What are your meditation techniques?

[Dave]

Sometimes I get a little overstressed. Freaking out on occasional.

Usually I do a bit of Zazen to quiet the mind and this helps.

But these days, I'm looking to branch out from Buddhist versions of meditation.

So what do you Dudes do?

[DigitalBuddha]

Sometimes I get a little overstressed. Freaking out on occasional.

Usually I do a bit of Zazen to quiet the mind and this helps.

But these days, I'm looking to branch out from Buddhist versions of meditation.

So what do you Dudes do?

[DudeAbides 1983]

I hate to say it, but at the end of a long day when I need to unwind and the special lady and little ones are asleep.... I play video games. It's un-dude yes but it's always been my thing. I was an Atari kid, then a Nintendo kid, then a Super Nintendo kid, the a PlayStation and Xbox teen, now as an adult I have a PlayStation 4 on pre-order. My time spent on them is actually quite minimal 3 to 4 hours per week and I never "treat objects like women," but I find it to be a fun way to chill out prior to getting some shut-eye.

[milnie]

I sit outside, look at the stars, and smoke a j

[DigitalBuddha]

I'm seeing a good rainbow of answers here, including mine, which I find all refreshing, dudes. What I mean is that Dave dude tells us that he is "looking to branch out from Buddhist versions of meditation" on one side of the rainbow, and here I stop by and announce that my answer is "beer and zesty coitus." In between we see DudeAbides 1983's history of relaxing and kicking back with his video gaming and his history of doing so from the times of being a little dude. Also, in the rainbow, we see milnie dude burning a J on a star lit night contemplating the universe to ease the stress.

I guess I represent the carnal side of Dudeism preferring to say "fuck it, let's go bowling and have a few beers and burgers," while Dave dude on the other side of the spectrum represents the inner dude meditative side of things. In between we see dudes such as DudeAbides 1983 and milnie dude and their preferred nomenclatures.

Conclusion; it's all good, dudes! And, dudeism has room for everyone to abide in the way that best suits their dude life style.

Abide on!

[Masked Dude]

Long ago, I did meditate, as in sitting and clearing the mind. I even had a very vivid vision. But these days, nothing so structured. My favorite thing to do is sit in the moonlight on a crisp cool evening, look up to the stars, maybe with a beer, maybe with my brother, and just not say anything. My brother and I are introverts, and it pisses us off sometimes when people want to talk endlessly when we're trying to enjoy... just... there.

[milnie]

There's nothing quite like being able to sit with someone and not need to speak, just enjoy the company and your own thoughts

[MindAbiding]

Hey Dave dude,

Baths, walks, and playing music all help me out, man. Meditation, too. I've shied away from good-ole fashioned breath-counting zazen meditation in recent years, though, and spiced it up with little "mental experiments" -- trying different kinds of visualizations and thought experiments that upset the habitual thought patterns and open up new ways of thinking about shit. To me, the most helpful thing right now is to try to become an ally with my mind, instead of being overrun by it.

Sometimes I get a little overstressed. Freaking out on occasional.

Usually I do a bit of Zazen to quiet the mind and this helps.

But these days, I'm looking to branch out from Buddhist versions of meditation.

So what do you Dudes do?

[Judd Dude]

Good stuff here. Myself, I partake in music, both playing it and listening, motorcycling can be relaxing on the right roads(without douchebags on cellphones etc). Lately I've been fishing which is really peaceful. I grew up boating on lakes and since my folks sold the lake property I've missed it greatly, so I bought a boat recently. It's not an expensive boat, but it floats and drives and it's mine. Cruising the water has been great after not doing so in a long time, and sometimes the most relaxing thing to do is just kill the engine, drop anchor and float there, listening to the waves go "clush, clush" against the hull. It's not meditation per se, but it's pure relaxation, man.

[Rev Paddy Cakes]

I concur. All of these are good relaxations / meditations, and the good thing about Dudeitation, is that they are all equally valid. There are lots of things I do for relaxation (photography, reading, watching my 9 month old play, having an oat soda / G&T / whiskey / Caucasian). However, for my own ramblings, I do want to draw a fuzzy, marmot-like line between relaxation and meditation. Meditation I would say is when you allow yourself to be alone with just your thoughts (whether chilling on a windy night alone or with someone else in silence), without judgment. Just letting the thoughts run through, whether they be Dude-like, facist, pacifist, aggressive, zesty, limber, uptight... I find the best way for me to do this is some stream of consciousness journal writing. Again, it may be crap, but at least I am aware of those thoughts with little else distracting me. I think it is that distraction that separates relaxation from meditation. While I try to read as much as possible, and find it calming, I am still thinking about the book, and not just letting the thoughts warsh over me.
Just a thought...

[BrotherShamus]

Care to share with us your vision Masked Dude? If not I completely understand of course.

[Ruckus]

I still jerk-off manually.

[Judd Dude]

I still jerk-off manually.

Of course you do. 

[Bullett00th]

Light up a J, have a White Russian, play a videogame... maybe all at the same time.

but nothing beats just going somewhere far from the busy city and just taking it easy surrounded by nature

[BrotherShamus]

Where is that Bullett00th? kind reminds me of Asheville.