Sunrise meditation (ish) for mental wellbeing

Hiya, thanks for taking the time to view this!

I'm interested to see whether any of you are interested in meditation or sunrises.

I'm pretty stressed, have been for as long as I can remember. I love nature and stuff and I happen to live near a beautiful woodland and grassy areas and I have an interest in the sun rising, I fancy sitting and watching it rise surrounded by nature, I hope this can reduce some of my stress.

Problem is if I spend too much time in silence (anything over a minute) my mind starts to race and stress and worry build up, my mind wont rest.

I was wondering if anybody had any techniques for meditation that could help me?
Perhaps giving me a focus, a mental image would help but I'm just not creative enough to think of one, I'm a noob to exploration of my own mind xD

Any help would be really appreciated! Love on ya! Sian xx

updated by @green-head: 01/13/15 09:52:06PM

One technique is to observe your thoughts. Eventually they become less and less.

A very simple meditation I have done alot is;

sit comfortably, anywhere, silently begin to observe your thoughts (your mind), just watch them, breath gently, observe your breath, then slowly say, with your internal voice:

I, the soul, am peaceful.

Then sit in that experience for a second, or how ever long you can, the thoughts will come again, that is fine, just observe and repeat again for as long as you want to.

What you are saying is, I, the soul (you are identifying yourself as spirit, the soul, not the body, not the mind, I am the soul, I do not have a soul, I am the soul, I, the soul) am peaceful, that is our true nature.

I, the soul, am peaceful, I am a being of light, I am not my body, I am not my mind, I, the soul, am peaceful. ( you can say this sentence as a meditation also)

peace and be blessed

hi green head, it certainly is very beneficial to meditate during the sunrise. it is very natural n normal for all kinda thoughts to arise in ur mind when u are meditating. ur mind should never be empty. an empty mind is a matter of major concern. it can cause lethargy, lack of desire to perform ur work, depression, negative emotions n even criminal behavior.

here are some ways in which u can meditate..

1. first of all relax, dont force urself for anything. the more comfortable u are the better u can meditate. u can sit in any erect sitting position that is comfortable for u. on a chair in a normal pose or even on ground with legs crossed if u can.

2. easiest way is focus on ur breathing. have nice deep breaths n feel the air passing through ur nostrils and entering ur lungs and ur systems. the amount of time of inhaling air and exhaling air are different. u spend around 3 times more time when u exhale air. the inhaling period is much shorter. (i dont know if this makes sense, its kinda hard for me explain). this happens unconsciously otherwise, but when u meditate focus ur mind on this.

3. u can try doing this with soft soothing music as well.. prayers, hymns or anything that is relaxing to u. u said u live in a beautiful woodland grassy area. if u are meditating outdoors try to listen to the sounds around u. the chirping of the birds, the sound of the breeze, some remote sound at a distance.. all these work together and will help u realise how beautiful the cosmic music can be.

4. concentrate on the darkness. when u close ur eyes.. u still see. what u see is the depth of the darkness.

5. try pull ur focus on each of ur body part for specific period of time starting from ur toes to ur forehead to the skull and hair. give short periods of attention for each organ exclusively and shift to the other. it will rejuvenate each part and will make u way more aware of ur body and inner self and will help u coordinate with the external world much more effectively.

6. i kept this last since u said its hard for u to create mental images. but its my favorite... closed eyes bring darkness... make this darkness the canvas for ur abstract thoughts.. try to imagine whatever and however u want to. u may think of a man with boobs walking on 3 legs with a trunk like an elephant and a single eye.. (this is very random but basically try to create something that may make sense to u.) a tomato kept on a table, a window behind the table, wind gushing through the window and blowing the curtains making them sway freely.... things like this..

u will surely find it difficult to meditate for more than 3-4 minutes to start with... just like dreads its a slow process and u only gradually build that focus in urself.. if u keep meditating regularly u'll reach a stage sooner or later when it will come naturally to u. u will be even able to meditate in a crowded place. how cool is that..? in the longer run u'll be easily able to shift ur concentration from one job to the other with much greater efficiency. the best part is it will happen naturally and unconsciously.. this was long, im sorry for that. hope this helps u. peace

I live on a farm and I walk the property and visit the animals. It's peaceful, like meditation. I used to stress alot too. The dreading process is changing me spiritually. I hope you get the answers you are looking for to relax.

Thanks dudes for your amazing replies, they are ALL so helpful.

Ojas Acharya , Dude, Don't say sorry for the length of your reply, I was extremely helpful, where I could've gone out and bought a long winded book, you explained all I need to know to begin in a few paragraphs I could understand, thank you so much!

You've all helped me very much, thanks for reading this Love on ya!