Different Types of Meditation?

>>7475103
You might have better luck at some hindu forum.

There are many forms of meditation. Focusing on breath is just the most popular. Hopefully someone more learned than I can help you, but there are many types with different purposes and methods.

>>7475103
Any kind of fixed attention exercise can be called a meditation or yoga

>>7475206
To add: the breath is merely a popular object of focus for meditation. Others keep their attention fixed on various deities, parts of the body, posture, and visual, tactile, or auditory phenomena

>>7475103

There are numerous ways to meditate. Breath-meditation is ubiquitous and highly useful, and a lot of research has been done on it. In my personal experience, it is absolutely essential to balance it with Metta meditation in order to avoid profound alienation.

>>7475103
>I thought meditation was just focusing on the breath
That's vipassana, better known in for the english-speaker as mindfulness meditation; the most known alternative is samatha, better known as transcendental meditation by english speakers.

The first fixes an object of focus (traditionally breath because is you carry with you all the times, but sounds or other images can be used) and when meditating you dispose of every other thought that pops up in your mind. Samatha does the opposite, do not focus on anything, do not thing, just let your thoughts flow.
The first can have interesting effects, like increasing your focus and keeping your brain young, but can be mentally tiresome. The second can be used for relaxation, and I don't know much more about it.

>>7475103
Is this a still from a movie, OP?

>>7475327
Nah, just a nice picture.

>>7475103
>I thought meditation was just focusing on the breath

You can't be serious...There are hundreds of meditations and some of them are really out there. Tummo and sexual meditations for example.

i like to run

>>7475103
Do you have more pics like that? I absolutely love this sort of stuff, cities at night with that "alone among the crowd" sentiment.

focusing your attention on Krishna simply means attending to the natural sense of 'I am'.
'Krishna' is just one of the numerous ways to express the conscious presence with words.
This is sometimes called 'meditating on the meditator' when the attention isn't fixed on any particular object and you are just being aware of being aware.
Doing this doesn't necessarily take any effort because even the effort to find the inner feeling of 'I am' is already perceived in that awareness.

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>>7476533
bit late, but here you go

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>>7476533
another one

>>7475266
You do not dispose of thoughts in Vipisana

>>7477881
so, would you would just sit there and think 'I am' or do nothing at all? I feel my thoughts would wander alot if I didn't have something like breath to center them.

>>7476528
Yeah and I like chocolate.

>>7476533
My fuckin nigga

OP I would recommend just starting basic mindfulness meditation and getting a handle on that first before you try the big boy stuff. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to maintain a calm and alert focus on just the breath

>>7477942
>I would recommend just starting basic mindfulness meditation
aight, I thought you had to stick with one type but if you can switch it up then I guess I'll do the breath meditation until I can do the other ones.

>>7477945
Read Mindfulness in Plain English, it's free online.

>>7477949
will do, senpai.

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>>7477910

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>>7477956

>>7477910
Focus your attention on the gaps between the thoughts and the silence underneath them.
This will automatically still the mind because when you are listening to silence you are not thinking.
There is a similar effect when you are watching the space in which the thoughts appear and disappear.
This silent space is the 'I am' and it is the most natural "thing" for each human being, but usually the noise of our thoughts just obscures it.
Don't worry if having hard time doing this at the beginning. It'll take some time for the mind to calm down.
Doing this is definitely worth the effort because practising this continuously will make it very effortless.

>>7477956
>>7477961
>>7477965
saved the advice , the help is much appreciated anon(s).

>>7477954
read this too

https://4ch.be/lit/thread/7437210/#7441893

http://pastebin.com/npKWszAt

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>>7477961
The_Mind_Illuminated_A_Complete_Meditation_Guide_Integrating_Buddhist_Wisdom_and_Brain_Science_John_Yates_(Culadasa)(2015)_03

>>7477980
the rest is here

>>7477972
>>7477977
>>http://pastebin.com/npKWszAt
this is where I give the free resources that I know, with the most useful at the beginning of the section
>>===RESSOURCES on the CONTEMPLATION===


I forgot to add those two talks of analayo, where he says, in the most recent talk, that meditation on the breath is not working for him, so he does metta meditation.

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/439/
http://www.audiodharma.org/teacher/208/

the simplest and most complete resource is clearly the torrent of all the talks of ayya khema. so listen to her.

ok

>>7477956
>>7477961

This becomes misleading past the second jhana.

>>7475103
just take some drugs lmao. DXM is fun and cheap

>>7479724
what becomes misleading

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>>7476533
my current wallpaper

>>7475103

OP you've opened an major can of worms.

IMO, the best route is to ignore all theories about meditation and JUST SIT.

Just pull up a chair or cushion, face the wall, spine straight, chin tucked down slightly, tongue on roof of mouth, eyes looking down at 45 deg angle.

Don't time yourself either, just sit there until you feel like getting up.

This is called "just sitting"

>>7480929
>over the counter cough syrup
what are you a freshman who can't find lean

ok

Candle flame meditation is an easy way to taste jhana.
Also known as kasina practise.
Brasington has a nice intro to Jhana.