Meditation And Nlp

[DTMark]

I have a tendency to a slightly anxious personality. Always have had. And I've found meditation and hypnosis to be very useful, as well as deeply pleasurable.

This is using audio recordings and headphones lying flat on my back, breathing very nearly stops altogether (the tiniest, shallowest of breaths spaced widely apart), slight tingling sensations around the body, a complete and total detachment from the world. All the "brain noise" stops completely. Everything just shuts down.

It's a bit like being stoned but very much more profound and relaxing. Before anyone sceptical about the possibility that this could be true comments, yes: I've had very good weed in the past and so consider myself sufficiently experienced with both to make that comment, though I can only speak for myself.

When I was in my early 20s, I had what I might describe as an "out of body" experience where I actually watched myself lying on the bed looking down at myself. I still remember this, to this day, and I'm 99.99% certain it's simply "perception and imagination". The 0.01% part is the "open mind", I suppose. Too much X-Files lately?

While some recordings target specific things (e.g. confidence) others are simply "classic hypnosis" with no specific goal.

Actually, while NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) - the "objective based stuff" is useful in the short term (I've always regarded it as a bit of a "confidence trick" on the brain which only works for a little while) the main benefit is the relaxation and escape aspect.

I have a stack of different recordings, one I picked up recently which is lovely is this one:

Lucid Dreaming, Conscious Sleeping: Guided Meditations for Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep

Probably not a bad one to start with if you've not done this before. Very much "classic hypnosis".

Actually, if you are interested then I'd recommend trying it whether that one or another - if you were after confidence boosters, then Paul McKenna's stuff is well worth a listen. I am not certain if this is the same recording that I have:

I Can Make You Confident

Anyone else enjoy this sort of stuff? Any particularly good recordings or tracks you like and would care to share?

[council dweller]

I have a tendency to a slightly anxious personality. Always have had. And I've found meditation and hypnosis to be very useful, as well as deeply pleasurable.

This is using audio recordings and headphones lying flat on my back, breathing very nearly stops altogether (the tiniest, shallowest of breaths spaced widely apart), slight tingling sensations around the body, a complete and total detachment from the world. All the "brain noise" stops completely. Everything just shuts down.

It's a bit like being stoned but very much more profound and relaxing. Before anyone sceptical about the possibility that this could be true comments, yes: I've had very good weed in the past and so consider myself sufficiently experienced with both to make that comment, though I can only speak for myself.

When I was in my early 20s, I had what I might describe as an "out of body" experience where I actually watched myself lying on the bed looking down at myself. I still remember this, to this day, and I'm 99.99% certain it's simply "perception and imagination". The 0.01% part is the "open mind", I suppose. Too much X-Files lately?

While some recordings target specific things (e.g. confidence) others are simply "classic hypnosis" with no specific goal.

Actually, while NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) - the "objective based stuff" is useful in the short term (I've always regarded it as a bit of a "confidence trick" on the brain which only works for a little while) the main benefit is the relaxation and escape aspect.

I have a stack of different recordings, one I picked up recently which is lovely is this one:

Lucid Dreaming, Conscious Sleeping: Guided Meditations for Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep

Probably not a bad one to start with if you've not done this before. Very much "classic hypnosis".

Actually, if you are interested then I'd recommend trying it whether that one or another - if you were after confidence boosters, then Paul McKenna's stuff is well worth a listen. I am not certain if this is the same recording that I have:

I Can Make You Confident

Anyone else enjoy this sort of stuff? Any particularly good recordings or tracks you like and would care to share?

You`re very strange, not the kind of person we want on a site like this.

On a slightly more serious note, I do meditation everyday for 20 minutes. Sit comfortably in a chair, breath in and out and surprise surprise my attention wanders then I just bring it back. I`m influenced by Mattheiw Ricard and Diana Winston.

I`ve realised that for 54 years my default mode has been much higher than it should have been.

Don`t worry, be happy.

[The Masked Tulip]

I meditate... I have some guided meditations on MP3 that I listen to. Other times I will simply meditate either by relaxing each part of my body from top of head to smallest toe... or I will focus on a part of my body, such as heart or stomach, and imagine a glowing sphere within me.

Fabulous. Helps me get in touch with the Universe and the Divine.

[Reck B]

Thanks, will check out those files.

