Hi so I read that it's good to meditate daily so that it will help with magick but I've been having trouble I'm not sure if I'm doing it right I get in a sitting position that's comfortable and I close my eyes and try to clear my thoughts sometimes I do clear my thoughts but they come back how can I control them so that I won't hear them so I can meditate and also can I focus on a sound and just meditate on that. Thanks
There are many forms of meditation. If you have issues with thoughts. I suggest trying to look into visualization if you are able to. Think of a item and apple or red ball. As you do this just think of the item visualize it and keep count of breathe. If this does not work for you. Try counting.
By counting you count to four and exhale and then count to four and inhale. And repeat. Some people find counting while they breath they find they are not thinking anything but just their breath.
Don't try to control or fight the thoughts. Treat them like a passerby, or a visitor you aren't interested in hanging out with. Just let them come, and then let them go and don't focus or get caught up with them. And relax! It doesn't come easy and it takes time and practice.
A couple of techniques that can help, are to take a few deep, slow breaths. After four or five, return breathing to normal and then just listen to noises outside of you. Don't focus on them, but "name" them in your mind and move on: "car," "person talking," "airplane," "birds," and after a bit, focus on your breathing. Focus on how your chest fills with air, and on how your body relaxes as the air leaves your lungs. Count your breaths to 10 as you breathe in and out.
Another idea is to try watching a candle flame or inscense smoke. Same as above, with allowing thoughts to come and go while focusing only on the flame or smoke. If you can't have that where you live, try visualizing it. I'd like me, you find that hard, watching the sunlight peek through the leaves of a tree has helped me in the past.
Keep your sessions short at first and then go longer as you get better. Be easy and patient with yourself! Guided meditations are sometimes a lot easier for beginners. Headspace is a really good app for beginning meditation. Also try looking up "beginner meditation guide" in YouTube.
Good luck, and remember to be kind to yourself and try not to become frustrated! Meditation is all about relaxing and allowing your mind to get a break. ;)
It is also helpful to note that meditation isn't necessarily about emptying your head of all thought entirely. It is more about cleaning out the clutter by finding one line of thought to drift around and to let go of the background noise.
That is why so many meditations have some sort of guidance, like a candle flame, focusing on your breathing, counting backwards by threes, physical movements or poses, that sort of thing. It gets you thinking about a single topic which gradually quiets all the other layers.
I have watched many videos on interviews and group classes with monks who have practiced for thirty years (or more) saying "I still sit and wonder about what to make for dinner, which makes me wonder if the kid will be home on time or if he will go to that friend Mikey's after school again. they seem to be getting along well, I just hope they don't get up to any mischief like I used to. There was that one time when I..." and so on.
What I find Meditation is -really- about, is about increasing your awareness inward. it's about paying attention to your thoughts and letting go of the ones that are not important, and then following the general lazy drift. Your goal isn't to calm the waters, just to sit yourself on a boat and to ride the waves to see what interesting destinations you come to.
Another way to look at it is that your brain is like a radio. It is hard to listen to the incoming signals if your mind is all full of background static. So if you are meditating for a specific goal or about a specific problem, this calming/quieting of the background noise makes it easier to listen for the information you are working for- be it through introspection, or connecting to the higher self, or listening in for help from a guide.
As a final note, I remember once hearing of the perfect way to describe meditation;
"Meditation means to relax, and concentrate. Like when taking a dump. Relax, and concentrate."
If you are having trouble keeping your thoughts out, I suggest you think of a specific thing and do it as long as you can until you feel relaxed and you can drift off from there, I do not have a problem with meditation but I usually put a candle in front of me in case I break focus any time. And if you are putting on music dancing music would not be a very wise choice you can find many tunes for just meditation.
