# Meditation???



## bwester (Jun 21, 2007)

I start meditation classes today.
Everyone says I need it.
I dont really know why though, or really what it is to be honest. The only description that comes to mind is something that this guy who played tuba in our band in high school said:
"Meditation is all about feeling the chi and repulsing the monkey"
wtf???
I can only deduce from that it must not be funny, because monkeys are and should be repulsed and that it must have originated near Asia. I got that last part because I had an Asian friend in College named Chu, which is close to chi...


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## Heather (Jun 21, 2007)

Oh my, good luck with that. 
My sister's recently gotten into it as a way to "quiet her mind". She said the hardest thing is that they make you sit on your feet and all she can think of is how painful it is when her legs fall asleep and when she asks how people deal with that, they just tell her to meditate more. 

Not for me, though I could probably use it too. All of us obsessive thinkers....instead, I do puzzles and color.


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## Candace (Jun 21, 2007)

I play video games to take my mind off life. Destroying monsters makes me relax. Go figure. I also like ones like Myth etc. that are full of puzzles. 

I tried meditation for several weeks. Honestly, all it did was make me sleepy and then I would have to nap. Not something I wanted to do in the middle of the day.


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## littlefrog (Jun 21, 2007)

I used to meditate all the time. Then I couldn't any more (too much stress?). I need to start again. Seems that if I could just reduce my stress level I could meditate, and if I could just meditate a bit I could reduce my stress level... Ack! That is making my brain hurt, maybe I should just have a few beers.


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## Renegayde (Jun 21, 2007)

"Meditation is all about feeling the chi and repulsing the monkey"

I got that last part because I had an Asian friend in College named Chu, which is close to chi...[/QUOTE]

ummmm does that mean you use to feel your friend????? LOL


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## bwester (Jun 21, 2007)

Renegayde said:


> "Meditation is all about feeling the chi and repulsing the monkey"
> 
> I got that last part because I had an Asian friend in College named Chu, which is close to chi...





> ummmm does that mean you use to feel your friend????? LOL



Yeah man, she was hot!
:rollhappy:


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## NYEric (Jun 21, 2007)

Hee Hee, repulse monkey is a Tai CHi Chuan move. Why spend the money on meditation? Spend the money on orchids that make you happy!


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## cdub (Jun 21, 2007)

Seriously, spending a few moments with my plants could basically be called meditation. I tend to zone out and not hear very much and it's quite calm.


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## NYEric (Jun 21, 2007)

Hmm, my plants like 50 Cent or Plasmic Honey blasting really loud! Then you can't hear anything else anyway!


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## Leo Schordje (Jun 21, 2007)

I have been doing Tai Chi for over 15 years now. Meditation in motion. Don't know that I would have made it this far without having techniques to rest, and/or change my internal mind set. Not all types of meditation are the same. Some carry too much religious baggage. Some have been dumbed down to the point of uselessness. I like Tai Chi because it uses breathing and the movement as focal point. Search around, try several different styles of meditation, see what suits your personality. Buhddist, Ayuvedic (Hindu), Taoist, Zen, Sufi, Catholic, Visualization, "Relaxation Response", Yoga, TaiChi, and dozens of other traditions all have good solid techniques for meditation. Check a few out and pick the style you like. No one group has the lock on technique, just about every religion over 1000 years old has its own variation. Though many will claim secrets to meditation that no others have. 
Too much meditation and contemplation and you become as useless as a monk. To quote an orchid growing Nepalese friend, "those (Tibetian) monks, they should all go out and get jobs!" My friend used to do a fair amount of work helping Tibetian refugees as they passed through Kathmandu. The sarcastic jab came out of frustration with certain incidents. 
Enjoy, the mind is a wonderful toy - learn to play with your own before you play with others.
Leo


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## TADD (Jun 21, 2007)

Best way to start and end my days! When I don't get to sit I feel like something is missing from my routine....


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## bwester (Jun 21, 2007)

alright, guys. I just got back from my first session. I dont know what to make of it yet. We did this thing with a raisin he had each of us take from a bowl, where you stare at it, say what you see, feel it, say what you feel...... and then put it in your mouth. Are you friggin kidding me??? after everyone else in the room has had their hands in that raisin bowl and then I rolled it around with my unwashed fingers. this is going to be tough for someone who battles with OCD on a daily basis like myself.


