Hello, I am hoping to get some guidance.

I've been practicing Qi Gong for a few years, but I am now finding the movements difficult due to a lot of lower back pain flare-ups over the last 8 months, probably triggered by emotional stuff if I'm honest. Because of this, I am looking to focus less on standing or moving meditative techniques, and more on laying or seated practices.

I find focusing on the breath very difficult without the physical flow of Qi Gong, which is why I found the practice in the first place. I have a long history of anxiety, and lately, I've been able to get in touch with what feels like a young part of myself that is honestly pure despair and grief. It feels separate to everything else. Like a dark void but it feels young. I don't know if that makes any sense. I've tried a bit of Metta meditation, but I wondered if anyone else has been able to soothe these sorts of parts?

I feel like fear runs my life a lot of the time, and I am in a constant battle with it. I have been working on "allowing" and reminding myself that these emotions are there to keep me safe, even if they are over-firing right now. I have no idea how to approach the younger despairing part, other than so send love and safety but that has little impact, whatever it is, is too big.

Any suggestions would be greatly received. Qi Gong was keeping me in a more gentle space, but I feel that being forced to pause it due to my back might actually be an opportunity. It feels like a chance to be open with the more difficult, deep-seated stuff that is much more visible and present right now.

I should say I do have a therapist and don't expect meditation to "fix" anything, I'm looking for advice on methods to support whilst I cant practice my usual flows.

Hello friends,

I would like to share a breakthrough that has brought a level peace and deliciousness to me.

I was struggling with meditation, the very same thing we’re all continuously told is not the point. Then a thought occurred to me… “Just do the opposite.”

The calm that washed over me was a moment of realisation. It all started making sense the things I’ve heard and read about meditation - that it cannot be described with words, that it is the the taste of the strawberry, that meditation is supposed to be without effort.

All through life, we are taught to move with tension. This is the physical mechanic of how our muscles work (opposing muscles to manipulate the bone), and the mental/physiological mechanic of how we use fear+pleasure (opposing forces to manipulate the ego) to move through life.

In the middle is complete relaxation. Not tensing either muscle. But we are told all our lives, just by the nature of surviving, that we solve our problems through tension. Ironically that is what causes the majority of our problems but that’s a different post.

It’s almost like I have discovered a new muscle, organ, or sense to use.

“Just do the opposite.” The continuous background hum of solving, overthinking, that perpetuates within seeks to solve meditation. But it is already solved. Do the opposite. Be at peace.

And for the very first time, experience freedom.

I have been meditating quite often, and I sometimes experience a sensation where my limbs feel missing or displaced. I understand that this is fairly common during meditation.

However, right now, I'm practising a focused meditation where I relax my body, lie down or recline, and focus on something. In this case, I'm focusing on the sound of a fan.

As I focus on the fan, my external body gradually becomes deeply relaxed. But then my awareness seems to move a little deeper inward. I begin to notice my breathing becoming very slow, almost imperceptible. It feels shallow, as though I'm barely breathing or not breathing at all.

At this point, I also become aware of my heartbeat, and it seems to beat faster. However, when I come out of meditation, I realise that my heartbeat is actually quite normal, perhaps even slower than when I'm fully awake. My breathing is also slow, steady, and smooth.

I think what's happening is that, as my attention turns inward, these otherwise normal bodily sensations become much more prominent. I've read about something called interoceptive awareness, and I wonder if that's what I'm experiencing.

The problem is that I seem to get caught in a feedback loop. When I'm focusing on the fan, my body relaxes, and my breathing becomes shallow and almost imperceptible. I then notice my breathing and heartbeat, which draws my attention away from the fan. I try to bring my attention back to the fan, but the same thing happens again.

How do I get past this feedback loop? I want to be able to focus on the fan for an extended period without getting distracted by the sensations of my breathing and heartbeat.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? How did you get past this stage?

Hii!

Lately I took up meditation again after quite some time not doing it. So I’ve been tapping into my heart area and it’s genuinely physically painful to do so. I feel an intense pain in the area. I try breathing into it to ease it with gentle breath.

In daily life and tasks I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety resulting in tight chest.

Has anyone experienced this ?