I've been into this stuff for a few years and have stacks of files, a lot of them are from hypnosisdownloads.com which covers just about anything you'd want to 'work' on, so to speak. They are 20ish minute sessions with no music, which is a personal preference of mine. Plus the guys who do them are english and scottish which i prefer to hearing an american accent.

I occasionally get an experience where I seem to fall into a void and have no body at all, totally blissed out & completely still with 'no mind' Frustratingly, this only very rarely happens, probably trying too hard to experience it again.

Also, If you have a smart phone, i'd recomend an app called belly-bio. You pop your earphones on, lie on your back, placing the phone on your stomach and do long, slow in/out breaths. As you breath in you hear a chord/music which changes when you breath out.

Used it last night and got my breathing down to 1 each minute (20 seconds in, hold for 20 seconds and out for 20 seconds)

Also, this guy has a lot of great ideas...

http://www.personalpowermeditation.com/

[Steppenpig]

Have you tried binaural beats? There's a program called gnaural to make your own. it's a little fiddly to get the hang of so it's easier to start with sbagen, whiich is actually command line, but comes with lots of clickable sample files. Lots to dowload from yotube too of course. Apparently i-doser is a total scam, despite glowing reviews on net.

I haven't experienced anything miraculous, but it can be strangely relaxing. I get blue flashing lights occasionally.

edit. oh, it involves a fractionaly different tones playing in each ear, and the brain "hears" a low frequence interference tone, which may correspond to the natural frequencies of the brain in the 1 to 30 Hz range or so (esp 4 ~ 12Hz).

[MrPin]

I find "regular" music is enough for me to relax to!

[chronyx]

I go through phases of listening to hypno/relaxation MP3's at night.

Only problem is finding different ones, and also those that are general use rather than focussing on an issue.

Binaural beats were weird...lost the MP3's now so no opinion either way

[StainlessSteelCat]

I have recently got into meditation - and particularly audio guided stuff. Buddhify is good for a quick blast (and a British start up to boot).

Been trying Holosync too. It's the binaural beats stuff. It's quite a commitment - up to an hour a day. But I've had some interesting experiences with it. In one recent session on a long train journey, I was fully conscious and aware of my surroundings yet dreaming and experiencing mild sleep paralysis at the same time - and I could move my focus between the dream and real life. Real inception type stuff.

My ability to relax, return to sleep during the night and focus on work during the day has improved rather a lot since I started.

NLP. I have read and listened to a fair bit of this. There's some useful stuff in it here and there. But overall, I'm afraid I'm rather suspicious of it all. Mostly because a lot of practitioners seem either a bit cultish or robotic.

[Democorruptcy]

I'm reading a book called The Power of Now at the moment.

This suggests meditation to get in touch with your inner self/being. It also says you should not be your mind and take time out to watch it. I don't see how listening to something to meditate can be right because surely you are still thinking (about something other than your inner self/being).

It also suggests the mind cannot create or recognise beauty. Only your inner self/being can. If you talk about beauty you are only remembering what was a brief moment of presence/inner self earlier on.

[swissy_fit]

Do you lot all live alone? I can't see how else you could do any of these things...

[council dweller]

I'm reading a book called The Power of Now at the moment.

This suggests meditation to get in touch with your inner self/being. It also says you should not be your mind and take time out to watch it. I don't see how listening to something to meditate can be right because surely you are still thinking (about something other than your inner self/being).

It also suggests the mind cannot create or recognise beauty. Only your inner self/being can. If you talk about beauty you are only remembering what was a brief moment of presence/inner self earlier on.

Yes I`ve read the power of now and a new earth, very good and life changing books. You know that Eckhart Tolle is all over youtube don`t you?

Anyway, here`s a video of Matthieu Ricard, this bloke is worth a listen I think.

[Economic Exile]

I'm reading a book called The Power of Now at the moment.

This suggests meditation to get in touch with your inner self/being. It also says you should not be your mind and take time out to watch it. I don't see how listening to something to meditate can be right because surely you are still thinking (about something other than your inner self/being).

It also suggests the mind cannot create or recognise beauty. Only your inner self/being can. If you talk about beauty you are only remembering what was a brief moment of presence/inner self earlier on.

