05-23-2011, 10:44 AM
(05-23-2011, 07:29 AM)3DMonkey Wrote: What does meditation do? Is it not simply a relaxation technique?
I was oversold meditation when I first got involved in a group decades ago, so I don't want to do it now. It does a lot of things, one of which is stress relief.
I remember reading something like, if prayer is asking something from God, then meditation is preparing to get the answer.
I like thinking of it as tuning a receiver to remove noisy interference so that weak signals can get through. That's a little better, but still lacks. When I do it on a regular basis my thinking seems clearer and good decisions come more readily.
As I posted somewhere a while back, my university Physics professor said to use it to prepare for final exams. His name was Elkins and, although I didn't do that until two years later, it really worked. It wasn't that answers popped into my head during the exams, but while studying items sort of stood out as worth remembering.
If sleepiness is a problem, try meditating with eyes open, staring at something slightly interesting but not distractful. At first don't spend much time at it--ten minutes or so will get your systems used to the idea until going longer feels right. After awhile, 20 minutes or so will be easy and sometimes 40 will go by without any "effort." As you settle yourself to begin, think little messages to your body, like "Be patient, trust me this will be good."
Don't expect to notice anything while attempting, or anything different afterwards. You will eventually, but expecting something is an exercise in frustration. Just know that trying to meditate is meditation.