hi guys a newbie here~~ wondered intot is site n found it to be interestin~~ is tis a site tt tiches meditation or smth liddat , i'm sorry cuz i'm rlly unsure . aniway guys how do i practise basic meditation ??? thnx alot hav a nice day  :D :D :D

Hi Chokdee-
Welcome.
Meditation: find a quiet place, turn off all the body parts that aren't being used, turn off all the mental activity that isn't being used, be aware of whatever you perceive, increase awareness (not stress, not tension, just awareness - like a cat that relaxes while being totally aware of a mousehole) and go into the totality of it. Whatever happens, let it happen without bothering to do anything.

Lots of people find it useful to focus on all the millions of inner and outer sensations that accompany breathing. Personally, I often focus on inner images. Others focus on external objects, like a shiny pebble. Whatever - not important.
dave

First thing in order to get the most out of meditation ,is learning to breath properly.I have never read a book on meditation but understand there are some really good ones out there.Learn to breath first and you may find how you need to meditate will just happen...Or hit the library and try different ones till one feels right for you
  enjoy

hi guys rlly appreciate the advice thnk u very much  ;D ;D ;D

chokdee,

Welcome to this board.  Meditation in all its many forms is a wonderful and worthy use of anyone's time, and frees us of many of our illusions and false beliefs, in my opinion. There are many places that will teach you meditation, and there are many ways to do it. Rather than add to that part of this discussion I want to share a quote I saw today that seemed relevant and that I am making the basis of my thoughts today.  I copied it from the web so I don't know how accurate this text is, but I'm sure it will be close to the original:

We are two birds perched on one tree, you eat the fruit of this world's pleasure and pains, while I look on. I'm the one who is standing by you, when you die, it is I who remains. Eyes cannot see nor speech describe me. Not by reason, nor by honor am I known. Not by ritual, nor by merit, but by the grace of the Self, the Self is shown. Pure and resplendent, I shine and my light is calm. When the knots of the heart are loosed, and the senses are withdrawn. With consciousness as your arrow, meditation as your bow, make me your target, pull back your mind and let it fly home. Free your mind of sense distractions. In attachment to action, desires bind. But find the goal of all desiring, and you will leave both birth and death behind. I am life, I am speech, I am mind, I am immortality. Everything that moves or breathes or blinks, has its being in me. In your inmost heart I dwell. That is my citadel. There is no space I do not fill. Through my light, all these others shine. Unchanging alone brings lasting fulfillment. Within everything, without everything, unborn. I am even beyond the tendency to take form. Just as rivers running to the sea, lose their individuality. So the enlightened merge with me, no longer bound by name or form. ~Upanishads

peace and gentleness to each one of you on this day, love, blink

Good quotation Blink - the Upanishads, especially if we include all the "minor upanishads", are probably the best teacher of a meditative lifestyle available. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika are more pragmatic and detailed, but not as thorough. Even if a local "metaphysical bookstore" doesn't happen to have a copy, many used bookstores will, and as a last resort, the Bodhi Tree on Melrose in the Los Angeles area (Hollywood?) definitely has a good translation.
dave

Thanks, Dave.  I've been working with this quote today to make it a little more accessible and grammatical as a personal exercise.  I thought some might enjoy it.  This is my own take on it.  I think it is a good description of God/Love/All from my own perspective:

I share this tree of life with you and I am your friend. We are like winged birds, you and I, and I watch nearby amid the fruit of the tree as you enjoy life's pleasures and suffer life's pains. I am the One who stands by you all of your life, and when you die I will be the One who is there. You cannot see me with your eyes and I cannot completely describe myself to you in words. You cannot understand me with verbal arguments. You cannot know me by praising me. I am your greatest Gift, but you do not receive this Gift through religious observance or by being a good person. I am the purest Light.  I bring you Peace when you open your heart and let go of what your body and mind insists is real and important. Meditation will bring us together in a higher place.  In meditation, like an archer with a bow, you will let go of your own thoughts and your sharpened consciousness, like an arrow, will find the place that you belong. Quiet yourself. Earthly desire restrains you by insisting that you must satisfy it by doing something. Find happiness in me, not by doing, but by being, and you will be free. Everything is in me, and it exists forever. All life is a part of me. I live in your heart, and I am sometimes called Love. Your heart is my home and my refuge. But I am also everywhere. All that is holy passes through me, and is from me. I am unchanging and eternal, bliss without end. I am infinite potentiality. I am greater than you can comprehend. I am like a river that enters the sea and loses its individuality. Those who know me are part of me, and they are free of attachments to their own personalities and their own lives. They are free of restraints, and together we fly.

with love, blink

hi guys rlly thnx alot~ aniway juz to share wif my experience wif meditation yesterday i found a quiet spot sit down n juz relax however my eyes tend to strain n focus onto the darkness its something like zoomin into the darkness n then the eyes get relax then they start to zoom n focus onto a part of the darkness again~ is tis common wif newbies?? tts the oni thing i found yest when tryin toe meditate :P  ;)

Hi chokdee,

Yes, your eyes want to see into the darkness, but it is not necessary to try to see. Picture yourself pulling the energy that you focus out through your eyes back into the center of your head. It has been explained to me that we focus a lot of energy out through our eyes. Just don't worry about the darkness. Focus on relaxing your muscles all over your body and focus on the center of your body.  The center of your chest, in the heart area is the focus of love. You could consider putting your attention there.  And, you can focus on your breathing, letting it be long and smooth and comfortable.  It will get smoother as you continue.  Don't worry about your results or getting some kind of magical experience. Just focus on the peace and the quiet, and if any emotions come up for you, let them flow up through you and float away.  

love, blink

thnx  ;D