======Meditation======

The brain is both and organ and a muscle that works with it's own rhythms. We know it as brain wave patterns where each pattern represents a different state that the brain is in at any one time.

Meditation, true meditation, is the only viable way to train the mind itself with no external aids or assistant. As I said previously, the vast majority focus the most on clarity and centering as the predominant goal of meditation. This means they do not train the other 3 aspects, flexibility, visualization, openness, with the same dedication and so have very mixed results.

The state you want to be in is the final stage of openness, where your brain itself can generate a reality that you explore. This normally only happens during deep REM sleep, known as dreaming, and where lucid dreaming comes in.

To build up the 5 full aspects of the mind, you have to start at the smallest forms of meditation. 2 types, short and long duration meditation.
Short is about 1 minute that you can do anywhere to give your mind a quick jolt back to reality and is practiced 5 times a day.

Long can be a short as 15 minutes up to 1 hour. But 15 minutes is preferred and should be practiced once a day, every day, in a comfortable area that you can give your full attention and devotion to the practice.

The first aspect to train is centering. And the base of all meditation that follows.

The short duration is called 2 word command. It is when you pick 2 words, one to say on and inhale one to say on an exhale. This gives your brain something to center on in the immediate present, and the command can actually force your brain to follow the simple command structure.

The long duration is called buddha breath. You sit in a relax position, place your hand over your stomach, and feel its sensations. Only focus on the stomach region. Any intrusive thoughts you put away for the moment.

Make sure you also keep a journal that you record your experience, how you feel, what you did, what the day was like, how you feel after the exercise, ect. Anything that is relevant to you and your progress.

The second aspect of the mind is called flexibility. Your ability to flow from one idea to the next seamlessly and without strain.

The short form is awareness. Where you stop and for 1 minute you consciously become aware of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment right now. You do not force the thoughts, you merely follow where they lead.

The long form is flow control.

You sit in a relaxing position but this time your hands are to your side away from your body and you focus on the feeling of your breath through your nose. This time when an idea or thought appears in your mind, you address the thought, what it is, how you feel about the thought, why you had the thought, then return to your breath.

You have to practice and refine the trait of centering first to be able to use flexibility. They are both opposite sides of the same coin in practice, but they also complement each other. These are your foundation of meditation before you can advance to the other 3 traits effectively.

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//Thanks to [[user:biotechfarmer|BiotechFarmer]] for his contribution to this section.//