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Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

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Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#21

Post by lopatin »

aynsof wrote: post #16

I did a ten-day silent retreat (Vipassana) and the effects were profound. I was far calmer, far more able to focus. It's hard to explain, but physical pain was also reframed from negative 'pain' to simply neutral sensation. I also found I had much less desire for stimulus. Usually when I'm cooking dinner or cleaning the house I feel the need to play a tv show or listen to a podcast, but after the retreat I could just…

> physical pain was also reframed from negative 'pain' to simply neutral sensation.

What does it mean to reframe physical pain? How reframing changed your experience of physical pain?

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#22

Post by 0xf8 »

lopatin wrote: post #21
aynsof wrote: post #16

I did a ten-day silent retreat (Vipassana) and the effects were profound. I was far calmer, far more able to focus. It's hard to explain, but physical pain was also reframed from negative 'pain' to simply neutral sensation. I also found I had much less desire for stimulus. Usually when I'm cooking dinner or cleaning the house I feel the need to play a tv show or listen to a podcast, but after the retreat I could just…

> physical pain was also reframed from negative 'pain' to simply neutral sensation. What does it mean to reframe physical pain? How reframing changed your experience of physical pain?

It means you no longer experience it as an explicitly negative experience. While physiologically the pain signals are still present, your brain's reaction to them changes. Most notably (in my experience) the change occurs when one learns to stop resisting in any fashion the experience of the pain and just accepting it is there, neutrally observing it. From an uninitiated person's standpoint, I can't say this means things will no longer "hurt," they still do, you just change what it even means to be hurting. At the very least from something that is unequivocally negative and must subside, to something neutral that is occurring in the midst of everything else that is occurring.

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#23

Post by 0xf8 »

mankash666 wrote: post #20

Can anyone here prove their claimed benefits to actually stem from mediation? Any academic study?

I think personal experience here is the answer. Even an excellent academic study, peer reviewed, conducted by experts in the field, published in a prestigious journal, is still at best one single experiment. Pretty sure the common answer to this is question is, try it yourself. Do it consistently 10 minutes a day for at least a week and see if you notice any benefit. That should be more informative than any study and as relevant to you as any experiment can be, you are the test subject. Also probably take as long as any review (a thorough one anyways) of academic literature.

If you see a benefit, consider it "proven," if not consider it a still unanswered question. That being said, I recall having once come across some interesting research in neuroscience dealing with meditation. However, it being neuroscience and not psychology, I don't think the research set out to ascertain any proclaimed "perceived" benefits. Just understanding the impact on the brain, neurologically, of meditation. I will try to link if I can recover the source.

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#25

Post by moraya-re »

I've experienced the thoughtless awareness state. Just being present without any thoughts crossing my mind.

I do around 25-30 minutes of meditation session usually right after bath & try to do 10 minutes before sleep.

Most of the time, I'm able to be thoughtlessly aware. But trying to be more steady.

After trying various meditation techniques, I found "Sahaja Yoga" & life has been gradually becoming peaceful & enjoyable. Give it a try. It's free of cost & the most beautiful experience you can have on planet earth.

Visit Sahaja Yoga center nearby & ask anyone where can I get self-realization.

If you want more information, please comment. I'll be happy to help.

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#26

Post by ux4 »

pinchharmonic wrote: post #6

It helps you be more mindful and detach from the moment to moment undulations of modern life. This can be good and bad. I can meditate anywhere. But usually I sit in half-lotus, slowly easing myself into a blank state. I think about radiating outward. Anywhere from 5-25 mins. Never did a retreat. The problem with meditation is I think that it can release a latent and light form of schizophrenia. Things that society v…

I agree with you, but I wouldn't call it schizophrenia or say any values were lost, they were just reprioritized. Describing it as schizophrenia implies a disconnection with reality, but the feelings and sensations we have are true, just not easily quantified or explained. Since we have a greater recognition of the sensations going through our body, we place a higher importance on those instead of the social values everyone else is working towards in the hopes that it will make them happy.

