How to not be scared of meditation?

Hi all, I have a bit of a sweeping or all-encompassing question. I'm interested in the spiritual plane and accessing it by meditating/lucid dreaming/astral travel. However, I don't seem to be able to to do that because a) I find meditating so boring and b) I'm clearly too scared to let my intuition travel: my ego or rational mind blocks it whenever I try to let go and just experience what my mind's eye wants to show.

I've had a few experiences where I feel that "a film" starts playing and I see it clearly, but I shake myself off it because I don't know what I will encounter. It's the fear of unknown, I guess.

Does anyone have any tips how to meditate in a way that it's not just a boringness-fest (yeah I get it's supposed to be about emptying one's mind so that probably is "boring", i.e. passive by nature, but is there a way to overcome this aversion to boringness by any other method than just forcing oneself to stare at emptiness)?

And does anyone have tips for how to calm one's rational mind? I don't even know what I'm scared of. Maybe encountering malevolent spirits? Dying while I meditate? Losing control? I don't have a clear answer.

I don't know of your religious/spiritual beliefs so not sure if this would be something you are into or not but here is what I do.

I call on Archangel Michael for protection, Archangel Gabriel to facilitate any communication that occurs (visions, spirits showing up, etc) and then Archangel Raphael to heal me and open/balance my chakras. I lie flat and can physically feel the healing...so that gives me something to focus on and is not boring that way.

Once the communication starts (visions, verbal, etc)... I trust in Michael to protect me and Gabriel to bring me messages that are good for me to see/know so I am able to just relax and watch the show. lol

I'm pretty sure that you could adapt this to fit any belief system. I think the important thing is to be protected by someone you trust and have a guide/guardian facilitate the messages. My healer makes it possible to be relaxed and receptive.

Eta...I always close my eyes. I eventually get visions with my eyes open but it takes FOREVER. Eyes closed worjs much faster for me.

I think we get too caught up in "one way" of meditating where you sit in silence for hours perfectly still! I have tried many methods and some just don't work for me! But we put pressure to be silent and still and it's bound to end in failure!

here is some suggestions based on my experiences / practice but I have to say I am not an expert mediator yet .....

- build up on it! you can't start off like a Buddhist monk meditating for half a day! you will find it so boring and simply it is impossible! meditation is a skill you have to slowly learn and improve at, like tarot or riding a bike! try and do 5 mins a day! when you can do 5 mins and actually relax and detach from your thoughts, try it 5 mins twice a day and then 10 mins, and so on. We are not instantly perfect at it!

- find a method that works for you! sitting in total silence is not for everyone! I would try so many different methods and techniques. What position works best? some people sit on a meditation cushion or lotus style. I meditate best laying down but you have to becareful not to go to sleep in that position. I find it hard to be comfortable sitting up with back straight for a longer period of time. You can do it in silence and count breathes, or visual a scene or play music or listen to an audio meditation.

- if you find the silence difficult, work up to it with smaller periods of time and audio meditations and / or music. You may be able to go deeper and deeper and not be scared of it in future and then you can attempt lucid/ astral stuff.

- I started meditating whilst really depressed and meditating made me feel worse for a while, however small periods of it helped me trust it! Also have faith in what you are doing! as well as Arwen's suggestions, I would visualise a bright white light around me! But the most important thing is to have faith and confidence that you are safe and protected in what happens.

I think you need to go gradually and slowly into it Saskia and build the skill and confidence! it takes time

EmpressArwen said:

I don't know of your religious/spiritual beliefs so not sure if this would be something you are into or not but here is what I do.

I call on Archangel Michael for protection, Archangel Gabriel to facilitate any communication that occurs (visions, spirits showing up, etc) and then Archangel Raphael to heal me and open/balance my chakras. I lie flat and can physically feel the healing...so that gives me something to focus on and is not boring that way.

Once the communication starts (visions, verbal, etc)... I trust in Michael to protect me and Gabriel to bring me messages that are good for me to see/know so I am able to just relax and watch the show. lol

I'm pretty sure that you could adapt this to fit any belief system. I think the important thing is to be protected by someone you trust and have a guide/guardian facilitate the messages. My healer makes it possible to be relaxed and receptive.

