What are /r/Meditation's favorite Products & Services?

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For me, two things.

First, meditation strengthened my ability to watch the process of a negative behavior or unwanted thought pattern unfolding in the first place. This is important. I was able to track the behavior back to a decision, the decision back to rationalization/bargaining with myself, and before that the initial temptation/craving, and ultimately, the start of it all - the wounds I was carrying that I had been leaving unmet, uncared for. If you learn to better observe how your own mental machinery works, then you can more easily tend to its inefficiencies and/or begin to reconfigure it entirely.

Second, meditation helped me to learn to slow down and really sit with those wounded and unheard parts of myself once I had become aware of them. This is critical. I can’t emphasize this enough - before you can bring about lasting change, you have to completely accept yourself exactly where you are. This may seem counterintuitive at first, but trying to “fix” unwanted behavior or trauma with “the will to change” will only bring disappointment and more frustration. The key is in learning to see and accept yourself just as you are, without self-criticism and the need to be “better”. Strangely, this frees you up to move forward in a healthy and honest way. I liken it to parenting - addressing a child’s behavioral problems or trauma with anger or urgent pressure to straighten up will only make matters worse. Instead, it’s best to listen, and meet them exactly where they are, and tend to their real wounds. We can do the same for ourselves.

That second point is pretty nuanced and there’s a lot to unpack, but Tara Brach said it better than I could in her book, Radical Acceptance.

Just wanted to share an app called Breathe that draws out exactly this to your settings, so you can follow it if you're struggling!

Sooooo while I do agree that Kendrick Lamar is amazing and I absolutely recommend listening to his stuff....this song, unfortunately, is not Kendrick advocating for mediation, but instead is him detailing how he views other cultures and how he thinks they find most of their pleasure and/or serenity. You can tell what culture he's talking because before he gives each "verse", he'll say "what did the ____ say"...referencing Asians, Indians, Blacks, and Whites.

With regards to the lyrics you mentioned above, he's describing Asian culture and draws on their advice for life. Kendrick is talking to a Buddhist friend of his who tells Kendrick that "meditation is a must...". I probably butchered this explanation but the genius page explains it very well.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Kendrick does use meditation to some degree. Kendrick is fucking great.

One of the best ways for beginners would be to use an application called HeadSpace. It helps a lot with learning proper technique and with motivation, guiding you through the process and providing many different types of meditations, including a meditation for anxiety. For more information, click here: https://www.headspace.com/meditation/anxiety.

Personally, I've been using the app for a couple of months now and I'm really enjoying it. Never meditated as much as I do now.

I would not recommend going straight to this type of research paper without an academic background. It's fairly difficult for lay-persons to interpret them accurately without deeply understanding the niche scientific sub-field that they're presented in. This is where science journalism comes in - topic experts can present the information for non-expert audiences, while filling in background information and context.

You might find this book interesting - Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. It's a good read, though I'd skip the parts where he talks about which researcher studied with which masters, etc, and stick to the science parts. This book, or a similar one, would probably be much more interesting than a community list here, if only because the author's first hand experience and background allows them to present a coherent overview of the state of the science.

This article seems to fail to recognize that inside out was very influenced by the Internal Family System (IFS) therapy model developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. It basically details, in depth and supported by research, the same practices this article’s author is suggesting. For anyone dealing with mental health interested in the model, I found this book super helpful.

Alright, let's wrestle! 😎

>the natural state of everything is change

Change and Stability, Chaos and Order are the natural state of all things. They are part of each other and compliment each other

>Indecision is the death of opportunity

And the birth of other opportunities

>Every moment carries infinite possibilities

Becoming aware of infinite possibilities will make us indecisive

>Comparison is the death of joy

and the birth of relativity

>Success is when preparedness and opportunity meet

Succes is always in relation to failure, and can only be seen through comparison... which according to the statements is 'the death of joy'

Come at me bro 🤼

As individual words, mindfulness is the (somewhat unfortunate) translation of the Pali word sati, which means something like "recollection". Vipassanā (Pali) means something like clear seeing. Sati is a factor that you develop directly through meditation practice, and it's one of the factors that, once developed, makes the experience of vipassanā possible.

Mindfulness in Plain English teaches a form of meditation usually called śamatha-vipassanā, where śamatha (Pali) means something like "calm abiding" or "cooling down of the mind". The word śamatha is often translated (also unfortunately) into English as "concentration". The idea in śamatha-vipassanā practice is that you develop calmness, steadiness, and unification of mind, gradually transforming the mind from a bundle of contradictory impulses into a bright and powerful tool fit for deep investigation into the nature of itself and of reality. The process of carrying out this kind of investigation is often called vipassanā practice, because its goal is to produce transformative moments of direct insight--clear seeing--that radically alter, at a deep non-conceptual level, the way you understand, perceive, and experience reality.

On the other hand, the terms vipassanā or vipassanā meditation are very frequently used in the West today in a much looser way to refer to various specific kinds of meditation practice aimed at enhancing awareness, including but not limited to the kind taught in Mindfulness in Plain English. Usually when you see someone use the word here in /r/meditation, for example, it will be in this more vague sense. "Mindfulness meditation" is even more vague and can mean almost anything, though it usually suggests some attempt to become more aware of your sensory and mental experience.

It might not be from the Dalai Lama, check out the misattributions here and read the linked "interview with god". The internet has also attributed this quote to James Lachard.

I don't know much about TM, but it just seems like a money making sham. Meditation should be free. I highly recommend starting with reading a book like Mindfulness in Plain English. It helped me a lot when I was just starting to meditate.

Just finished reading a section on this in "Mindfulness in Plain English"

I've been trying to do it outside of meditation as well and it seems to work pretty well:

1. Ask what the thought or feeling is
2. Ask how strong it is
3. Ask how long it's been affecting you for

In theory it's supposed to be done "wordlessly" in your mind, but I'm not at that point yet. Even still talking through those questions I find myself distanced enough from the emotion/feeling/thought where I can acknowledge that it's there, without feeling it strongly or having it take over.

When and if it comes up again I repeat the process. I'm not dealing with the feeling at its source per se, but I'm still acknowledging that it's there, and I find just doing that has a similar effect to not thinking about it (suppressing it?) while still being aware of it being there.

Hi, you are right where I was last year. I was watching streaming Starcraft 2 while 'working', and it was very detrimental. Happily I pulled up before losing a job or anything.

Your mind is filled up with entertainment. You can't make space for your responsibilities, and because it is all you know, you turn to entertainment to stimulate your mind.

(above was projecting my predicament onto you.)

I was lucky when traversing reddit to come across the free ebook Mindfulness in Plain English which has helped me enormously. I have meditated daily for the last 5 months, while also losing 45lbs. My focus has returned.

