1) What is the longest period of time you have meditated?

2) Under what stress & tiredness conditions do you meditate the best?

3) How do you start in your meditation?

4) What is your ultimate goal, what are you achieving in your meditation?

For me:
1Not even over an hour
2It depends what I'm going for, I get some pretty intense CEV's when I'm tired
3I start by creating a horizon between two black planes, then I either keep my mind unoccupied, or I paint on the canvas -> sometimes I go for 'bliss'
4Ultimate goal is to come out of the meditation feeling better than I did going in, however I never focus on that, I only focus on what I'm thinking about.

YOU?

Good question, IJC, I keep forgetting to recharge, so that was good reminder.

1) About an hour and a half
2) Ideally, not too stressed, but tired from a full day, starting to meditate around 10-11pm.
3) Controlled breathing for 2-3 minutes, then similar to your description of the empty canvas.
4) Typically I'm going for clarity. I want to be able to open my eyes, and see a different world from the one I entered in from. Also, fluidity of thoughts, as that is usually the most difficult part for me, the conditioning of the mind to be operational without constantly spitting out thoughts.

IJesusChrist wrote:1) What is the longest period of time you have meditated?

2) Under what stress & tiredness conditions do you meditate the best?

3) How do you start in your meditation?

4) What is your ultimate goal, what are you achieving in your meditation?

i meditated once for roughly an hr and a half while tripping. i felt compelled.

other than that, anywhere from 15-20+ minutes (for an energy boosting meditation), any longer and my eyes feel tired afterwards, too deep a relaxation for the purpose of coming out energized. i keep it short generally if i want an energy burst (just long enough to detach yourself from stresses and actually calm down for a moment [comfortable time frames here, no time limit really]), but if im looking to dive into lower mental states, then i tend to do it before bed, or simply later in the evening, when my energy is permanently winding down for the day. i should note that the time frames for sinking into this latter type of meditation are also erratic, but generally take much less time. i am much more easily able to reach a hypnagogic state while tired for sure, usually within a minute. havent had much experience trying hypnagogic states right after waking up, but i hear that is a very good time as well. idk, i dont always focus on hypnagogia either. depending on what im trying to achieve, the meditation can carry a very energetic and rapid pace, or a very slow and methodical one, not that meditating should be polar either, it could be entirely devoid of emotion(which i find good for introspection), or be as simple as having a word as your theme/mantra/symbol, such as clarity, efficiency, power, speed, (imagine these as their related concepts, not the actual word itself), but emotional concepts are good to focus on too, especially during stressful periods in your life, just dont blind yourself with that light, because it can do damage, and its often harder to recognise (denial/dissociation). you've got about a billion practical uses for meditation. now its time to get creative

1. probably around 6 hours with short breaks every hour and a half.
2. healthy, awake and relaxed.
3. first I exercise, walk around, do some chi kung, and then I´m already in that state of peace and just let it be.
4. I just enjoy it nowadays, I don´t really see any other point, although there are other benefits.

@ chi kung/qi gong. i've found martial arts to be a brilliant way to ease into the proper mind frame, especially after an intense workout followed by a short rest period. i tend to meditate very effortlessly after that "runners high" feeling. but on a broader scale, i was using skateboarding to clear my mind and relieve stress back in the day, before i even knew about meditation, like 8 or so... so long as your full atention is focused...

1 15 to 20 minutes sitting over an hour Walking
2 When outside sitting in the sand or grass, or walking in the forest or along the beach.
3 the best way for me is by doing walking meditation first. And then do sitting meditation.
4 To calm the mind.


I don't consider myself a serious and/or traditional meditation practitioner.

magickmumu wrote:I don't consider myself a serious and/or traditional meditation practitioner.

"...so long as your full attention..."

IJesusChrist wrote:1) What is the longest period of time you have meditated?

2) Under what stress & tiredness conditions do you meditate the best?

3) How do you start in your meditation?

4) What is your ultimate goal, what are you achieving in your meditation

1: Around 2 and a half hours.

2: B4 bed after a long day, not too tired, but almost ready for sleep.

3: I imagine my body as a floor and my thoughts as dusst on this floor, then i sweep the floor clean over and over again, till the dost dosent swirl from the wind of the broom back onto the floor. and i sometimes count my breaths then start over again at 10. In 1, out 2.. ext, till ten. Then back to one. It helps train the mind to concentrate.