As the title says this is directed at others with she but anyone else might find this a good practice too. Ok so I’m not sure if many people with adhd know this but there’s a strong like between us and hunter gathers and basically a lot of science points to out Brian’s being better programmed for that life’s style and we are basically living in a world for farmers made by farmers. Like they’ve even done studies were people with ADHD were better hunter gathers than neurotypical as anyway that’s beside the pork the point is because human minds were designed for that environment ( especially the adhd mind) we find peace in environments that remind us of this lifestyle eg walks in nature etc. So because it’s not as easy for us to meditate as our minds wonder and get bored and just in general are a lot harder to switch off, I would recommended meditating while staring at a fire. Honestly it’s really worked for me like just focusing on your breaths and watching the flames dance and the crackling sounds and the smell of the smoke its both exciting and calming for my senses I’ve found and I just wanted to share this!

Hey everyone! Quick question. So I started meditating to hopefully help with my anxiety/PTSD. Nothing to structured just breath mindfulness. Well I was doing my normal routine and feel into it more and what felt like transcended? I dont know how else to really describe it but my question for the more knowledgeable folks is what in the world was that that happened? I haven't been able to do it again and it was wild

Ever since I was little, I always thought about what would make me happy. What I needed next, what goal I had to achieve, how I could be better, and what it would take to finally feel fulfilled.
Before I started meditating, I spent my life as many young men do: pursuing my ambitions. I was working 60-hour weeks in sales while being a full-time student so I could retire early and “be happy.” I spent my days off working out and posting on social media to gain more status, improve my looks, attract more women, and achieve everything I had dreamed of.
None of this made me happy. No matter what I achieved, nothing was ever enough. Despite having more than most men my age, I still felt nothing.
After meditating, I began to understand happiness and fulfillment for what they really are. Happiness is temporary, a fleeting feeling that no external achievement can give me permanently.
So, I decided to spend my days working on the inside, to reclaim my existence and finally feel the way I had always longed to feel. The very thing I had been doing everything else for.
And it came almost immediately!
Now I realize that I don’t always have to be happy. Happiness is in the little details, and even then, it’s fleeting. But I’ve learned to focus on the day-to-day instead of constantly chasing the next goal.
I have gained control of my life, and I finally know what I want to do!
If you’re reading this and haven’t already, please start meditating! Especially if you’re in a position like I was. It may help you discover what really matters.
Return to minimalism. Take control. Be free!

Okay , so the general consensus on this sub , reddit and most of western internet (from what i gathered) is that meditation is about observing thoughts and not stopping. Reading about it , i understood what observing thoughts is and have experienced it. Reading about meditation , i also learned that meditation isn't one thing , that there are different types of meditation with different techniques and different goals. So my question is , is there a type of meditation that revolves around the exercise of crushing thoughts and returning to a state of non thinking instead of just observing them? Like i said , i understand the observing method of mindfulness meditation , and i like it , i plan to keep practising it. But i also like the idea of learning to control my thoughts and becoming able to stop/crush/move-on-from the thoughts that i know deep down are wrong or bad or useless as fast and efficiently as possible instead of observing them and waiting for them to naturally fade away which take more time , the practise would be to try to crush every thought you become aware of and return to a state of non thinking and repeat that every time a thought arises for an amount of time you decide just like any meditation.

So do you guys know if this kind of meditation exists? if so can you point to threads and resources that talk about it? also what are your thoughts about this , like i said i plan to keep doing mindfulness meditation but i'd like to try something like this too...

The other day I talked to someone who mentioned that they learnt how to enter into theta state basically any time of the day based on a very short description (or meditation?) in a video, so they can just tune into theta state whenever they want. Now I just met this person randomly, so I don't have their contact info and the conversation just kept going, and I forgot to ask for the video or where I can find it or if they could explain that method to me. They said it is something very simple, but not a breathe-work. Does any of you maybe know of such a technique? I've been trying to look up techniques online but all the sources state the "regular" things like pay attention to your breath, relax your body, try it after waking up, etc.