The key thing is to give yourself space. I sit quietly using the techniques from the book 20-30 minutes a day. I still enjoy watching Starcraft 2, but obviously not while working. I use leechblock/chrome nanny and shut off reddit during work hours. I enjoy quiet times such as doing dishes and laundry - they are peaceful moments to enjoy the present.

The other thing is to be compassionate and honest with yourself. Life is hard and you've taken a step.

Peace, and good luck.

I'm currently reading "Peace is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh. On page 17 he says this:

>In some meditation centers, practitioners are not permitted to move during periods of sitting meditation. They often have to endure great discomfort. To me, this seems unnatural. When a part of our body is numb or in pain, it is telling us something, and we should listen to it. We sit in meditation to help cultivate peace, joy and nonviolence, not to endure physical strain or to injure our bodies. To change the position of our feet or do a little walking meditation will not disturb others very much and it can help us a lot.

I don't meditate, but this makes more sense to me than sitting through pain.

Depends on the school of thought.

My assumption when most people talk about "ego" or "the ego", they mean the endless, unavoidable cycle of attachment and aversion that everyone goes through, and how it can blind you from awareness. For the most part, Buddhism & Mindfulness meditation say "The ego is normal and healthy, just observe it and learn what's going on, don't make it wrong, accept it, etc" and weirdly when you do that, your attachments/aversions tend to start to dissolve under that objective, dispassionate attention. I like to liken it to an ethical scientist imposing more and more rigor on an experiment and shedding biases and false data from their findings. Eventually all the crap falls away and you see the world for what it is.

There are other interpretations... "Tantra seeks to obtain pure awareness by destroying this ego image. This is accomplished by a process of visualization. The student is given a particular religious image to meditate upon, for example, one of the deities of the tantric pantheon. They do this in so thorough a fashion that they become that entity. They take off their own identity and put on another. This takes a while, as you might imagine, but it works. During the process, they are able to watch the way in which the ego is constructed and put in place. They come to recognize the arbitrary nature of all egos, including their own, and they escape from the bondage of the ego. They are left in a state where they may have an ego if they so choose - either their own or whichever other they may wish - or they can do without one. Result: pure awareness. Tantra is not exactly a piece of cake either." -Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Dullness is a recognized stage in mediation practice. If you are struggling with this, I would recommend The Mind Illuminated. It is a comprehensive guide to meditation that details ten stages leading to enlightenment. Dullness can creep in once you've established a regular practice and improved your ability to sustain focused attention. I have not progressed far enough to experience dullness or to learn how dullness is overcome, but it is one of the stages he discusses.

If you're looking for a solid beginning meditation guide, The Mind Illuminated is one of the best.

Don't beat yourself over not reaching "fully present". Try for "more present" and go easy on yourself.

"Oh look, another one of those stray thoughts. Anyway, back to where I was in the studying…"
No guilt, no harsh self-criticism. Thoughts will come and go. Instead of trying to bar them from entering, just try to let them flutter away.

If you're having trouble even catching the thoughts before you follow them too far, try setting an unobtrusive little alert for every e.g. 5 minutes*; when the alert catches you studying, you'll quickly learn to ignore it; when it catches you daydreaming, just go "oh right, another one of those :) glad I caught it, now back to studying."

* - light meditation-timer apps are good for this. A partly random timer might be even better, but I'm not aware of any except TagTime which may or may not be too geeky for you.

https://buddhismnow.com/2010/01/11/no-beginning-dalai-lama/

https://www.amazon.com/No-Beginning-End-Intimate-Heart/dp/1590308115

It's a common Buddhist concept of self and consciousness. It worked so well in running for me to stay focused on the moment and not how long I had run or how far I had left to go in a 100 mile race. In meditation it's a great mantra for the same reason.

Meditation isn't a magic bullet for these issues but I do think it helps. My advice is to learn samatha (also transliterated as shamatha). I think a qualified teacher is very helpful, we're not talking guru here just someone with a few years experience with the practice. I'm older than you and perhaps it is just a reflection of my age but I'm not a fan of meditation apps. Check out the books recommendations in the sidebar. I especially recommend

Mindfulness in Plain English

and

Meditation in Action

I recommend you Insight Timer, lots of free great meditations, you can pay if you want to listen offline and it's very cheap.

Edit: the link

Totally. Sitting in a beautiful setting and appreciating the beauty and being relaxed and enjoying it is a completely different thing than meditating.

I think it was in The Three Pillars of Zen that helped me realize why I should't seek out places of beauty to meditate in.

It's "okay" but in my own experience it's not particularly advisable if you haven't practiced too much. The reason being is that it's much easier to drift off and even fall asleep when you're lying down as opposed to sitting. Sitting in a chair with a straight back was the perfect starting position for me, after reading books like "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh, I experimented more with lying down and body-scan type meditations but I'd still say for basic mindfulness meditation then sitting with a straight back will achieve optimum results for someone who's new to meditation. That being said, whatever posture feels most comfortable for you will undoubtedly help you and perhaps you can start lying down and work into eventually sitting straight.

I am a firm believer that meditation apps are like anti-depressants. If you aren't ready for them to change your life, no amount of money will change your possibility for success. And if you are, the amount you spend probably still won't matter. It's also hard to say that one app is right for everyone. I find female voices more calming so I prefer my sessions have that. I know that's weird, but it's a reality that I need to factor in.

What I did was go through every app I could find with a decent rating and whittled them down by process of elimination. One, I didn't like the voice, another I didn't like the interface, another didn't have a free trial and I wasn't willing to gamble on it. It will take about a month probably, but what's the rush? You'll be meditating the whole time!

FWIW, the best I found was actually using the free, timer based component of the Calm app. There's no guide talking through the whole session, which is just fine. It tracks my progress/streaks and gives me lots of options for background noise, including nothing. A close second (again, just my opinion) would be the Stop, Breathe, Think app. But don't take my word for it.

Here are some apps I tried on my journey:

• Calm
• Headspace
• Insight Timer
• Stop, Breathe, Think
• Smiling Mind
• Buddhify (no trial, I think)
• Mindfulness (no trial, I think)

You should also read a book or two. Some suggestions:

• Waking Up, Sam Harris
• 10% Happier, Dan Harris (no relation so Sam)
• Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn

The mantra they give you is based on your age and the year the teacher was trained:

https://www.slideshare.net/rusalimum/trancedental-meditation-tm

I'm all for je ne sais quois but TM is a fucking scam.

This book helped me build a meditation routine that did all you mentioned and more.

The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501156985/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4qqMDb71WRQ5Y

Meditation is nothing more than a tool to get back to the current reality. If you meditate to achieve something other than simply being here right now, you have already lost. How can you be in the here and now in meditation, if you only meditate to get somewhere else? Meditation will not solve your depression or enhance your productivity, it can only make you mindful of your depression and productivity.

