Author Topic: Meditation: Clearing your Mind (Read 1558 times)

SirMathias007 · « **on:** January 03, 2016, 02:19:11 am »

I was not sure where to post this because I did not see a meditation board. I figured since it's kind of a beginner question it would fit here.

I'm noticing that meditation is a big part of the rituals and worship in paganism, and is involved in a lot of the different pagan religions. I have been trying to meditate since before I started exploring my religion. I'm a very anxious person, I;m always tense and on edge due to my anxiety disorders. I heard meditation can help with that. The Christianity I grew up in did not care much about meditation so I was never taught how to do it, so I tried teaching myself and it has been a struggle. I figured I'd ask some of you since you all seem to do it quite often.

The main problem I have is mind clutter, same reason it can be hard for me to sleep. Thoughts bouncing around in my head. They are not always stressful thoughts, it's not like I'm worried about something (though sometimes that is the case.) It's just a jumble of thoughts that go on and on. "I ate a good salad today, very green, like the grass outside, oh that deer I saw earlier was neat. Why was it so close to town? What was it doing there, probably just lost. I get lost so easy, got lost the other day going to that store. That place was great had lots of nice books, I need to read more about that stuff..." That's what happens when I attempt to meditate.

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

Emma Eldritch · « **Reply #1 on:** January 03, 2016, 05:17:12 am »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

I was not sure where to post this because I did not see a meditation board. I figured since it's kind of a beginner question it would fit here.

I'm noticing that meditation is a big part of the rituals and worship in paganism, and is involved in a lot of the different pagan religions. I have been trying to meditate since before I started exploring my religion. I'm a very anxious person, I;m always tense and on edge due to my anxiety disorders. I heard meditation can help with that. The Christianity I grew up in did not care much about meditation so I was never taught how to do it, so I tried teaching myself and it has been a struggle. I figured I'd ask some of you since you all seem to do it quite often.

The main problem I have is mind clutter, same reason it can be hard for me to sleep. Thoughts bouncing around in my head. They are not always stressful thoughts, it's not like I'm worried about something (though sometimes that is the case.) It's just a jumble of thoughts that go on and on. "I ate a good salad today, very green, like the grass outside, oh that deer I saw earlier was neat. Why was it so close to town? What was it doing there, probably just lost. I get lost so easy, got lost the other day going to that store. That place was great had lots of nice books, I need to read more about that stuff..." That's what happens when I attempt to meditate.

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

In my personal experience, the biggest problem people have when beginning meditation is expecting their brains to actually empty out. God, I wish.

The trick - especially when starting out - is to realise that thoughts WILL arise during your practice, and your job is not to prevent this but to simply not get attached to them. Think of your brain as an overactive child. "Look at this thing!" it screams. Your job is to pat it on the head, say "that's nice, dear" and return your focus to your breathing or your mantra or what have you.

I personally am a breathing focused person. Inhale-for-four, exhale-for-four. My mind still gets distracted, and my job is simply to tell it "focus on your breathing" the second I notice that it is wandering. Eventually I do hit that point of no-thought, but up until that point there is a lot of refocusing. It's worth it, but I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed meditation.

LunaStar · « **Reply #2 on:** January 04, 2016, 03:21:43 am »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

Guided meditations help me a lot when I can't seem to be able to get into a meditative flow. It can be difficult to find one you like, so look around until you can connect with it. I also have anxiety and PTSD, which resulted in nervous breakdowns when I started meditating. Drinking a cup of chamomile tea before meditation helped me calm my nerves. Eventually you want to be able to meditate without these aids, but they're ok in the beginning. For me, after a couple months of daily practice, one day it just clicked and I was able to go into deep meditative states fairly easily. Good luck!

PiscesMoon · « **Reply #3 on:** January 04, 2016, 05:29:40 am »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

I also suffer from mental chatter like you've described, and the thing that I've found that works the best for me is to silently chant a mantra to myself, over and over again. I learned the Gayatri Mantra, because I decided that one not in English would be better- I would have to stay sufficiently focused on the words to keep anything else from intruding and allowing my mind to run away with itself.

Here is a good link to a video of it, if you think this might be of any help to you... it explains each of the words, (and it's also useful for the pronunciation!) The video is over an hour long, so if you even listen to just half of ityou'll pretty well have it memorised.

It is a beautiful mantra... this link explains more about its history and usage.

http://www.magicofgayatri.com/pages/magic-of-gayatri.html

RandallS · « **Reply #4 on:** January 04, 2016, 07:56:41 am »

Quote from: PiscesMoon;184436

I also suffer from mental chatter like you've described, and the thing that I've found that works the best for me is to silently chant a mantra to myself, over and over again.

