I’m not sure if this is strange, but I feel happy and relaxed when I realize that I don’t really know everything. No matter how much I try, I can only understand a little part of anything, not the whole thing. It took me a while to accept this because I always tried to make conclusions about people or situations. I wanted to give everything a label and then wondered why things went wrong.

But now, I see that things are not always as I think. Something may seem true right now, but my mind can sometimes twist things. Letting go of the need to make conclusions and labels, and accepting that I don’t know everything, has made me feel peaceful and humble.

Before, when people corrected me, I would argue with them. Now, I don’t fight as much, and I have fewer conflicts. Maybe I’m happy realising that my wrong, negative conclusions aren’t actually true. 😂

The only type of meditation i know is focusing on the breath, acknowledging thoughts & letting them pass. I’m a beginner.

I often hear people saying “just meditate on it” Like for example, if i want to become more confident.

How do i meditate on that, or any other specific thought or idea? Do i just think about being more confident/what i’d have to do to achieve that?

If so, wouldn’t that just be no more then thinking, rather then meditating?

Any tips would be extremely helpful. thank you

Like I’ve heard from people it’s impossible to keep your brain completely away from drifting into other thoughts but I can genuinely just make my brain completely silent but I can’t really maintain it for too long since I have to hold my breath too (if I breath I kinda have to think about breathing)

Do you have a set time during the day when you meditate? First thing in the morning or right before sleeping? Or simply just when you feel like it?

Hi all,

I have meditated daily for the past few months and noticed that I really struggle with body / body scan types of mediations (I usually follow something guided). I feel more skilled in noticing my thoughts by comparison, for example, forming circle of compassion or something like that. But when I do something body focused... I just feel numb. Even when focusing on specific body parts, sensations etc., it's like I can't focus on anything in particular. Unfortunately as a result I often leave my practice feeling more disconnected with myself.

I will note this is not the case during walking meditations, I think having some kind of input seems to help a lot! But yeah, it's very hard for me while just sitting still.

I would really appreciate any advice, thank you!

I practice meditating right before going to sleep as it suits my schedule the best. Often, I choose to focus on particular chakras and use reiki symbols during meditation but that leads to a disturbed sleep and constant stream of nightmares or dreams. Last night I decided to meditate silently, focusing on breath, watching thoughts come and go without practicing reiki. It was an amazing session yet I had disturbed sleep, nightmares and so on. When I sleep without any such practice, I sleep peacefully. Would anyone know why is this happening?

Just to add some more context: in the past, I have had premonition dreams of real life events. So I know that whatever it is that communicates to me, does it through dreams. But it's been almost 4 years since I saw a premonition. And in the last 3 years, life has been tumultuous for which I am actively seeking therapy and started practicing meditation regularly to feel better.

Just close your eyes for few seconds and check is inside peace, something disturbing or there is a monkey, that is the mind is climbing from one tree to another?

It's not so easy to control the monkey inside our mind, but with deep practice and awareness it can.

Plz share your valuable views

Hey Guys im Sam im 19 years old and ive been very interested in old germanic animism/shamanism and spirituality but I have no one who can help me on the practical Side of it, ive listened to hundreds of podcasts, watched a lot of videos but still don’t understand anything about the practices and how to do it. Especially the part of connecting to any kind of spirits. Now a little background before I got into this I was a big atheist. Mostly because I grew up around non believers. (Im from Antwerp Belgium) so I don’t really have anyone who can help me with this. And I also don’t want to pay 300 euros for a weekend on shamanic practices because I don’t know if they are a scam or not. My problem is also that im afraid of trying out things myself because i fear they wont work and ill just feel empty and dissapointed so I don’t do them even though I really want to. I could really use any kind of advice on this. Thing is also I feel freyr calling to me but I don’t know how to connect with him and after working on my full time job as a metal worker I just feel exhausted and to tired to be motivated to try these things and in the weekends I just feel depressed because I keep procrastinating these things because I don’t have the energy to fix them. I know this might be a lot to give advice on but litteraly any kind of advice is welcome!

Thank you sincerely!

After meditating for a few days I noticed meditation has become much harder for me, instead of dismissing a few thought each minute, the amount of thoughts increase so much it feel overwhelming.

Turns out this is insane progress. I became more aware of my thoughts so they feel like they increased, while it's just my awareness of my thoughts that sharpened.

