Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#81

Post by rlbrackett3 » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 3:44 AM UTC

I have been maintaining a steady meditation practice for several months. It is something I have become more and more attached to as I really focus on taking the time to have stillness. A good 20 minutes of simple quietude and deep breathing twice a day definitely helps me be more productive and more focused. The hardest thing is not thinking about all the things you have to do after this, and really just be still.

A practical and pragmatic source on meditation is Lawrence LeShan's "How to Meditate". I found it to be an informative read and provide a lot of places to both start and expand a meditation practice.

From time to time I will write about interesting meditation experiences or just ways of becoming more disciplined in my practice. http://www.putafonit.com if anyone is interested.

Seeing this post made my day, glad to see some love for good old peace and quiet in our busy lives.

Robert

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#82

Post by ced » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 3:48 AM UTC

kingsidharth wrote: post #26

I love meditating! Been doing it since age of 6 (I was born in India & my Grandmother is an awesome teacher). Why? It's like bathing for mind & soul. I even started a blog about it: http://www.meditationrocks.us/blog You can find my experiences and learnings there. Summing-up: How to Meditate (Easiest Way): Sit in comfortable place. With back straight (or you will fall asleep). Close your eyes & focus on your breathi…

Can you sit against a wall? How long should one persevere before giving up if nothing interesting happens?

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#83

Post by levifig » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 3:50 AM UTC

jcromartie wrote: post #78

levifig wrote: post #65

I know I'll get some heat for this, but here it goes anyway. 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…

I agree with your take on meditation (theologically), but to play devil's advocate: I think the common idea of "emptying your mind" could actually be seen as focusing on something, even if that something is "nothing," or silence. I've found that one of the best things for "unplugging" is actually Instapaper and other readers. Instead of flitting from link to link and doing shallow reading on HN or Reddit, I tend to s…

I use Instapaper religiously (hah!). The bad thing is how it became a graveyard of oh-so-awesome-must-read articles and less a queue of stuff I do read. :) As to the "emptying your mind", all I said was that if you're focused on "emptying" you might miss what goes on to "fill" it. If your focus is on what you're filling it with, you'll automatically start "emptying" it of what shouldn't be there. :)

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#84

Post by trobertson » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 3:50 AM UTC

shadowpwner wrote: post #72

jasonshen wrote: post #14

As a gymnast, I found meditation to be be a powerful way to train my mind to focus. This was particularly important for the pommel horse, which is a super nuanced event that you can can't "muscle" your way to success. I do believe I noticed a difference in my performance as time went on. Now I try to meditate simply as a way of introducing calm into a life that is jam packed with work, socializing and outside project…

5 minutes a day? ;)

Better than zero.

As a former collegiate gymnast myself, I happen to know that you don't have a long time to meditate (in the gymnastics world, it's called visualizing your routine) before it's your turn to compete. Being able to get into a meditative state quickly can make or break your performance. Take to long, and you don't reach the state, and are more prone to errors. Almost all of the high level gymnasts visualize every routine they do, with varying degrees of success.

As you pointed out, Jason's goal does only average at about 5 minutes a day. But that's more time than a gymnast usually has (unless he wants to dismiss his teammate's routines, which is not exactly... nice). So for him, 5 minutes may be all he needs to reap the benefits, whereas someone who hasn't had the training to quickly get into that state may need more time.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#85

Post by levifig » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 3:53 AM UTC

epochwolf wrote: post #77

levifig wrote: post #65

I know I'll get some heat for this, but here it goes anyway. 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…

> And I'd say "pray", but that mind be beyond the scope of your question I happen to be a Christian as well. Do you think of prayer and mediation as separate activities, aspect of the same activity, or identical? (I am withholding my opinion as to not bias your response)

Totally! Before, during and after. Praying goes in tandem alongside meditation. :) I could go on on why that is the whole reason for meditation, but that would be drifting away from the issue towards my beliefs (and I promised I wouldn't get "preachy"), but I do have an opinion. :)