I recommend the book "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon-Kabat Zinn, he goes into detail about the philosophy and logic of meditation.

Read Mindfulness in Plain English at

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

An excellent first step. It's published too, but luckily it's also online for free. A very clear how-to. Good luck!

I'm not sure this advice is so great. I have PTSD, so my condition is different. But, the book Full Catastrophe Living came to mind when I read your post. It's a great book. When I read that, a lot clicked for me. It's different than most meditation books, very practical and with a medical/science bent. Good luck to you!

Long version: Mindfulness in Plain English

Short version:

• Find somewhere quiet, maybe your bedroom to start

• Sit somewhere comfortable. Sit upright. Maybe the edge of your bed, or a comfortable chair. Just don't go into a slump.

• Start breathing deeply and slowly. By deep, I mean into the belly. By slow, I mean don't hyperventilate. Breathe through the nose.

• Focus on the sensation of air entering and leaving. Keep the focus on that sensation.

• Add a simple counting pattern to help keep your mind from wandering. Something like 1 (in), 2 (out), 3 (in)... etc. Count to 10 and then start over. Use this as a tool to keep yourself on track, but don't use it as a crutch. The point of meditation isn't to count to 10. If you can stay focused on your breath without it, that's fine.

• Don't get frustrated/angry/disappointed/etc when your mind goes off on its tangents, like a monkey chattering. It comes with the territory. Your mind is always like that, but you're noticing it now more than ever. Accept this, understanding that it is neither good nor bad, just part of the human condition. Smile at it, take another deep breath, and start the count over.

• Don't expect anything. Just start the practice. The benefits will come, but the more you obsess over "making progress," the slower it can be. (I have a hard time with this sometimes.)

It reminds me of a section I like from Mindfulness in Plain English

>In the midst of every pleasant experience, you watch your own craving and clinging take place. In the midst of unpleasant experiences, you watch a very powerful resistance take hold. You do not block these phenomena, you just watch them, you see them as the very stuff of human thought. You search for that thing you call 'me', but what you find is a physical body and how you have identified your sense of yourself with that bag of skin and bones. You search further and you find all manner of mental phenomena, such as emotions, thought patterns and opinions, and see how you identify the sense of yourself with each of them. You watch yourself becoming possessive, protective and defensive over these pitiful things and you see how crazy that is. You rummage furiously among these various items, constantly searching for yourself--physical matter, bodily sensations, feelings and emotions--it all keeps whirling round and round as you root through it, peering into every nook and cranny, endlessly hunting for 'me'.

>You find nothing. In all that collection of mental hardware in this endless stream of ever-shifting experience all you can find is innumerable impersonal processes which have been caused and conditioned by previous processes. There is no static self to be found; it is all process. You find thoughts but no thinker, you find emotions and desires, but nobody doing them. The house itself is empty. There is nobody home.

The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501156985/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_feRpBbDWAJNBC

Every other book I’ve read on meditation pales in comparison.

“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame.”

Excerpt From: Tzu, Sun. “The Art of War.” iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itun.es/gb/Fe2Kx.l

You missed this part You quote this book yet give no clear commands as what you mean by the reference and when ask to clerify you say you can't help.

>but I think I'm addicted to reddit because I find it hard to do anything but reddit.

here's your problem right here. nevermind that you used reddit as both a noun and a verb in the same sentence, but stop reading reddit so much and just read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" or another book that will help you manage the issue you're having. get better at critical thinking via reading. a shit load. And not Reddit.

> Am I thinking about this the wrong way?

There you go. Mindfulness is not thinking. If you're sitting there thinking, you're usually wrapped up in the thought, identifying with it, being drug along by it. When mindful, the awareness of thoughts, feelings, sensations, etc. dominates, while the thoughts just kind of arise and cease and you see them for what they are. I come from a Buddhist background in my meditation.

In his book Mindfulness in Plain English Bhante G talks about this in the chapter on "attitude".

> Don't ponder: You don't need to figure everything out. Discursive thinking won't free you from the trap. In mediation, the mind is purified naturally by mindfulness, by wordless bare attention. Habitual deliberation is not necessary to eliminate those things that are keeping you in bondage. [i.e. suffering] All that is necessary is a clear, non-conceptual perception of what they are and how they work. That alone is sufficient to dissolve them. Concepts and reasoning just get in the way. Don't think. See.

In short, meditation is being "more aware" in a sense. You're deeply aware, but detached. I think you should try and cultivate a more detached awareness and then your concentration will deepen and you'll see that it's not the same as your normal, mundane awareness.

EDIT: added a "the" and a comma.

Although Jon Kabat-Zinn is sometimes poetic, his methodology, supported by a corpus of literally hundreds of studies, is the industry standard and he doesn't promote any supernatural beliefs. He was the subject of a Time cover article in Jan, '14, "The Mindful Revolution." Books - Full Catastrophe Living, Wherever You Are You're There, audiobook Mindfulness for Beginners

He personally did the audio tracks for the original U Mass Medical School tapes in the '80s. On YouTube -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daU-xneLA0g

Here's a quick breakdown of how I understand both. Obviously over-generalized and over-simplified

Vipassana: Therevadan/Southeast Asian; more mental instructions (i.e. label your mental activities); eyes usually closed; practice happens in a more individual way; emphasis on mindfulness; goal is enlightenment as in the release from the cycle of samsaric rebirth; recommend reading The Experience of Insight by Joseph Goldstein

Zen: Mahayanan/East Asian; more physical instructions (i.e. bow in a particular way, very specific posture); eyes usually open; practice more group-oriented; emphasis on non-duality; goal is enlightenment as in the realization of the emptiness of all existence/becoming one with all things; recommend reading Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

Either can be really valuable. I'd definitely recommend visiting the local zen temple and seeing how you feel about the community there. I personally have found the Zen style of practice to be more effective, but the emphasis on routine to be difficult to maintain.

Also, regarding "goofy beliefs," it's worth reading some of the logic and philosophy behind concepts of karma and rebirth which are usually the sorts of things that trip westerners up about Buddhism. I think a lot of the philosophy is much more thoughtful and logical than you might expect. That said, if metaphysical statements that aren't empiricist and naturalistic are a turnoff for you, stay away from the Tibetans! They're awesome but they can get pretty far out when it comes to that stuff.

1. Hands down, "The power of Now" by. Eckhart Tolle. No other book I've ever read have put things into so much utter clarity and worldly truth as that book. Have been giving away like five copies of it to friends and people that I've met during my travels.

2. "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shinruy Suzuki.

3. "Zen in the Art of Archery", Eugen Herrigel.

