Staying focused and meditation?

[DerekDRP]

I would like to know if there is any technique that will help me stay focused while playing guitar or just a meditation period? My life is kind of hectic and I need advice thanks. Btw nothing really bad just hectic.

[greyharte]

make playing the guitar your meditation ... thats what zen is all about staying in the moment ... making every moment/action a meditation

takes practice tho ....

[Zerileous]

There are a ton of meditation techniques that help you to tune your focus.

One involves bringing your consciousness into tune with the vibrations (noises) in an environment (AKA Listening). Listen to different sounds in the room and focus on one sound at a time. Once you are familiar with it, move on to another sound. I usually find that I can hear softer and softer stuff as I go, and tend to start with the loudest. Often times you become aware of sounds you did not know existed.

Another you can try expands your consciousness of space. Begin w/ eyes closed. Picture yourself and the room around you. Continue to expand this imagery to your building/house -> block -> town/city -> state -> country -> Earth -> solar system etc and just continue expanding.

This next one should be helpful if things are hectic. Its called stopping. Thats really all it is. At random points in the day, or when things get hectic, just stop everything and for a few seconds, just try to be aware of your body and surroundings. Then go back to whatever you were doing.

The above meditations are trophotrophic, meaning low arousal. The alternate side of the coin is ergotrophic meditation, meaning with arousal. This type of meditation leads to the same end result.

One way you can do this is to do as greyharte said and play your guiter. The best way to do this would (IMHO) be to stop trying to make music and just let your fingers play random stuff, not worrying so much about sound.

Another option is to dance. Now this sounds silly and I wouldn't blame you for doing this behind a locked door. You dont need music, but you can have it, and just dance. Not as in a prescribed step. Just move your body however it moves. The idea is to act with no real volition, rather just kindof on impulse. It might be hard to get started, but well worth the effort.

If you are wondering where this comes from, I took mysticism course last semester. If you are interested, I have alot of resources available (dealing with meditation, or mysticism in general) that I would gladly share.

[DerekDRP]

There are a ton of meditation techniques that help you to tune your focus.

One involves bringing your consciousness into tune with the vibrations (noises) in an environment (AKA Listening). Listen to different sounds in the room and focus on one sound at a time. Once you are familiar with it, move on to another sound. I usually find that I can hear softer and softer stuff as I go, and tend to start with the loudest. Often times you become aware of sounds you did not know existed.

Another you can try expands your consciousness of space. Begin w/ eyes closed. Picture yourself and the room around you. Continue to expand this imagery to your building/house -> block -> town/city -> state -> country -> Earth -> solar system etc and just continue expanding.

This next one should be helpful if things are hectic. Its called stopping. Thats really all it is. At random points in the day, or when things get hectic, just stop everything and for a few seconds, just try to be aware of your body and surroundings. Then go back to whatever you were doing.

The above meditations are trophotrophic, meaning low arousal. The alternate side of the coin is ergotrophic meditation, meaning with arousal. This type of meditation leads to the same end result.

One way you can do this is to do as greyharte said and play your guiter. The best way to do this would (IMHO) be to stop trying to make music and just let your fingers play random stuff, not worrying so much about sound.

Another option is to dance. Now this sounds silly and I wouldn't blame you for doing this behind a locked door. You dont need music, but you can have it, and just dance. Not as in a prescribed step. Just move your body however it moves. The idea is to act with no real volition, rather just kindof on impulse. It might be hard to get started, but well worth the effort.

If you are wondering where this comes from, I took mysticism course last semester. If you are interested, I have alot of resources available (dealing with meditation, or mysticism in general) that I would gladly share.

Do these work?

[freakdiablo]

Do these work?
Sure sounds like he/she knows what he/she is talking about.

[DerekDRP]

Sure sounds like he/she knows what he/she is talking about.True he or she does :D