Meditation with a 'busy' mind

[T0ny]

I am really struggling with switching my mind off and concentrating. I have read a fair bit of info on meditation and the processes to get you to the right state, but the trouble is I can't seem to do it. I have a very busy mind right now and although the response may be to sort out the issues which are affecting me, thats not so easy to do. The result is that when I sit, lay or do whatever and try to clear my mind, all this other stuff bombards me at the same time. I used to relax myself by imagining I was either sitting all alone in the forest, or under the sea. This worked for me and I could totally then relax and think of only that which I wanted to think about. I seem to have lost that ability and wish very much to get it back again.

I have tried the exercises as described by Leoni Faye, but I no sooner feel I am settling down, then one of the gremlins interrupts.

This is holding me back a lot. Any ideas please

[T0ny]

Please can I clarify what I am asking for ideas on. I am not looking for pointers in how to meditate itself, although its all intermingled. I am specifically asking for ideas as to how to 'firewall' your mind against the random thoughts that keep on interfering. How to block them out, even for a short period so that you can achieve the state you wish to achieve.

This site had some good stuff

http://www.meditationcenter.com/index.html

Thank you

T0ny

[alley]

when a thought comes in i acknowledge it rather than try to block it, and re focus on the breath instead.
alley

[Featherpoint]

Hi Tony,

Some people have 'firewall' success by using a mantra or meditating on a specific item.  For example, using a lit candle - just concentrate on the flame. A friend of mine knew someone who used a picture of their cat.

The mantra doesn't have to be a sentence, it can be just one or two words. Repeated over and over, it will keep your focus on the words, rather than the random thoughts.

One technique that helps me when my mind doesn't want to stop chattering is to say 'inhale love' or 'inhale peace' as I breathe in, and then 'exhale fatigue' or 'exhale fear' as I let the breath go.  Whatever works for you.  Basically inhale a postive, exhale a negative. You may need to start out saying the mantra out loud, but as your mind learns to quiet itself, you will find you can repeat the phrases silently.  In time, you won't need to repeat, you will think it just once or twice, and find your mind is already in the meditative state.

Keep practicing, you will get there again!

With light and love,
Featherpoint

[Cappuccino Monkey]

TOny,

As Alley said, it's usually better to acknowledge the thought than block it. It's very important not to get annoyed because you've had some random thoughts - imagine that you're a beautiful calm sea or lake, and the thoughts are just clouds passing overhead. Observe them, but remain detached, and concentrate on remaining calm.

When my mind won't shut up when I'm trying to meditate, I try to 'divert' it!

For example, I imagine breathing in 'white' energy/light (or 'love'), and breathing out dark energy/ight to symbolise the release of blocked/negative energy.

After repeating that a few times, my mind needs all its time to focus on the visualisation, and doesn't get a chance to wander.

I don't have kids, but I sometimes think that the mind is very like a young child - not able to concentrate on anything for long! But if you give it something 'fun' to do, it's happy to sit for ages.

Hope this helps
David

[Jenn]

TOny,

Here's another simple one when inhaling think "re", when exhaling think "lax".

Simple but it works

Jenn

[dmarx]

my recommendation is just to practice. that's what it's all about. don't worry about visualizations or anything fancy like that. i used to do the forest meditation too sometimes, but i found it pretty hard to lose myself in that one. just concentrate on your breath for now. as you practice, you'll find it easier and easier to stay focuesd and get to "that place." once your comfortable with that, then i'd suggest moving on to more advanced meditations, symbols or other visualizations perhaps

one must crawl before they can run. good luck
Dave

[alley]

Tony, I am reading an interesting book that talks about the busy mind.
They discribe it as the second mind,and they say to let it "run out" of steam.  I thought of you when I was reading it last night.
alley

[mysticaldan]

Hi everyone I am new here but I have an old technique which puts the chatter of my brain away. When we breath in our breath goes in with a Hummmmm sound and when it comes out it comes out with a Saaaaa sound. You can try it and see. Now when you close your eyes, repeat the word Hummmmm with the mmmm vibrating and ligering for a couple of seconds. The vibrations make sure that the mind does not get time to think about anything else and the energy builds up in your body. Now let go of your breath slowly and smoothly with a Saaaaa sound. Dont worry if initially the Saa sound is a little scattered and breaky initially. Now keep on letting the Hummm and the Saaa continue till u feel it as a part of yourself and it comes automatically. If some thought comes in your mind just tell yourself its not more important than breathing and come back to the breath. This should center your mind and then you can try in parts to go ahead from here. You can try and imagine a growing sensation in your lower tailbone and rising up your back or u can imagine White light entering your head and passing through your body and exiting or staying in your body giving you warmth.
I hope this helps you.  

