditate in as natural a fashion as possible: simply being conscious of being conscious, whether doing a formal, sit-down session, or going about daily life. To put it another way, I try to stay off autopilot as much as possible.

I also like meditating while dreaming, though this is rare.

Originally posted by Mindship
I've always preferred to meditate in as natural a fashion as possible: simply being conscious of being conscious, whether doing a formal, sit-down session, or going about daily life. To put it another way, I try to stay off autopilot as much as possible.

👆 So what's your technique for staying in that "conscious of consciousness" state (sit down and daily life)?

Originally posted by Mindship
I also like meditating while dreaming, though this is rare.

You'll have to explain more about this. I am intrigued. I can only remember once or twice when I was a kid that I had sort of a lucid dreaming experience. I was just sort of flying up above my bed controlling my hovering. It was amazing, but I've never had a similar experience since.

Originally posted by Patient_Leech
👆 So what's your technique for staying in that "conscious of consciousness" state (sit down and daily life)?

My general inspiration for this approach is Zen/mindfulness.

Originally posted by Patient_Leech
You'll have to explain more about this. I am intrigued. I can only remember once or twice when I was a kid that I had sort of a lucid dreaming experience. I was just sort of flying up above my bed controlling my hovering. It was amazing, but I've never had a similar experience since.

The whole deal for both is not being on autopilot. The better you are At This while awake, the greater the chance this will carry over into dreaming.

Originally posted by Mindship
For me, it is the recognition of a particular feeling, a very subtle tonal shift in the sense of one's presence. A trigger word/phrase (eg, "I'm still here"; "Reality check"😉 helps, but ultimately, it is being attuned to a fine nuance of difference in consciousness, between being "On" and being "Off" (ie, on autopilot). Essentially, if you can ask yourself "Am I conscious right now?" you are, if only at a surface level. However, you're not even of mind to ask this when on autopilot. The difference is especially notable when first shifting from Off to On (often I'll ask myself, when I return to On is, "what brought me back?"😉.

My general inspiration for this approach is Zen/mindfulness.

Makes sense. So you just try to be conscious of your consciousness frequently? I wonder how much your approach differs from this guy's approach, if any (keep in mind, this seems to be worded for beginners and as simply as possible for anyone)...

Step 1: Learn to Move the Beam of Your Attention at Will

To begin, just relax for a moment, and notice the obvious fact that you have the power to move your attention at will.

As you read this, move your attention away from the text for a moment, and direct it instead to the feel of your breathing. Notice the feel of your chest and belly expanding and contracting, and then bring it back here to this page. Do that a couple of times so that you become familiar with what I mean by "moving the beam of your attention at will." That action of moving attention at will, as you just did, is all that's needed to accomplish what I am asking you to do. The more you practice this simple act, the more you'll become familiar with how it feels to do it. And the more familiar you become with the feel of it, the more skillful and direct you will be in the effort to move the beam of attention where it must go.

Step 2: Turn the Beam of Your Attention Inward

Use that skill to actually turn the beam of attention inward, trying to make direct, unmediated contact with the reality of your own nature, by which I mean you, just plain and simple you. You know what you are, and you will surely recognize yourself when you see yourself in this way. It really is that simple. Repeat this as often as it occurs to you to do so.

There is no step three.

[John Sherman - Just One Look.org]

The "you" he is referring to I think is just the very ground of being, pure awareness. That's how I understand it.

Originally posted by Mindship
Lucid dreaming can be trained for. "As you are awake, so shall you dream." Closely related to "up and about meditation," one form of LD induction involves reminding yourself -- while awake -- what's happening (again as an eg, "Reality check"; or, "Awake or dreaming?"😉. But even with this, yeah, meditating while dreaming is a rare moment, though simply being aware that one is dreaming is not unlike up-and-about meditating.

The whole deal for both is not being on autopilot. The better you are At This while awake, the greater the chance this will carry over into dreaming.

Yeah, that makes sense about it carrying over into dreaming the more you do it.

I do something close to meditation to keep myself properly oriented, except instead of emptying my mind of everything but awareness I'll focus it on my loved ones, my gratefulness for what I have, letting go of my resentment for other people and forgiving them, that kinda thing.

^ That's a legitimate meditation technique. Loving kindness. 👆

Originally posted by Patient_Leech
Makes sense. So you just try to be conscious of your consciousness frequently? I wonder how much your approach differs from this guy's approach, if any (keep in mind, this seems to be worded for beginners and as simply as possible for anyone)...

Originally posted by Patient_Leech
The "you" he is referring to I think is just the very ground of being, pure awareness. That's how I understand it.

Pure consciousness? If one adheres to the perennial philosophy, that sort of Consciousness is waayyy beyond where we are.

Originally posted by Emperordmb
I do something close to meditation to keep myself properly oriented, except instead of emptying my mind of everything but awareness I'll focus it on my loved ones, my gratefulness for what I have, letting go of my resentment for other people and forgiving them, that kinda thing.

I don't even know how to meditate.

^ It's easy. A couple good apps with some free content that I mentioned in the OP are "Headspace" and "Calm." (That is if you have a smartphone). Sam Harris has said that he's working on a meditation app. I think I saw that he's beta testing it now, but I think it was just for Apple. I haven't really checked for it on Android yet (I have an Android).

I'm a fan of the Dan Harris (no relation to Sam Harris) book "10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story" Long-ass title, but a worthwhile read. Basically, he was an over-stressed modern guy who wanted to explore the benefits of meditation without the psuedo-spiritual "woo" that often accompanies it. He didn't believe in aligning his chakras, or {insert New Age-y spiritual idea here}, he just wanted to calm his mind and be a little bit happier. And it worked.

I do some fairly basic breathing exercises on occasion, and I'm trying to get to the point where it's a daily routine for me. I also use the Sam Harris guided meditations. They can be found in audio format here:
https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/mindfulness-meditation

I've also invented my own variation where I take a piece of wisdom that is applicable to my life and I "meditate on it." It might be accompanied with breathing exercises, but instead of clearing my mind, my default state is the idea or quote, and it gives me a point to come back to when my mind wanders. The ideas become mantras that can then help in everyday life. Sounds similar to a couple practices mentioned above.

I haven't read through everything in this thread - I'm at work, and time is short - but it's a worthwhile topic imo.

^ Thanks for the contribution. Yeah, I wish I could make it a more daily routine, too, because I want to teach my son some techniques at the youngest age possible. Sam Harris' wife actually is involved in teaching children meditation.

Originally posted by Digi
I'm a fan of the Dan Harris (no relation to Sam Harris) book "10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story" Long-ass title, but a worthwhile read. Basically, he was an over-stressed modern guy who wanted to explore the benefits of meditation without the psuedo-spiritual "woo" that often accompanies it. He didn't believe in aligning his chakras, or {insert New Age-y spiritual idea here}, he just wanted to calm his mind and be a little bit happier. And it worked.

Is there an accompanying app for that? 10% Happier? I think I've heard of it, but for some reason I can't find it in the android app store. Yeah...

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/10-happier-mindfulness-guide/id992210239?mt=8

Originally posted by Digi
I've also invented my own variation where I take a piece of wisdom that is applicable to my life and I "meditate on it." It might be accompanied with breathing exercises, but instead of clearing my mind, my default state is the idea or quote, and it gives me a point to come back to when my mind wanders. The ideas become mantras that can then help in everyday life. Sounds similar to a couple practices mentioned above.

Cool. I like that. You have any examples you're willing to share?