what type of meditation should a beginner study

reesee

hi there

i have some (very!) small experience with meditation but would like to undertake a course while in india.

is there any advice on the type of meditation or path to follow? i have read many of the threads posted but still not sure of what to look for. vipasanna has received many positive posts and quite a few pretty severe warnings - any advice on that?

i am happy to start with a 10 day course and take it from there if it feels right - i have a pretty flexible time frame. once i have a clearer idea of what i feel is right for me, i'll check the threads again to see recommendations on where to study and may post again if i need any further advice on reputable, well supported courses, preferably located in a rural or scenic environment.

many thanks

iwanttogoback

hi reesee, and welcome to the indiamike

my question to you would be - what do you want to learn from meditation?

i myself am learning, and practice, meditation from a mindfulness perspective, not allied to any spiritual teaching, but there are many forms to choose from. it really depends on what you are looking for.

Nick-H

I'd recommend a few hours spent in a bookshop or library in your home town, seeing what you get a feeling for.

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kullukid

I think you may find Vipassana a bit intense for a beginner.
Where are you travelling to? KK

reesee

thanks for the responses.

i have been trying to research however an extremely busy work life, limited finances and living in a very small rural community (limited library and bookstore) has made this more difficult. i have been trying to research on the net but honestly the amount of information is so difficult to sort through that i feel more confused.....and now time is running out. i've just quit work and today have booked my tickets for the trip - i will be leaving in around 2 weeks...

ok - what do i want to gain? calmness. an understanding of the 'mechanics' of how to meditate. i would like to gain a feel for the spiritual path. i would like to be able to use this practice to reconcile myself and my place ... and healing? - this is not something i can explain easily. perspective? ..

i feel for me at the moment, the best way is to do it as part of a group and HAVE to commit to learning and hopefully understanding the practice. for some reason i 'resist' doing meditation and i guess this tells me that i need to explore it more. i just feel that i have a need to do this.

i don't know if this really is the answer to the 'iwanttogoback's question.

i do have plans of doing probably a month of yoga and would dearly like to learn something of ayurveda - let me stress i understand just how broad the scope of these areas is!

so any further information or guidance would be very much appreciated!

hi kk

i don't know! i have the time and hopefully finances to spend maybe 6 months in india,possibly longer if i want/need. i was thinking more of being guided by where i feel comfortable in studying. i have read a bit about dharamsala (sp?) / mcleodgange (again, sp?!) and i do feel attracted by that. but really i'm wiiiiiide open to suggestions.

Simplicity

Hello Reesee ,


I think,you should go for International
Yoga Festival,Parmarth Niketan,Rishikesh.
Its from March 1-7.
If you find it bit expensive,then you
could join any other ashram there,as there
are many nice one.

You should not feel confused about the
choices.Just find the right one, and the
right place, and go in there.Meditate,
feel good,feel calm.

Do not worry abouth the questions people
ask..what do you expect from Yoga..go to a
book store first.
Just meditate and relax.

Best wishes.

kullukid

Yes!! I couldn't agree more, here's details http://www.parmarth.com/home.html

I met Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji (The head of the Ashram)on my recent visit to Rishi, HE's verreee genuine & does lot's of work for the poor of India.
Here HE is;
http://www.parmarth.com/pujyaswamiji_pics.html

Also here's my photo's from Hardwar & Rishi;
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/kulluk...ey=6sDndDMuqh4

You will find places in Mcleod too but Rishi is probably the best bet, just get there, the choices are endless once you arrive. KK

livesmooth

2 years i had this oppurtunity to be in a small retreat centre called the place of evaluation in down south, the best thing i liked was it gives plenty of time to meditate in peace..and i learned to give time an oppurtunity in the space available while being at the time of evaluation. for a novice i belive its important to start with evaluating thyself in meditation...and thts the best starting...! you can check that place....its called sameeksha in kaladi, kerala.
if problem u can mail me at sirach23@gmail.com

iwanttogoback

no, i think it really justs tell you you need to DO it. i had the same problem until i decided, for a number of reasons, to commit to doing it. as a well know teacher of meditation says - you don't have to like it, you just have to do it.

for a couple of very interesting talks about mindfulness meditation try searching for 'kabat zinn' at youtube. there are videos of two talks he gave to google university staff which very clearly outline his teaching of meditation, and also include a short guided meditation session. they are both over an hour but i found them fascinating. he is the founder of an incredibly successful (and famous) healing program at the univeristy of massachusetts which is firmly based in the practice of mindfulness. if you are interested in beginning your research on meditation and healing these are great resources.

to be honest, i would not enrol in any meditation course unless i knew what i was after (eg healing, wholeness, a particular spiritual path) and whether or not the course offered it to me.

whilst i am a spiritual/religous person none of the meditation courses i have done/am doing follow any spiritual path, although all my teachers have studied under/learnt from buddhist teachers largely. i am interested in the practice of meditation per se, and where it might lead, rather than perhaps heading down a somewhat defined path.

good luck, and do let us know how it goes.

Sama

my suggestion is that you start out with some books.

a good book to start with (and one of the best ones in my opinion) is by Jack Kornfield called Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: the Path of Insight Meditation

I teach yoga and meditation and this is a book that I recommend to my students. frankly, since you are brand new to meditation I would not do a 10 day vipassana retreat. I was a seasoned meditator before I did a 10 day vipassana retreat, but again, this is just my opinion. if you want to dive in head first, go ahead.

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atala

Well, my advice is the opposite to YOgagal's. Do not study, just practice. The studying imposes the notion on you that there is something complicated to accomplish in meditation. It is not so.

But, indeed, a practical 10-day-course does help, because it facilitates in you the experience of what meditation could be for you. Then, later, after you got the hang of it, you may read some books to see what more experienced people have to say. But do not start out reading books. They tend to deter, because they give you concepts, rather than experience.

Sama

I did not tell reesee to study. I said read a book. repeat: A BOOK. I have seen many beginning meditators flounder and then give up entirely because they do not have a basis in "concepts". sometimes reading one book, and it does not even have to be in its entirety, gives someone a solid enough grounding to begin to sit again.

sometimes reading a book gives a beginning meditator some perspective on what they are doing, if they read someone else's experience with it, especially someone who is as respected as Jack Kornfield or Sharon Salzberg or Phillip Moffitt or other well-known western meditation teachers.

and just out of curiousity, have you read the book I suggested?

Nick-H

Hmmm, yes... my idea of the bookshop was so as to be able to dip in and sample different flavours. Maybe nothing might happen; maybe a name might stick in the mind; maybe a phrase might make sense.

It isn't study, it's kind-of like letting stuff chat one up, and seeing what sticks.

Sama

exactly. and depending on how far one is along on the Path, so to speak, a book might not speak to us at that particular moment of time.

I've found this out myself with my own yoga or meditation or Buddhism books -- some of the ones I bought 10 years ago just did not resonate with me at the time...then the more I practiced AND STUDIED, I came back to them and devoured them, and that's because I was in a different place in my development.

atala

I have had that book for many years and it kept me from getting into the practice itself, because it did to me what I said above. Not necessarily to everyone, sure, people, situations and growth experiences vary.

My point is: If someone is on the verge of committing to a ten day course, he or she should not start reading, but just DO it, and then read later.

Jack Kornfield himself started out with a Goenka Vipassana 10 day course. All the big meditation shots in America and Europe were originally into Goenka Vipassana. The reason is: It provides an easy tool to explore yourself, and then everyone can go from there.