I want to start meditating, need some help....

Post Reply New Topic

I've read some stuff on the site but I really need some step by step instructions on how to begin. What do I start with, how long and how much a day. When do I progress further. etc....

Hi there

Just started down this road myself about year and half ago and it has been interesting but also hard this link is a good place to start http://zenhabits.net/meditation-for-beg ... -the-mind/ and has suggestions for books. Biggest thing I can say to you is don't be hard on yourself - the more you accept that it will take time to perfect this practice the easier it becomes to let go and get into the way of it. If you get annoyed with yourself it just takes away from any effort you have invested. Start with as little as 5 minutes to begin with - setting yourself achievable targets ) and do so until you feel you have mastered this amount of time then very gradually increase it by a few minutes. Hope this helps Good Luck. It is well worth it!!

Hi Kruger. Meditation is something I'm very interested in, and I like to try to help people with accessible information about it.

It's with that in mind that I've been writing what I hope are clear and concise guides to some of the many practices that one can do.

http://recollection.posterous.com/buddh ... tldr-years
http://recollection.posterous.com/a-bas ... instuction

Most of your questions are answered in the above posts ^ But I'll expound on a few things here.

The article mkt posted above suggests starting with breathing. That's probably a good idea. Just let your breath be natural, and let your awareness rest on the physical sensation of your breath coming in and going out. When you are distracted by thoughts, feelings or other sensory events, bring it back to that awareness of breathing. Anchoring your focus somewhere around the diaphragm feels good to me.

One thing that seems incredibly common is that people think they are failing because they keep getting distracted. That's completely normal and expected. The idea is to get better at it with time.

I'd go for 10 minutes a day to begin with. I wouldn't worry too much about progress for now. Just observe your breath and observe your mind and get a sense of things.

I to have been interested in meditation, i will now be watching this thread.

Do a Google search for Vipasana (pronounced vi-pash-na)

They are an organization that teaches pure basic Buddhist meditation without being actually Buddhist.

They charge nothing. Not now, not ever. After your first course you are not even allowed to donate money.
They are certainly not a cult in any way.

My teenage son was interested in meditation and I found it for him.
He went along to their six day live in course.

Afterward he said "That was the most difficult thing I have ever done, and the most rewarding"

For the next few years he worked part time jobs so that he could attend other mediation retreats and act as a helper/cook at others.

Then in his early 20's he decided to choose a monastic life. He traveled through Thailand and Burma and finally decided to be a Thai Forest Monk. Now he is fully ordained.

But getting back to Vipasna, most people don't do that. Most will do a seven day retreat once or twice a year to keep them selves "grounded" but other than that they lead normal lives.

I highly recommend this group.

Moog's advice is exactly what I would say, except that Moog is better at explaining these things than I. I agree that starting with the breath is a good idea. I like to rest my attention my diaphragm as well, but when first starting out found it easier to rest it on my nostrils and the physical sensation of breathing in and out. I also recommend starting with ten minutes. When I was starting out, I regularly found myself antsy at around 4-7 minutes in, but then sort of settled into it for the last few minutes, so ten minutes worked better than five. Of course, this is only my experience and yours may vary.

That's very interesting. I wonder how difficult he found it entering a monastery in a place which did not use his native language (or was it an English-speaking monastery?). Did he speak Thai when he went over there or did he spend some time learning it there before entering the monastery?

Yes he did find it difficult. No he didn't speak Thai but he does now.

He has visited us since then because we bought him a ticket and there is a local Thai monastery

I don't know how to explain this. He has joined probably the strictest monastic order in the world.

He is not allowed to be alone with a woman, even his mother or his two year old niece. He is not even allowed to pat female cats or dogs.

Even when he was staying in our house I couldn't say to him "This is your home son. Help yourself to the kitchen"

No, I had to OFFER him everything and hand it to him before he would eat it.

He is VERY committed and wants us to respect and admire his life choice.

The trouble is we think it is all BS so how can we "respect" what we think is nonsense?

Sounds like he's quite attached to his precepts.

How do we respect anything we think is bull s**t?

I guess you can discuss it. Personally I find some of the more extreme precepts and practices not to my taste.

I'm familiar with the Thai Forest Tradition. It is unusually strict. Most Buddhist sects are not nearly so strict. In Zen Buddhism, for example, monks and priests often marry. At any rate, I don't suspect kruger4 is planning on going and joining the most strict Buddhist sect in the world quite yet.

Did your son join the monastery not speaking any Thai? I would be surprised if monasteries accept people who can't communicate in the necessary language.


I agree, but I certainly won't begrudge someone else their preferences, so long as they're not harmful.