Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Susan Stanko on November 5, 2010 at 9:46pm

I don't see why not. All it is is calming your mind.

Permalink Reply by dr.n.ashokkumar on November 6, 2010 at 6:03am

some where i have studied that some form of meditation was there even before the onset modern religions.,that was practiced in prehistoric india.thanks for your kind response.

Permalink Reply by dr.n.ashokkumar on November 6, 2010 at 6:19am

thanks for your nice response

Permalink Reply by Mark on November 6, 2010 at 1:12am

Sure. Just ignore the religious trappings and stick to the practice.

This resource works for me: http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

It includes some of the religious background in which it's contextualised, but you can skip over those parts. Or just read them as context - you don't have to believe any of it.

Permalink Reply by dr.n.ashokkumar on November 6, 2010 at 5:57am

thank you sir

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 6, 2010 at 2:40am

Oh my goodness, YES! First of all, recognize yourself as part of a magnificent whole as illustrated by the images of Indra's Net (lots of material on Google). Just pay attention to life and living, the wonder of a leaf or drop of water, the sparkle of a child and the glow of an elder. Just pay attention to what exists and meditate on its qualities. Use metaphor, such as a tree representing ... whatever ... the nitrogen cycle: water and food through the roots, air and light through the leaves, and how the are part of living that represents processes. Meditate on how human life and plant life relate. The stars, constellations, seasons provide bountiful ways of seeing the flow of time. Each season has different patterns and they become friends. Or watch the ebb and flow of seasons and their effect on living. Watch a bird noting its behaviors: run, listen, pull a worm out the ground, eat, defecate, run ... all are part of the processes of life. Watch the flow of water, or the still water and its reflections.

For me, doing these kinds of meditations reveals to me that I am very small when looking through a telescope, or very large when looking through a microscope, or when simply observing the flow of life and time, I realize I am part of something very grand and full of wonder. I exist, I do things, I belong to communities, I am conscious of processes, I came from the union of egg and sperm, I live and participate in life, I exist because of many, many generations that came before me, I think and reason with this wonderful organ of the brain, I feel, see, hear, smell, taste and have dreams ... all of these and many other ways, I meditate.

Permalink Reply by dr.n.ashokkumar on November 6, 2010 at 5:55am

thank you ,madam.
i have seen BBC stephen hawking claim that god has no place in the creation of our universe.this universe is created and evolved as per physics laws .great scientist.i think einstein was not that confident in his time.

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 6, 2010 at 9:56am

Perhaps Einstein was not confident, but if I understand correctly, he was misinterpreted and misquoted. It really doesn't matter what he thought about this because there is room for doubt and he, like you and me, leave room for doubt. We can't KNOW, but we can know as long as we do not have evidence of god. When evidence appears, we can change our minds. The fear that says, "You are going to Hell if you don't believe" this or that is nonsense, foolish, absurd. If you want to be afraid, it is all right with me, but you don't need to fear.

I have a little saying I use to understand values. Sometimes we have a value that won't stand up to scrutiny, and we act on that value ... racism is one example ... and we continue to act on that value until and unless we examine it. We can't get inside the heads of other people, so we have to use a process to determine their values.

ABCTV: attitudes>beliefs>customs>traditions>values.

Pay attention to attitudes, they come from beliefs and have customs and traditions attached to them that reveal the value one holds.

It doesn't take very long to determine if you have a value that does not stand up to your examination, or if others have values that you do not share. Just observe language and behaviors.

The beauty of this little process is hypocrisy becomes known and gives further evidence against the claim that you will go to Hell unless you "believe". They speak nonsense. If I am wrong and hypocritical believers will not go to Hell, then I am wrong and I will burn throughout all time. This is purely absurd!

Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on November 6, 2010 at 11:42am

Meditation doesn't have to have anything to do with religion/spirituality. For me it just feels good. I lie on my back very still and can sometimes after a long time have the feeling that I'm floating, or other weird kinds of feelings if it's a good day. Other days I can't concentrate so well. I also remember being on this very beautiful island, sitting on a hill and watching/listening to the waves...I could have stayed there forever. Unlike so much other quackery, meditation has been proven to have health benefits.

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 6, 2010 at 3:15pm

Oh! Yes!