>>13713 >Breath focus (is this Anapāsanti?) I started meditating because I found a somewhat New Age-Self Help pop psychology Western book that recommended taking 10 breaths and counting them. I started with 30 to 60 and only counted up to 64. One was an inhalation and one was an exhalation, and so on up to 64 (i like this number based on experience, the book says do it around 30 min and etc) I did this when I was about 14 years old, and one day I felt like my ears stopped hearing the sounds around me. It was as if I had switched from stereo to mute, and I could only hear the sound of my breathing, similar to when you are falling asleep, even though I was wide awake. It was an interesting experience, but I never repeated it, which is disappointing. >How did I do it? >I would sit in a chair or in half-lotus position, in floor, bed, pillow or sofa, etc. >with my hands in my lap and my eyes half-closed or closed >and I would start counting my breaths mentally. If I lost count, I would start again from zero, counting each inhalation and exhalation as one number. I noticed that by the time I reached 64 (64 inhalations and 64 exhalations), I was already very relaxed. >I breathed in through my nose and exhaled through my mouth while trying to breathe from my diaphragm. Never try to use music or any other external option besides breathing. In the long run, I realized that paying attention to external stimuli became more overwhelming and made me dissociate a little, as if I didn't want to wake up from meditation for a while, which I found unhealthy. I no longer use this technique because I find it uncomfortable. >sometimes I think it made me more alert than calm, like a hyperarousal and panic. The interesting thing about this technique is that I learned how to achieve a quick, temporary relaxation effect just by taking a deep breath. although it doesn't always work.

I first tried za-zen after reading about the method in a book which my dad gave me. He had used it sometime in the 70s but had since became scared of meditation because of some later episodes. This may be related to what OP said, but in his case I also think it had to do with a strong fear of facing himself and his own inner world. Sometimes I would feel like he was completely detached from reality, and that he used this self-imposed insanity as a way to shield himself from the consequences of realizing what he had done and caused, and how his actions had lead to negative outcomes for himself, which he didn't want to recognize though it was visible to absolutely everyone else. A strange way of hiding in his own mind. Any form of meditation at all would probably turn into a horror show for someone like this, as the only way to avoid insight would be to constantly aim outwards and to engage outwards. His response to any topic at all relating to the meaning of life, death and such, would be to simply leave the room, or if this was not possible, stare into the distance with a hint of panic behind the eyes, before saying something almost otherworldly delusional, and suggesting some physical activity to avoid thinking, which he considered dangerous. When reading the book, the concept of satori was described, and the reader talked about having achieved this state of mind. After trying za zen once, I did the same thing, the description matched, and since this was said to be the goal of the practice, I didn't do it again after. I tried a few times but just remained in the same state which instantly appeared, so I just figured that was it and that zen had nothing more to teach. I now realize the point is to stay in that state of mind for meditation, not just get there once, which the author and his teachers seemed to propose, but I so far haven't had a reason to use this practice for anything other than as part of karate, where it can work to solidify what was just practiced. This may be what it's form, a process to reset the mind quickly. When I later started learning FG meditation, it was just torture, that exercise in lotus position for one hour was also said to be painful to remove karma, and I forced through that daily for a few years, until I made a breakthrough and the motivation for doing the exercise just fizzled out. I guess I did achieve what it was meant to do, after that time I don't feel motivation to do it, and it's not particularly painful either, mentally or physically. I didn't pick up any meditation again until after Covid when Sadhguru started marketing himself more online. I did his introduction practice for 40 days, and there was an effect which caused a ripple through the body on day 40, after which the meditative state became easy to achieve and uphold. After this I've used quarter lotus position for meditation during sessions of around 1 - 1.5 hours or shorter if I don't have that time, and it's not hard to maintain. The effect of hatha yoga is contrary to the earlier forms I did, rather pleasant mentally and not physically straining either, but only after I went through those 40 days. There seems to be a threshold like this for meditation, as I've experienced it for each I've done, with different levels of difficulty. With FG it took 3 years.