One example is working at a bad job. The average person will sacrifice their happiness to work at this bad job, because it pays the bills, because it would look bad on you to quit, etc. They live their life in fear and misery, but will suppress it until it becomes too much and they explode. When a person has the experience of observing the sensations in their body, they will be able to recognize unhappiness early on and are more likely to move on before they explode.

It does make it a little tougher to fit in with "normal" people because we have completely different priorities, but I would say we have a greater grasp on our own happiness, which is way more important in the grand scheme of things.

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#27

Post by cygned »

I would like to say I meditate everyday, but I don’t. It was - and still is - my plan to do so, though.

These days are very busy; working 15-18hs a day is normal routine. Being in meetings, talking to clients, making business decisions and still being involved in coding, which requires a lot of focus stresses concentration and eventually health.

I know that meditation can help me. Every time I take the time for it, and may it be 5 minutes, helps me a bit already. I have not yet been able to do it on a daily basis at a fixed point in time even though I had the chance to do so.

How does it help me? I experienced me to be calmer and more thoughtful when I practiced Zazen (my mediation style) over a longer period of time. Days become longer, that is, I am more focused on every small moment. I am not stressed by external factors that much, not angry, never in a hurry mentally - my inner self stays calm even when I am faced with a difficult situation.

I highly recommend meditation to everyone I talk to about topics like stress, work life balance or being more thoughtful. Mediation does not only mean to sit concentrated on a cushion. Going to the gym, taking a walk or “just” sitting on a chair - all of these can be some kind of meditation when practiced with mindfulness. Meditation is not about doing that one thing, it’s about finding your own right way, and thus I think everyone can benefit from it.

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#28

Post by ux4 »

The biggest impact meditation has had on me is that it's improved my introverted intuition; my ability to recognize myself, recognize what makes me happy, define my goals, and step back when my feelings are getting the best of me.

I just concentrate on my breath for 10-20 minutes at a time. Take in a diaphragmatic inhale, hold for 4 seconds, release for 6 seconds (technique used by Navy SEALS). Repeat this and focus on the sensations going on in your body such as the feeling of air rushing through your nose, the life of oxygen in your lungs, the dissipation of stress as you exhale through your mouth. Inhale, hold, exhale, repeat. Your mind will naturally try to distract you and chew on problems going on in your life, but it's important to recognize that it's only a fruitless thought and your immediate purpose is to focus on your breath and survive.

After ~15 minutes of this, I stop consciously breathing and just observe the sensations going through my body. Most immediately, you will notice you continue breathing, even though you're no longer consciously doing it. This is a subconscious activity, what other subconscious activities are going on in your body? Start recognizing the sensations in your toes and move up your body, it feels like a body scan that relaxes whatever body part your conscious of.

Once you feel satisfied, wake up, notice your surroundings, and feel the refreshing glow of calm happiness.

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#29

Post by cypherg »

0xf8 wrote: post #22
lopatin wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> physical pain was also reframed from negative 'pain' to simply neutral sensation. What does it mean to reframe physical pain? How reframing changed your experience of physical pain?

It means you no longer experience it as an explicitly negative experience. While physiologically the pain signals are still present, your brain's reaction to them changes. Most notably (in my experience) the change occurs when one learns to stop resisting in any fashion the experience of the pain and just accepting it is there, neutrally observing it. From an uninitiated person's standpoint, I can't say this means th…

after long periods of sitting, you end up having to confront pain very closely. When you inspect it with your meditating mind, you can actually see that it isn't directly "hurting you". Instead the pain is just recognized for what it is, a physical sensation; energy moving through your body that is ever slightly changing and won't last.

Re: Ask HN: How has meditation helped you?

#30

Post by riku_iki »

ux4 wrote: post #28

The biggest impact meditation has had on me is that it's improved my introverted intuition; my ability to recognize myself, recognize what makes me happy, define my goals, and step back when my feelings are getting the best of me. I just concentrate on my breath for 10-20 minutes at a time. Take in a diaphragmatic inhale, hold for 4 seconds, release for 6 seconds (technique used by Navy SEALS). Repeat this and focus…

> Take in a diaphragmatic inhale, hold for 4 seconds, release for 6 seconds (technique used by Navy SEALS).

I found many mentions of another approach advertised as used by Seals: square or box breathing, discussion on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13508038

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