[ofthemoon]

I am specifically asking for ideas as to how to 'firewall' your mind against the random thoughts that keep on interfering. How to block them out, even for a short period so that you can achieve the state you wish to achieve.


Hmmmm...how to stop your mind from wandering. When my mind wants to wander it's usually because something is bothering me. I have to tell myself as I realize i am wandering back to a thought to just let it go...let it go....and I can then go back to my happy place....I can't sit and imagine the forest and the trees and all that stuff. That takes away form wher I want to get. I have to think about going deeper into my self even if it means repeating to myself over and over (not out loud) but in my head with each breath I tell myself I will go deeper and deeper and deeper and so on. Maybe you are trying too hard?
Start with not trying to clear your  mind...let the thoughts flow thorugh you mind and kick each one out , one after the other till you've gotten all the little issues out of the way...Then smile and veg....Blessings...Jeanie

[T0ny]

I am still struggling with the busy mind, although I feel it is getting better and better as time goes on.

I saw this on another group and felt it was helpful insight so will post for others to share also.


Silence is not just a physical absence of sound, but also an internal state
of being. It's about awareness.

We can keep our mouths shut, but if our minds are racing, we cannot receive
wisdom within or without. We cannot hear what the ancestors speak to us, we
cannot see what Spirit is revealing all around us.

Try this sometime -- when your mind is racing and you can't focus, listen
for three sounds. Just pick three sounds that you hear, and be aware of them
for a moment of time. It could be birds, a conversation, the sound of a fan
humming, nearby traffic. Any sound -- just focus on three distinct sounds,
be aware of them.

Or try listening to the sound of your own breathing, in, out, in, out --
slowly. Then listen for the sound of your heartbeat. Listen for the sound of
the wind making the trees sing to each other. Washing your hands or cleaning
something -- listen to the sound of water flowing.

Internal silence is what is needed, not always external. We cannot always
control our surroundings, but we CAN control what happens within us. We can
control how we respond to circumstances, people, challenges. Think of the
weather -- if our internal atmosphere is stormy and chaotic, this will
affect the atmosphere around us. If our internal atmosphere is calm and
centered, this also affects the atmosphere around us.

This is a simplistic look at a complex process, but it starts from the
ground up. If the foundation is weak, if the center does not hold, nothing
else will, either. This also can be another way to ground, or make grounding
a little easier.

"Stop, look, listen." Breathe deep. Focus. Find your center, place your
awareness there.

[Panchito]

Thanks, t0ny!
Some good tips there with the sounds. Hope you get better at it soon, i have a really busy mind sometimes and it can be frustrating!  

[Featherpoint]

Hi Tony,

Silence is not just a physical absence of sound, but also an internal state of being. It's about awareness.

Tony, I love this statement.  This is so true! Thanks for posting it.

With light and love,
Featherpoint

[Che Guebuddha]

  Tony is gonna hate me for digging up this old thread 

(sorry I was doing some deep research in this forum so stumbled over this one. oops I did it again  )

I have problems meditating, sitting and breathing and well still my mind and breath and meditate  and all that ... so what I do instead I drink TEA  yep I do that, but while I drink the tea i try to exactly do that and nothing else. Make a pot of tea for about 3-4 cups, find a relaxing spot and drink the tea and do exactly that, enjoy it totally 

Here is a good article on what I just said;

Peace in a Cup of Tea
© Kenneth S. Cohen
originally published in Alternative Medicine, January 2006

"A cup of tea is a cup of peace." These words were spoken to me some thirty years ago by Soshitsu Sen XV, descendent of the sixteenth century founder of the Japanese Tea Ceremony. I was a beginner in Japanese Tea Ceremony, and it has taken me a long time to realize the depth in that simple sentence. I believe that Sen was talking about far more than mental tranquillity or the biological effects of theanine, the mood-altering amino acid concentrated in green tea. He was speaking about tea as a Tao, a path in life, a way to realize peace in every aspect of one's life-- in one's own mind, with one's family and community, and as a communion that can bring peace in the world. A cup of tea is a celebration of the mystery of the ordinary, beauty found in the simplicity of the everyday. After thirty years practicing this beautiful art perhaps I am finally an advanced beginner.