I have this problem and, like you, I've found the key to success to to focus on one (fairly abstract) thing: a sound like a mantra for me as I think in sounds not pictures but I know visual people who focus on something like a color or a flame.

Altair · « **Reply #5 on:** January 04, 2016, 10:52:49 am »

Quote from: Mama Fortuna;184386

The trick - especially when starting out - is to realise that thoughts WILL arise during your practice, and your job is not to prevent this but to simply not get attached to them. Think of your brain as an overactive child. "Look at this thing!" it screams. Your job is to pat it on the head, say "that's nice, dear" and return your focus to your breathing or your mantra or what have you.

My version of "That's nice, dear" is a mental "uh-huh," acknowledging the thought without getting into it. After enough "uh-huhs"--uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh...--it becomes almost a mantra of its own.

Another thing I'll do is turn the thought into a white dove and set it free to fly away, melding into the blank mental backdrop I'm trying to achieve.

The hardest thing of all for me is to let go of words entirely; for example, as I'm focusing on the in-out of my breathing, to not mentally assign the word "breathing" to it, and to just let the breathing happen. Occupational hazard of our abstract-symbol-oriented species, I think.

Redfaery · « **Reply #6 on:** January 04, 2016, 11:46:49 am »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

I'm a Buddhist. (Gelug Tibetan, specifically). My practice is heavily focused on meditation. I can give you some recommendations if you like, but I don't know how useful they'll be, since they're going to have...well, certain biases. There are lots of different kinds of meditation out there, actually. Buddhist meditation is, well, BUDDHIST.

However, I will second what others have said. DO NOT expect your head to just "empty" right away. In Buddhism this is actually considered to be a HUUUUUUGE achievement, that one is only likely to reach after years of dedicated, daily practice.

Darkhawk · « **Reply #7 on:** January 04, 2016, 01:44:18 pm »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

Okay, thing one:

Empty mind meditation is advanced meditation technique. And it is not the goal of every meditational practice in the first place. Do not expect that you will be able to just leap into the advanced techniques at the drop of a hat, no matter how much the surrounding media tell you That Is What Meditation Is.

A basic practice that includes being able to acknowledge thoughts that come up and let them go, as other people have discussed, is a technique that can progress towards empty mind meditation if that is what you are going for. It can also be good for managing some forms of mind chatter and intrusive thoughts - some people who do a ten minute 'sitting with the chatter and letting it babble' meditation in the morning find that when such thoughts interrupt later in the day they can be sent away with a "Yes, we discussed that this morning, thank you."

Other forms of meditation that some people find easier or more accessible: walking meditation, letting the mental patterns settle into the kinesthetics of motion. (Other forms of physical exertion can do this too.) Working meditation, often on repetetive physical tasks. Artistic and creative fugue states. Guided meditations and/or pathwork.

But going back to it: meditation in an abstract sense is a tool. What sort of meditation you want to be working on depends a great deal on what the tool is for. If you are interested in a religion with a meditational practice (and I'm not sure many pagan religions actually do, so much as individual pagans have meditational practices, if you see the distinction I'm pointing at), picking up that practice will also include some guidance as to why it's there.

Freesia · « **Reply #8 on:** January 04, 2016, 03:24:40 pm »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

I'm noticing that meditation is a big part of the rituals and worship in paganism, and is involved in a lot of the different pagan religions. I have been trying to meditate since before I started exploring my religion. I'm a very anxious person, I;m always tense and on edge due to my anxiety disorders. I heard meditation can help with that.

The main problem I have is mind clutter, same reason it can be hard for me to sleep. Thoughts bouncing around in my head. They are not always stressful thoughts, it's not like I'm worried about something (though sometimes that is the case.) It's just a jumble of thoughts that go on and on.

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

My anxiety has gotten so much worse lately. I am about to go to a doctor about it and get my thyroid tested. My family has a lot of thyroid issues that all crop up at my age. It is not bad to seek a doctor, don't let yourself think that spiritual practice can replace all of modern medicine.

I'm a visual person; if I'm not looking at something then I will fall asleep. I was using the candle flame as a focus, now I'm using the fire place. I do Zen tangles and sometimes make sigils. I use Oracle or Tarot cards as aids for a focus for meditation. Puzzles are also good for kinesthetic learners. Don't think there is one way to do anything and there is never any "right way" with paganism.

cletus90851 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 04, 2016, 05:44:12 pm »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

I was not sure where to post this because I did not see a meditation board. I figured since it's kind of a beginner question it would fit here.

