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Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#41

Post by tisdy »

uptownfunk wrote: post #35

I like to go back to the roots. The original Patanjali Yoga. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyana, Dharana, Samadhi. It has been a life long practice, but has worked quite well for me. If you know Hindi the Patanjal Yoga Pradeep is the quintessential treatise on the subject, including a systematic reconciliation of the six systems of Indian Philosophy. I've been studying the Pratyahara phase of yoga lat…

> opens you up to the ability to quite literally witness the formation of thoughts from subtle nothingness.

I may not have been sufficiently charitable in reading this, but this appears to be either butchering the English language, or utter tripe.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#42

Post by exikyut »

I actually have some questions about this subject, as I'm still figuring out where/how to start with it. I think I'm beginning to grasp the varied benefits of actually making the effort so (finally) have some motivation to work with, but I've kind of drowned in the SnR of poor-quality information out there.

My interest in meditation is somewhat indirect; IIUC, it's an apparently-necessary stepping-stone to energy perception/study/work, becoming aware of the process of falling asleep, and trance states, three subjects I've been extremely interested in for some time, but which (like meditation) I have no idea where to start with. My attempts to figure and figure them out intuitively haven't really gone anywhere concrete either (...yet).

If anyone has any pointers on studying meditation to the above ends (and particularly if you have any ideas/advice about the things I've mentioned!) I'd love to hear whatever you have to say (email is cool, but I might take a while to respond).

I've actually wanted to ask this on HN for a little while now, but a thread for such topics would... well I don't think it'd be squarely kicked out, but it likely wouldn't be voted up too high.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#43

Post by mikelyons »

tisdy wrote: post #41
uptownfunk wrote: post #35

I like to go back to the roots. The original Patanjali Yoga. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyana, Dharana, Samadhi. It has been a life long practice, but has worked quite well for me. If you know Hindi the Patanjal Yoga Pradeep is the quintessential treatise on the subject, including a systematic reconciliation of the six systems of Indian Philosophy. I've been studying the Pratyahara phase of yoga lat…

> opens you up to the ability to quite literally witness the formation of thoughts from subtle nothingness. I may not have been sufficiently charitable in reading this, but this appears to be either butchering the English language, or utter tripe.

Elaborate. Often ideas you are not ready for will seem like nonsense.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#44

Post by [deleted] »

mikelyons wrote: post #43
tisdy wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> opens you up to the ability to quite literally witness the formation of thoughts from subtle nothingness. I may not have been sufficiently charitable in reading this, but this appears to be either butchering the English language, or utter tripe.

Elaborate. Often ideas you are not ready for will seem like nonsense.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#46

Post by uptownfunk »

tisdy wrote: post #41
uptownfunk wrote: post #35

I like to go back to the roots. The original Patanjali Yoga. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyana, Dharana, Samadhi. It has been a life long practice, but has worked quite well for me. If you know Hindi the Patanjal Yoga Pradeep is the quintessential treatise on the subject, including a systematic reconciliation of the six systems of Indian Philosophy. I've been studying the Pratyahara phase of yoga lat…

> opens you up to the ability to quite literally witness the formation of thoughts from subtle nothingness. I may not have been sufficiently charitable in reading this, but this appears to be either butchering the English language, or utter tripe.

It is hard to explain so kindly forgive the butchering. But there was a point in my meditation where everything was perfectly still and calm, and suddenly, I don't quite know how to explain it, a thought formed in my mind. It is not a thought in the tautological sense, where one idea flowed to the next, but it arose from a state of nothingness.

At the same time it couldn't be nothing, because how can something (a thought) come from nothing. It wasn't quite gross enough to be perceivable hence I termed it subtle nothingness..

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#47

Post by ajonit »

javajosh wrote: post #26

Vipassana, which is a Theravada Buddhist tradition, via a 10-day intensive retreat. It's a remarkable practice for it's minimalism: there is no chanting, mantra, no imagination or visualization, no controlled breathing, etc. You are asked to observe the body and the breath "as it is". In so doing, you will experience various discomforts, which you learn to use to defeat the enemy of aversion, and pleasures, with whic…

In India everything has been commercialized perhaps except Vipassana at Dhamma. They now have centers all across the world. Being born and brought up in India, the land of yoga, meditation etc. , I have seen so much commercialization around that I never rely on the "gurus". Vipassana was a breath of fresh air. I went for a 10 days course. They are not about cult formation, conversion etc. This was perhaps the purest form of meditation teaching I saw. All the fooding and lodging was taken care by the Dhamma team and never for once did they even hinted us to offer money.

If you ever want to learn meditation, apply for a Vipassna retreat, take 10 days out of your schedule and see the difference. You can upvote me later.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#48

Post by r0br0dz »

Maha Mantra Yoga...sound vibrarion is the current sync-practice for this time, Kali yuga. If you want to listen to the news you tune in to a radio signal. Similarly any Name of God repeated and concentrated listening upon such vibration is bhakti yoga. The practice is the goal since Absoluteness is simultaenously one and different. Vedic knowledge is our origins.

Re: Ask HN: Do you meditate and which system do you follow?

#50

Post by GC_Collab »

Transcendental Meditation (TM) Maharishi, an advocate of Transcendental Meditation defines the purpose, “The goal of Transcendental Meditation is the state of enlightenment. This means we experience that inner calmness, that quiet state of least excitation, even when we are dynamically busy.” In this Hindu tradition you sit in Lotus, internally chant a mantra, and focus on rising above the negativity.

However, to effectively learn how to practice this form of meditation, expert guidance is recommended. There is internet resources, classes, or even meditation retreats to better learn this form of meditation.

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