Meditation/Visualization Experts? How can i clear my mind and use meditation to heal my body?
Filed Under (Religion & Spirituality) by admin on 01-11-2009
Charming Sociopath asked:
I’ve heard that meditation and visualization can help cure problematic things within the body. Every time i try to meditate instead of visualizing what i want i visualize what i’m afraid of and what i have. Its uncontrollable. I try to calm my mind and do a self-hypnosis if you will to clear my mind completely and visualize positively but my thoughts seem to be contradictive and sparatic even during meditation. Can anyone give me any advice on how to meditate/visualize properly and positively?
I’ve heard that meditation and visualization can help cure problematic things within the body. Every time i try to meditate instead of visualizing what i want i visualize what i’m afraid of and what i have. Its uncontrollable. I try to calm my mind and do a self-hypnosis if you will to clear my mind completely and visualize positively but my thoughts seem to be contradictive and sparatic even during meditation. Can anyone give me any advice on how to meditate/visualize properly and positively?
just close your eyes and shut off your inner dialogue. Try not to think about anything. When you start to feel things, just observe them.
When I meditate, I usually feel my mind opening up or freeing, and usually there is some light that I can experience in my mind. The more I push myself towards freedom of mind, the more I can feel it near my heart. If I push it completely, I feel almost out of body.
Breathing exercises also work to calm the mind down if it is over-reacting.
My advice would be to start on simpler meditation like concentrating on your breath, once you’ve got that down then move onto the more complex stuff.
concentrate on your breath, as you inhale, think that you have inhaled and do the same for exhaling, and soon you will be in concentration\
mediate in an area isolated from outside influences, and half close your eyes so you do not fall asleep, and be determined about the mediation topic
Yea, write down exactly what it is that you want to visualize. Writing it down forces your brain to slow down and create images of what you’re writing. Make sure you are as descriptive as possible. For example instead of writing down:
I am healthy.
Write:
My body is disease and pain free. I feel a powerful sense of vitality from head to toe. I am physically energetic and strong. Today I feel healthier then I did yesterday, but not yet as healthy as a will feel tomorrow.
Or, whatever it is that you desire. Write it down AT LEAST 5 times, and read it before you go to bed and as soon as you wake up in the morning for 3 weeks. After that you will be able to recall it in your meditations easy and effortlessly. And, by the way, the more magnificent and grandeur you make it the more powerful your visualizations will be. Have fun!
Let your thoughts be like watching a parade. Let them pass by without attaching your thought to any one…..just let them go on by.
Peace,
Woodstock
When first starting it is useful to use a guided meditation tape which will better focus your attention. The idea is that the mind you refer to is constructed by experience and does not represent who you really are.
Visualization, is a form of meditation that directs attention in a specific direction. It is powerful because a visualization “lights” up the same areas of the brain as having the actual experience does. It is a mental convention that creates an environment to do introspective work that aids in self understanding.
Another type of meditation is to sit and observe thoughts without any single thought commanding attention in a way that distracts from observation. The idea is to discover that most of us have a continuous running dialog going on that we are barely aware of. This dialog actually distracts attention from truly being aware of the nuances of the present moment.
The trick to a successful practice is to be patient. Do not self criticize or give up too soon. When finding yourself distracted, it is important to remain calm and gently bring your attention back to observation or the visualization that has created the environment for observation.
At the risk of going on too long, I will give an example visualization to support a meditative experience: “Imagine yourself laying on the grassy bank of a small stream. It is a fine spring day, dappled sunlight filtering through lazy clouds as they slowly move across the sky. You feel secure as the firm ground holds you in soft embrace in the thick carpet of grass where you have chosen to rest. As you listen to the comforting sounds of the stream babbling over the smooth rocks, you notice a bridge high above. Imagine that each of the cars traveling overhead carry a thought. That you can choose, at any time, to join that thought in its journey to where ever it is going. It is there if you want, however it is ok to rest and let the thought pass; for it is always available. For now, it is time to rest, to allow the cars to pass uninterrupted as you rest.”
Start out with about 5 to 10 minutes and try to work up to about 20min. You will find amazing benefits through a practice of meditation. The purpose is to create awareness, which in turn serves you well in your daily life.
try this site
“Grounding helps us be connected to and focused on this physical reality so we can focus on our personal creativity and learn our specific lessons. It helps us feel safe in this reality as it puts us in charge of it. Grounding acts as a foundation on which we can safely build our spiritual awakening through meditation.” Learn the spiritual technique of grounding!
I think some form of mindfulness meditation would be great for you.
here is a link to an online beginners insight meditation course (buddhist/Theravada/vipassana)
Calming the mind takes time and patience. The most important thing with meditation is to do it every day. I’d start with just 5 or 10 minutes a day (ideally in the morning) and after some time add 5 minutes. Keep adding a few minutes until you are meditating for up to an hour (or whatever you are comfortable with).
Our minds are unruly and hard to train. Up until now your mind has been free to run where it pleases (past, future, fears etc) so of course at first it will be very difficult to keep the mind in the present moment. Be VERY patient with yourself and keep meditating everyday and slowly but surely it will become easier and you’ll get a lot of benefit from it.
It’s not uncontrollable it will just take a while to get to the point where things slow down in the mind and become less overwhelming. You’ll be able to observe storms of thought and emotion more objectively without getting so caught up in them.
Another very important point is that your meditation doesn’t end when you stand up off the cushion or chair. You should try and be aware of what you are doing all the time (mindfulness). You can say (in your head) while brushing your teeth ‘brushing, brushing’ and this will help to keep your mind fixed in the moment. Similarly when eating ‘chewing chewing’ ‘cutting cutting’ etc. Doing this throughout the day is very effective in calming the mind. It is called mental noting.
You might also like to try walking meditation.
I’m no expert… this is just what I have found to be useful. It has definitely worked for me.
check out the links below for meditations and talks