Learning to be in the now is the meditative approach I find most useful. A book I like is called Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zin (A Buddhist and a US Medical Doctor)

.

His words "The meditative view is that it is only through the acceptance of the actuality of the present, no matter how painful or frightening or undesirable it may be that change and growth and healing can come about"

I've been interested in and tried to practice meditation for years but it was only when I learnt to observe my thoughts/emotions/feelings whatever they were in a detached way that I've been able to "sort my head out" and get more into living in the now.

I live near the Samye Ling Tibetan Monastery in Dumfries and Galloway and have been on a few courses there. The ones I got the most from were four weekend courses in Mindfulness. It was an opportunity to hear Rob Nairn, another Buddhist and the author of Diamond Mind, speak.I wasn't disappointed! A humble bloke and fullof humour. He refers to the thoughts etc we all have constantly running through our mind as the undercurrent and to tame this we have to learn to observe with detachment. Similar to Jon Kabat-Zinn's approach

[council dweller]

Do you lot all live alone? I can't see how else you could do any of these things...

My wife works 12 hour shifts at the NHS, when she`s not working she`s studying.

On the other hand I`m completely free to do whatever I like.

If there was a god I`m sure he`d approve.

[StainlessSteelCat]

Do you lot all live alone? I can't see how else you could do any of these things...

Missus is a night person, I am a morning one. That together with running 3 times a week and at least one long train journey means I have plenty of time to listen to books/try out stuff.

I have no idea how those with young children would manage.

[DTMark]

Thanks for all the links and recommendations - I'll check them out.

For the sake of speaking openly, some people talk about the subconscious, some talk about the undivided self, some even use that funny word that starts with a capital G...Personally I don't believe it matters how you choose to understand it, it's useful to go looking for it.

Very much. I'm not religious at all. Don't "do" the G word. I wouldn't say there was anything "divine" about the experience but then as I think I wrote yesterday I'm not really sure what that, or "spiritual" means. But then the experience is what you make it and take from it. I can see that for those who have strong faith the experience might well work with that.

There seems to be a lot of emphasis on Mindfulness these days, and some excellent modern takes on the source material in Buddhism. Mindfulness of the breath and Metta meditation are taught quite frequently in drop-in sessions at your local buddhist centre, very useful IMO.

I have this book:

Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world

About half way through. Meditation is the main device, and it comes with a CD - haven't tried it yet. I suppose it's a bit like a prescribed 8 week course of hypnosis and meditation combined with some other activities.

Interesting what you say about your OOBE, or however you percieved it. Have you read much about Peak Experiences?

http://en.wikipedia....Peak_experience

I'm very open on the subject myself...whether they can be explained or not is irrelevant the key is that they have meaning on a personal level...far too quickly dismissed by the scientifically materialist minds amongst us. Drug-induced states, near-death experiences, meditative states, psychological 'rebirths'...all intriguing stuff.

In terms of the paranormal - I'm probably more like Scully in that I want evidence based theories. More like Mulder though in that he did not have religious faith, and she did.

But I still can't explain that experience. Very vivid. Lying on the ceiling watching myself, then I thought I'd go outside so I drifted out of the window (was summer, and it was actually wide open for real) and had a look down the street. As soon as I got more than about 30ft from the house, the imagery ended.

My "Scully" part says that had I seen anything outside which I could identify as having been there, and that was the only way I could have seen it, then there is some evidence. As I don't have that I'm inclined to believe it was just my imagination.

Have you tried binaural beats? There's a program called gnaural to make your own. it's a little fiddly to get the hang of so it's easier to start with sbagen, whiich is actually command line, but comes with lots of clickable sample files. Lots to dowload from yotube too of course. Apparently i-doser is a total scam, despite glowing reviews on net.

I haven't experienced anything miraculous, but it can be strangely relaxing. I get blue flashing lights occasionally.

edit. oh, it involves a fractionaly different tones playing in each ear, and the brain "hears" a low frequence interference tone, which may correspond to the natural frequencies of the brain in the 1 to 30 Hz range or so (esp 4 ~ 12Hz).

I have a Glenn Harold recording (for whatever reason his accent mildly amuses me, I think it's because he actually sounds too much like someone I know) which has those. I don't really remember it seeming all that significant though - kind of throbbing or pulsating sound as I recall. While I think there's some science behind these, I came away thinking they were mostly a sales gimmick.