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#86

Post by levifig » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 3:54 AM UTC

epochwolf wrote: post #77

levifig wrote: post #65

I know I'll get some heat for this, but here it goes anyway. 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…

> And I'd say "pray", but that mind be beyond the scope of your question I happen to be a Christian as well. Do you think of prayer and mediation as separate activities, aspect of the same activity, or identical? (I am withholding my opinion as to not bias your response)

Argh… By "totally" I meant "part of the same activity". :p Not identical but not separate (hence my use of "in tandem"). :)

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#87

Post by silentbicycle » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 4:23 AM UTC

ced wrote: post #82

kingsidharth wrote: post #26

I love meditating! Been doing it since age of 6 (I was born in India & my Grandmother is an awesome teacher). Why? It's like bathing for mind & soul. I even started a blog about it: http://www.meditationrocks.us/blog You can find my experiences and learnings there. Summing-up: How to Meditate (Easiest Way): Sit in comfortable place. With back straight (or you will fall asleep). Close your eyes & focus on your breathi…

Can you sit against a wall? How long should one persevere before giving up if nothing interesting happens?

You say "Nothing interesting happens" like it's a bad thing. You're unclenching your mind, not being sprinkled with pixie dust. :) Expect to feel bored, then continually noticing how much you distract yourself (a song popped in my head...do I have e-mail?...what time is it?), then wondering if your knees will forgive you, then (maybe eventually, if you quit shifting), calm.

If you want to think about it as some sort of "deliberate sensory deprivation to stop the signals that would normally reinforce habitual fight or flight stimuli" thing, ok. It doesn't need to be a religious thing. Either way: You sit. It's boring. Deep breath. It just is.

I'm not the author of the parent comment, but in my experience, sitting for 15-20 minutes seems about right. Rather than trying to be all hardcore and meditating for 2+ hours a day, just try sticking with it a couple days a week. Doing it for shorter periods regularly adds up. It's not magic, though - it's more like consistently getting enough sleep. But it really does help, like emptying the lint trap in your mind.

Also, sitting against a wall is ok (if you get used to seiza (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiza)), but you'll probably be happier with a "zafu" (small sitting cushion) so your back and knees are at an angle >90 degrees. You can also use a couch cushion, tree trunk programming book, or whatever.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#88

Post by ethagnawl » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 4:27 AM UTC

ced wrote: post #82

kingsidharth wrote: post #26

I love meditating! Been doing it since age of 6 (I was born in India & my Grandmother is an awesome teacher). Why? It's like bathing for mind & soul. I even started a blog about it: http://www.meditationrocks.us/blog You can find my experiences and learnings there. Summing-up: How to Meditate (Easiest Way): Sit in comfortable place. With back straight (or you will fall asleep). Close your eyes & focus on your breathi…

Can you sit against a wall? How long should one persevere before giving up if nothing interesting happens?

i don't think anything is supposed to happen... (someone please, correct me if i'm wrong.)

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#89

Post by jinfiesto » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 4:53 AM UTC

I meditate fairly regularly as well. It's interesting that I've seen meditation characterized very differently in this discussion so far. I've never particularly thought of it as "emptying your mind" or "letting one thought soak into the mind." Uchiyama Roshi characterizes meditation as "opening the hand of thought" and I really feel that this is the most accurate description of meditation for me. We are not rocks after all! To think is part of human nature :)

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

#90

Post by jinfiesto » Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 4:55 AM UTC

ced wrote: post #82

kingsidharth wrote: post #26

I love meditating! Been doing it since age of 6 (I was born in India & my Grandmother is an awesome teacher). Why? It's like bathing for mind & soul. I even started a blog about it: http://www.meditationrocks.us/blog You can find my experiences and learnings there. Summing-up: How to Meditate (Easiest Way): Sit in comfortable place. With back straight (or you will fall asleep). Close your eyes & focus on your breathi…

Can you sit against a wall? How long should one persevere before giving up if nothing interesting happens?

I don't recommend sitting against a wall. If you plan on meditating, I recommend investing in a zafu and zabuton. They'll provide much better back support than a wall or just the floor.