4: Usually to reflect on the days activities for about half the time, then to relax and empty my mind completly for the last half, b4 falling asleep in bed. When you sleep, your body goes into recovery mode, when you meditate its like recovery mode for your mind.

Nice questions.

1) my longest was about an hour, but usually i take 20 to 40 minutes.

2)When i'm tired i can meditate best, i sit up when i'm tired cause laying down would trigger fatigue, by sitting up i'm able to keep a clear mind.When i'm stressed it's harder to get into the "trance" of relaxation, but after a while of trying it works and after the meditation is over i'm relaxed.

3) I start by closing my eyes , then i try to calm down by slowing down my breathing, i inhale really slow and exhaling goes automatically, i just let the air out like it would go out of a flat tire, unconsciously i just let it flow out of my lungs, so the only effort goes to inhaling, this slows down my heartbeat and makes my head fill up with a big fluffy cloud of relaxation, my head is always filled with thoughts (even at night, i'm a heavy dreamer, i don't think i can remember a day without intense dreams,) so then i try to block out everything, this is the hard part.

I manage to do this for a second or 10 and then thoughts take over again, but after 10 minutes i manage to clear my head and usually mild visions occur without fantasising cause i block out all thinking even fantasies

4) My ultimate goal is to become a relaxed person instead of a stressed person, i'm on the way but there's a lot of work to do still.When i stop meditating for a while i really feel different, easily agitated and stressed, so i really need to keep a steady flow.I achieve relaxation and clear mindedness by meditating, it takes some effort and time but it's worth the "trouble".

@IJesusChrist

Just wondering what type of meditation you are referring to?

Concentrative, Insight, Awareness/Mindfulness based, etc

Personally, I'm finding that Concentrative meditation exists in far more interesting mediums than sitting on the cushion yet yields the same benefits...

Look forward to your response,

Cheers

Greeting Folks,

I am a new member and would like to share my experiences in this area. I spend most of my time over at DMT-Nexus but I am hoping to meet other like-minded individuals and compare notes, so to speak. Please forgive the duration and seeming departure from the simple format of this intriguing thread but I do feel this digression has some universal merit and may shed some light upon my particular meditative practices and way of living.

I first began to meditate in 1975. I was involved in martial arts and my teacher introduced us to Seon meditation. Seon is the Korean version of Chan Buddhism, which originated in China over 1500 years ago. It is the same as what the Japanese refer to as Zen. We started each class with just 10 minutes of sitting, prior to beginning the martial aspect of the art. Right around the same time, I began to smoke marijuana. This symbiosis opened my mind to a whole new level of consciousness and I haven't looked back since.

These experiences fueled my interest and I embraced TM (Transcendental Meditation) in 1976. This was very popular in the 1960's and 1970's. I was drawn even deeper into myself, through it's routine practice. I found the repetition of mantra far easier than merging with the emptiness of Zazen. When I first dropped LSD-25... the process became more of an entire way of life, rather than a methodology of centering my awareness and stilling my restless thought waves. My desire to search for 'The Truth', exponentially increased with each psychedelic session. This path led me through many voyages with acid, mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms.

I was initiated into Kriya Yoga in 1980 and Surat Shabd Yoga in 1982. After a decade of mantra meditation, I was able to pursue direct contemplation upon the empty stillness of the Void. My psychedelic voyages had taught me much about the formless essence of Universal Mind or God. While this continuum was taking place, my journey into the realm of spirituality, steered me towards moving meditations like: Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi Chuan and dancing. For myself, the path of the Sage and that of the Shaman, were one way, with a single, central focus... The Divine.

Along the way, I trained my capacity for prolonged sessions of sitting meditation. Ironically, I spent far too much time observing and measuring the process of seeking enlightenment. This becomes a meaningless divergence from the true purpose of said 'meditation', which is freedom from self and the desires which run contrary to our soul's own spiritual needs. Still, through a process of discipline, it became a morning, afternoon and evening continuum (it still is).

The longest time I ever spent in this state of intentional sensory-deprivation (i.e. meditation), was around 8 hours. Way back in 1985, as I recall? That being, 4 separate sessions of approximately 2 hours each, in duration, over the course of the day. It had taken me quite some time to be able to devote this much of my attention within these immaterial, internal explorations. It was an extreme and I soon realized that given the illusory nature of time, this was unnecessary effort.