Two things:

1. I used to get this when I took vitamin-D and/or foods with lots of potassium in them (like banana and tomatoes) near bedtime. No more now, unless:

2. I am simply noticing things that were there all along, and it's not the noticing-process that increases the problem but the awareness of the problem that increases. As the world-renowned meditation teacher S.N. Goenka said, if you have any invisible wounds in the mind, the first moments are 'puncturing the blister' so that you can let the discharge out and apply some remedy to the wound under that. However, as this analogy implies, you need to feel clear about what to do after 'the blister empties:' what's the exact remedy, the mental 'hydrogen-peroxide' that clears up the cut after we have correctly labeled the liquid as mere discharge? For some, it is metta-meditation because they can't continue unless they gain some positive experiences or a sense of inner-restfulness. For others it's literally to do nothing but continually observe all of this: in other words 'let go' by watching instead of pushing it away or pulling nice things close during your pain. For others it's about dropping the entire premise that you don't have what you need inside you already, and that finding out that you already have what you needed removes the urgency and sense of fear that was fueling these dreams.

/r/meditationpapers

Buddha's Brain by Rick Hanson. It examines the neuroscience behind not only concentration based forms of meditation but also examines metta as well as other Buddhist ways of living. Some other reading I think you'd like is listed below.
 
Jon Kabat-Zinn - Full Catastrophe Living
Sam Harris - Waking Up
Culadasa - The Mind Illuminated
Mark Williams - The Mindful Way Through Depression
Mark Williams - Mindfulness: A Guide To Finding Peace
 

In response to your vision of a giant figure, it's quite possible you fell asleep while meditating and went into sleep paralysis in which it's not uncommon to see shadow like figures - this is partly due to the mind being half asleep.
 
Meditation isn't about seeing visions, figures or colours. Meditation is about observing thoughts and seeing the true nature of your own mind, for most people this will be an auto-pilot barrage of judging and or rumination.
 
The best tip I can give you is move your meditation to time later in the day when you're more awake, I would also suggest downloading an app such as "Insight Timer" or "Headspace" and following guided meditations for a few weeks until you establish a consistent practice - this will also help you understand what meditation is and what it consists of.

Mindfulness in Plain English and 10% Happier are both great books, and I'm glad to see them on this list.

In the spirit of this list, I'd also like to recommend After Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield, an accomplished Western meditator and friend of Joseph Goldstein (podcast with Sam Harris here). The book is about the first awakening experience ("ecstasy") and how adepts try (and often fail!) to integrate that with the rest of their lives ("laundry"). Even those with strong awakening experiences can get grouchy or have affairs or lose their way.

Overall, the book did a lot of good for me, both by correcting my impression of where awakening leads and by strengthening my sense that practice must be part of the rest of life (and ideally, every moment).

Congratulations! Realization is the most difficult and arguably most important step!

You've heard yourself!! Now that you've heard yourself, you can understand that you are not your thoughts! For if you were your thoughts, how would you listen to them? You are the watcher, your brain is but a single tool in your tool shed. Now you can choose what to listen to, help guide the brain to healthier thoughts and also just ignore it when it's being unhelpful.

I recommend it a lot, but might I suggest a strange and amazing book? "The Power Of Now" by Tolle.

Congrats again!

I would highly recommend Mindfulness in Plain English. Before beginning meditation I had no interest in religion and this was the first book I read. It makes no reference to God or any religious concepts at all. Essentially, it just guides you to making your breathe the center of meditation.

Mindfulness in Plain English.

This free ebook - Buddhist based but largely non-religious - got a lot of people started, including me.

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

Peace, and good luck.

A lot of people will recommend Mindfulness in Plain English, but I find it way too long, with too many vaguely spiritual or unscientific claims, and irrelevant discussions. Here's something I wrote up about a month ago, when someone asked what specific practice to use:

Don't worry too much about optimizing which practice you start with. It's better to do an imperfect meditation session today than to try for the perfect meditation session next month.

I'm also a beginner. Here are the basic steps I'm following:

Sit cross-legged. If you need to, get a big pillow and sit on it with your feet on the floor. If you can't sit cross-legged, no worries -- just sit comfortably, even on a chair.

Set a timer for 10 minutes. Would longer be better? Not if it drives you crazy trying to meditate for that long.

Turn out the lights in the room you're in, and turn off any music.

Close your eyes, breathe naturally, and count your breaths: 1, breathe in, breathe out. 2, breathe in, breathe out. When you hit 10, start again at 1.

If you find yourself thinking about something else, that's ok. Simply acknowledge it. What I do is think "I'm thinking about pain", or "I'm thinking about cooking". No anger, no frustration, just a simple statement of fact. Once you do that, go back to counting your breaths. I'll reiterate the number which was interrupted by other thoughts, and then continue.

Don't worry about trying to maximize the feeling of thinking about nothing. Just sitting is the goal. If it helps, concentrate on the physical feeling of air entering and exiting your nose, or your chest or stomach expanding and contracting.

Good luck! You can read other articles about it later. Go and do this today.

I've done most of my meditation practice on a meditation bench with the spine erect and knees tucked under.

I've sat a lot in siddhasana --which is also called Burmese position I think--where the heels are stacked, sort of.

Both positions are fantastic because the spine does the work of supporting the body if there is proper postural alignment. There's no need to lean up against anything. There's little to no back pain when the spine supports the torso.

I would often switch postitions when on retreat. One hour in one posture, the next in the other.

So, two things. 1) If a person slouches, these postures will take time to become comfortable. Especially if a person rounds the shoulders forward. That will lead to a variety of back pains. 2) If you don't have proper posture, you could blow out your knees trying to do the siddhasa or lotus poses. Seriously. I've friends who must meditate in a chair from too many hours of trying to sit in siddhasana with knee pain. They blew out their knees.

Imho, lotus is not the gold standard. Having the spine erect --so it supports the torso, along with proper postural alignment so sitting for 1 hour this way is not a problem--is what allows the mind to deeply settle.

Yoga, the asana part, can be particularly helpful to develop proper postural alignment and gain flexibility in the hips to do siddhasana or lotus if you want.

Avatar has given a lot of people their first insights into the larger field of meditation. It's good that you've given it a second try.

Since you're interested in delving deeper into the field, I suggest checking out Mindfulness in Plain English, it's a great free online book written in a manner that's easy to digest, and will give you a solid base on which to further explore your practice.

Remember that meditation is a skill that will grow as you continue to sit. Time spent during a session has an exponential effect - the longer you sit, the greater the effect. The more often you sit, the better.

Don't forget to drink your onion and banana smoothies every day!