Eta...I always close my eyes. I eventually get visions with my eyes open but it takes FOREVER. Eyes closed worjs much faster for me.

Click to expand...

We think a like! I ask for Michael to sit next to me with his sword and ask him to remove anything that is not divine from my space. I trust he does so. I ask Gabriel to guide me to the white light and connect me with the divine's energy.

Thanks for the reply everyone! Empress Arwen and Starchaser, I think the idea about asking for protection is a good one. Maybe visualising that light "shield" could help me.

I guess my struggle partly stems from my agnostic views. I'm very interested in the spiritual world and it seems possible that life has a bigger purpose than just us walking around as meat robots - but my mindset is too "scientific" for any belief system. I'd like to believe, I'm drawn to it, I find past life regression etc. very interesting and quite credible, and yet my mind always pipes in: "it's a hoax/wishful thinking/illusions"...

Danieljuk, thanks for the practical tips! I'll definitely try that 5mins, add another 5mins and build on that. I guess I'm just confused by what meditation should be and feel like. I've meditated a few times and I start getting images, which I don't know am I supposed to observe and mentally record them, or try to rid myself of them to only experience nothingness (which I don't understand btw, what's so special about nothingness?).

I've tried to read about what to see/experience while meditating but I only get info about what changes happens in the brain, or "surrender to emptiness". And that is exactly the part I don't know how to do, thanks very much (and how am I supposed to receive any messages if I should shrug the images off..?? Confusion overload )

Empress Arwen and Starchaser, that's a good point that I could focus on something, like asking for guidance, and not just chase the nothingness.

So, is it all about finding a style that works for me, no matter if it's "done correctly"?

Saskia said:

So, is it all about finding a style that works for me, no matter if it's "done correctly"?

Click to expand...

IMO, the answer to this is "yes", and there is really no single "correct" way to meditate. I also agree with danieljuk that learning to meditate takes time and experience; it is something you have to ease yourself into bit by bit.

Personally, I meditate most effectively when I lay in bed and use a guided meditation, whether it is a CD or an app on my cellphone. This is a far cry from sitting in silence in the lotus position, but this is what works best for me!

If you fear for your safety or have general fears of "letting go", it is best to address those fears at the very beginning of your meditation. As others have already posted, visualize a shield of white light surrounding you, and ask your angels/guardians/higher power to enforce its protection. Giving the responsibility for your protection to a higher power allows your rational mind to relax and focus more on the meditation, secure in the knowledge that you are being taken care of.

Try cloud-watching, or river watching, or staring into a fire

There's no "right way" Saskia.
"Meditation is the practice of stilling the mind" - PRACTICE being the operative word.
It is about accepting that you have thoughts and images wondering about in your head and how to find a way to just let them be - and move on to not particularly focussing on anything.

And meditation takes a myriad of forms - including what is so popularly called "mindfulness" right now in the UK.
Beginning in short bursts of 5 minutes and then building up works.
You'll just find that once you have the hang of 5 minutes - a bit longer gets easier, etc.

You could:
- Stare at a marble, a ring, or your nail.
- Stare at the fire, or a candle flame.
- Choose a single word - say 'Joy', 'Peace' or 'Service'. Repeat the word over and just listen to what that word brings up for you.
- Repeat a mantra over and over - "As I breath in, I breath in Peace. As I breath out, I let go of stress". "Om, Shanti, Om" ("Om, dynamic peace, Om". Om=the sound of the universe, the place of nothingness where creation and destruction reside. The Divine/creator/ix if you prefer.)

- Be aware of and focus on, your breath - observing the sensations of the inhale and exhale - not just through nose, throat and lungs - but what happens to your tummy, back, and rest of your body. One section at a time.
- Imagine a circular pool of water in your mind, and focus on keeping the surface of the water still.
- Listen to an audio meditation tape. Doesn't have to be specific to meditation.
A favourite of mine is listening to "Waiting for Cousteau" by JM Jarre. This piece of music is a half hour long and makes me think of sitting at the bottom of a calm ocean. This is therefore what I visualise whilst I listen - and I know I've done 30 minutes when the piece of music is finished. Wahey!

