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I've used guided meditation before with good results. Today, I use a concentration on breathing with a background blanket of classical music.FeathersinHair said:Guided meditation works well for me, as well as staring at a candle.
Isn't chi gung often referred to as "moving meditation"? How do you focus on chi?Master Vigil said:Another key to meditation is focus, not just focusing on a candle, but focusing the mind without objective perception. Focus is necessary for the mind to be able to be controlled. Alot of people also think meditation is just quieting the mind, or thinking of nothing. Well either way is impossible unless you can focus and control your mind. Taoist meditation focuses on chi, and the way it moves throughout your body and your environment. And you can manipulate it to make you healthier, stress free, more energetic, etc... This is called chi gung.
Strange that you should mention that, M.V, that is exactly the same way I demonstrate 'Ki' as I call it (What's in a name?)- it doesn't often seem to impress though, people find excuses, reasons.:help:Master Vigil said:you can feel it flowing throughout your body. I can't really say what it feels like. Heres a fun exercise I do with people. Put your palms close to each other but not touching. Now close your eyes and imagine your palms touching (but don't move your hands.) If you feel something, than that is chi. ALot of people criticize that and say it is all in the mind, well maybe. But thats only the beginning. You can even go up to other people and put your palms close to theirs and do the same thing, experiment with the different feelings, temperatures, etc... Its hard to do without an instructor though. But you can try it.
Yes, I was sort of snickered at on another thread when I mentioned that I can feel energy fields...what you're calling chi. When I bring my palms together, it sort of feels like I have a balloon between my hands. Oh...and meditating was a big fad back in the 1969 when I started. Would it still be called a fad 36 years later?Master Vigil said:you can feel it flowing throughout your body. I can't really say what it feels like. Heres a fun exercise I do with people. Put your palms close to each other but not touching. Now close your eyes and imagine your palms touching (but don't move your hands.) If you feel something, than that is chi.
Well, in japanese and korean, the word is "ki". It is the same thing as "chi", but "chi" is chinese. Also spelled "Qi", but the Q is pronounced "ch". So what we are talking about is indeed the same thing. They do find excuses, and rightly they should. But when they start to say it's just body heat, that is still a part of chi. They are just using a different term.Strange that you should mention that, M.V, that is exactly the same way I demonstrate 'Ki' as I call it (What's in a name?)- it doesn't often seem to impress though, people find excuses, reasons.:help:
Ah, I am afraid I am partially guilty as being a fad follower. Although I learned of meditation on my own and not from anyone. I use meditation for several different ways. Since I am no where near Enlightenment, I use it for simpler reasons. Partially it is to relieve stress at the end of the day. I find it relaxing and helps me awake more energized in the morning. I have performed better at school this way. However, I use it to resolve personal problems in a calm and careful way. Whether they be social problems with friends and family or deeper issues, I have resolved several by meditating.Master Vigil said:Meditating is a very big fad these days. But alot of people don't do it right. All they are basically doing are relaxing. But meditation in the past has always been seen to be a very serious spiritual endeavor. A zen buddhist meditates to achieve enlightenment, not to get rid of stress. I use taoist meditation and chi gung. But I also use drumming and moving meditation. The key to any meditation is rigid comfort, this means that one needs to be comfortable but not too comfortable. Alot of people like to lay down, well if you can do that without falling asleep then be my guest. But the majority do fall asleep. Another key to meditation is focus, not just focusing on a candle, but focusing the mind without objective perception. Focus is necessary for the mind to be able to be controlled. Alot of people also think meditation is just quieting the mind, or thinking of nothing. Well either way is impossible unless you can focus and control your mind. Taoist meditation focuses on chi, and the way it moves throughout your body and your environment. And you can manipulate it to make you healthier, stress free, more energetic, etc... This is called chi gung. There are many ways to meditate, but they all take MUCH practice and discipline. Its not something that is easily learned. But once it is learned, it can be the greatest achievement in a spiritual field.
My point was that I was practicing it 36 years ago....and it was considered a fad then. Can it possibly be considered a fad *still*?Master Vigil said:And Melody, Meditation has been around MUCH longer than 36 years, as I'm sure you know. It is not, and will not be a fad to those who seriously practice it.