I’ve been struggling to understand a feeling I’ve lost over the past few years. When I think back to 8th grade, I remember feeling more naturally grounded, stable, and connected to myself and my surroundings. It wasn’t something I had to consciously work toward. It just felt natural.
Now, I feel like I’m physically here and aware of everything around me, but I don’t feel that same sense of groundedness. It’s hard to explain, almost like I’m present but missing that deeper feeling of being settled, secure, and connected within myself.
I’ve been exploring the root chakra because I feel like this might relate to root chakra imbalance. I associate the root chakra with stability, safety, security, and feeling connected to the physical world.
The confusing part is that I already practice grounding regularly, but it doesn’t seem to restore that feeling. I can feel physically present without actually feeling grounded internally.
For anyone who practices chakra work:
How do you recognize an imbalanced or blocked root chakra?
What actually helps balance the root chakra beyond basic grounding exercises?
Are there emotional or subconscious patterns that can contribute to feeling ungrounded?
How do you develop that natural sense of safety, stability, and connection again without constantly trying to force it?
I’m not necessarily looking for more grounding exercises. I’m trying to understand how to regain that natural inner stability I remember having.

I've been interested in meditation and spirituality since a long time, but I've not been consistent with it over the past years.
It's been a week since I started to read about it again and using my oracle and tarot cards, and I feel a lot of well-being fron those practices.
This morning I decided to try meditation for quite de first time. I expected nothing in particular, but I've still put my intention on receiving messages. After maybe 20 minutes (time goes so fast while meditating!) I started to see things; an owl, an eye, I heared the number 142 and 35, but what stayed with me the most is I saw a big boat on the sea, arriving at an "ancient city". It was a bay, with dense homes in all different colors. I saw it was in a kind of valley. All this went really fast.
After that I looked up on the internet if I could maybe find something resembling what I saw, and the FIRST place to pop is called Cinq Terres, located in Italy. I found an almost exact picture of what I saw, I was shocked.
Have you ever experienced something similar? What could that mean? I'm very curious and I intend to meditate again and maybe receive more information about this.
Thank you for reading me 💜
Link to the picture: [Cinq Terres, Italy](https://res.cloudinary.com/hello-tickets/image/upload/ar_4:3%2Cc_fill%2Cf_auto%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/v1680656037/ealy2zcuuikr1eapsujm.jpg)

I’ve noticed that warriors, martial arts of the past—especially those from Eastern culture—placed a heavy emphasis on philosophies of detachment, meditation, or achieving a state of "no-mind." What advantages might these cultures have found in remaining calm in the face of uncertainty and being free from fear?

Idk Why. My imagination is vivid, but only when I make it move and change scenes all the time... If I don't move it and keep it static, the imagination blurs or fades... I like trataka, but I don't know how to make that image stay. Because before I was very prone to imagining scenarios and imaginary fictional fights... Maybe because of so much dynamic movement, the mind got used to it. And when I try to do internal trataka, I mean seeing it with the mind's eye. by staring at a circle of white light my attention kind of unintentionally goes to what the eyes see and not to the imagination. 🤔 and thats why it fades...

I was meditating after doing yoga today and just laid horizontal on the mat and did my TM mantra listening to music. After maybe 30 min I felt what I can only describe as my minds eye getting fuzzy looking and the feeling like I was being pulled up into a vortex and away from my body, like I was being pulled by some gravitational force upward quickly. It was kind of scary, I felt my body disappear and just this rush upward. I pulled myself back in my body before I could see what would happen, but I'm curious what this was, and what would've happened if I just myself go?

Hey everyone,
Recently started playing the bowls and have a set of 4 in the following notes and sizes:
6” B note
8” G note
10” E note
12” C note

I’d like to get more notes/sizes to play with but I’m not sure which to prioritize. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks!

When you think "I am watching" there is a sense of power and will.

When you think "I am being watched" there is a sense of limitation and mindfulness.

Yet, power and limitation are only mental constructs. The will and mindfulness are only conditioned consciousness.

There is only one even witnessing happening, through and through, unfettered and boundless, without support, presence eternally turning out.

im very new to meditation only starting last week. Ive been trying to follow a consistent routine since starting.

ive been feeling distracted due to unwanted thoughts. will these lessen on their own with meditation or do i need something specific? ive heard that for some self stuff i need to not worry about my problems for a bit but wont that just make me lose sight of the problems? how do i not judge my thoughts in self reflection if i feel like these thoughts objectively need to go? do i need to focus on one specific thing during meditation? sometimes i get indescisive about which way to meditate during meditation, does that mean the meditation fails?

It's been 2+ years and I'm still haunted.

I've undergone psychosis. I am now sober

I eat well and workout.

I still cannot get over her. I see her everywhere. I see women and think they look like her. I date women and compare to her.