- Visualise a calming colour.
- Go for a walk and focus on the sensations of the exercise of walking. Your heal strike, rolling your weight through your foot, your push off through the ball of your foot...etc.
Alternatively you could do a rhythmic counting of steps... one two three, one two three... (Left, right, left, Right, left, right...)
- Lie under a tree in a garden and just listen to all the sounds around you. Whatever thoughts you have - let them be and let them go, as you continue listening to all the sounds around you.
- Contemplate brushing your teeth. So as you do it, focus closely and slowly on every motion.
The act of picking up your brush and paste, unscrewing the lid, squeezing the stuff onto your brush, making contact with your teeth... ad infinitum until complete.

I'd never sit in the lotus position now - as I have dodgy knees they won't allow that.
Sitting comfortably on a chair is good. Not often lying down 'cause then I tend to fall asleep.

It depends...

Saskia said:

I guess I'm just confused by what meditation should be and feel like. I've meditated a few times and I start getting images, which I don't know am I supposed to observe and mentally record them, or try to rid myself of them to only experience nothingness (which I don't understand btw, what's so special about nothingness?).

I've tried to read about what to see/experience while meditating but I only get info about what changes happens in the brain, or "surrender to emptiness". And that is exactly the part I don't know how to do, thanks very much (and how am I supposed to receive any messages if I should shrug the images off..?? Confusion overload )

Click to expand...

"Nothingness"... letting go of who you are and just experiencing being "a particle/part of the whole".The drop in the ocean that is the ocean, the grain of sand that is the shifting Dune, the reflection in the hawk's eye - that is all the pieces of a living breathing Gaia...
You are no - thing, and everything.
Sports people sometimes call it "the peak experience"

What should it feel like?... hmm - maybe like when you lie down to sleep, with no particular worries and you're in that space of just cosily resting and allowing whatever thoughts/images are there float past, A state of cosy allertness (so you didn't lie down so exhausted that you are desperate for sleep) whilst you trust that you will shortly be off to sleep. (except of course, you''re not going to sleep!).
Or - like when you''re lying wonderfully relaxed on the massage table and are in that mind-space where - you don't exactly know where your mind has gone - but you experience a peaceful indefinable... something. (time passes or slows down amazingly, and you can't tell until you are properly aware again).
Or - when you're sitting by a sparking stream or the ocean, and your mind has wondered somehow going to a place WITHIN the sound of the water - or the smell of the sea salt.
You are no longer you, and may be the water... you smell the smell, and are the smell...

(tried my best. ).


The difference between 'seeing stuff' and receiving pertinent messages.
Don't worry about that.
First - you just get comfortable with what meditation is for you, what works. And get practiced at acknowledging your thoughts and emotions floating about (or billowing, as the case may be), and being able to just let them be as they are - and let them float off (like a feather on a breeze), whilst you go back to the no-thing, or in-between place.

I do walking meditations - that is when everything comes to me. I walk along peaceful streets, and just let my mind drift.

I love MingBop's suggestions, as well - those also work for me.

I think it is a highly personalized thing...everyone's suggestions here were good.

You might want also to try and find the root of your mind's idea that everything spiritual is just nonsense - why are you having this thought? Where does it come from? all good questions to ask yourself - and also to remember that *you* aren't your mind, and that you control the mind, and not the other way around

Like Padma I need to do moving meditation.
I find stillness when I'm active, be it swimming, riding my bike in the ravines, tai chi, yoga, walking, or running.
I realise that those are not conducive to astral travel or lucid dreaming, however. For that I need to be somewhere very still, lying down, and have a sense that I have no demands. I find it easier to do these either in the morning before I get up (or get up and go to the living room if it's early enough for there to still be stillness) or to go to bed early and do it there.