I once went to a lecture given by a psychoanalyst who was also a Buddhist. His main point was that Buddhism and analysis were very similar means of self-introspection.
Does anyone here have a perspective on both to share?
Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
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Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#72| For the study, participants were taught to meditate by focusing on the sensation of their breathing, acknowledging and dismissing any stray thoughts that popped into their heads. For those who do practice meditation, what are other techniques that are effective to you?
I sit on a cushion for fifteen minutes or so, sitting cross-legged so that my back is relatively straight and my knees keep the whole posture relatively stable. Beyond that, it's just sitting and observing. If (ok, when) I notice my focus has drifted and I'm getting caught up in thoughts, I stop feeding into them and return focus to my breath, posture, and surroundings. It can be dreadfully boring, but when I do it p…
You needn't sit on a couch, cushion cross-legged ..
You can very well walk in a park and keep your focus on breath or feet or on the ground in front, or the bushes and greenery, all the while ignoring any thoughts that come up.
You can also sit on a park bench looking at the trees, focusing on the looking, being aware of looking.
This is known as awareness of awareness, or consciousness of consciousness which does sound fake but its very simple and effective. You soon start getting a feeling of what you really are as opposed to the belief of being a body/mind.
Being aware of this "I-feeling" is considered by many to be the fastest or direct path. This I-feeling is also found in the present moment when there is no past or future.
or Be aware of what is present between thoughts.
or Put your focus on what is conscious of existing.
There are tonnes of references that point to the same thing in different words:
- Power of Now (Tolle) - Michael Langford (albigen.com - full book available) - Youtubes of Papaji, Mooji, Tolle and many others
Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#73I once went to a lecture given by a psychoanalyst who was also a Buddhist. His main point was that Buddhism and analysis were very similar means of self-introspection. Does anyone here have a perspective on both to share?
The Dalai Lama says pretty much the same thing quite a bit. A quick read along these lines would be The Universe in a Single Atom.
Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's worth spending a bit of time reading on, as I find the descriptions here to be overly superficial, perhaps largely because meditation is more defined by what you do not do, than what you do. It's also worth noting that there are many types of meditation. Years ago I read "Buddhism without Beliefs" (on "agnostic Buddhism"). Bullshitty as the title may sound, the major thing that I came away with was a decent medi…
That final quote is a mind-blower, could not have put it better myself. Hits the nail on the head. Thanks a lot for it.
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Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#75| For the study, participants were taught to meditate by focusing on the sensation of their breathing, acknowledging and dismissing any stray thoughts that popped into their heads. For those who do practice meditation, what are other techniques that are effective to you?
If you can see through the language, repetitiveness and overlook some of the context setting, the best resource is here.
http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/ati_website/canon/sutta/m...
It is supposedly a transcript from the buddha discources.
There is nothing "spiritual" about it and is very systematic (basically lists of what to do) and worded very carefully. Most practaces I have gone to seem to lack the precice details.
Here is the main part, sorry for the length, but I tried to summarise and it would not do.
"Now how is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit?
"There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness to the fore.[1] Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out. "
"[1] Breathing in long, he discerns that he is breathing in long; or breathing out long, he discerns that he is breathing out long. [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns that he is breathing in short; or breathing out short, he discerns that he is breathing out short. [3] He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to the entire body,[2] and to breathe out sensitive to the entire body. [4] He trains himself to breathe in calming bodily fabrication (the breath),[3] and to breathe out calming bodily fabrication.
"[5] He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to rapture, and to breathe out sensitive to rapture. [6] He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to pleasure, and to breathe out sensitive to pleasure. [7] He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication (feeling & perception), and to breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication. [8] He trains himself to breathe in calming mental fabrication,[4] and to breathe out calming mental fabrication.
"[9] He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to the mind, and to breathe out sensitive to the mind. [10] He trains himself to breathe in satisfying the mind, and to breathe out satisfying the mind. [11] He trains himself to breathe in steadying the mind, and to breathe out steadying the mind. [12] He trains himself to breathe in releasing the mind, and to breathe out releasing the mind.[5]
"[13] He trains himself to breathe in focusing on inconstancy, and to breathe out focusing on inconstancy. [14] He trains himself to breathe in focusing on dispassion [literally, fading], and to breathe out focusing on dispassion. [15] He trains himself to breathe in focusing on cessation, and to breathe out focusing on cessation. [16] He trains himself to breathe in focusing on relinquishment, and to breathe out focusing on relinquishment.
Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#76| For the study, participants were taught to meditate by focusing on the sensation of their breathing, acknowledging and dismissing any stray thoughts that popped into their heads. For those who do practice meditation, what are other techniques that are effective to you?
It's worth spending a bit of time reading on, as I find the descriptions here to be overly superficial, perhaps largely because meditation is more defined by what you do not do, than what you do. It's also worth noting that there are many types of meditation. Years ago I read "Buddhism without Beliefs" (on "agnostic Buddhism"). Bullshitty as the title may sound, the major thing that I came away with was a decent medi…
wheels you need to get laid
Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#77I once went to a lecture given by a psychoanalyst who was also a Buddhist. His main point was that Buddhism and analysis were very similar means of self-introspection. Does anyone here have a perspective on both to share?
The Dalai Lama says pretty much the same thing quite a bit. A quick read along these lines would be The Universe in a Single Atom.
Also, my boy said that hackers and painters have a lot in common
Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#78I once went to a lecture given by a psychoanalyst who was also a Buddhist. His main point was that Buddhism and analysis were very similar means of self-introspection. Does anyone here have a perspective on both to share?
Well, oddly enough, I'm midway through an M.A. in Buddhist Studies, and did my undergraduate thesis on psychoanalysis, so, yes, I have a perspective.
I'd argue that the differences between the disciplines outweighs the superficial similarities. If one is so inclined, one can definitely make lists of similarities, and can stretch the interpretation of the doctrines of one field to fit the other, but what would be the point, really?
Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, I'm a light sleeper.
My sleep improved a lot once I started using a white noise generator. It takes about a week to get used to it. Highly recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Conditioner-SleepMate-580A-Mach...
Yeah, I used to use an air filter for this purpose. Now I just use earplugs.
Re: Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast
#80I learned Transcendental Meditation about a year ago, and it has had a seriously profound effect on my life.
I tried to look up more info about it but it seems like to learn anything, one has to take some $1500 course. Can you summarize how it differs from the standard meditation (i.e. zen meditation)?
As others have pointed out, Zen is not "standard", but just one variety of meditation among many.
However, to answer your question: TM is focused on the internal repetition of a one-word Mantra, given to you by a teacher, and in that regard is not very different than mantra meditation you'd find in some Buddhist (Thai, Tibetan, Indian, Chinese) traditions.
(I should point out that I do Buddhist meditation myself, but I've had friends and family members do TM, and we've compared notes.)
If you are interested in meditation in general (and not TM specifically), there are a lot of meditation centers offering free (or nearly free) courses. I've never heard of a Buddhist center turning anyone away for lack of funds.