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## TADD (Jun 21, 2007)

I never have used a raisin.... Just like those bowls of mints at restaraunts... I usually dirty my hands just to swish it in the bowl for others to enjoy.... You do not want to know how I dirty them either....


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## Heather (Jun 21, 2007)

bwester said:


> alright, guys. I just got back from my first session. I dont know what to make of it yet. We did this thing with a raisin he had each of us take from a bowl, where you stare at it, say what you see, feel it, say what you feel...... and then put it in your mouth. Are you friggin kidding me??? after everyone else in the room has had their hands in that raisin bowl and then I rolled it around with my unwashed fingers. this is going to be tough for someone who battles with OCD on a daily basis like myself.



How often are the classes?


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## Candace (Jun 21, 2007)

I know for a fact Howie Mandell wouldn't have eaten it. He wouldn't have even rolled it around in his fingers without gloves on. I think he'd be disappointed in you Blake. You're ruining OCD's good name.


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## bwester (Jun 21, 2007)

yeah well, he's a freak anyways.... screw howie


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## NYEric (Jun 22, 2007)

Money better spent in nudie-bars!


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## Candace (Jun 22, 2007)

Aw, I love Howie. Not quite in love with the bald look, but I'm a fan. Ever see the movie he was in where he played a monster under the bed? Classic.


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## Mark (Jun 22, 2007)

Ah, the raisin. Sounds like it could be a mindfulness class? Vipassana? I would have saved eating a raisin for a later session. Maybe you'll do it again at the end of the course for contrast.

Chi doesn't exist so don't worry about feeling it. Do understand that that particular form of meditation isn't about relaxing or feeling better. It's about looking at the reality of right now and feeling what's real and immediate. It's about watching your own thoughts. (It's also about taming the monkey mind.) Consequently it can be fun, boring, blissful or painful. The end result is equanimity.

Good luck with it. Once you've started you're a goner.


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## bwester (Jun 22, 2007)

mindfulness, thats it!
I hope it helps me


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## Heather (Jun 22, 2007)

Mark said:


> Ah, the raisin. Sounds like it could be a mindfulness class? Vipassana? I would have saved eating a raisin for a later session.



Blake, tell them what actually happened to your raisin. :wink:


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## bwester (Jun 22, 2007)

Heather said:


> Blake, tell them what actually happened to your raisin. :wink:



ummmm, well....
couldnt eat it so I sat on it and then this girl next to me hit a guy in the face that was snoring during the body scan with it.


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## Hien (Jun 22, 2007)

Mark said:


> Ah, the raisin. Sounds like it could be a mindfulness class? Vipassana? I would have saved eating a raisin for a later session. Maybe you'll do it again at the end of the course for contrast.
> 
> Chi doesn't exist so don't worry about feeling it. Do understand that that particular form of meditation isn't about relaxing or feeling better. It's about looking at the reality of right now and feeling what's real and immediate. It's about watching your own thoughts. (It's also about taming the monkey mind.) Consequently it can be fun, boring, blissful or painful. The end result is equanimity.
> 
> Good luck with it. Once you've started you're a goner.



Mark, Qi definitely exists.
All descriptions by the peoples who had some training are only approximation in order to transmit the experience, to hint of a road sign.
Once you had an experience of it , you will not forget what it is like.
Still you can not describe exactly your own experience to the next. You can only say so much of experience. For example, we assume all of us seeing the colors (say red) exactly the same, which is not true.
Years ago, one of our envoy came back from Europe, described the car without horse, the lamp without oil source, the whole Vietnamese royal court laughing & jeering at him for being a liar)
Similar reactions & condamnations can also came from the West of things which we are taking for granted in the East for thousand of years.


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## NYEric (Jun 22, 2007)

It depends on if and how well you are able to chennel the energy flow thru the points where it is concentrated. I took tai chi courses when I was younger and used to be able to go to the dentist and let him drill w/out anesthetics. Now I need to take knockout gas before I get the anesthetic!


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