[boogiesmash]

So my herapist reemphazied that I need to meditate more. She says it’ll help with my overthinking. Do you meditate? Do you do it without guidance and if so how??

[MistressStayc]

I don't meditate yet but I want to start this summer. I have an ESE assistant in my classroom who is a Buddhist monk, a well known and accomplished one that can be googled, I swear, even though I know it sounds odd, lol.

Anyway, she gave me meditation beads for christmas. I have been wanting to use them and learn meditation and asked about going to the local center she runs. She said before that, start small. Start with a you tube video and do it for 10-15 min everyday in a quiet place I wont be interrupted and work my way up. Then when I am ready on my own use the beads to say my mantra or mantras to focus, calm and guide me. They can be whatever you need to focus on "I will deep breathe when I feel anxious", "I'll work hard to be an effective teacher", "My repetitive thoughts are irrational" etc. It's personal to you....so that's what I know. Again, I have yet to try. Summer vacation just started.

[MistressStayc]

Oh I forgot to say there are 108 beads and you say a mantra for each bead or a couple mantras or alternate mantras. Up to you. I think they are also called Mala beads? The beads can help guide you and eventually you may not need them once you are a pro at it I guess.

[Altarian]

i've tried to meditate but have never found a way that works. have a hard time clearing my mind so i'm not thinking.

[Nola0250]

Originally Posted by Altarian

i've tried to meditate but have never found a way that works. have a hard time clearing my mind so i'm not thinking.

This. I can't do it either. I can, however, clear my mind while doing yoga. I never used to be able to do that. So maybe eventually.

[Movingon69]

Originally Posted by Nola0250

This. I can't do it either. I can, however, clear my mind while doing yoga. I never used to be able to do that. So maybe eventually.

Me too. I can’t sit still long enough to meditate but yoga does wonders for me as does running

[seeker33]

I prefer physical meditation, too. Stretching, balance exercises, being mindful of my senses. When I'm in my spiritual phase I pray the rosary with beads.

[GoldenSnitch]

I’ve been meaning to start but haven’t yet. Our crisis line here recommended an app called Calm for guided meditations. Maybe give that a try? I’ve downloaded it but haven’t done any yet.

[Skeezyks]

Well... I would never want to give the impression that meditation is a bad idea. But, after many years of dabbling with sitting meditation, off-&-on, (I still do some of it) I'd have to say my personal opinion is it is highly overrated as a mental health therapy. I presume that, if a person meditated faithfully day-in & day-out over the years, they would derive some benefit from it... maybe even some significant benefit. But I personally have never felt as though I derived any particular short-term benefit from it. Mostly it just seemed to be something that got in the way of everything else I had to do.

Personally I have derived much more satisfaction from doing such things as walking meditation & mindfulness yoga & tai chi. There is mention made, in Jon Kabat-Zinn's book: Full Catastrophe Living of a young woman who attended one of the stress reduction programs at the Massachusetts Medical Center. She was so riddled with anxiety that she simply could not sit still to participate in sitting meditation. But what she found was that she could do walking meditation. And so that's what she did.

I sometimes can't get to sleep at night. And other times, I wake up in the middle of the night & can't get back to sleep. What I will do is to get up & do walking meditation. We live in a one-level townhome. And so I walk slowly & quietly from front to back, around-&-around through our dark & quiet unit sometimes for an hour or even two. I hear the sounds of the city in the distance. Thoughts come-&-go. I allow them to arise-&-fade at their own pace. If an emotionally difficult thought or memory arises, I will breathe into it & perhaps even smile to it. I may even place a hand over my heart as a sign of lovingkindness & compassion for it. As the 11th century Tibetan Buddhist yogini said: "In other traditions demons are expelled externally. But in my tradition demons are accepted with compassion."

P.S. If you're really not all that familiar with meditation techniques, I would recommend that you seek some instruction in it. There are many different styles though. And you have to find one you feel comfortable with. If you don't like it you won't do it. You do want to be careful, though, in choosing an instructor. There are lots of so-called teachers out there who, in reality, may or may not really know much of anything about what they're teaching. I personally am partial to the writings of the American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön. But in terms of sitting meditation, I prefer the technique taught by Jon Kabat-Zinn in Full Catastrophe Living. So that's what I do.

[gina_re]

Meditating can be difficult, especially if your mind is prone to wondering. My form of meditating is chanting which helps me focus. I haven't done it in a while, but every time I do, I feel so much better.

[*Laurie*]

The mind wandering should not be a problem if meditation is done in an effective way. By that, I mean...I don't believe anyone can just sit down and meditate; we all need instruction in some kind of meditation technique.

Buddhist meditation is, I think, most conducive to mental wellness. In addition to (not in place of) personal instruction, reading supportive books is a very helpful way to practice. Like the Skeez posted, Full Catastrophe Living is an outstanding guide and has helped pull me through some very deep and frightening depressions.


I've been meditating for about 37 years. Done properly, meditation is an excellent way to help keep our minds and lives stable.


I do not believe that meditation can take the place for most people of medication and psychotherapy.


I love the idea of meditating while doing stretches, walking, or yoga.


Bottom line: There is no wrong way to meditate. There are only ways that are helpful and ways that are not. And meditation instruction is a must if you're new to the practice.

Also, meditation music can be very calming and centering. I most enjoy Buddhist meditation music. Also binaural beats music.