In all honesty, just how much of this experience was truly meditation and how much was another mental projection of ego? Maybe a more 'spiritual' ego' but still a fixed state of self-awareness, by which I qualified my experiences. Another, far subtler way to conceal self in the drama of the enlightenment game? Yes. Frankly, it doesn't matter if one sits for 2 minutes or two hours, for without merging into the stillness, the external ritual of this meditative posture, is essentially meaningless. Paradoxically, it takes thousands of hours of sitting meditation and contemplation, to realize that any significant degree of awakening exists beyond the boundaries of time, space and thought.

These days, I only sit for an hour or so, depending on worldly obligations and the degree of inspiration I feel, at the moment. This is not to say that the meditative state is not perceived throughout the flow of my daily activities, rather, it the end result of a good deal of internal saturation. Like dying a piece of cloth blue, through repeated immersions, the color is intensified until it becomes our very being. We become the blueness itself. No beginning, no ending, nor form. Without parameters, the Spirit exists in complete spontaneity... simply exuding the vibration of oneness.

Only through immersion with the essence of our true being, Spirit, are we able to make any genuine progress towards discovering our truest state of being. Unless the internal witness to the phenomenon is silenced, we are merely replacing one mindset for another. Granted, through the release of our quantification of subject and object, our habit of self-orientation, we are free to exist in a state which is pure awareness. One without methodology, form or substance. This enlightenment occurs spontaneously when we surrender our fixation with being the watcher of the phenomenon. This is not something we can measure with our rationale or put into any logical time-frame. It is releasing the unreal, in preference for reality, as all is one. Paradoxically, it took thousands of hours in silent contemplation to glean this understanding.

After 15 years of psychonautical exploration, I was directed by a higher force, to take a sabbatical from the use of Sacred Medicine. Having had over 300 trips (2/3 of which were with LSD-25), it was time for a break in this pattern. I feel it is neither, necessary for everyone who has been involved with psychedelics, nor do I believe that the cessation of this psychonautical approach is key for any spiritual growth. All roads lead to the summit. It was my own personal destiny and I do not believe that this would be so for another soul. I needed to learn the lesson of patience. Waiting for fullness is.

You see, for myself, the way of the Sage and that of the Shaman, are one. That being said, within my personal mirage, my own dream of Dharma, I needed to stay sober for a good long stretch, so as to integrate much of what I had been shown from my symbiosis with entheogens. I needed to find ways to alter my consciousness without chemical enhancement. Actually, I was instructed by my higher self to await, 'The Calling' and I did just that... for nearly 18 years. In 2010, I received an invitation to return to the way of the Medicine Dancer and I experienced an incredible awakening, smoking DMT for the very first time. Since then, I have had a few more profound immersions and eaten psilocybin mushrooms, smoked Salvia Divinorum and been completely shattered by the power of these powerful teachers.

Ultimately, time is an illusion and our mirage of our physical existence is born of our ego-mind. for when we expand our concept of meditation, we find it is an entire way of life, 24/7. When we vigilantly train our attention to focus upon a still, single point of consciousness, we release the need to label one thing as this and another as that. Everything becomes the unbound dance of Spirit and we are spontaneously drawn into the spell of it's Divine Radiance. We eventually learn to merge within the Clear Light of the Void. Our journey of awakening is the remembrance of our own eternal being, the Godhead.

Essentially, when we surrender our habitual mental process, we open ourselves to the interior nature of existence, the most Sacred of all truths... the Indivisibility of the Omniself.

Please forgive this lengthy digression form the criteria of this thread but I feel that some biographical detail was necessary to communicate my intention, my ideas on meditation. Sometimes I think that my user name should probably be Long Wind, instead of Rising Spirit?

good to have you aboard! it's nice to see some like-minds

an interesting read
good to have someone new with a good deal of experience

Hey Rising Spirit, can i ask you how often you meditated (in the beginning) was it every day, or 3-4 times a week, and how did you make time for it, cause i often find it hard to make time for it in the middle of the week cause i usually work 11 to 12 hours a day.And how old where you when you started?I'm so sorry for my curiosity, i don't wanna be unpolite in any way, but it's out of pure interest.

I'm also doing Thai Chi Chuan for a year now, we're doing the Wu style now and i'm starting to really enjoy it, i'm 28 and haven't been following this path that long, but it's never too late to head a certain direction i guess.