I'm speaking purely from experience through my own hard work of trying to understand reality by writing down my beliefs and deconstructing them. There are several books that can lead to this understanding:

• Jed Mckenna - Enlightenment That Damnedest Thing
• Nisargadatta Maharaj - I AM THAT
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays translation)
• The Enchiridion by Epictectus
• Zen mind, Beginner's mind by Shunryu Suzuki
• Wisdom of the infinite by David Quinn
• And ofcourse the Tipitaka by The Buddha (although I didn't appreciate most of it until I read the other books).

These are the books I recommend to people who ask me. You can find most of them online for free, (enchiridon hosted by MIT classics).

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask :)

You should read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It will help you understand your husband more, and it's an incredible book besides. The entire book deals with the artistic/analytical dualistic ways of looking at things that is the source of your current troubles. I just finished reading it for the third time last night, actually, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about it while it's still fresh in my mind.

For the record, I agree with your husband, Tolle is new-agey hippie stuff and, at least for me, there are many many better sources to learn about meditation. You should give Mindfulness In Plain English a try instead, it's probably more useful.

I think that already exists.

http://mashable.com/2014/09/18/muse-headband-calm/

Wearable EEG headset with realtime audible biofeedback and detailed reports sent to your smartphone. But at $300 I doubt it will catch on until the price is cut by about 90%, not when you can do the same thing for free. Maybe where it really shines is in gamification of something that for many is a challenging task, which might lead users to doing it more often.

https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrating-Mindfulness/dp/1501156985/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=53518632462&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4cOEBhDMARIsAA3XDRiM9dVfqyR-5zr_GBRzB2uuHeiu0KP4AYcZ95u9Q_K8jqMaWtqppiIaAgg6EALw_wcB&hva...

I feel like you may like this book: The Courage to be Disliked. I really enjoyed reading it & it had a lasting impact on my thinking.

The teleological approach of Adlerian psychology essentially builds out from this idea.

Though I must say, I agree /u/Actual-Bobcat-2620 to be careful in delineating what we're calling abuse.

Emotional manipulation and coercion are real. Denying that someone is wrongfully exerting control over us and blaming ourselves exclusively does nothing to help us break free. But to your point, neither does perpetually playing a victim nor reducing all our troubles to "trauma". Acknowledge and move on--obviously infinitely easier said than done.

Not to worry. Wait until you find out who he was when he was simply Richard Alpert. (Hint: he invented the 1960s alongside Timothy Leary.)

I recommend the book Storming Heaven, as it covers that amazing relationship very well. It also starts the tale of Alpert becoming Ram Dass. Not bad for a Jewish lad from Boston...

Thank you for bringing this to the community. Too many communities have sullied elders these days. We are lucky to have teachers for meditation that are here now and here to bring us back to now.

I came across this form of meditation after reading How to Expand Love by the Dalai Lama. It had a pretty profound impact on me; my negative thoughts towards others eventually disappeared, and on the whole, I find it easier to forgive others.

Something the book talks about is how everyone just wants the same thing in life, and that is to be happy. Angry at the customer support rep? Take a step back and remember that they're human and they just want the same thing as you. (Repeat for other situations).

Thanks for posting, I didn't know there was a formal name for the practice, but I recommend trying it out and even reading the book.

> I start feeling warm and energized and just totally present. That’s when I can really “take in” the effects of meditation I guess. That’s where I experience bright colors, and “psychedelic” experiences, and all that fun stuff.

I don't know what tradition you are following, but in some traditions what you are describing sounds somewhat like one of the dullness traps. As described in The Mind Illuminated:

> The Seduction of Dullness > > Strong dullness can be a seductive trap. States of dullness lead to dream imagery, archetypal visions, pleasurable sensations, paranormal experiences like channeling, past-life recollections, and the overall feeling that something profound is occurring. If you anchor attention on the breath, you can sustain them for a long time without falling asleep. In certain traditions, these states are purposely cultivated. However, when it comes to cultivating attention and awareness, these states are only a hindrance. Remember that visionary experiences, brilliant insights, and any other seemingly profound encounters should all be avoided at this Stage [Stage Four, when you are free from both gross distractions and strong dullness. Dullness no longer leads to drowsiness, nor causes perception of the breath sensations to grow dim or take on hypnagogic distortions]

If those sorts of states are what you want, cool. Just be aware that dullness should be avoided if your intention is to strengthen awareness and keep the overall energy level of the mind high.

I recently came across an amazing book “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. It is also available in audiobook format. It walks you through the whys of procrastination and how to overcome it and start doing things that are good for you. One line especially stood out for me: “The more the project is important for your soul’s evolution, the more you will resist it.” Look that book up as I think it answers your question perfectly.

Hi there, this is the one. It's funny, I was ready to get ready for bed then this popped up on my suggested videos and I decided to give it a go. What a decision that was.

I think you're right and to be honest I'm not sure myself what I meant by uncertainty. Maybe some fear after all on my side. I've only read Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Hepenola Gunaratana, watched Mindfulness discussions with Sam Harris among other TED Talks on spirituality, and posts on this subreddit about meditation. I'd love to take a more serious look at deeper meditative states and higher consciousness. I don't feel like turning back now.

I may have rambled a little bit but thank you for the response!

Yes. I was depressed, socially anxious, socially awkward, and extremely self-hating. I had no job, no friends, no girlfriend, no prospects. I was, at that point in my life, just existing.

I started meditating after a google search for "How can I stop hating myself" suggested mindfulness as possible means of alleviating depression and anxiety. I was willing to try anything so I started researching everything I could on mindfulness. Eventually I found a recommendation for "Mindfulness in Plain English" and I bought the book immediately.

Long story short I started meditating everyday, even though it was extremely tough at first. I eventually went on a 10-day vipassana retreat. I read pretty much every self-help book under the sun. Today I am a million times happier, socially confident, employed, with lots of prospects for a relationship.

I don't give all of the credit to meditation but I know for a fact if I hadn't started I would have stayed in that same spiral of negativity and self-hate forever.

I thank whoever is pulling the controls upstairs for meditation, buddhism (even though I don't consider myself a buddhist), and for self-help.

I would recommend this free e-book - Mindfulness in Plain English - http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe1-4.html That's how I started to learn to meditate and have a huge impact on my life for the last many years since 2008. Although it's related to Buddhism, but you don't have to be a buddhist to read and understand the the wisdom inside. It teach you from what meditation is, misconception and how to meditate. Hope it will be a help.

I have both. I absolutely believe the best book for beginners is 'The Mind Illuminated'. It's a book on meditation that is actually about the process of meditation itself. I have 'Mindfulness in Plain English' as well and , while it it also decent for beginners, it is inferior to The Mind Illuminated in terms of practical instruction. A lot of 'Mindfulness in Plain English' is spent talking about WHY you should do meditation not HOW to do meditation.

I strongly recommend 'The Mind Illuminated' because I'm a beginner as well and it has gave me some phenomenal tips and instruction that have given me the motivation to meditate everyday.

