8 replies to this topic

[Shepard]

Well, considering my schedule has been pretty harsh for the last month, and doesn't look to be getting much better for a while (tons of reading/writing with classes, various home projects with time limitations, band gigs every weekend, etc.) I decided that I might need to go after some stress management before it really got to me physically/mentally/emotionally. So, I finally started the only real suggested lifestyle factor that I haven't included: meditation. I'm only doing it a little every morning (7-10 minutes or so).

I'm going off suggestions from the 8 Minute Meditation book that I found, but it's pretty much the same thing I've read before.

I'm hoping to notice some things. I get a weird mental "feeling" while I'm doing it (only for 3 days or so, at this point) that I can't really articulate. Or, I might finally be going crazy.

Anyway, I'll try to remember to update this thread in a couple of weeks and see what type of progress I've made.

[ajnast4r]

what type of meditation are you doing?

real meditation should produce some pretty profound results if done properly, and consistantly...

real meditation = cessation of thought fluctuations and dropping the brainwaves into alpha and below... visualisations & whatnot will only really allow you to get to the very 1st levels of what can really be accomplished

[Shepard]

Right now it's just focusing on breathing and trying to keep from letting your mind wander, I'm not sure what category that falls under. This book details 8 different styles, but it seems to be kind of superficial....Westernized, is probably a good description.

[zoolander]

real meditation should produce some pretty profound results if done properly, and consistantly...

real meditation = cessation of thought fluctuations and dropping the brainwaves into alpha and below... visualisations & whatnot will only really allow you to get to the very 1st levels of what can really be accomplished

Whilst I understand where you are coming from ajnast4r, meditation is a fairly indivudual and personal journey. Asking what sort of meditation someone is doing and then slapping a definition of what you believe real meditation is on them is pretty hardcore.

Shepard, don't push yourself matey. 7-8 minutes is great for a beginner

[FunkOdyssey]

Shepard: your 8 minute meditation is for little girls! Your meditation doesn't belong in the same room as mine. Bow down before the glory of my One True Meditation! [lol]

[zoolander]

Funk I'm guessing your form of meditation is "smiling laughing ooohhh I'm on top of the world and so happy to be alive" mediation. Seriously, you are a walking stick of pethadine.

I gotta meet you some day. Me and you in the same room...............people will have to leave or they'll explode with laughter

[xanadu]

Meditation is very good for handling stress. I would include a body relaxation to start off your meditation. Just go through each part of the body and tell it to relax. Each time you let out a breath, you are letting out stress and tension never to return. Rhodiola rosea is an excellent stress reducer. I don't want to sound like one of those pill popper couch potatoes but it absolutely helps you deal with stress. I take around 200mg per day and the effect is quite noticeable. It does not seem to depress the nervous system but lives up to it's rep as an adaptogen.

[FunkOdyssey]

Funk I'm guessing your form of meditation is "smiling laughing ooohhh I'm on top of the world and so happy to be alive" mediation. Seriously, you are a walking stick of pethadine.

Actually, I do the same thing Shepard described, for about 8-10 minutes. [lol]

I gotta meet you some day. Me and you in the same room...............people will have to leave or they'll explode with laughter

Definitely. Australia is on my list of places-I-must-travel... It will happen eventually (if you don't visit the States first). [thumb]

[Shepard]

Update on this: I'm really liking this stuff. General mood has improved. Stress has dropped significantly. However, my class load has unexpectantly dropped, as well...which has cut probably 30% of the writing that I had been doing and thought that I would continue doing. That has given me more free time everyday, which has had a significant effect, too.

I'm going to continue with the meditation, anyway. Now that I've gotten in the habit of it, combined with all the positive data I've seen on it, I think the current and potential benefits demand that I keep going for a while.