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Ask HN: Do you meditate?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#61

I meditate, but only for 2 to 5 minutes at a time. When I do it much longer than that, vaguely-bad things happen. (It would take a long time to explain. Suffice to say that I am chronically ill, and if I were healthier, I could probably meditate longer without these vague negative consequences.) Usually I set a timer (about which more below) for 2 minutes, then right after that, 2 minutes more. If I ever "flunk" a me…

I didn't have bad things happen in the way I'm guessing you mean, but I did TM for about a year and it messed up my sleep pattern severely. I was doing 10-20 minutes twice daily, ended up sleeping poorly at night and being dead tired around 4pm. I was very worried that I'd be so tired as to fall asleep on driving home. If I meditate it's only for a few minutes and not on a regular basis.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#62
Yes, it changed the way I view the world.

Sometime during my teenage years, I started not caring about the world around me, and just tried to improving myself. Think faster, go faster, multitask, get things done. Although improving these abilities are cool, they focused my life on getting more money, getting promoted. Not really focusing on what really matters: being a better person, being happy, enjoying life.

Meditation changed my view. I try to spend more time with family. When I take out the trash I enjoy the path I am walking on, the stars in the skies, the wind.

All this sounds a bit "hippie", but I am more happy now than I was before.

I highly recommend meditation to anyone. I am meditation using the iphone/android app "headspace". It is really helpful for anyone that is beginning with meditation. It guides you through all the process.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#63
post #21
post #12

I pray for the same reason the late C.S. Lewis prayed: "I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me." - CS Lewis I know it might tick some people off that I mention prayer in a thread about meditation, but I respect a person's right to believe whatever they want. All I ask is they respe…

I think there's a bit of crossover with prayer so it wouldn't be fair to give you flak because of the association. For example, if you're reciting a typical prayer, e.g the Our Father, you're focusing your mind on one thing. To dedicate to the prayer, you can't just shut other thoughts out, you must acknowledge and return to the prayer. I can some of the same benefits. In free flow prayer, I guess you're also acknowl…

The Hail Mary and, by extension, the Rosary, are often considered "meditative prayer" because the Hail Mary is so short that its recitation becomes muscle memory after only a short while.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#64
post #25
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a bit of crossover with prayer so it wouldn't be fair to give you flak because of the association. For example, if you're reciting a typical prayer, e.g the Our Father, you're focusing your mind on one thing. To dedicate to the prayer, you can't just shut other thoughts out, you must acknowledge and return to the prayer. I can some of the same benefits. In free flow prayer, I guess you're also acknowl…

I know Christianity is a very touchy subject for many people. It's easy to find lots of examples of the gulf between orthodoxy and orthopraxy in many people's lives. But I'm not so much interested in where a person is at in their lives, as much as I'm interested in the delta - the change - over time. Prayer, over time, changes me. I need to change. C.S. Lewis was a hero of mine. An Atheist for a good chunk of his lif…

G K Chesterton was also a convert (edit: to Catholicism) and extremely prolific writer, be sure to check out his work if you haven't had a chance yet. I re-read Manalive every year or so.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#65
post #37
post #12

I pray for the same reason the late C.S. Lewis prayed: "I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me." - CS Lewis I know it might tick some people off that I mention prayer in a thread about meditation, but I respect a person's right to believe whatever they want. All I ask is they respe…

Wow great quote. I think it would be narrow minded to not consider prayer a form of meditation. I know people who would describe a wide array of nontraditional activities as "meditation" as well: skiing, playing an instrument, driving, weight lifting, yard work. Surely prayer has a place too.

> weight lifting

I don't know too much about Crossfit but the impression I've always had is that it's the polar opposite of careful, mindful, "correct" lifting.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#66
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow great quote. I think it would be narrow minded to not consider prayer a form of meditation. I know people who would describe a wide array of nontraditional activities as "meditation" as well: skiing, playing an instrument, driving, weight lifting, yard work. Surely prayer has a place too.

> weight lifting I don't know too much about Crossfit but the impression I've always had is that it's the polar opposite of careful, mindful, "correct" lifting.

The problem here is the equivalence between weight lifting and crossfit. Within weightlifting and powerlifting circles crossfit is perceived as an abomination and something that should be killed. The main issue here is the culture surrounding the crossfit movement, which is what you've already observed. Note that I've said nothing about crossfit as an idea in and itself.

And to the point about weightlifting being a form of meditation - it absolutely is.

Just as a thought exercise - think of a some restriction you have had. Be it going to bed early, getting up early, drinking less, eating less, doing something, etc. That's the temptation with breaking form - it's usually super easy to break your form and that's the thing you have to mindfully control. Repeating cues and having that mind-body connection. That really trains your focus.

Then you have the burden of lifting the weight when you can no longer see or think. Every set, every rep you have to do something incredibly pointless - it has no immediate effects, no one is forcing you and the only reason is because you want to. But that thing is incredibly hard and the alternative is just not doing it. I'm sure you've been faced with a tough decision or choice that you must make and you wanted to just not make it. At a point lifting is choosing to face that decision over and over and over again - it's not just a physical exercise it becomes a huge mental exercise as well.

