Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

well.blogs.nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 208 posts

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#191

Post by ZenoArrow »

crusso wrote: post #186
ZenoArrow wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't you enjoy something for what it is? As I said, it's possible to enjoy chaos. You don't know what chaos will bring, but you can still enjoy it as it comes along. Desire is a misused word. It's used as a catch all for all pleasure seeking, but in reality it's a special type of pleasure seeking, a directed form of pleasure seeking based on craving. If you're a pleasure seeker that doesn't have any strong cravi…

But you've lost the thread of the discussion. >> I was suffering every second, >Do you realize you are probably suffering every minute even >when you don't have to sit quietly? This wasn't about enjoying "life as it comes". This was about being addicted to the next stimulus; exposed by just trying to sit down and meditate for 20 minutes. You're conflating being able to handle and enjoy some chaos with the inability t…

> "You're conflating being able to handle and enjoy some chaos with the inability to tolerate a few moments of peace."

The suggestion was that you suffer even when your mind is engaged in something where this suffering was not apparent. In other words, even when you don't feel like you're suffering, you probably are. I disagreed with this by pointing out that even though meditation has its merits, there are other ways to enjoy your life, and therefore this assumption that you're 'probably suffering' is somewhat of a stretch.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#192

Post by ZenoArrow »

hotcool wrote: post #180
seivan wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you keep your mind still? I've tried counting my breaths up to 10, one for in and one for out, but honestly, it's a lot harder than it sounds. I end up having to start from 1 again a lot of times.

I suggest not counting. Don't use your mind to tame your mind. Try to ride a tiger and it will only eat you. Escape conceptual thought entirely.

From what I understand, it's slightly different from escaping conceptual thought entirely. The idea is to not direct your thoughts, but rather observe them without judgement as they arise and fade away. So the idea is balanced observation, and this is easier to do by relaxing your mind and body.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#193

Post by ASpring »

stevenkovar wrote: post #98

For those who "don't have time" or find it difficult to get into a mindful state while doing meditation: try it while performing some sort of routine task (something we do on 'autopilot'). During a drive or commute While you play a video game or sport When you're cleaning your house If you experience a side-thought like the clichéd, "did I leave the stove on?" answer it ("no, I surely didn't") or eliminate it ("I don…

Please do not try to meditate while driving, especially if you are a novice.

Meditation is about not responding to internal or external stimuli which is the antithesis of the mindset you should be driving with.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#194

Post by domsj »

EC1 wrote: post #136
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

I need this. I just about have a breakdown at work every single day because I work in an extremely loud open office setup with no escape to a place of solitude. Everyone on the floor sees me as a wretched asshole, because it's true. Where should I start with meditation?

If you're sensitive to office noise I strongly suggest getting good noise cancelling headphones. I had the same problem about a year ago, bought bose qc 25 and while a bit expensive it think it's money well spent, I'm much less aware of/annoyed by the noises around me

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#195

Post by xyz198 »

dominotw wrote: post #162
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

>This is my favorite source of info on the subject—very substantial content, yet light and even entertaining at times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEw2mHpVv9A Why is that guy dressed in some comical outfit, I can't take him seriously.

>> I can't take him seriously

Those are normal clothes for monks. You won't take someone seriously because they wear different clothes than you ?

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#196

Post by netheril96 »

stevenkovar wrote: post #98

For those who "don't have time" or find it difficult to get into a mindful state while doing meditation: try it while performing some sort of routine task (something we do on 'autopilot'). During a drive or commute While you play a video game or sport When you're cleaning your house If you experience a side-thought like the clichéd, "did I leave the stove on?" answer it ("no, I surely didn't") or eliminate it ("I don…

You should not meditate while driving, cleaning your house or doing sports. That is as dangerous as driving, cleaning your house or doing sports under the influence of mind altering drugs.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#197

Post by netheril96 »

qkhhly wrote: post #42

While meditation may be helpful in managing stress and other aspects, I am skeptical that it will work if you just meditated for three days.

When I was in high school, I meditated for the first time for two days and my grades spiked, for I made much less stupid mistakes. After that, the effect of meditation must be maintained regularly. If I didn't meditate for say three days in the last month, the grade bonus vanished quickly.

What I am trying to say is that to someone who has never meditated before, three day meditation may well have a significant impact. However if they do not do it long term, those effects may be temporary.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#198

Post by redrummr »

hotcool wrote: post #80
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

But doesn't meditation impede that little thought machine that runs in most programmers' heads? What has put me off meditation a little bit was reports of people no longer getting those algorithmic lightbulb moments at the gym or elsewhere AFK, which then makes keyboard time more productive. My best business and life ideas have happened while I wasn't in the 'moment' of whatever I was doing, and instead highly absent and still in code/entrepreneuring/brainstorming mode (whether I knew it or not). I don't know if it's worth giving up all those moments to experience life on a deeper level (I'll regret writing this).

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#199

Post by queeerkopf »

redrummr wrote: post #198
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

But doesn't meditation impede that little thought machine that runs in most programmers' heads? What has put me off meditation a little bit was reports of people no longer getting those algorithmic lightbulb moments at the gym or elsewhere AFK, which then makes keyboard time more productive. My best business and life ideas have happened while I wasn't in the 'moment' of whatever I was doing, and instead highly absent…

As far as i understand it, it's not so much that you can't do that anymore but that it's not automatic anymore. You can still let your mind do it's thing, e.g. hop on the thought train and let one thought lead to another. It's more that you choose to do that whereas for most people it just happens (automatically and subconciously)

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#200

Post by amazingman »

seivan wrote: post #175
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

How do you keep your mind still? I've tried counting my breaths up to 10, one for in and one for out, but honestly, it's a lot harder than it sounds. I end up having to start from 1 again a lot of times.

Keeping the mind still isn't the point, nor is it possible without effort. Effort isn't really what is being indicated when experienced meditators talk about "stillness". Meditation is fundamentally extremely simple: focus on the chosen object of meditation, notice when distraction has arisen, return the attention to the chosen object of meditation. There are many useful paths/methods/techniques that can grow from this soil, but these should not be understood as goals.
Post reply on HN