I'm noticing that meditation is a big part of the rituals and worship in paganism, and is involved in a lot of the different pagan religions. I have been trying to meditate since before I started exploring my religion. I'm a very anxious person, I;m always tense and on edge due to my anxiety disorders. I heard meditation can help with that. The Christianity I grew up in did not care much about meditation so I was never taught how to do it, so I tried teaching myself and it has been a struggle. I figured I'd ask some of you since you all seem to do it quite often.

The main problem I have is mind clutter, same reason it can be hard for me to sleep. Thoughts bouncing around in my head. They are not always stressful thoughts, it's not like I'm worried about something (though sometimes that is the case.) It's just a jumble of thoughts that go on and on. "I ate a good salad today, very green, like the grass outside, oh that deer I saw earlier was neat. Why was it so close to town? What was it doing there, probably just lost. I get lost so easy, got lost the other day going to that store. That place was great had lots of nice books, I need to read more about that stuff..." That's what happens when I attempt to meditate.

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

it comes more easily to some than others, but the key is practice. the more you work at it, the easier it will come. yes your mind will still try to distract you, but the more you work at it the easier it will be to ignore those distracting thoughts. Have you tried using prayer beads? just a thought, as I have had good experience using them to keep track of distractions. this is important, as it allows you to see when you are making progress (fewer distractions).

Sefiru · « **Reply #10 on:** January 04, 2016, 06:33:38 pm »

Quote from: Mama Fortuna;184386

In my personal experience, the biggest problem people have when beginning meditation is expecting their brains to actually empty out. God, I wish.

The trick - especially when starting out - is to realise that thoughts WILL arise during your practice, and your job is not to prevent this but to simply not get attached to them. Think of your brain as an overactive child. "Look at this thing!" it screams. Your job is to pat it on the head, say "that's nice, dear" and return your focus to your breathing or your mantra or what have you.

I personally am a breathing focused person. Inhale-for-four, exhale-for-four. My mind still gets distracted, and my job is simply to tell it "focus on your breathing" the second I notice that it is wandering. Eventually I do hit that point of no-thought, but up until that point there is a lot of refocusing. It's worth it, but I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed meditation.

I do something similar to this, along with focusing on a candle flame.

A concept I've found useful is the idea of "first thoughts" and "second thoughts" as described by the late Terry Pratchett: where first thoughts are mental chatter, and second thoughts are your observations of your own mental processes. On a good day, I can get into a mental state where only my second thoughts are active, after about 30 minutes. It's relaxing, but also kind of disconcerting.

Sri Icetusk · « **Reply #11 on:** January 04, 2016, 11:57:05 pm »

Quote from: SirMathias007;184379

I was not sure where to post this because I did not see a meditation board. I figured since it's kind of a beginner question it would fit here.

I'm noticing that meditation is a big part of the rituals and worship in paganism, and is involved in a lot of the different pagan religions. I have been trying to meditate since before I started exploring my religion. I'm a very anxious person, I;m always tense and on edge due to my anxiety disorders. I heard meditation can help with that. The Christianity I grew up in did not care much about meditation so I was never taught how to do it, so I tried teaching myself and it has been a struggle. I figured I'd ask some of you since you all seem to do it quite often.

The main problem I have is mind clutter, same reason it can be hard for me to sleep. Thoughts bouncing around in my head. They are not always stressful thoughts, it's not like I'm worried about something (though sometimes that is the case.) It's just a jumble of thoughts that go on and on. "I ate a good salad today, very green, like the grass outside, oh that deer I saw earlier was neat. Why was it so close to town? What was it doing there, probably just lost. I get lost so easy, got lost the other day going to that store. That place was great had lots of nice books, I need to read more about that stuff..." That's what happens when I attempt to meditate.

No matter how hard I try that always happens, even if I try to focus my mind just goes drifting into clutter. Do any of you know how I can keep this from happening so I can clear my mind and fully relax?

My method is to not get rid of thought. I think of it like a tunnel; you enter and become afraid of the dark, then try to back out. If you get disrupted by thought, you may also be tempted to back out and find another route. Think the thoughts, enter the tunnel. It may take several sessions, but, as with a tunnel, you will come to the end of thoughts, if you simply let them flow, or, MAKE them flow. Think all the thoughts, speed through the tunnel and come out the other side.

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Author Topic: Meditation: Clearing your Mind (Read 1558 times)

SirMathias007

Meditation: Clearing your Mind

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