Learning to meditate, any tips for a beginner with OCD?

Hello everyone. As part of a series of changes I'm making in my life (eating better, exercising, trying to be more compassionate and less materialistic) I'd like to learn how to meditate. It's probably important to mention that I have frequent and intrusive unwanted thoughts. I'm able to ignore them better than I used to, but I have very disturbing thoughts when I try to meditate or calm my mind that scare me out of any kind of peaceful state. And when I do attempt to meditate, I don't really feel like I'm doing it the right way.

I've read a bit about chakras but also forms of meditation where you just focus on physical sensations in your body. What has resulted in the most success for everyone here? How did you start out, and do you have advice on how to conquer frightening thoughts? I feel afraid that something bad will happen if I think it during an altered state. That probably sounds pretty paranoid, huh?

Anyways, thanks to anyone who offers some guidance for a newbie.

reply to post by starhill


OCD? Did you diagnose this yourself?

I feel that same way. I try to meditate but thoughts that isn't want or desire pop in my mind. Sometimes I think that my mind is its own. I do meditate though. I try to relax and take deep breaths. I sit in the Locust position and let me hands rest on my knees. As I deep breathily, I try to empty my mind. Try to think of Nothing. No emotions, no thoughts, nothing. Then I count slowly to 100 and back. While I'm counting I think of thought but try to block them out from disturbing. I also focus on my body and try to put it in a sleep state meditation. After that, I start becoming relaxed but that's all. I open my eyes and feel very peaceful but that's as far as I've gone. I, too, need tips and advice. Your not along. By the way, you can use incense to help you meditate. They make the environment feel warm and peaceful. I'm barely using them and they work, not all though. The ones made in India are my preferences. Good Luck.

reply to post by starhill


You'll probably get a lot of advise on here dealing with this-or-that website, or this-or-that "technique" which requires some really weird sun-gazing, or something. You want the most practical advice?

Stop.

When a thought which scares you enters your mind end the session. Stand up, unwind, go for a light jog. Clear your mind of the thought. Then try again. When another negative thought enters: stop. Repeat the come-down, and then try again.

Negative, nasty, terrify, and scary thoughts will never fully go away. You will learn to not let them take hold, and steer your whole conscious experience though. That is really what meditation will help you achieve: better control over your mental functionality. If you're hoping for anything other than that... stop, because you won't get it.

~ Wandering Scribe

reply to post by The Endtime Warrior

No, I've been diagnosed by doctors.

Their are many forms of meditation. For now I would start with this method because you are just starting and your mind tends to wander off.
Repeat one word over and over and over and over and over ect... make the word something you love, my word(s) is peanut butter YOU WILL DRIFT OFF but dont beat your self up over it, once you have become conscious that you have drifted off start repeating the word again. This will help you in your ever day life. When you start to judge some one, use your ego it will help you catch and stop your self so you can think about what you are thinking.
So in a way drifting off in your meditation can really help if you are able to stop the drift.

Since i started this I have noticed that most people do not think about what they talk about. They talk beyond logic and if you do not nip it when you are younger then you could be stuck in twisted logic for the rest of your life.

Once you advance and move past the drifting, lay down, concentrate on your toes. What do they fell like? Then move up to the next body part your feet. How do they fell ect... After you go threw your whole body repeat the process only instead of concentrating on how they fell make them relaxed. Once you have done that do the first step and concentrate on how each individual body part fells. When your done with that concentrate on how your body fells as a whole. If you fell that the insides of your body such as organs are not relaxed try and make them relaxed.

Felling, alone can bring you into a grate awakening. Its awareness,you can do it with all 5(6) of your senses NOT just felling. These meditation exercises bring more awareness into your life. Most people have parts in their day (or their whole day) when they are zombified(when you are not in control of your own mind, auto piolet). You can completely get rid of this sleep like state by meditating on awareness.

ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO CONCENTRATE WHILE IN FRONT OF THE TV!! Do a experiment do not watch, and spend as little amount of time in front of the LCD computer screen as possible. Try it for a week and see what happens. It changed me in ways I never thought it. TV really is the worlds most powerful weapon. It is made to put you in a sleep like state with its FLASHING refresh rate.

reply to post by starhill


Don't listen to em. Start with that.

reply to post by ExploitedAliens

Thanks. Hopefully with practice both of us will become better at keeping out those disturbing thoughts and relaxing. Your advice is great. I'll check out incense, though I'm kind of afraid of using it having a cat and all.

I just focus on listening to my breathing, the natural sounds around me, and just enjoy the present moment.

Issue is you haven't said what 'type' of meditating you're wanting to practice. Some people try to see things or escape ... I don't believe that's what it's about.

reply to post by starhill


Some helpful hints:

A meditator has to remember not to struggle with the thoughts. If you want to win, don't fight. That is a simple rule of thumb. If you want to win, simply don't fight. The thoughts will be coming as usual. You just watch, hiding behind your blanket; let them come and go. Just don't get involved with them.