Thirty years to learn how to drink tea? You've got to be kidding. Let me put this in context. A student of a great Japanese tea master spent more than ten years perfecting the choreography-- how to clean the utensils, handle the tea bowl, whisk the powdered tea, arrange the flowers, even how to bow. One day he asked his teacher to reveal the deepest secrets in Tea Ceremony. The master explained, "First you boil the water, then prepare the tea, then drink it. That is all." The student looked disappointed and somewhat perplexed. The master continued, "Show me someone who can truly do these things, and I will become their disciple." This is the challenge of Tea, and it is the challenge of life. How can we be so present that we perform each action with our whole body, mind, and spirit? Normally, when we do one thing, part of us is doing something else. We reach for the pot of soup, but the body is so disorganized that we tense our jaws more than our arms. We decide to sit "quietly" for a few minutes but our minds are alternating between the shopping list and the morning news. As multitasking is extolled as a virtue, we lose the deep satisfaction that comes of doing one thing truly well.

But the repercussions of complexity go beyond this. A person who cannot be truly attentive communicates confusion. "What you are speaks so loudly," said Emerson, "I cannot hear what you are saying." Through a kind of energetic contagion -- scientist Rupert Sheldrake's "morphogenetic field"--many of us feel compelled to a life of haste and waste. At some unconscious level we may believe that not-doing, leisure, and -- dare I say it-- loafing!-- are sins against society. Tea is the antidote. By slowing down, we become aware of beauty and capable of creating beauty around us. "Slowness is beauty," said the artist Rodin. I am not talking about beauty only in clothes, complexion, and home design, but beauty in every aspect of life. Yes, it is possible. As the Navajo Indians say in their prayer, "Beauty above, beauty below, beauty before me, beauty behind me, beauty all around." A commitment to beauty includes speaking and behaving with care and respect and preserving the beauty of the natural world, not by keeping some areas pristine and sacrificing other regions to industrial waste, but by considering the entire world our home.

Tea is ultimately an exercise in awareness. It assures awareness far more certainly than a Zen Master checking the posture and presence of seated monks. A chajin (tea person) whose mind wanders spoils the tea, and the guests can taste it. Tea is more than a cup of peace; it is a cup of your deepest Self. As Tea Master Rikyu (1520-1591) said, "When water is ladled from the depths of Mind, whose bottom is beyond measure, then we really have what is called Tea Ceremony."

One more thing, if you have problems meditating in the most conventional way of meditating try practising something like Qigong. Meditation doesn't have to be still it can also be movement as soon you get your self in the NOW. So if drinking tea that is all one is doing... drinking tea, if doing Qigong that is all whats on one's mind ... movement of the moment.
I find it easier to meditate through movement.

Love and Light, RQ

[Tim]

If you have a busy Mind then meditate by keeping it busy.  An example would be to Hum and recite a mantra, but remember to leave a silence between each itteration. As you go along lengthen the silences

an happy days.

Tim.

[joegeorge]

it is normal that thoughts are coming and going trough your mind when meditating
you just try to pay no attention on them
if you wanna stop thought you look at the tip of your nose-that works
and trough practice ,time of no thoughts will become longer

[T0ny]

Tony is gonna hate me for digging up this old thread 

Thank you for raising the thread again. It is a question which repeats itself

T

[Che Guebuddha]

It is a question which repeats itself

You are right on the money T0ny 

I wouldn't say that this question is raised in Yoga or Qigong very often but in Western Reiki it sure comes up often ... actually if I may notice way too often 
Shame really, since we (Reikis) have a meditation practise called Hatsurei-ho which for some reason is still kind of "in the East" even though many got pretty much informed about it.
We should be happy about the Reiki history reveling itself to us and obviously willing to be part of the whole discipline (Reiki discipline).

