61–70 of 122 posts
When I run, I no longer listen to music and I just let my mind wander. My layman's theory is that it's a form of meditation. At the end I'm full of mental energy and new ideas.
I can relate a little about my experiences doing zen-style meditation over the last few years. After long periods of meditation, like a weekend retreat or even a day of sitting, I tend to be very focused and relaxed. My normally chaotic emotions are subdued and I have a profound feeling of well-being and peace. This generally lasts for several days to several weeks depending on the lengths of sitting. Sitting daily s…
I took up regular meditation last Spring, sitting 30-40 minutes daily in my best approximation of zazen. I found the meditation quite relaxing and on some days I felt much better afterwards or had small insights about my life. Other days were not so pleasant. I believe I experienced a sharper awareness of the stress I felt at work (which in the past I would have denied feeling at all) and I was much more likely to notice when I became distracted at work, resulting in growing frustration and anxiety. I think it also made me more aware of the shallowness of my relationships with my coworkers and my own reluctance to engage with them.
Overall I suppose it's been a positive and educational experience.
Disclaimer: I'm a Christian. Not of those that make the news or your typical "fundamentalist". I read and study the Bible and do my best to be a good person, understanding the world around me yet living as closely as possible from that which God has asked of me, through the Bible. And if you ask, I've been doing pretty good at it while remaining relevant in the world around me, even in the tech community, so often agnostic or even atheist.
Meditation, unlike commonly thought of, is not about "emptying your mind" or "getting in tune with the Universe". Meditation is all about letting a thought, concept or idea completely soak your brain. That allows you a superior cognitive understanding of it. The different areas of your brain will be called to process it from all different angles. From a Christian standpoint, there are a few things that we are called to meditate on: "(…) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (http://bible.us/Phil4.8.ESV) If you read the previous verses on that passage (4-6), it talks about "rejoicing" and "not worrying". That is only possible when you let your brain soak in the pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, etc thoughts.
Now, I'm not trying to preach or ask you to follow Christ or God. What I'm telling you is that meditation is actively thinking about certain things and those things alone. It's not passive. It's not "emptying your mind". That is relaxation and it's also a good thing. But "emptying your mind" without filling it with the right things can have terrible consequences.
Personally, I'm trying to "disconnect" a little bit more. Less Twitter. Less RSS. Less… Apple rumors. Why? Those are all fine things and I enjoy knowing the latest news on the things that interest me. But living on the "now" has terrible consequences over how I analyze the past and prepare the future. I need to read more books and… meditate on what is important.
Bottom line: take time off, unplug, relax. Read/listen to things that fit the verse I quoted or bring up things that are either troubling or exciting you. Then allow yourself to unwind by letting the silence around you help you focus on what you have soaked your brain in. And I'd say "pray", but that mind be beyond the scope of your question… ;)
Yes, that site is sketchy as anything. But the technique works.
I got started on this when I decided to start working for myself actually. Now that I have a say in my schedule, the pressure of "getting there" practically doesn't exist! With that out of the way I only do what I enjoy doing and it allows me to take the time I need. I get to spend time each day on ME because I don't have to answer to THEM.
Good luck mate! Freeing myself from the cyclical struggle was the best thing I've ever done. It wasn't nor is easy but it's worth it for all the benefit I've seen!
- My ability to sustain attention and keep a lot of details in mind (say, for writing code) has improved significantly. Before I started my practice, my ability to code was declining with age.
- I'm much less reactive than I used to be. I have more ability to choose what I say and how I act. Of course, I still can and do make unskillful choices.
- Rather than expend energy on judgement, on right vs. wrong, I now focus on skillful vs unskillful. Meditation does change your view of the world. You realize you can't control your mind. So it's not, "I think, therefore I am." It's, "I think, therefore there are thoughts." A healthy relationship to your thoughts removes many obstacles.
The thing about meditation is that you have to actually do it. No amount of knowledge of the various techniques can substitute for actual practice. For this reason, as michael_dorfman says, you really do need a teacher. Don't just read the menu, eat the food.
Buddhist Geeks[1] is a great podcast. It has interviews with various Buddhist and non-dual teachers.
In Berkeley, there's an excellent pay-what-you-want 6 week beginner class offered by James Baraz[2]. The first session is presented without any Buddhist stuff. The remaining sessions have Buddhist content, to elucidate the foundations of practice. Plenty of people who are not interested in Buddhism take the class. Many of James' talks are on DharmaSeed[3], another great source of Buddhist audio.
[1] http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/ [2] http://www.insightberkeley.org/calendar.html [3] http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/86/
When I run, I no longer listen to music and I just let my mind wander. My layman's theory is that it's a form of meditation. At the end I'm full of mental energy and new ideas.