Anyone Meditate?

My grandma started a meditation center in Michigan and used to swear by the benefits of meditation.. She was a psychic (not a phone psychic!!! a real one) and said it helped her fine-tune her skills.

Unfortunately I haven't gotten into the whole meditation thing, although I do have my own mantra.

Anyone meditate?  If so, how does it make you feel? When do you do it and for how long?

Obviously nobody that has viewed this does.

I have read some interesting books on meditation and I know from doing core excercises that it can be super helpful.

Check out pilates ;) good luck.

Yeah, I think you're right!  It must not be a very popular thing amongst those that visit this site.  Oh well.

Sorry, I meant to reply yesterday, but I was running late.

I have been diagnosed as bipolar, ADD, and with anxiety issues so far.  Who knows what they'll decide I have next!  But what all of that means is that I am a scatter-brained emo chick for whom panic attacks seem to hover around every third corner.

Meditation helps with all of that.

Meditation, exercise and diet, of course.  But let me tell you a bit about  my meditation.

I started out with a guided meditation course by Kimberly Miles.  I kept falling asleep at the beginning of it, and when I could stay awake for the whole forty-minute thing, I thought to myself - this isn't working.  But like most things, meditation takes practice.

What I found to be more helpful is a book called, "Instant Self-Hypnosis" by Forbes Robbins Blair.  The title is cheesy, but he explains what hypnosis (and subsequently, meditation) actually is, why it works, and how to do it to oneself.  Now that's more up my alley than having someone else do it, because 1) I have trust issues, and 2) I'm very skeptical and tech-minded.  I need to know why and how a thing works before I'll truly believe that it works or am really comfortable using it.

That book includes a Master Induction that I just read to myself to put myself into a light trance.  Yes, reading can put you into a trance!  If you've ever been surprised at how much time has passed while reading or watching TV - you were in an actual trance!  There are also a variety of "scripts" to help with anything from weight loss to social anxiety to feeling successful.  Doing those helped me a bit more with concentrating, which is the most difficult part of meditation - keeping your mind from wandering!

Once I got the concentration part down, I decided to see if I could use meditation to help with the bouts of anxiety I was having just at bed-time.  I would lie down in bed, and for no good reason, my heart would start racing, and I could barely breathe.  At first, I was on a variety of sedatives for this, but I weaned myself off and tried meditation instead. 

It took approximately two weeks for me to get to the point where just saying to myself, "With each deep breath, I prepare to relax deeper..." would make my entire body go limp, and my heart begin to slow down.  Now, I don't need meditation or sedatives to fall asleep.  This after literally months of this inexplicable panic at bedtime.  I would say that once a week, I feel the nervousness returning when I climb into bed, but I just begin my meditation, and I'm out like a light before I'm barely into it.

Since using meditation, I've begun remembering my dreams.  I feel confident and determined about my weight loss - I'm going 3 months strong, when before, I've never been on a diet that's lasted more than 2 weeks - seriously!

I'm calmer, I get into arguments with my family less often, less emotional.  Overall, I think it's brought some balance into my life (combined, of course, with other positive changes, like therapy, exercise, eating right, etc.)  I'd recommend it.

Paganmist--  The progress you've made through meditation is wonderful!!  Did the doctors recommend meditation to you?  Or did you pick it up yourself??

I've been considering doing hypnosis and I thank you for talking about the book you read.  I will have to pick it up somewhere.  Have you read anything on hypnotizing others?

I must have missed this post yesterday.  I started trying to meditate 2 years ago.  I was so frustrated because I couldnt do it right.  In 2 years I have learned there is no right or wrong, not only for meditation but for most things having to do with heart, mind and spirit.  I used guided imagery cd's for quite a while and then had a very wise person tell me that everytime you sit still and think you are meditating.  That took all the pressure off and now it comes so naturally to me that I find myself doing it a number of times a day.  I still use cd's sometimes and I try to sit down at least twice a day to "formally" meditate but I probably do it 4 or 5 times a day just naturally.  I am so much calmer and less argumentative now.  I still argue occationally but I am able to pick my battles :-)

It has also helped lower my blood pressure and made me a better breather.  sounds weird I know but most people breath very shallow and it is better for us if we breath deeper.  Now I do.