Is it really difficult for us "Takata" Reikis to admit that she did remove a very important part of Usui Reiki and that we can simply add it back in as the actual fundamental part of Usui Reiki system (if I remember correctly I was not attuned to Takata Shiki Ryoho, but to Usui Shiki Ryoho).

Hatsurei-ho VIDEO;
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5239118678233917873#

I wish there is a Reiki Master in my town teaching Traditional Reiki  ah it will show up when the time is right)

Lots of Love and Light to All,
Rose Quartz

[oOwabi-sabiOo]

I realize this is old but many people feel this way about meditation so maybe this will help others...

"The purpose of meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind, and to introduce us to that which we really are, our unchanging pure awareness, which underlies the whole of life and death.

In the stillness and silence of meditation, we glimpse and return to that deep inner nature that we have so long ago lost sight of amid the busyness and distraction of our minds. Isn't it extraordinary that our minds cannot stay still for longer than a few moments without grasping after distraction; they are so restless and preoccupied that sometimes I think that living in a city in the modern world, we are already like the tormented beings in the intermediate state after death, where the consciousness is said to be agonizingly restless. According to some authorities, up to 13 percent of the people in the United States suffer from some kind of mental disorder. What does that say about the way that we live?

We are fragmented into so many different aspects. We don't know who we really are, or what aspects of ourselves we should identify with or believe in. So many contradictory voices, dictates, and feelings fight for control over our inner lives that we find ourselves scattered everywhere, in all directions, leaving nobody at home.

Meditation, then, is bringing the mind home." -Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Tony,

Note that Sogyal Rinpoche does not say that meditation is the result, but the process itself. It is not simply being in the state-of-mind which he describes, but the journey to bring it to that state. Note that he also describes it as "glimpsing" this state.

You will experience small glimpses of this state-of-mind through meditation, as you've described. And naturally, as we're human, a small voice/thought/sensation will pop up and bring us away from this state. The trick is to not become frustrated or look at this as a failure, but to identify it and let it go without judgement, and begin the journey once again to return to that state-of-mind. Be grateful for that small glimpse, as well as the interruption i.e. another chance to practice mindfulness. The entire process is meditation.

Even the Masters experience this. It's just that, the more you practice what I just desribed, the longer you'll be able to hold this state/the quicker you'll be able to enter it.

So if you view meditation with this understanding, the "problem" you're experiencing doesn't exist.

[Che Guebuddha]

Note that Sogyal Rinpoche does not say that meditation is the result, but the process itself.

I agree. Unification of the Mind and Body is a process and the result is the manifestation of our divine (universal) soul. Self Reiki is a process too not the result.
It is wrong in my opinion to stay way too focused on the Spiritual and forgetting our connection to Earth.

It is important to unify our Mind and Body (uniting following; breathing with the belly and developing the One Centre/Lower Tanden, closing/strengthening the perineum/base chakra in accordance to keep the Ki in, being aware of our body posture to stay relaxed because one can not connect to the universal if being stiff, cultivating our Mind by meditating/stillness, chanting the Gokai and performing self Reiki) ... in accordance to fully feel the connection to the Universal Spirit Force (Rei Ki). Our body and mind as our Soul are made of the same universal Ki and for that reason we can not ignore our body-mind union without consequences (illness).

Body and Mind are like Yin and Yang. If there is too much Body the Mind will suffer and if there are too much Mind the Body will suffer not making anyone happy  .
We should strive to get these two as close to one another as possible and when it happens that they do touch each other I believe we can get that "glimpse" Sogyal Rinpoche talks about 

For me as a Reiki it is not difficult to get attuned to ReiKi (all you need is a Master willing and your permission) but what I find difficult is to feel the presence of Reiki at all times or even at some times. It usually comes to "blind fate" and I do have a strong feeling that "blind fate" is not necessary since we do have a tool (meditation) to get closer to the Divine/Universal in us and since our body is made of the same Ki as the Universe (and Reiki) I believe we can come to the point of feeling Reiki as normal as we can feel the Air on the tip of our nose.

It is very important to develop a strong Base before climbing the other chakras/Tandens. Reiki is pointing me towards Meditation very strongly and I am very grateful to ReiKi supporting me to do it daily.

Love and Light, Rose Quartz