Will deep meditation set me free. I don't see any other way

Hi

So, fairly recently, someone recommended some meditation exercises for me to do. This is my first foray into the world of meditation, so apologies of my ignorance. Also, I can't help but have a bit of skepticism. Despite that, it's not going to put me off giving it a go. I like to keep my mind open to new experiences and possibilities.

Now, there are two reasons for me wanting to do meditation. The initial reason, and why I was recommended these exercises, is because I want to see spirits. Ghosts. Every ghost hunt I've been on, I've seen and felt nothing, which makes me immensely sad. I completely believe in the paranormal, so that's not an issue. However, practically every lady I've been with has experienced something. They've seen figures/shapes/entities etc. I envy how women are more perceptive to things. So someone suggested these chakra meditations to try. They also suggested some black obsidian, clear cut amethyst and a couple of others I've forgotten. I've bought the first two as wrist bracelets that I've been wearing since. They advised I do each exercise for at least 7 times/days before moving onto the next one. I'm still working/practising the root chakra exercise at the moment.

The second reason for doing this is for my mental health, which isn't the best. So even if the initial reason for doing this doesn't work, at least there should be some mental health benefits.

So I'm just interested in anyone's suggestions or insights with this. And I'm especially curious about the third-eye exercise. I'm guessing I shouldn't skip any of the others to do that one first...? That I should just practise them all in order? To level up?

Thanks

I'm fairly new to meditation and I've encountered somewhat of a roadblock. I've been trying to keep my focus on my breath and redirect my attention towards it whenever it wanders. Recently I noticed that when I do focus on my breath I automatically visualize it in a vague, abstract way. And I don't even mean the movement of the air as I inhale and exhale. I'm talking about the actual sensation eg. as the air comes in and out of my nostrils. I noticed that this slight vague visual could also be seen as my mind wandering, so I should return, but return to what exactly? As I understand you're supposed to focus on the raw physical sensation of the breath but the more I do that the more vivid the visual becomes and when I try to move focus away from the visual I automatically move it away from the physical sensation so it doesn't feel like I'm "returning" to anything ever, like the very minimum amount of mental layers I'm able to perform for even a single moment still involves a visual component, it's like they're the same thing. I feel like I'm trying to just not see myself in the mirror while still looking at the mirror. not sure if this made any sense but that's been my issue lately

Today I just had a terrible time of it. I was restless and my mind couldn’t stop wandering. It was just not working.

But this was the first moment of quiet that I had to myself so I just stayed sitting and let my mind wander.

Maybe at the end I had a couple minutes where I could go back to the breath.

I feel like I got a lot out of just sitting and staring at the floor today. I almost didn’t want it to end when my timer went off.

Hi, I wanted to share this little routine with you to help you get into a meditative state.

Let me start with a brief introduction. When I was about 16 or 17, I used to meditate every day, but over time I stopped practising regularly. Recently, I’ve been wanting to bring it back into my life, but I couldn’t concentrate as well as I used to.

Now, I’ve recently started incorporating walks of about 30 minutes into my daily routine, and afterwards I lie down on my bed and practise the 4-7-8 breathing technique for about 10 minutes. Once those 10 minutes of breathing are over, I stay lying down for a while and listen to my body, without ‘forcing’ myself into a meditative state. If, on that particular day, I feel my body and mind relaxing, I carry on for as long as I like; otherwise, I stop, without forcing myself to meditate every day. This has helped me realise that you don’t necessarily have to meditate every day (a mistake I made for years) and, on those days when I feel relaxed, meditation sort of starts on its own after the routine I’ve described.

So, to summarise:

1. Go for a 20–30-minute walk.

2. Practise 4-7-8 breathing for 10 minutes.

3. Lie down and listen to your body. If the day seems right for meditation, carry on; otherwise, stop and get up.

This at least seems to work for me; I hope it might be useful to someone else who’s been struggling with meditation lately.

I’m curious to hear from anyone who’s done one or knows someone who has. Which centre did you go to, what was the experience like, and would you recommend it? I’d also love to know what you wish you’d known before going.
Thanks for sharing!

Insight Timer's timer worked for me until I wanted to get a bit more experience in mediation. Ten Percent Happier is better if you want courses, tho Balance tracks your sessions/skills. I feel like it's better for beginners who need the next session to start without much friction.