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

The Impact of Meditating Every Day

pascalprecht.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 214 posts

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#181

Post by [deleted] »

rewgs wrote: post #116
aNoob7000 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you recommend an app like Calm or Headspace to get started with meditation?

I’m going to be the contrarian here: no, I do not recommend ever using an app to meditate. Using an app vs simply sitting is (potentially strange analogy here) sort of like being in a restaurant with TV’s vs without. When there’s TV’s, it’s much harder to keep a conversation going because they suck our attention like bugs to a light. Without TV’s, you feel more present, more “there.” Given that, very often, the “poin…

[deleted]

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#182

Post by bro45 »

tim333 wrote: post #142
vcoelho wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I do 2-4 hours a day. Just reading this gave me anxiety.

I do 4 minutes a day and find it good. 2 minutes just trying to blank my mind and 2 visualising nice stuff.

The point is to keep your mind focused on one still thought. Letting your mind wander around won't do much. Complexity of the thought should match your ability. Lam-rim says that more short meditations is better than one long meditation. Ideally, one would meditate 16 times a day. And again, the whole point is to stay focused on one thought.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#183

Post by rramadass »

raidicy wrote: post #12
cube2222 wrote: post #6

I had always had some kind of anxiety or ocd for as long as I can remember. I'd searched for various ways to deal with it but only discovering meditation really worked for me. After meditating for 6 months every day (starting with 5 minutes daily, ending with 20-30) I've completely got rid of it. A nice side effect was that I got to be a happier person overall (though that wasn't ever a problem for me), and learned t…

I've been interested in learning more about meditating and Raja yoga meditation specifically. I hesitate to read the book in parent as it seems that Buddhist meditation is focused on love, compassion, empathy or some kind of goal. I don't think the positive emphasis of Buddhism is bad. Rather I've been more interested in "abstraction of the mind" and the general non-religious approach of raja yoga. (I am sorry if the…

For an Analytical Approach to the study of the Mind based on Patanjali Raja Yoga, you might find the following helpful;

* Yoga and Western Psychology: A Comparison by Geraldine Coster - https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189086/page/n1 - This is an old book so the "psychology" part might be outdated but nevertheless the approach taken to look at Raja Yoga as Practical Applied Psychology is something i believe is the correct way.

* Samkhya Darshan: Yogic Perspective on Theories of Realism by Swami Niranjananda Saraswati - https://www.amazon.com/Samkhya-Darshan-Perspective-Theories-... - The model of the mind in Raja Yoga is based on the earlier Samkhya Philosophy. The "Mind" is considered a layered model with layers called "Mahat, Buddhi, Ahamkara, Manas etc." This book is one of the best on Samkhya.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#184

Post by nefitty »

yjhoney wrote: post #173

I had been reading articles (like this one) that raves about the benefits of meditation and so I decided to try it for 30 days every day. I did not see any improvements in any areas. Could I be doing something wrong? I really don't get meditation and I feel like I'm the only person who feels this way. All the benefits that this article specifically talks about is my default state. I'm never stressed and I don't feel…

Try asking someone close to you if they notice a difference. I went through a long stint of daily meditation a few years ago but I eventually lost the habit. A while afterwards my wife randomly said, "I wish you still meditated. You were nicer when you did." I was taken aback.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#185

Post by rramadass »

The Tibetan Texts on "Mind Training" (called Lojong) maybe helpful for people looking for instructional techniques;

* Mind Training: The Great Collection - https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Training-Collection-Library-Clas...

* Essential Mind Training (subset from the above book) - https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Mind-Training-Tibetan-Class...

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#186

Post by krtkush »

namanyayg wrote: post #39
aNoob7000 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you recommend an app like Calm or Headspace to get started with meditation?

For beginners, I would recommend two things: ambient noise (with headphones/noise-cancelling works best for me), and a soft alarm for the timer. I used to DIY it, but I find the InsightTimer app is a free & customizable solution filling both these needs.

Oak app on iOS is pretty good for these requirements. It is very minimalistic and does not try to push paid features.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#187

Post by namelosw »

I personally don't find it useful. But it might be my own problem because I cannot get rid of the idea of questioning meditation itself.

However if you are in doubt like me try take a nap. I find 20mins nap at noon also works great.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#188

Post by kranner »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #86
adolph wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is a podcast with the author: https://samharris.org/podcasts/is-buddhism-true/

Of course, Sam Harris himself has a meditation app (Waking Up). I think might be the best option for the HN crowd.

I've tried the Harris app. Everyone can do better than 10-20 minute sessions with Harris rambling in the background, acting as a constant distraction by going on and on about free will and the nature of consciousness.

IMO the HN crowd doesn't have to limit itself to any specific apps. We all have access to books that discuss the hows and whys in much greater detail than any app currently does.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#189

Post by number6 »

alex504 wrote: post #148
number6 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you meditate without the app. I tried headspace. It's great but it is too expensive for me.

Not sure what your practice is like with the app. But for a stability practice which is the more common type, I would set a timer and sit with good posture so your skeleton is supporting itself. Focus on your breathing especially within the body. It's important not to meditate from the head but from the body. When your attention wanders and you notice it go back to concentrating on your breathing.

Basically listening what to do - mostly it is focusing on breath. Let go of thoughts. Bodyscan. Well this.

I am not sure why I don't just do it on my own but somehow I dont without a primer

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#190

Post by ripsawridge »

l_t wrote: post #49
raidicy wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been interested in learning more about meditating and Raja yoga meditation specifically. I hesitate to read the book in parent as it seems that Buddhist meditation is focused on love, compassion, empathy or some kind of goal. I don't think the positive emphasis of Buddhism is bad. Rather I've been more interested in "abstraction of the mind" and the general non-religious approach of raja yoga. (I am sorry if the…

For non-religious, more "empty mind" meditation, you can also look at Zen Buddhism if you haven't already. Zen meditation techniques usually involve focusing on breath or using simple visualizations. I recommend the book, "Zen mind, beginner's mind" for an introduction to non-religious meditation, written for a western audience. FWIW, my personal opinion is that meditation is a type of mental training. The specific t…

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is so wonderful, I highly second this recommendation.
Post reply on HN