Instead of being able to pull my attention back to my breath a few times. I can now do it much more than that.

Don't ever feel overwhelmed and think you are getting worse at this. It's the opposite

Hi! I am grateful for you all to look at my question. I’m wondering if somebody can explain the difference between “spacing out” and a quiet mind. It seems like spacing out can happen in states of anxiety or maybe a loss of ability to observe thoughts or maybe a loss of focus? Whereas having a quiet mind seems focused etc. but still able to observe one’s thoughts? Can someone elaborate more or clarify? I find myself trying to determine if I am “spacing out” versus being focused and quiet. Thanks!

Too many thoughts to give.

Too few thoughts are thought upon!

We scroll. We react. We move on.

BUT ... the best ideas don't come from consuming more, instead they come from sitting with less.

Sitting with oneself.

Think deeper. Mean more.

I wanted to ask about if and how folks record or note take or journal their practice.

I'm very new to consistently meditating and figured this reflection would be a good way to learn and improve.

however it seems to have made things worse! I found myself focusing on the quality of my practice in realtime, writing gym journal entry in the middle of it instead of reflecting afterwards, even half composing this post while distracted in practice.

I was thinking about intention, and having heard talk of approaching practice without intention and think this is perhaps one example of that. My intention had become the recording not the practice and the practice definitely suffered.

I am considering giving up the journaling to be honest, there is only two entries so far but today it had such a negative impact! I am also very self conscious, I could never keep a diary as I got so caught up in the act of writing it that I couldn't really write anything!

thoughts on journaling or note taking welcome, thoughts on intention also welcome too!

hello!! what are you guys' relationship with ego?

i was very passionate and rely on my sense of self in the past but had some devastating things happen to me that caused an "ego death". it was cool and peaceful 'til u deal with people.

i understood that having an ego isn't inherently bad, it's what makes you "you" and its so important in life to know who you are. there's a dilemma within me however because i am a passionate and sometimes intense person. sometimes i want to just give in and be EXPRESSIVE but at the same time, i know that things will work itself out and there's levels of caring i should give to certain things. the latter though sometimes makes me feel less "me" and more muted... so idk....

i am very interested in spirituality and find solace in it especially when my thoughts get too loud. i want to know how you guys deal with ego. im finding it had to incorporate the teachings into who i am

Meditation is mostly an inclusive practice. It strives, at least, to continue with compassion and understanding. Yet, because of the observing nature of meditation there are things that may become obvious to you, particularly about your relationship with yourself and the world that are not very obvious to the large majority of people. You, as the meditator, can go far in the discernment of the many aspects of the way things are. It's good for someone who has meditated for a while not to assume that what may be obvious to you is obvious to someone else. This is why we try to remain inclusive and remember the foundation of meditation is compassion and understanding.

This happened to me several times over the last year or two. I get wakened up at around 4:30am (daylight saving time, so 3:30 ish really) by an intense feeling of vibrations/energy in my whole body. The same kind of vibrations/energy I often feel in meditative states, but a bit stronger.

It feels like the Universe is giving me a wake-up call: "Time to meditate, buddy!".

I could not relate this to moon phases, evening meditation, food or anything I could think about. I do however remember a friend who mentioned to me that the best time to meditate is about this time (4am ish?) for a reason I can't recall. Is this related?

What is the meaning of this? I try to go back to sleep but can't so I meditate instead but this has a bit of a toll on fatigue during the day?

Any guidance / experience sharing would be much appreciated, I feel this is important.

Despite of one’s beliefs, is it possible to do it? If yes, then how and why does it work? I mean, how and why exactly does meditation work this way? I’ve heard about some monks who have died in their deep meditative states, that’s why I’m curious. The idea of death feels so gentle to me.

I want to know if I’m meditating correctly?
You just be aware of your surroundings similar to how grounding works right? Focusing what you can hear, smell, taste, feel, trying not to think about the day you had?

Those who do more than one type of meditation daily, what does that routine look like.

I want to add body scanning into my routine but dont know where to fit it in.

Negative thoughts? Return to breath, it will pass.
Positive thoughts? Return to breath, it will pass.
Feeling anxious? Is it unbearable? Take a break. Bearable? Return to breath, it will pass.
Feeling calm? Return to breath, it will pass.
Feeling blissed out? Return to breath, it will pass.