Everyone has that story when you didn't see what weight you put on the bar and you just made a 10% PR when you've been struggling with the previous weight for months.

Usually when being at your maximum when performing an exercise(squat, deadlift, sprinting, etc.) all extraneous thoughts disappear, you focus is on the movement, your thoughts become a tad slower, and your will is tested all the time. There's a very similar sensation when meditating and I've felt that also when focusing on a problem or riding a bike. Also the shouting and getting angry is a mix of getting your body ready and focusing at the task at hand - a bit similar to the chants or music during meditation(not really a fan of that tbh but some people swear by it - ambiguous on purpose). Sometimes when warming up or just during submaximal sets, thoughts just come and go and you are definitely there doing the work and thinking them and yet you're on the sidelines calm, relaxed and observing yourself and your mind.

It's a bit weird and I maybe gave a crappy description but that's my experience with lifting and meditation.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#67
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow great quote. I think it would be narrow minded to not consider prayer a form of meditation. I know people who would describe a wide array of nontraditional activities as "meditation" as well: skiing, playing an instrument, driving, weight lifting, yard work. Surely prayer has a place too.

> weight lifting I don't know too much about Crossfit but the impression I've always had is that it's the polar opposite of careful, mindful, "correct" lifting.

Untimed Olympic lifts are nearly the same to me as yoga. Steady concentration, form and listening to your body.

I don't know much about Crossfit besides that they co-opt a lot of Olympic lifts but add timed elements and "go until exhaustion" type of circuits. To me this is the opposite of what anyone should do, it is dangerous and form breaks down when you're tired or overwhelmed.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#68

Yes. I used to do Zazen with not much luck until I switched to Anapanasati meditation, completely blew my mind. Most of the Buddhist texts started to make more sense. Jhanic states and so on. With proper meditation technique I went from 15 minutes to sitting for an hour, easy, effortlessly. Mediation was pretty life changing for me.

Out of curiosity, which jhani states have you reached and what specific anapanasati technique do you use (focus on breath at nostrils, breath throughout the body, kasina, etc). I'm working to achieve first Khama currently, but getting a bit stuck in access concentration.

I've used Shaila Catherine books for guidance and instructions. It's hard to say which jhanic states exactly because I practice alone with no teachers. I would guess from first to third but not for long periods of time. I have experienced piti and after that entered 'equanimity' jhanic state, subtle but alert and content concentration.

I highly recommend the book Focused and Fearless, I haven't seen such clarity on meditation anywhere else, except maybe Buddhist texts but they can be cryptic and poorly translated.

My technique is comfortable freestyle sitting (as opposite to lotus that gives me pain and takes away from concentration) and breath counting from 1 to 10 and 10 to 1 until I reach more relaxed breathing, then I switch to counting 1-1 on inhale, 1-1 on exhale, repeat until 10 and backwards, this reduced mental activity and keeps me on a) breath at nostrils and b) concentration with counting. After 15-20 minutes I usually start hitting Jhanic states with piti coming in first and then going away to enter more subtle higher absorption.

But yeah, get the above book, I am not much of a guide, I was actually lucky to hit piti within several days of Anapanasati meditation and Jhanic states within a week. I hear that some people struggle for months.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#69

I don't know if it's proper meditation, but right after waking up I sit on the floor and repeat for 20 minutes: “Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” It's like a mantra. I'm not even sure about the original source of this quote. It may sound a…

Just curious: how do you know it helps you focus? Sorry if it sounds demeaning, but it's easy to convince ourselves if not careful. Have you tried measuring it in some way?

You're not demeaning and raise a very good point! It's a daily practice tailored to my weaknesses. There's no physical benefit in itself to it. I think the key to a successful life lies in self-discipline, which must be practiced and reminded of every day.

Let me quote Admiral William H. McRaven:

> "If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.

By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.

If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better."http://goo.gl/IxK2p5

Meditation is bed making for my mind. It's an incredible speech and I highly recommend it.

It's difficult to measure its effects because I started this routine as part of a complete change of lifestyle. However, I definitely get more work done now than 2, 3 years ago. It's not about being delusional, but embracing your own potential.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate?

#70
post #14
post #7

15-20 minutes of meditation before an important meeting or negotiation does wonders for me. I've experimented with an iOS app "Headspace" which was pretty decent, but the patter became a bit repetitive before my trial was over so didn't extend. I do like the Oprah/Deepak 21 day challenge guided meditation series.

I also tried my hands on Headspace but wasn't that happy about it. Are the Oprah/Deepak similarly guided?

These were a bit more useful for me. Each session has a specific mantra that Deepak explains. Oprah's part is the intro, and it is pretty pointless except so she can say she collaborated AFIACT.

Anything of this flavor comes with the obvious disclaimer. Gurus are human too, of course. In Deepak's case, there's even a documentary from his son Gotham ("Decoding Deepak") that shows that side of his father.

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