Meditation - where to begin?

I would suggest you get one of the DVDs with Tai-Chi for beginners. It is a great way to re-balance your mind and body.

Here is an example of Tao Tai-Chi meditation:

http://www.touchoftao.com/taichistandingarticle.htm 

And here is a Tai-Chi meditation video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ccIyN1ltrQ 

You might also ask around, maybe there is a Tai-Chi master giving classes?

I bought the Meditation for Dummies book off of Ebay but haven't had time to look at it yet.  There are some good books that high ratings on amazon.com.  The Meditation for Dummies comes with a CD too so I figured that I would start there.  I have trouble sleeping and keeping my mind quiet so this will be a real challenge for me.  Let me know if you get any good recommendations!

I used to do Transcendental Mediatation when I was in my 20's and recently took a refresher course.  I think I need private tutoring because I just cannot get my mind to quiet.  But I believe in meditation and think it could be very good for those struggling with BC.  I'm going to talk to the man who taught the refresher course to see if I can break through my difficulty.

Good luck finding what works for you.

Robin 

It is not required that one sit in a full lotus to have the benefit of meditation.  One can sit in a chair, stand, walk or lay flat on the ground.  I use a chair or a side leg posture because I am naturally inflexible and Arimidex hasn't helped.

Here are some simple instructions for meditation in a sitting position using a chair or bench.

Sit Up Straight: Sit in a chair at a height low enough to put your feet flat on the floor and that will enable you to keep a straight back.  A bench is ideal but I use a chair with a pillow behind the small of my back for support because my lumbar spine has a osteopenia. 

Eyes:  Let your eyes relax and focus them on a spot 2-3 feet away. Your eye lids should naturally be almost completely closed.  If you wish you can close them completely or keep them open.  The key is to relax the muscles around your eyes.

Breathing: Let your breathing be as relaxed and natural as possible.  This is the focus of your meditation.  Concentrate on the area around your nose, feeling the breath go in and out.  (You can also use your abdomen as a focal point.  What ever you feel comfortable with.)  Keep your total concentration on your breath.  If your mind begins to wander, just bring it back to the breath.  You will have to bring it back many times but that is OK.

Movement: Once you settle into a position, do not move.  You may start to feel discomfort because we are not used to sitting perfectly still, but do not move.  Once you start to move, discomfort will just come sooner. Concentrate on your breath. 

Time:  Start out slow.  Use an egg timer set to 5 minutes for your first session.  Slowly increase the time you sit as your concentration develops.  There is no upper limit for meditation.

Pain:  Some meditators sit in spite of pain, but I think that is just silly.  We have enough pain in our lives.  We don't need more.  If you feel discomfort, concentrate on your breath.  If you feel pain. Stop.

Jhana:  It is possible that you will find that you are in a state of euphoria while in meditation.  This is a rare experience but it happens.  This is a by product of a well concentrated mind. One that is completely focused on a mediation object, in this case the breath. Just observe the experience for as long as it lasts. In my opinion it is a result of closing down the discursive functions of the brain.  When the chatter ceases it is a great relief.

I hope this helps.  Best wishes for successful meditation.

When I was small--Kindergarten or so--I sat easily and naturally in a full lotus.  In fact my mother made comments about it.  I suppose some might take it as a sign of a former life.  Now that I am older and actually meditating, I find I can no longer do a traditional lotus but I can sit comfortably in the Burmese fashion.  I also find that actually having a cushion [which I didn't see the need for at first] really does make a difference.   Finally, note that different traditions use different styles of cushions.  The cushions in our Chan center are long and rectangular and you are sitting on a dais so that if you prefer, you can sit with  your feet on the floor.  I mention this as a reminder that one does not need to sit on the floor to meditate.   While one speaks of sitting on the cushion, in fact it is more in back of you as a prop---sitting flat on it is not, for me, the most comfortable.  I found the photos and description on this website helpful  www.stillsitting.com/about-us/sitting-down.html  in figuring out what I should be doing.  Disclosure:  this site also sells zafus and the like and they are connected with our zen center....still they are very nice cushions. . ..  

As far as instruction, I like the books by Jean Smith: 

The Beginner's Guide to Walking Buddha's Eightfold path and  "the Beginner's guide to Zen Buddhism."   Also the Beginners guide to insight mediation which is by Jean Smith and Arrina Wiseman.

If you are an ereader sort of person, many of these books may be available at your public library for download.  They may also be available for audio download.

I find I feel a bit calmer when I meditate.  I am not sure if I am accomplishing much in the way of enlightenment but I do feel that my buttons are less "pushable."  I did a bit of chanting when I had various aspects of my treatment---omnis during the initial biopsy for example--and was told they had never had someone be so calm during the procedure.   And I would DEFINATELY say that my husband is calmer and less stressed by our kids when he has been meditating.  Unfortunately, even though he knows this to be true, he cannot seem to get himself on track to do anything about it.

Another article.  This one about the affect of meditation on the brain.

"Past research suggests that meditation doesn't have to be intensive to have an effect. One recent study by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte found that students were able to improve their performance on tests of cognitive skill after just four days of meditation training for only 20 minutes per day. On one particularly challenging computer test of sustained attention, students who meditated did 10 times better than a control group. They also did significantly better on timed information-processing tasks that were designed to induce deadline stress."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100807/hl_time/08599200891400