I'm reading a book called The Power of Now at the moment.

This suggests meditation to get in touch with your inner self/being. It also says you should not be your mind and take time out to watch it. I don't see how listening to something to meditate can be right because surely you are still thinking (about something other than your inner self/being).

It also suggests the mind cannot create or recognise beauty. Only your inner self/being can. If you talk about beauty you are only remembering what was a brief moment of presence/inner self earlier on.

The Power of Now is a seminal work - the guy is lovely to listen to, I have an audio version of that recorded at a seminar/weekend type affair. Really slow paced, likeable sounding and soothing.

Full of bits you can easily relate to.. enjoy.

Do you lot all live alone? I can't see how else you could do any of these things...

No children, but, as a result, no spare bedroom to escape to - so I tend to do this at about 4pm before partner comes home. This does however preclude listening to it in bed before going to sleep at night as my headphones leak too much sound externally and might wake partner up - I'm always last to bed.

[DTMark]

Some of the material I have suggests (I paraphrase) "waking up to the connection between you and the rest of the universe".

Somehow, it's all "connected". I can "form a bond" with it or similar.

My mind wonders how, and it comes up with something about carbon and possibly water being the "building blocks" of life. There's the "connection". And there, it ends.

Yes, I may actually originate from the planet Mars or somewhere much further away. Perhaps we all do. Still open to this possibility. We may have had an advanced civilisation millions of years ago somewhere else and be its descendants. If so, though, I am not sure what this means to the "now" in practical terms.

The logical side of my brain is prepared to entertain a 50/50 possibility, maybe much higher, that there is a Creator. Even if there is, I find the idea that the Creator of All Things is "looking down at me" or gives a flying fig about whether I eat the chocolate bar that I said I wouldn't or is going to poke me from the sky or bring rain if I'm rude to somebody, just ridiculous. My mind will not accept that framework. It is not evidence based.

I wonder if my phrasing "it" and "my brain" as opposed to "I" or "I think" is significant since the desire to get into hypnosis and meditation was borne from how my brain is wired up - its "baseline" - which might be described as slightly frantic, very fast and chattering, and anxious. In a way, while I suppose these attributes give me some advantages and it's "just who I am" - it can't be "fixed" - it's like an animal that needs taming.

The usual caveat: absolutely no offence whatsoever is meant to those who have Faith. We're just different.

[swissy_fit]

Some of the material I have suggests (I paraphrase) "waking up to the connection between you and the rest of the universe".

Somehow, it's all "connected". I can "form a bond" with it or similar.

My mind wonders how, and it comes up with something about carbon and possibly water being the "building blocks" of life. There's the "connection". And there, it ends.

Yes, I may actually originate from the planet Mars or somewhere much further away. Perhaps we all do. Still open to this possibility. We may have had an advanced civilisation millions of years ago somewhere else and be its descendants. If so, though, I am not sure what this means to the "now" in practical terms.

The logical side of my brain is prepared to entertain a 50/50 possibility, maybe much higher, that there is a Creator. Even if there is, I find the idea that the Creator of All Things is "looking down at me" or gives a flying fig about whether I eat the chocolate bar that I said I wouldn't or is going to poke me from the sky or bring rain if I'm rude to somebody, just ridiculous. My mind will not accept that framework. It is not evidence based.

I wonder if my phrasing "it" and "my brain" as opposed to "I" or "I think" is significant since the desire to get into hypnosis and meditation was borne from how my brain is wired up - its "baseline" - which might be described as slightly frantic, very fast and chattering, and anxious. In a way, while I suppose these attributes give me some advantages and it's "just who I am" - it can't be "fixed" - it's like an animal that needs taming.

The usual caveat: absolutely no offence whatsoever is meant to those who have Faith. We're just different.

If I was practicing meditation etc I'd hope it would prevent me from looking at hpc at 3am!

[chronyx]

Being an intellectual bloke, I thought that thinking 4 times faster than everybody else was a strength. But of course all that chatter became a hindrance.

........ ...... ............

Good analysis. The signal to noise ratio is too low when there's too much stuff flying around in there!