I think the best mediation books for skeptical people are these three, in this order:

1) 10% Happier by Dan Harris (probably dispensable if you're sold on the idea of meditation already, but still a great read)

2) Waking Up by Sam Harris

3) The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa.

Brand new to Reddit, I was intrigued by your reference to Fakespot.com. I’ve always wondered about fake reviews, so I decided to run a few popular meditation titles through their analysis. The results are below. Either Buddhist meditation writers are a particularly deceitful bunch, and Culadasa is more honest than most, or there is something significantly flawed about the algorithm FakeSpot uses. I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. FakeSpot may be better suited to catching fake reviews of Chinese-made bluetooth devices than book reviews!

FakeSpot.com opinions: -Wisdom Wide and Deep by Shaila Catherine (62.5% low quality reviews detected, based on 20 reviews)

-Shift into Freedom by Loch Kelly (44.0% low quality reviews detected, based on 38 reviews)

-Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (41.7% low quality reviews detected, based on 40 reviews)

-Beyond Mindfulness by Stephan Bodian (41.7% low quality reviews detected, based on 19 reviews)

-Mindfulness Bliss and Beyond by Ajahn Brahm (31.0% low quality reviews detected, based on 57 reviews)

-The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa, Matthew Immergut and Jeremy Graves (24% low quality reviews detected, based on 39 reviews)

-Lovingkindness by Sharon Salzberg (24.1% low quality reviews detected, based on 124 reviews)

-Practicing the Jhanas by Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen (21.4% low quality reviews detected, based on 28 reviews)

Mindfulness in Plain English is a fantastic book that answers pretty much every "how to" question about meditation. Can't recommend it enough!

http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Plain-English-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0861719069

Another recovering alcoholic here. I also read Mindfulness in Plain English, and it helped me get started down the path of meditation. I've found mindfulness to be pretty important to my own recovery, and doing a sit before or after work tends to make me more at ease with things, and less craving. It also helped a lot to relieve anxiety in the first couple weeks. That said, it's only a piece of a bigger lifestyle of sobriety for me. It's tough, but worth it - keep working on sobriety till it clicks. Feel free to PM me if you like.

The idea of meditation (the kind I practice) is not to try and stop your thoughts.

A couple of good metaphors I have read. The first is that your brain is designed to think. Trying to get it to stop thinking is like trying to get your kidneys to stop filtering your blood. No matter how hard you try to do it, you aren't going to stop it. The idea is to not get attached to them and to let them go as soon as you recognize what they are and how they make you feel. They come and go. Let them do so.

The other metaphor was to imagine you are on a shore and the thoughts are boats passing down the stream. They are going to come no matter what you do, but you should just watch them as they pass by and then let them go. Don't jump onto the boats and don't worry if another one comes. The secret is to just let them go.

If you try to have an empty mind, you are trying to reach a goal. You are thus attaching yourself to a certain thought and just feeding your ego.

Have you read Mindfulness in Plain English?

I just found an app on F Droid to do exactly this, and it can be triggered by the volume buttons so I don't have to look at the screen. Counter (Tally counter) - https://f-droid.org/app/me.tsukanov.counter

A few thoughts from someone a year into meditation:

1. Definitely explore the idea of us not being our thoughts. Give this article a read and see if it helps.
2. Try the technique "noting" for when your mind becomes distracted. I've gone back to this recently as I've had more cluttered thoughts lately and it's seemed to help me
3. I would suggest a smaller amount of time to start. Maybe just 5 minutes, 10 if you're feeling ambitious. A half hour is a lot of time starting out and I know I too would get restless at a half hour. Give a smaller period a try, master it, and then grow from there

You can do it!

I've tried -- mostly by trying "noting". Checking in with my mind and body about what's going on. When running, this can mean something like noting sensations in my legs, lungs, stomach; or feelings like anxiety or calm. It helps a little bit.

The easiest way I can think of is to install Headspace and use their guided meditations. The first 10 are free. After that, I recommend reading Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond.

Not sure what your background is, but Project Euler has some awesome programming based math questions. And if you don't know how to program Codeacademy is a great place to start. I had a similar revelation recently and those two websites have kept me entertained.

As a fellow ADHDer: This is going to suck, initially. There are all sorts of resources, but I've found that they just become either excuses when I have trouble with them or distractions when I am interested in them.

The best thing for consistent practice, for me, is to recognize that forcing myself won't work. That bargaining won't help. I have to step back and recognize that I use my mind all day and need it to be in good shape.

Bodhi Timer is distraction-free.

Sharpen your axe.

The Mind Illuminated and Mindfulness in Plain English are consistently the top two most recommended books here. I prefer the former as It was written by a Ph. D whereas the latter was written by a Buddhist monk and both of these professions 'show' in the way the book is written so its really up to what kind of style youd prefer to read.

Step one: Focus on the sensation of the breath in your nostrils or wherever you feel it the most.

Step two: try to not think of anything, just feel your breath.

Step three: You will fail almost immediately. Its super difficult to do this for a beginner. You'll soon start thinking about something, like what you're gonna cook for dinner or about a memory or something. As soon as you notice you're no longer in the breath, get back to the breath.

Step four: Repeat forever.

For more information read Mindfulness in Plain English or The Mind Illuminated.

You're putting your foot into a pond that has a bunch of crud on the bottom of it. Everybody's pond has a bunch of crud on the bottom of it. When you stick your foot in, it stirs it up, and the whole pond becomes murky and cruddy. If you shake your foot around in frustration, the pond just gets more murky and cruddy. If you stick your foot in, let the crud rise, and then just watch, observe and wait....eventually the crud settles back down.

Also: it's all temporary. Nothing lasts. Everything changes. Greet the anger. Feel the anger. Thank the anger. Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh helped me with anger.

Breathe. It is working. This is what you need to be experiencing right now.

> Could meditation make me ignore pain if I'll do it on regular basis or its hopeless to count on it?

The solution meditation offers isn't to ignore pain itself, but to, ironically, manage the pain by becoming more familiar with it. When you experience pain, the natural reaction is to try to make the pain stop. But if medication and treatment can't achieve this, then stubbornly continuing down this path tends to increase the suffering.

Meditation involves observing the pain without judging it or wishing it would go away. That, obviously, doesn't make the pain go away, but it does stop you from constantly battling against it mentally and identifying with it, which can make a significant difference.

I'd recommend reading the book Full Catastrophe Living. It discusses how meditation can help people suffering chronic pain, and provides a few examples. It also gives practical steps as to how you can get started: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/589455.Full_Catastrophe_Living

This is pretty much how it feels at the start. You're doing great if you are aware of how easily you are getting distracted.