Be total in everything that you do or do not do. Be total -- then your whole life becomes a meditation.

~Osho~

www.messagefrommasters.com...

My personal suggestion for you is to do Dynamic for 21 days.
www.osho.com...

keep at it and it will get easier and easier to attain. once you feel the rapture for the first time you will know you are more in tune and are getting better. Make time for meditation no matter what and dont give up just because your mind wishes to distract you from enlightened states

Originally posted by starhill
Hello everyone. As part of a series of changes I'm making in my life (eating better, exercising, trying to be more compassionate and less materialistic) I'd like to learn how to meditate. It's probably important to mention that I have frequent and intrusive unwanted thoughts. I'm able to ignore them better than I used to, but I have very disturbing thoughts when I try to meditate or calm my mind that scare me out of any kind of peaceful state. And when I do attempt to meditate, I don't really feel like I'm doing it the right way.

I've read a bit about chakras but also forms of meditation where you just focus on physical sensations in your body. What has resulted in the most success for everyone here? How did you start out, and do you have advice on how to conquer frightening thoughts? I feel afraid that something bad will happen if I think it during an altered state. That probably sounds pretty paranoid, huh?

Anyways, thanks to anyone who offers some guidance for a newbie.

edit on 17-8-2012 by starhill because: Repetition in the title.

first of all.. you dont have OCD. you have a curious mind, a conscience and a tap into your intuition.. even maybe a decent enough connection to your spirit-self.

for a successful meditation the main tool you will need is discipline. through reverence and devotion to the task you are going to perform you will achieve it. in other words.. IT IS SERIOUS BUSINESS. so take it seriously when you set aside time to do it. and that means not just 1 hour a day.. altho that will help you progress however slowly... but you must devote as much time to meditation as you possibly can. i personally recommend 4+ hr sessions of devoted directness and dedication as regularly as you can.

become absolutely stil.. do not itch.. if u feel it let it itch.. if u feel a pain no not move. do not acknowledge it.. do not flinch. you must attempt repeatedly to disconnect from the body utilizing your imagination and thought to guide what you want to happen.

with any luck, you will begin to feel the force. the invisible force of consciousness flowing like a wave within you. the same as chi. it moves through vessels through tissue walls.. it knows no boundaries. and with thought you must aim to channel that chi through your chackra system.

essentially.. explore yourself within. listen to your body work.. feel the blood flow within you is the objective.

if you are balanced in mind enough you will experience samhadi/bliss of the divine white light of consciousness and it will be unmistakeable. from there on.. you will experience the true kundalini in your meditation. intertwining serpent forces which rise up the spine. they wobble.. and with thought you will wobble them and allow them to wobble greatly...

the wobbles feel like an earthquake under your feet. the way an earthquake seems to lag the body and disorient even tho you are standing in one spot. the earthquake wobbles your consciousness. what is the big deal with these wobbles?? as the woble grows (as the body becomes disoriented) the last large wobble will throw the spirit out of the body. and you will see the 5th dimension. exactly like earth in most ways.. just more beautiful.. more vivid..

it is attainable. but for those who try to shortcut or fake their way to attainment and do not achieve it.. then retire in disgruntled arrogance of the retort "it does not work it is all lies". they have fooled noone but themselves.

you sound like u are doing well tho. Good luck!

addressing fear:
fear is unfortunately a great part of this task. in your awakening in the presence of angels you will experience the greatest fear unimaginable by a man. the presence of these entities induce such a great fear i cannot describe..

but this is the part it's all about.. "facing your fears". what gave me strength were the words "what do i have to lose". and even after enlightenment journeying to some places still induced a fear in me that made me choose to retreat.

you will need to find worrds that give you strength.. something in your mind that will allow you to look upon your fears in the eye and withstand their dare for you to look away.

ill give you a cherry tho.. if you can achieve it.. there will be no death.. and nothing to fear.. fear will fade away from you and will be just as enjoyable as the emotion of laughter. just another emotion which brings a rise in spiritual essence.

reply to post by Wandering Scribe

Better control over my mental functionality sounds good to me. Thanks for the advice!

reply to post by starhill


Hello starhill

First of all, don't try to meditate. I know that may sound silly, but before you can meditate effectively you first need to learn how to concentrate.

Try to visualise something in your mind, lets say an apple. Now, you may think that this is easy, but really try to visualise it. Just see an apple in your mind and observe it, concentrate on it.

You may find that you can't hold the image, you may start of with a red apple, then it changes to a green apple, or it has a stalk, then no stalk, then you will may start thinking you prefer the taste of a granny smith apple to the taste of pink lady apple!

Then you may start thinking about the last time you ate an apple, or that you want to eat an aplle now!