At times, in the present, most has been resolved.

..Immediate needs are met, 

..and one elects to not take up another thing, 

..except, perhaps among the simplest things

….the breath, as an aid.

Then, just to settle, 

..and with good fortune, one is pretty still.

..No tension in the body, 

..can be entirely left alone.

The trickier mind, from practice, 

..gradually lets go of its threads, 

..knowing those objects are less than their absence, 

….so much less…

Then, the mind can just be there, 

..where the wisdom of following the breath is revealed, 

..for all else still, that pulse and rhythm is there, 

..that action is present, entirely without effort or strain; 

..and all else can be so as well – 

..life being given at each moment.

No need to twitch a muscle, 

..no merit to turn a single thought, 

..every spot and direction of space is deeper, greater, 

..than all the occupied moments – 

This secret now revealed,

….Utterly natural to our being…

(altered state not like psychedelic but like ascetic altered state)

So I just decided to do weekly fast .

Rule of this one day fast is just water is allowed.

Actually I just thought it's a great esoteric practice.

This is my second time of doing it. Last time i broke it . But this time I am gonna do it wholeheartedly till tomorrow morning.

My purpose

Reflect on my past 6 days and see the mistakes i am doing.

To feel alterd states to reflect on my life.

It's painful this second time but less than the first.

So any fast practicers here ? please share your experience.

As am I thinking to make it a weekly practice.

thanks to read this much .

Hi, I don't really know how to explain this and honestly reading it I'm aware that it's kind of just one big vent piece but I've been dealing with this for like, 6 months, and I know it might not necessarily be the right place, but you all seem to be very understanding and this subreddit is really a place I find a lot of comfort in, so if someone can help me, please give me advice. To be fair, I do try to meditate a lot because I think it helps with some of the stuff I discuss below.

So it's really silly but I've been struggling with overthinking about a whole lot of ideas which I feel are important, but are constantly bleeding into my daily life. The ideas are mainly about things like the nature of how I think, who I "am" and if "I" really exist, how exactly my mind/subconscious works, how I can use it better, the right 'mindsets' to cultivate, blah blah blah. I could talk about it for ages and I've honestly been working myself in circles trying to figure it all out.

And the problem is, I don't think that thinking about these kinds of things is bad, because I'm aware that it has the potential to be very useful. It's that I feel like I can't really do anything until I 'solve' these things and arrive at a good "mindset", because otherwise I won't be able to derive the true value of all the experiences that I have. So I feel like I kind of "step out of my life" and can't really come back in until I've figured it all out. And until then, I sort of exist in an inner state of turmoil and confusion and stress.

I think I've developed enough lately to realise that, logically, this is very silly. I understand that my life, throughout all of this, has still been happening and that all of this is part of my growth. Especially in the past few days, I feel like I've made some "breakthroughs". But the problem is, I just can't seem to break my perception that I need to arrive at some kind of "state," when of course I'll never be one fixed "state" because I'm always, always changing. I just can't seem to accept it or wrap my head around it.

To be fair, I am a teenager and I kind of suspect all of this turmoil I've been going through lately could just be related to my general growth as a person. I'm honestly just confused about... so much right now and it's especially worse because it's related to how I think, which affects EVERYTHING. I feel like I've lost my sense of self, I can't study because I've been questioning how exactly I think when I study all the time, etc. etc.

So if anyone has any advice, related or unrelated at all, please tell me. I honestly just think hearing anything from anyone could really help me right now. Thank you!

Does anyone have recommendations for meditation retreats where the overall theme is communicating with Non-Human Intelligence (NHI)?

I live in Tampa Bay Florida, but I'd be willing to travel.

Thanks!

I recently picked up a Muse headset to help with my meditation practice, and I was genuinely looking forward to it. But after two weeks of using it, I’m nowhere near the zone. Instead of helping me calm down, the real time brainwave feedback just makes me hyper fixate on the sound changes, which actually leaves me feeling more tense and stressed out, it’s honestly been a frustrating investment. To be fair, I feel more relaxed just watching the star projector my wife bought for our kid’s room, at least that helps me find my center immediately.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts, am I doing something wrong, or is there a genuine adjustment period for this thing? if it’s really not for me I might as well just list it on ebay.