Meditation

[souldesire]

Please can anyone tell me about some good places for meditation/relaxation in the Bkk/Pattaya area.I suffered two massive family berievements back in the UK(7 months ago)and have just returned here to start work again.I am finding it very difficult to relax and sleep,which in turn is affecting my job ande self confidence.

I am not seeking to be Buddhist or be a 'phra farang'(although theres nothing at all wrong with that)but would just like to calm down a little and get a good nights kip!

cheers.

[camerata]

If you aren't interested in Buddhism, you might try yoga at Yoga Elements Studio:

http://www.yogaelements.com/

It is at Chidlom, Bangkok.

[aaaaaa]

you don't need any school or club or special place to do a meditation. you can do it anywhere anytime.

basically it is just a visual observation or deeper - mental, which is related to conteplation.

in this sens - any focused or concentrated activity, especially those requiring mind, not only phisical bodily involvement (although mind oftne follow senses and body in the work) is some sort of meditation.

so, you can simply go to park or do other sort of sightseeing, even look at the sky; otherwise even observe simple trivial object in daily surrounding life. or do some activities consuming mind energy - like reading or writing, or creative thinking or art, philosophy etc.

if you are more concerned about spiritual meditations - it can be also done without special endeavours or holy anointments - all spiritual disciplines start from ABC - understanding oneself in real true sense, and then in relation to the rest of world and its whatever source.

sport is also powerfull meditation - although has more "gross" or "grounded" object as perfecting one's body.

the main point in any kind of meditation - is its object, although often mistakenly undersstood as absence of any object of thoughts about it. so called "absence of thoughts" - is merely another sort of thoughts, or in other words concentrating one's mind on the having of that single thought , that "I don't have any thoughts"

so, just choose your object - the rest depends on you.

[Sheryl]

Please can anyone tell me about some good places for meditation/relaxation in the Bkk/Pattaya area.I  suffered two massive family berievements back in the UK(7 months ago)and have just returned here to start work again.I am finding it very difficult to relax and sleep,which in turn is affecting my job ande self confidence.

        I am not seeking to be Buddhist or be a 'phra farang'(although theres nothing at all wrong with that)but would just like to calm down a little and get a good nights kip!

      cheers.

There is an excellent facility 2 hours from Bangkok caled Dhammakammala. They teach vipassana meditation in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, which is structly non-xsetarian. 10-day courses are conducted twice a month (you have to stay there they whole 10 days). Contrary to what some may think or say, meditation does need to be learned, preferrably in a structured manner from experienced teachers, before it can be successfully practiced, and while a very experienced meditator can meditate anywhere, anytime, for a beginner a proper environment is essential. You'll find that there. The technique and rules, schedule for the 10 day courses can be found on the international website www.dhamma.org For course schedule of Dhammakammala (Prachinburi, Thailand), click on course schedules then south asia, then thailand. You can apply online.