>>13715 I've more recently in the past year used a version of meditation where I just stand up straight, placing my palms together or stretching my back with hands on the back of the hips, breathing out once with an MMMM sound, and any mental and physical tension will disappear, so my focus will be regained if I was doing something and had to take a break. This simple practice also works as a standard activation process during kabbalistic reading, where the things read just before, will disappear from the surface mind and start being incorporated with my pre existing understanding, leading to new insights in the following hours as it moves into a subconscious activity.

>>13713 >Eye Gazing or Single Point focus meditation (Kasina? - Tatraka?) I started reading about a practice similar to this in a book on Caoism, I think it was Liber Null, although I did it out of curiosity and not with the aim of magic or sigils. Late I was reading Buddhist lore, I came across a strange meditation technique in which you simply sit and stare at a specific point or object of attention. I did this for 50 days with a small pearl, and in the last few days I noticed how the pearl caused an afterimage effect when I closed my eyes. I read that you should concentrate on this afterimage to achieve visualization training, although I didn't do this. I still do this meditation, but I look at a spot on a wall, a broken or damaged part, or a stain on the wall. I haven't tried it with candles (Tatraka?), but I suppose it should have the same effect. >Effect The effects I noticed were that at first days my eyes watered, but over time I could stare at the same object for much longer. Later days my peripheral vision became blurrier, ignoring the object of attention, although even if I blinked, it remained blurry, which gives me the feeling that it is my concentration and not the eyes. I also sometimes notice the afterimage effect when I close my eyes, and finally, sometimes I notice that the object of attention disappears from view as if a light were shining on it (I suppose this is more an effect of my eyesight and eyes). After a while, I feel very, very relaxed. I usually do it for 30 minutes to an hour. I believe it gives me some self-control for the rest of the day if i do it, and I don't feel like getting angry or arguing with others if I do it early in the morning. I also do it before going to sleep. >How did I do it? >I would sit in a chair or in half-lotus position, in floor, bed, pillow or sofa, etc. >with my hands in my lap and my eyes open or half-open focuses on a object with soft-light (no aggresive light direct to eyes) >I focus on the object and try not to move my eyes away from it. Sometimes I look from left to right and up and down and sides in preparation for looking at the object. Sometimes I look at it from above or below with my eyes half closed. >I place my tongue on the roof of my mouth and breathe only through my nose. I don't count breath; I just try to breathe naturally, although I always start with manual breathing. As I concentrate on the object, I switch to manual and automatic breathing (soft breath maybe) >Sometimes I massage my neck, arms, and hands in preparation because I sometimes feel a little discomfort at first. >I usually splash a little cold water or water at a comfortable temperature on my eyes in preparation for the practice, and I also sometimes i look at the sun for a few seconds and close the eyes to wake up my eyes (I think this increases the brightness of color perception) >I stand close to the wall and the object I am going to look at, but not too close. I truly feel that it gives me some self-control and peace of mind. Sometimes I end up with my eyes closed and stop paying attention to the object and just focus on automatic breathing without counting my breaths. Once I had a dissociative effect, or perhaps daydreaming of being on a beach or in the sea. It was very pleasant, although I couldn't visualize anything, it was just the stimuli from the environment and my own memories recalling (although I have never seen the sea)