[winkie]

It is not easy to clear the mind and stop thoughts, making up or find a suitable mantra to repeat over and over again in your mind, say it at different speeds and hold on to certain words....hope that helps, total silence also helps.......it is easier to relax than trying to block out thoughts that wander in. Total relaxation is when you don't feel any part of your body at all, it becomes completely numb, you can either relax by gradually making your body feel very heavy like lead, or as light as a feather, different ways suit different people....how you breath is also important.

[Economic Exile]

This...Monkey mind

Being an intellectual bloke, I thought that thinking 4 times faster than everybody else was a strength. But of course all that chatter became a hindrance.

Its a really basic human problem that Bhuddhists in particular seem to have understood well.

P

Buddhist Philosophy and its insight into the human mind is, in my opinion, a most useful approach for dealing with the reality we find ourselves in.

Anyone can explore it and learn to meditate. I've benefited from attending Buddhist meditation classes/courses as like the OP I was anxious a lot and with the normal human mind that "chattered" non stop. There's no expection or pushing you to become a Buddhist which would have put me off.

Buddhist Philosophy also sees everything as impermanent. Everything is always changing. Everything is energy. My understanding of current quantum physics knowledge is, that is indeed how things seem to be.

I've found learning meditation and a bit about the philosophy of Buddhism has liberated me from living in the past or spending too much time living in the future and reacting to thoughts/emotions. It's got me more in the now, calm and the mind "chatter" is under control through learning to be detached from it.

[Economic Exile]

It is not easy to clear the mind and stop thoughts, making up or find a suitable mantra to repeat over and over again in your mind, say it at different speeds and hold on to certain words....hope that helps, total silence also helps.......it is easier to relax than trying to block out thoughts that wander in. Total relaxation is when you don't feel any part of your body at all, it becomes completely numb, you can either relax by gradually making your body feel very heavy like lead, or as light as a feather, different ways suit different people....how you breath is also important.

That's the good thing about meditation, there are different techniques to explore.

[council dweller]

Buddhist Philosophy and its insight into the human mind is, in my opinion, a most useful approach for dealing with the reality we find ourselves in.

Anyone can explore it and learn to meditate. I've benefited from attending Buddhist meditation classes/courses as like the OP I was anxious a lot and with the normal human mind that "chattered" non stop. There's no expection or pushing you to become a Buddhist which would have put me off.

Buddhist Philosophy also sees everything as impermanent. Everything is always changing. Everything is energy. My understanding of current quantum physics knowledge is, that is indeed how things seem to be.

I've found learning meditation and a bit about the philosophy of Buddhism has liberated me from living in the past or spending too much time living in the future and reacting to thoughts/emotions. It's got me more in the now, calm and the mind "chatter" is under control through learning to be detached from it.

Tell me what you think of the video I posted on number 13.

Brilliantly explained I think.

[Economic Exile]

Tell me what you think of the video I posted on number 13.

Brilliantly explained I think.

Yes well worth watching that video. I always find any Buddhist talk about meditation interesting.

I read a really interesting book called The Monk and Philosopher. It's a dialogue between Matthieu Ricard and his father.

[council dweller]

Yes well worth watching that video. I always find any Buddhist talk about meditation interesting.

I read a really interesting book called The Monk and Philosopher. It's a dialogue between Matthieu Ricard and his father.

Thanks ee.

I think his thoughts on `Optimal` state of mind were most interesting, something that few achieve and sadly even fewer have even considered.

I only became aware of his existence through my small study of neuroplasticity .

[Economic Exile]

Thanks ee.

I think his thoughts on `Optimal` state of mind were most interesting, something that few achieve and sadly even fewer have even considered.

I only became aware of his existence through my small study of neuroplasticity .

I think perhaps meditation (the buzzword is Mindfulness) will become more mainstream. It's endorsed by science, many studies confirm that meditation is beneficial.

There are a few universities in the UK now where you can do a postgraduate degree in Mindfulness. The NHS are interested in it because stress/depression is rocketing in UK and the drugs aren't working!

While one can reach profound states of relaxation and mystical states even, through meditating I find the value of Buddhist meditation is in managing the human mind and emotions.

There's a lot of misinformation about meditation and when I first tried I thought I couldn't do it because I was trying to clear my mind and expecting certain experiences. The breakthrough for me was discovering the Buddhist view of the "Monkey" mind and learning how to use the tools to observe the mind.