From Mindfulness in Plain English:

> Somewhere in this process, you will come face-to-face with the sudden and shocking realization that you are completely crazy. Your mind is a shrieking, gibbering madhouse on wheels barreling pell-mell down the hill, utterly out of control and hopeless. No problem. You are not crazier than you were yesterday. It has always been this way, and you just never noticed. You are also no crazier than everybody else around you. The only real difference is that you have confronted the situation; they have not.

I was always having this question about fasting and its unexplainable good effects on the meditation quality, never got a real answer until now.

This excellent and enlightening book from Gregor Mahele had my answers. Hope this book might help others too in their journey.

Book Excerpts

One important exercise for gaining spiritual insight is to fast. It is uncanny that the ancient Vedic rishis, Buddha and Jesus Christ, all used fasting to increase their mystical insight. How are they related? If foodstuffs enter the alimentary canal, they do not simply move through it by means of gravitation. Their entry in fact stimulates the process of peristalsis, a wavelike muscular motion that can be compared to a milking movement. This motion moves the foodstuffs and, later, faeces towards the rectum. Peristalsis is nothing but apana in action. If fasting is performed in a technically correct way (and only then) it will switch off peristalsis and thus apana. The reason why full-time mystics are interested in switching off peristalsis during the acute phase of Kundalini-rousing is that the movement of the intestines constantly massages and activates the lower chakras but especially the second chakra, which produces sexual desire. Sexual desire, while essential in maintaining our society and thus the divine plan, is an obstacle during advanced mystical states as it intercepts their arising. The most astonishing and straightforward way to switch off sexual desire, and thus most of the mind, is by fasting. Deep meditative states are accessible to all by fasting for as little as four days, and surprising states are achieved by fasting one or two weeks. Many of the great mystics, such as Jesus and Buddha, fasted for a month

I just ordered 'Mindfulness in Plain English' and 'The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English', from what I've read, they go over the common problems that beginner meditators face, how to overcome them and how to meditate :)

Another book I've got my eye on is 'The Mind Illuminated'.

This sounds like me too. On day 70 of my first foray into mediation.

It helped with the anger feeling you are describing almost immediately. Now it's one of the favorite parts of my day. I do it for the sheer enjoyment of the actual practice at this point, and the benefits have become an added bonus.

I use Headspace and read Mindfulness in Plain English.

Meditation ultimately cured my depression. The real problem that I had to overcome before my depression would ever get better was forming positive habits. These included a consistent sleeping schedule, exercise, folding laundry as soon as it was finished, etc.

Before I even knew that mediation would help I started with exercise. This helped with a sense of well-being, confidence, and perseverance for the long 5 year road ahead. Exercise didn't cure the depression, but just made it tolerable and gave me the ability to do things like keep a job. Eventually I realized that after talking to four therapists they all recommended mindfulness if I was not going to take medication. Eventually I decided to do some research and landed on mediation. Signed up for Headspace and after about 8 months of near-daily mediation I can say that I am cured and have no worries of relapse. The catch is that I had to perform a habit on a daily basis, but that gets easier by the day. I really had to persevere though, because even though the first few weeks of meditation seemed to help, it seemed no greater than placebo. I had to stick with it and trust science.

I am now reading a book called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Please read this book! It reflects a similar journey that helped me to recover and I guarantee it would be the perfect start to recovery. Curing depression is simply about using neuroplasticity to change your default perspective to something naturally positive. This is accomplished by invoking positive habits. Habits of which their effectiveness may vary a little between individuals. I have noticed a huge change in my initial response to my environment. I use to always have a naturally negative outlook, but now it's positive.

There are many tools in the toolbox of recovery, and some tools may work better for some people than for others. Just remember that a tool is useless if left sitting in the toolbox.

Sounds like you've developed enough concentration to realize how unconcentrated you are. That happens to us all after about 2 or 3 weeks and then we wonder where our precious bliss went. Turns out we were only thinking about how blissful our experience was instead of actually experiencing it.

Anyway here's a little passage from Mindfulness in Plain English to help you out:

>When you first begin this procedure, expect to face some difficulties. Your mind will wander off constantly, darting around like a drunken bumblebee and zooming off on wild tangents. Try not to worry. The monkey-minded phenomenon is well known. It is something that every advanced meditator has had to deal with. They have pushed through it one way or another, and so can you. When it happens, just not the fact that you have been thinking, day-dreaming, worrying, or whatever. Gently, but firmly, without getting upset or judging yourself for straying, simply return to the simple physical sensation of the breath. Then do it again the next time, and again, and again, and again.

See the FAQ in the sidebar, it has a lot of good information.

I would start by reading a book or two on it (something like Mindfulness in Plain English, which is free online). And at least in that style I believe you are supposed to acknowledge any anxious thoughts or emotions while really focusing on your breath.

This has helped me immensely in my mindfulness pursuit.

Mindfulness in Plain English

Also Wherever you go, there you are

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh is excellent.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki might also be of interest. I also liked Jiddu Krishnamurti's Freedom from the Known.
However, a caveat: All these books are great but will only satisfy intellectual curiosity. Ultimately a meditation practice is necessary.

I love meaningoflife.tv and Robert Wright. They have a lot of fascinating interviews and conversations on there. I highly recommend checking out his archive of interviews and the other shows on the site.

Robert also has a course at Coursera "Buddhism and Modern Psychology" https://www.coursera.org/learn/science-of-meditation which I found really in-depth and refreshing from a secular perspective.

Daniel's site www.dharmaoverground.org is also a huge resource with an excellent community.

The interviews on meaningoflife.tv inspired me to recently start my own interview series (on a more narrow topic of meditation) at www.insightinterviews.com. I interviewed the founder of a corporate meditation teaching business (lightly.io) this last Sunday for my first episode. I appreciate any feedback if someone checks it out.

When you notice your saliva building up, just to notice the desire to swallow or do something about it. Once you do, you have a choice. Do you want to watch where your desires/feelings go, or do you choose to swallow it (watch the sensations of swallowing when you do) and return to the breath? Either way, pay full attention to it and return to your breath when you're done. If you're doing a strict concentration practice, you might choose a slightly different approach (do your best to maintain concentration on your breath while you swallow and don't shift your attention at all).

What kind of phone do you have? I use this app - it shuts down all incoming service (no calls or texts during the meditation), and does about everything that I'd want, and a little more.

+1 for Headspace.. It's the perfect thing if you're suffering from analysis paralysis, i.e. you don't start because you're trying to analyze what the 'best' way to start is.

Headspace is great because it takes all the analysis out of the equation. Everything is setup for you and you simply just follow the day by day progression, slowly increasing in length of meditation while being exposed to the foundations of Mindfulness practice.

Plus I love the guys voice. Check it out if you're looking for something to start with and don't know where to start.