>>13713 >Self-affirmations or self-suggestions of confidence, kindness, self-love and good wishes to others (metta) I stopped focusing on ritual magic because I couldn't find what I was looking for, and although I liked the kasina technique, it didn't seem sufficient. One day, while exploring YouTube, I found a video of a local Chinese Buddhist monk from my country talking about a technique called Metta. Basically, he said that one should repeat phrases of benevolent good wishes toward oneself to generate self-love and then do the same but directed toward others, and that this practice generates real physical and mind changes in people. It does not appear that Buddha said any specific phrases, but the monk said to repeat four phrases. These were >“May I be free from enmity” >“May I be free from anger” >“May I be free from suffering” >“May I be filled with happiness.” It made me cringe at first, and it still does maybe lol, but it's quite enjoyable to do. After developing this as a routine, one should focus on good wishes for others. I saw another video of another monk who said that sometimes one cannot generate metta towards oneself, so it is better to start by giving metta to others and not to oneself. One is supposed to start with oneself and then direct it to people we love (and if we cannot do that, then to animals or things), neutral people we do not know, and people we hate for some reason, or even collective groups, whether we hate them or not. You can make up your own phrases, but they should be focused on kindness. I heard from a monk that they should be things we need to improve or want on self, hence the practice of self-love. I read somewhere that this helps people with disorders. I am interested in Avpd, and it seems to be very effective in helping with this, especially in terms of insecurity, fear, feelings of rejection, and feelings of inadequacy with others. >Effect When I do metta, I sometimes do it in a low voice, and also with my mental voice. The most noticeable effect it has on me is a sensation on my skin like goosebumps and a pleasant warmth in my chest, neck, and head. I learned that if I place one hand on my chest, touching my heart (and maybe if you want focus on heart beat), it becomes even more pleasant. I read about some psychologists using something similar but adding tapping. It is quite relaxing and takes away some of the discomfort I feel around others, but not completely. It also makes me feel calmer and more thoughtful, especially when I combine it with kasina with the wall and soft breathing meditation by nose. >How did I do it? >I would sit in a chair or in half-lotus position, in floor, bed, pillow or sofa, etc or somewhere casual with others standing or sitting. >with my hands in my lap and my eyes open or half-open (kasina on wall) or open (any place) or any common smart position in a casual place. >I place my tongue on the roof of my mouth and breathe only through my nose. I don't count breath; I just try to breathe naturally, although I just do manual breathing. I start metta with breath (phrases by phrases each inhalation and exhalation) >You repeat the phrases mentally or say them quietly by voice (while breathing) Some monks recommend visualizing what (people or things) we wish for, whether it be for ourselves or others, but this is not mandatory. Very relaxing and I would say even therapeutic, although I would really like the effect to last longer. I read about a buddhist nun who, after retiring from intensive practice, radically changed her attitude towards others, feeling a pleasant connection with everyone and wishing them well.

>Gazing and overstimulation (body check and sensations caused by enviroment) In shamanic practices, there is talk of fasting and being semi-naked in the cold outside in the light of the moon, around a circle or place of protection to talk to the spirits. The HGA invocation ritual is not very different from this, except that it takes months. I recently learned that some Tibetan monks meditate by focusing on the sky, the clouds, and the lights. It seems that even the sensation of the wind, being so stimulating and comforting, serves as a focus of attention for meditation. It also seems that it can lead to an out-of-body experience with certain techniques as well as clear altered states of consciousness and a feeling of connectedness with the whole. >Anecdote one One day I was on the beach on an doom rainy day in absolute solitude, and I think I had the closest thing to a mystical experience, like being in heaven. The wind passing through my ears and my skin and the sound of rain and thunder, the sand and the raindrops touching you were an indescribable sensation. It was as if the world was going to be destroyed and I was watching it, but it felt very mystical. >Anecdote two (videogames related) The Nagrand map in WoW: The Burning Crusade is incredibly stimulating if you spend your time flying around, watching the clouds and listening to the soundtrack and ambient sounds. Sometimes I would just log in to play so I could spend time there listening to the music and flying around. Something similar happened to me in Elune's temple, but it was less powerful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IrA6af0SJs&list=RD4IrA6af0SJs&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Likah-Zmg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsAANzegl70 Similar effect with Just Cause 1 and 2 Skydiving (add the chill music) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wq3a9U8FLo >Anecdote three Another day I was alone in a swimming pool, and the sensation of the light splashes of water was enough to make me feel like I was flying. The sun's rays only reinforced the heavenly feeling. >Anecdote four The last overstimulating, not to say mystical, experience I had was while traveling in a car and sticking my head out the window and feeling the wind on my face, hearing its sound, and seeing the clouds and the effect of the sunlight passing through them, along with seeing the grass and plants greener than ever (I think the sunlight increased my perception of brightness and color). curiously, I had a fringe experience with a tulpa at this moment.

