Meditation,what Its Your Favorite Method? Options

A couple of days ago I was having aconversation about mantras, yoga, meditation......and while I was thinking about our little topic , some thing came up to my thougths......I realize people tend to meditate in their own fashion, personally, I like the old fashion position of sitting up-right, with your back resting in a cushion against a flat upright surface(wall),staring at a candles flame , until your mind goes completally blank....an then I close my eyes and let any images come to my mind.....but some peopleactually meditate laying on their backs(laying in the bed) and not even consider letting any images come to their minds.......which method do you think its more effective to you in order to reach that meditative trance-state in your mind????

I have been hesitant to respond to this, as I have been going through some level of spiritual challenge, call it a mini long dark night or some such. After spending three hours with a former teacher (spiritual) of mine. I identified the underlining issue. More because of reflection, then anything else.

Understand that this totally put me out of sorts. Being as vulnerable as I have been is truly not part of my “way of being”.

The answer to your post is easy. It depends what I am meditating for.

As part of a regular practice my most common form of meditation is an hour of Hatha yoga followed by about a half hour of laying on my back and focusing on each body part one at a time. Letting energy flow to it and heal any blocks. After that I sink into it and allow the mind to go where it will. This is all done lying on my back.

However, I really enjoy chanting in a group (this can be great or terrible, but when it is good, it is great).

I enjoy classic zazen practice. I enjoy alternate breathing techniques. I enjoy labyrinth work.

Lastly I enjoy the doing something and noticing the flow of the work, this can be anything from cleaning, to painting, or any such manual activity where the mind would normally travel to something else, but it is kept only on task.

All of those are forms I like to meditate, and depending on if I have a magickal goal, I will try one or another to arrive at the one that best servers my goal.

Hands down, empty mind meditation. There's enough thoughts swirling around in my head all day long, I've got no reason to intentionally put more in.
A technique I usually use is encapsulating this image, that sound, or those concepts into something; resting in a paper flower drifting away down a river that stretches into the distance... or in a transparent suitcase dropping off an endlessly high cliff; until I'm able to duplicate just the feeling of letting thoughts go without ignoring them.

I'm on of the people who can't meditate on my back in any focused way. If I'm on my back and my body relaxes, I start to drift (I have a minor sleep problem, so my body will try to take any chance it can).

I prefer seated or moving meditation. I love dancing as a form of meditation. Though my favoured form of meditation is Anapana, and the times when I can manage it, Vipassana. Nothing stills my mind, and focuses my thought more than being aware of the feelings I create by breathing.

Though as Paxx said, it depends on what I'm meditating for, and where/when. I use Anapana a lot when I'm at home, to relax, or to focus my mind before ritual. But if I'm doing something more like Sigil work, I prefer to use methods like dancing to pull all of me into it.

Moving this from Ceremonial Magick forum.