This is your mind trying to distract you, your mind doesn't want to be still, it's not used to it.

When trying to focus on your image of the apple you also need to be observing yourself, your need to watch what your mind is doing while you try to visualise and concentrate on the apple. You will see for yourself how your mind is trying to distract you. Keep trying and keep watching.

You may also find that while trying to visualise the apple, you are now visualising or thinking about something completely different, and you will wonder 'how did I go from visualising an apple to thinking about shoes?!" Try to back track, try to reverse engineer your thought process, try to observe how your mind stopped you from your concentration and your visualisation of an apple to eventually thinking about shoes, you will see and begin to learn how your mind works and how to control it.

It takes a lot of practice to be able to concentrate and focus on an image or thought without being distracted by other images or thoughts, this total concentration is the basis of meditation, however, this practice in concentration to achieve meditation is itself meditation!

Once you find you can hold an image, lets say an apple again, without being distracted try to go into the apple. Visualise the skin of the apple peeling off, penetrate the flesh of the apple, visualise the core, penetrate the core, see the atoms of the core, imagine what it's like to be an apple, become the apple.

Now, we all know that the above is a lot easier said than done, but after a lot of practice on your concentration you can really begin to meditate. Imagination and visualisation are important but different. Try not to let your imagination become fantasy, fantasy is a product of the mind, don't let the mind distract you.

Once concentration is achieved without distraction, then whatever you choose to concentrate on, you will be able to meditate on.

Also remember, meditation is not 'zoning out' or becoming 'zombie like' , meditation is pure concetration and awareness, this is how you can really observe yourself and your mind, and of course whatever it is you want to meditate on.

Hope you find the above useful, if not then use whatever technique you find the best for you.

Gnobody

Here you can read some useful tips for people, who are beginners in meditation - when I was first starting out, I was doing a technique of counting my breaths, but whatever you choose, it has to be something you enjoy
www.brainwavelove.com...

reply to post by starhill


i also have OCD and find meditation very relaxing. what i was taught to do was this, when attempting to clear your mind many thoughts will attempt to invade and this is normal. for you and i some of those thoughts are just insane and frightening so the best thing to do for me, is to watch them float down a river.

this is what i do, when i meditate i try to clear all thought out, to quiet my brain if you will. to do that i focus on watching a river and in the water i float my unwanted thoughts away. whenever a thought enters my mind i watch it float down the river. it takes a lot of practice and patience but i know even us OCD people can have peace in meditation.

Don't try so hard to FORCE them out of your mind. Let the thoughts come in, ask from a 3rd person perspective WHY you're thinking those thoughts, solve the thoughts, then let it jsut pass.

They key is acknowledging the distubing thoughts and solving them! After that you're much less likely to have them.

Hi there best thing to do is go find a good meditation teacher
your nearest Buddhist centre will give you lessons
and you don't have to be a Buddhist to attend and costs next to nothing

try a guided meditation as this will help focus the mind and help stop it from wandering off

also when thoughts do come into your mind
do not judge them as good or bad thoughts
or emotionally react to them

in other words ....do not feed the thought with more thought about it

simple let that thought drift on by ...

meditation is practise until you forget to practice

good luck

Ok
You will need some visual aids as well as physical cues.

first you should go to a park and find two pointed rocks. About the size of a mouse. You should also get some ants from a pet store, about 50-100. If they are red, then better.

Place the rocks under each butt cheek and sit Indian style. Next take some ammonia and place it into a large bowl in front of you. Without blinking stare at one point on the wall.

Next imagine that there are ants all over your legs, when you have that image, take the ants you bought and pour the bag onto your legs. Remain still and just feel them walking. ##snipped## Focus again on the point on the wall you were looking at without blinking and imagine that there is a fly buzzing just out of your peripheral vision.

If you can, get some flies form the pet store as well and let them loose at this point.

Now this is the most important part. Rock yourself back and forth on the rocks you got. While doing this you have to scream the lyrics of any Pantera song you chose beforehand. You might like '#snip# Hostile', but Highway to hell by ACDC is the most effective.

Now when you have done this for about 3 minutes, lean as much as possible onto the stones, and stick your tongue out and bite down hard.

hold it. Do so for about 10 minutes without letting up.

When you are done with all these exercises I recommend a cool down period to let all the relaxation sit in.

Go to the bathtub, and put the water on the coldest setting. If you have any spare ice now would be the time. Jump in, don't test it, that ruins the harmony you have achieved.

sit until the ice melts. All of it.

Then get out but don't dry yourself and don't get dressed. If possible go outside and run a little.

That should be it. You are now in a state of Zen.

OR

Just find something comfortable and do that. We are all different and sometimes we can meditate while sweeping, or gardening, or running. Do what makes you feel natural and good. Focus on that mentally, and expand. That is meditation as well.



MOD NOTE:
www.health.ny.gov...