Recently some friends asked me for some pointers about meditation, and here's what I said...
DISCLAIMER: I am nowhere near an expert and still have a shitload to learn. What I've written below are just a few things that have helped me get started.
First and foremost, I would begin familiarizing myself with meditation as a whole. There are a bunch of great books out there on the subject by authors such as Sogyal Rinpoche, Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hahn, Lama Surya Das, and HH the Dalai Lama. I like the book "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche (not to be confused with "The Tibetan Book of the Dead.") This book covers much, much more than meditation, but the section on meditation has been instrumental in the development of my practice. Those of us in the West have a lot of ideas about what meditation is supposed to be (i.e. that there is some result that we should aim for specifically), and this book is a great place to begin learning about true meditation. Plus, if you're interested in learning about reincarnation, samsara, and the bardo's, this book is invaluable in that regard. You will get a crash course in Buddhism, but this is not to be feared or judged, and the effortless way Rinpoche explains some very heady concepts will leave you thirsting for more. If you're anything like me, this book will change your life.
Here are some things that have helped me:
The use of a mantra. I'll chant the mantra of Padmasambhva (Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Siddhi Hum) or Avalokiteshvara (Om Mani Padme Hum). The Padmasambhva mantra is roughly the equivalent to the Catholic Hail Mary. It feels weird at first, but that is just your ego fucking with you. Stop judging and get over it. If you can do this, after a while all else will cease and you'll feel like you're in space. Again, I got this stuff from "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying."
Diaphragmatic breathing. Breathe through your mouth. You don't want your jaw to hang to the ground like you've just opened up an email and it was a video of a donkey show. Think mild sinus infection mouth breathing, not holy shit I can't believe people do that. We don't realize it, but often times we are not breathing properly. In order to take a fully restorative breath, we must breath from our stomach, not our chest. If you aren't quite sure what I'm talking about, lie on your back before you begin to meditate, and rest your right forearm at the top of your stomach below your rib cage. Watch your arm rise and fall, rise and fall. Your stomach will be pushing your arm out as you inhale. This is breathing from your diaphragm. This technique can be applied anywhere at any time, and for those of you who may suffer from anxiety/panic disorders, this technique is a hell of a tool to help you calm down.
Keep your eyes open. Contrary to popular belief, one should keep his/her eyes open and fixed upon an object/picture while meditating. Once again, I took the book's advice, and stare at a picture of Padmasambhva. His eyes are hypnotic, and at first I was a bit freaked out at the picture because he's pretty intense. But then I remembered he was a Buddha, and there is no hate there, only love.
Don't try to achieve anything. The most important part of meditation is showing up. At first, I began with 10 minutes in the morning, ten minutes at night, and have upped the time as I've grown more comfortable. The biggest thing you can try to remember when meditating is to practice non-grasping. Allow your thoughts to come and go, let them run through your mind like the waters of a mountain river runs over rocks. If you have a negative thought, acknowledge it, but don't latch onto it. Simply let the thought be born, and die. All thoughts return to the same place they were born: your mind. Eventually you will have moments when something truly magical happens, and you will want to prolong the feeling. The minute you try to do that is the minute you will lose it. Think of it like sex: when your girl says, "right there" she's not saying "go faster." Just keep doing what you're doing, because it's working.
You don't have to sit in full lotus postion. If you are flexible enough to chill in full lotus, then by all means, do it. Don't force it, though. A certain amount of uncomfortability is expected when you begin to meditate, but do not confuse uncomfortability and pain. If need be, you can use a chair; any book on meditation will cover this in depth. This is a mental workout, not necessarily a physical workout, although you may experience some soreness during the first few weeks as your body becomes accustomed to this position.
All of this is just a scratch on the surface, but I hope it may have helped in some way. The benefits to developing a daily meditation practice are massive, and after a month of consistent daily meditation you will feel like you are becoming a different person. You are. The mind is as vast and infinite as the universe itself, and the first time you get a little taste of this, you will experience a bliss most people believe to be a myth. The key is to carry that bliss into your life through mindful actions, speech, thoughts, etc. To learn more about that, see the 4 Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
You can, of course, add a bit of the sticky icky to your practice, but try to do it without herb first. I'm a huge proponent of cannabis use and the benefits of such a wonderful plant, but you don't need to be higher than a cat's back to go deep. Your brain will do that for you. If you must smoke, start out sober and smoke when you're done. If you have one of those blissful sessions I was talking about, smoking afterward is often a great way to carry over that state of mind, especially if combined with yoga.
Be well and good luck. Namaste.
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We're all on this rock floating through space together, stuck in one of an innumerable number of galaxies. We inhabit a miniscule portion of the infinite universe, and every time I pause to look up at the sky I am bewildered by how completely insignificant life is. But, this is why life is so precious. We're entering a period of solar activity that can, at any moment, wipe out all the electronics on earth, and plunge us back into the dark ages. To some, that is a most depressing thought. To me, it's the beauty of creation. It's never been more important to share and spread love than in this moment, right now, today. Bask in the light of the truth, and never forget that you are not alone; you will always have the stars. All you have to do is look up, and smile.
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"So, the teachings tell us, if we do not assume the fullest possible responsibility for ourselves now in this life, our suffering will go on not only for a few lives, but for thousands of lives to come." - Sogyal Rinpoche