>>13713 >light stimuli One day after leaving the bathroom, sunlight came in through my window and I positioned myself so that it hit my eyes. I noticed that if I moved slowly and later fast and returned to the same position, it became quite stimulating. Later, I found that there are machines that seek to generate a similar effect but with a higher speed of movement to achieve greater stimulation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamachine

>>13713 >Sunlight rays My grandmother's house has a room with worn and broken walls through which sunlight rays enters. That room is quite dark and airtight, but that little bit of sunlight is enough to leave you spellbound by the feeling of sacredness it creates. One day, I stood in the light for several minutes just to realize the immense tranquility it brings. I noticed that some Christian churches achieve a similar effect with their architecture and lights. it's very interesting.

>>13713 >Then I read that meditation can do more harm than good for people with bipolar disorder and certain mental disorders, and that many who return from intensive retreats suffer from depersonalization. If you manage to learn how to silence your inner chatter, you will begin to perceive things further away from you. That is not psychosis, but rather the way an incarnated soul works. Psychologists of course don’t understand any of this, so they just warn you off if you have any predisposition. From a magical viewpoint (practical occultism), there are two ways to meditate depending on your goal. One is metta style meditation, in which you elicit a certain feeling and cultivate it. This is a projective kind of meditation meant to influence reality. The other is silent mind meditation, in which you first learn to observe your thoughts without involvement, and then you start to suppress them until you can sit with a silent mind. This is a practice that enables extrasensory perception.

>Picrel All of these are meditation techniques?

>>14117 Yes. More or less they are.

>>14117 Someone just learned a new cuss word

>>14117 If this all counts as meditation, then I've been meditating alot over the past 10 years.

>>13713 >>14117 Remember you can help here and report results. >>6642 https://www.psychonaut.tech/ https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page https://m.psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

So, who here has gotten to the point of actually thinking other people's thoughts after a particularly intense streak of meditation? How was it?

>>14413 >How was it? While it was only 1 or 2 layers of thoughts it was fun. When I heard 30+ layers of thoughts and subconscious screams it started to become bad. Made me aware just how much these people scream to be saved. Had to figure out how to help people around me with the least amount of effort possible. How to give them a chance to improve themselves. How to urge them to improve themselves when they have the chance but they need someone to tell it to them. And learn to not get too involved with them. Let them "find their way". For some people being a better human is enough. Not everyone must become an ascended wizard within a single lifetime. Was a hard lesson to accept. Had to learn in the beginning how to switch from their frequencies. Their mind can contaminate yours if you are too sensitive and impressionable. Also everyone must watch with the "translator layer". People think differently. The translator can say extreme amount of bullshit in some cases... or in some cases demons fuck with the translator because they are bored. Meditation is the key. Finding your own faulty thoughts then learning how to remove or transmute them. Then learning to help to remove/transmute it from the people you desire to live together with for a prolonged time. No need to force spiritual messages on them if they don't have a spiritual affinity by default. Many people are too mundane for that and lack the maturity in the beginning. You can help them solve their issues with NLP methods and such. You can talk out most issues with them. When you can hear their thoughts while talking to them you can see how the energetic pathways work in their head and how to help them find healthy mental pathways. You don't need to save everyone. But you should help those who are around you or they will drag you down to their level. And the more open is your mind the more susceptible you will become to their influence. Most people don't even notice how the people around them change them by default. If they can drag you down then you can also drag them up. If your spiritual foundation is strong then they have no choice but to improve. In the past I used fringe to be able to find a frequency that is not overtaken by the normalfag menace. Find a safe harbor to flee from the miasma of the normalfag mentalities that overtook my mind slowly. Nowadays I can clean the frequencies around me at ease. People are far less stressed and angry around me as a result. Finding peace within let's you find peace without too Usually I need a personal bond with people to hear their thoughts. That is why anonymous imageboards are a cool place. You rarely bond with people deeply here. If I don't want to hear you guys I will just stop using my laptop for a day or 2

>>14414 Good post. Thanks. >Had to figure out how to help people around me with the least amount of effort possible >Not everyone must become an ascended wizard within a single lifetime. Was a hard lesson to accept Yeah, no shit. >Their mind can contaminate yours if you are too sensitive and impressionable Lucky for me, I was possessed by several life-threatening demons at the time, so this wasn't as much of an issue.