I'm happy you appreciated. My first introduction was listening to the audiobook titled Waking Up by Sam Harris. Then I practiced meditation on my own and had extremely insightful experiences. However, the euphoria of my realizations wore off, and I found my experience and behaviors to be just as unenlightened as I was before. though this time I knew there is a path for fulfilling my potential. Following that, the most clear teacher who I learned from was Shinzen Young. Listening to him talk via his Youtube videos (he has two channels, one is called expandcontract and the other is Shinzen Young) was extremely inspiring. Here is an incredible guide for organizing your practice that I just received a few days ago, after signing up for his HPP (Home Practice Program), where you can surely learn a great deal from if you are interested. I am excited to do my first one soon.

http://www.shinzen.org/Articles/artOutlineOfPractice.pdf

He is a goldmine of wisdom.

Sounds like you followed headspace or a while and you have tried mindfulness of breath.

For mindfulness of breath, where have you taken it beyond that?

Mindfulness of breath is one of the first things you learn in vipassana - but it goes far beyond that.

A lack of structure or path is a big problem for many people, especially those that don't dive into a particular religious meditative path.

I'm developing an online video course for secular/atheist/agnostic meditators for this very reason.

Until then you should try the book Mindfulness in Plain English. I recommend taking two - three weeks to practice the instruction in each chapter. Start a journal and write down your experience after every meditation (this helps you reflect on what you discovered, encountered, or didn't).

In addition to that you might try personal retreats. On a weekend try sitting for several 20 - 30 minute sessions with walking meditation in between each.

Good luck!

Many people, myself included, like Mindfulness in Plain English which is a book on Vipassana mindfulness of breath meditation. The book is very simply written, and I enjoy rereading it every few years, even though I don't do that style of meditation anymore.

I went through basic intro training with them when I was in college - they were running a study, so I paid nothing. But it is still a scam. I promise, there's nothing special about anything they 'teach' you -- you would be better off picking up something like Mindfulness in Plain English and learning yourself.

They make a very big deal about the mantras, how they're uniquely chosen just for you and cannot be revealed to anyone, etc. Scam. From this link here, I can verify that my "personal mantra" shows up exactly where the age chart says it would: http://minet.org/mantras.html

I don't mean to steal this guy's thunder, but I made a breathing app with a similar core concept (but with less features) that's available for android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moodtools.breatheeasy

(less features, different animation, but same basic concept).

Check out headspace. It's the best guided meditation app for beginners, in my opinion. Just follow Andy's voice and the rest should flow a little more organically.

In 2012 I dropped my first semester of college because of social anxiety. That Fall I went on anxiety meds, and that spring I found mindfulness meditation. I'm 3 years into college now, and haven't taken my medication since that summer. Check out the headspace app and once you've tried the take ten series try the 15 and 20 series here: https://www.reddit.com/r/getsomeheadspacelinks

I strongly recommend using the Insight Timer app. It is available for both iOS and Android and has tons of free guided meditations.

Edit: Here are the links -

Google Play Store

App Store

I have only recently (past 8 months or so) started meditating. However it was recommended that I read Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind and I found it to be a very good read.

I'm also reading The Mind Illuminated and can't recommend it enough. It may be the only book a meditator ever needs, as it's extremely practical and detailed. Other books will certainly offer flavor and perspective.

"Mindfulness in Plain English" is also a good, practical book. Great books for flavor are "Wherever You Go, There You Are", and also anything by Thich Nhat Hanh.

I'm tempted to say that TM is a scam. Let me explain by saying that TM started as a business founded by an Indian known as the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who charged people a huge amount of money for their own personal mantra. The idea behind this was that the Maharishi analyzed a student to find out what particular manta would be most appropriate for that person. He got famous as the guru of the Beatles. Although John Lennon finally said he thought TM was useful, he also concluded that the Maharishi was a con artist. Were it not for George Harrison's preference for "Sexy Sadie," that Beatles song ("You'll get yours yet, however big you think you are") would have been entitled "Maharishi."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexy_Sadie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLJ8Md4yCXo

There is some evidence in support of TM. However, when researchers discovered mindfulness in the 1980s, interest in TM plummeted. In January, 2014, Time had a cover story - "The Mindful Revolution" - on the original mindfulness-based therapy, MBSR. You can get a free online version of MBSR. One of the world's most popular Buddhist authors is the monk Thich Nhat Hanh, whose books include The Miracle of Mindfulness.

>Am I supposed to be feeling bliss as I proceed?

With the kind of meditation from Mindfulness in Plain English my answer would be: Probably not. At some points during insight meditation you probably will feel bliss, but it's not deeply important. It's just another sensation that arises, and falls away again.

Bliss is important when doing dedicated concentration practice, where the intensity of bliss can then go on to push out everything else in your mind. But for mindfulness practice bliss usually is not a required component.

I've done breath meditation, as outlined in Mindfulness in Plain English (there's a free pdf online) for several months now. I started seeing subtle changes only after a while. You've been only doing this a week. I only thought I started seeing changes in my behavior at a month, but I wasn't even sure about those. After a few months > more incremental changes.

I have a terribly distracted mind, so it's not easy at all! Like you've said though, the important part isn't the fact you're concentrating, but the fact that you keep remembering to return to your breath. Again. And again. x100000

I think part of the problem is that we both have minds that run a million miles a minute. You're undoing years and years of conditioning. Your mind is so used to toying and playing and fiddling with concepts it's very confused by meditation. I don't think one can undo that conditioning super quickly. Be gentle with yourself, and be sympathetic. You are being pretty demanding on your brain, wanting it to immediately transform.

We're also very conditioned to wanting EVERYTHING.RIGHT.NOW. so when we don't see changes overnight, we get very impatient and think something is very wrong. What I've learned however, and said before, is that slow changes are something we might want to appreciate, and that things that rapidly change our bodies or psychology (like fad diets or cult religions and sometimes drugs, etc.) often do damage in other areas or don't stick as well as they should.

I've only done this for a few months though. You sound like you might benefit from visiting a teacher or a meditation center in your area, trying out their advice for a while, and then seeing what unfolds.

I think meditation will help you out greatly. Before I started meditating seriously I would get extremely bored with anything I was doing. What I realized was I was more invested in the thoughts in my head than the actual activity. I would always be thinking, "This is stupid", "when is something interesting going to happen?", etc. Meditation allows you to become hyperaware. Instead of looking at things through the screen of thought, you are seeing it directly, which allows you to see the actual truth of the situation. I would recommend meditating for at least 20 minutes a day. Set a timer and forget about it. Just focus on your breathing and not on whether this is going to be over soon. When you are not intensely focused on your breathing it will not work. If you're still not getting it I would recommend you read a book on meditation. I recommend Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I hope this has helped you.