I want to meditate really bad but im not exactly sure what is entailed in it. Do I just put on some quiet music and just not think about anything or do I think about the things that I want to change. Can someone give me some tips. thanks.

I recently started and it's very helpful. One thing that might be helpful if you are just beginning is to try a guided meditation. This is where you listen to a full meditation following cues given to you by the person leading the mediation (things like imagine you are on a beautiful beach, positive affirmations, etc.). They even have them free online. If you Google "guided meditation" there are tons of free ones you can check out, download, etc. You just sit someplace quiet, close your eyes, and they tell you what to do.

Good luck! I find it to be very beneficial and I'm sure you will too!

Thanks alot. I need something to quiet my mind. Too much negativity going on in there.

Hi there!

I really like Dr. Weil's guided CDs. Check out his meditation one:
http://www.amazon.com/Meditation-Opt...130907&sr=8-11

Hi... I have found meditation to be excellent. Over the past 6 months I have restarted seriously meditating and I love it

Here is a link to buddhanet and its meditation resource page.
http://www.buddhanet.net/ftp10.htm

Here is a link to e-sangha, which is a buddhist forum. You may not be interested in buddhism, but they have an excellent subforum on meditation with loads of resources and suggestions and they are a good place to chat about your needs
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php

The thing with meditation is that people kinda assume that you need to be calm and grounded to start with, or that you "fail" if you have thoughts in your head while you are doing your practice. But that really isn't the case. Just sit and focus on your breath and note your thought - the good the bad the ugly Try not to let them "hook" you in, label them as just thinking and return to focusing on your breath. Some people count their inhalations and exhalations, cycling from 1 - 10 and restarting at one when they get distracted by a thought, others just do the same with the out breath or no counting at all. Try and focus on a part of your breathing. Mine is usually the sensation of the air on the tip of my nose as I inhale and exhale.

Posture is really important. I had started meditating at home years ago by myself and found that I was so concerned with being uncomfortable that I really didn't get much benefit. So I did a short course with a buddhist group and found that my meditation was much better after focusing on the practicalities of actually sitting properly. The basics of it is to have your knees below your hips and to prop your butt up on something stable.. like telephone books or a proper meditation cushion. If you are finding that a bit tough going, sit in a chair, but in an upright position.

Meditation has been wonderful for me. Staying with myself and developing a commitment to myself with my meditation, has enabled me to do the same when I am not in a formal sitting. I am far less prone to overeating and binging because I can just stay with myself and my emotions much better these days. Pema Chodron is a female tibetan buddhist who also has excellent audiobooks helping with meditation and addiction.

As you can see this is a fave topic of mine Sorry the post is so long... I am happy to chat about meditation further if you like.

Many blessings to you as you start

Not to be a dummy, and I'm sure it's not the same thing y'all are talking about, but there are some great yoga tapes that really focus you and help you relax. I can't do all the positions yet, but I really like the calmness and the stretching relaxes my body. It sort of "quiets" your mind...

Hi,
I am the Buddhist Campus Minister at Johns Hopkins University. I am a Shin Buddhist, originally trained in Zen. I just wanted to add that silent chanting, repeating a prayer or a mantra from any faith tradition, silently in your mind can help to bring a settled mind. Folks without a specific religion can repeat any meaningful quote, including one you create yourself, or simply count your breaths from 1 - 10 over and over. This helps keep your "monkey mind" busy without disturbing the Divine Silence.
Walking meditation is also excellent practice, you can walk fast or slow and keep your chant, breath counting, body scan, visualization, koan, or whatever going while you walk. At Hopkins we practice very, very slow walking meditation because it helps quiet their very busy minds better then a quick pace.

BTW - when I want to feel empowered, my mantra is, "I am Xena - Warrior Princess." Laugh ALL you want, it totally works.

*giggles* That is so awesome. I want to be Xena too!

I wrote an article on meditation last month, and can e-mail it to you if you like. I like the "lovingkindness" meditation: "May I be happy. May I have ease of being. May all beiings be happy. May all beings have ease of being." I also use a digital timer, because otherwise I tend to focus on how long I have/have not been meditating. I meditate first thing in the Morning. I seldom miss a day. What Marianna said about posture, breathing, and stray thoughts.

I have to admit, I'm a scoffer. Anything vaguely "touchy-feely" and I scoff and there's a good chance I'll be rolling my eyes.

However, I've started a bit of this lately and it helps me. My brain never turns off; I find it hard to concentrate on anything other than what I'm currently obsessing over and going to sleep can be tough. Meditating and trying to achieve a quiet mind has made all of these things a little bit better.

I do it before I get up every morning. I tried the guided meditations but my three labrador retrievers get all excited when I try to sit quietly. I think they're trying to help but it's hard to meditate when you're being licked to death.

Tell me about it! My huskies say, "Ohhh! She on the floor she must want to play!" When my youngest starts Arrooo-ing at me, I can't help but laugh.

Counting your breaths is great practice for the non-touchy-feely inclined. It carries no baggage, if you lose count (as you almost certainly will alot at first and off and on once your experienced) you simply go back to one, you should not place any value judgement on going back, do not scold yourself. This is why we call it practice, we need to accept that we will never be perfect.

My dogs eventually got bored and would settle their heads on my knee or lay down across the room. While they are still licky and cuddly is a great time to learn to settle while still being in the here and now, accepting whatever is going on. Learning this is essential in the city, with buses, sirens, and shouting in the street outside. Also, if you sit with a group (great motivation and support) other folks will cough and sneeze and squirm, so being able to just roll that into your practice, not editorializing is excellent practice.