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The Impact of Meditating Every Day

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Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#191
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not my experience at all. I am more motivated to eat healthier, exercise, and so on when I smoke regularly. I spent most of my 20's sober and the opposite in my 30's and overall, my experience in my 30's was much better. I remember about as much either way - at least in the long term. I also learned a second language while mostly stoned. Overall, I'm much more motivated. And I'll state that overall, my life i…

Keep in mind different amounts of THC and CBD lead to different effect, and also different individuals (which gives both of your stories credibility, but also devalues them). I've had multiple psychosis's due to cannabis as I am sensitive to it (possibly related to autism). Therefore, what I will say to my kid (same genepool) is be very careful with alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs. Please, don't.

I too am autistic and had an experience similar to yours, although I'm not sure if the effect on productivity was nearly as much, but still definitely there and it was a form of escapism.

Still, I had plenty of time to reflect and mature while not really getting very high due to very high tolerance, although I also had anxiety problems almost like psychosis. Still managed to get out, sort of interview although probably much worse than sober, and barely work on some code. Eh, been a few weeks now and I still barely code. Only did what was required for school after burning out, before becoming addicted.

Almost got CHS after dabbing plenty of CBD (which can also cause CHS, although rare) as well as hash oil. Thankfully I only puked until my stomach was empty, didn't last long and wasn't painful, but I had most of the pre-CHS symptoms. Sometimes I think I could just do a tiny amount as a reward here and there... that it wasn't that hard to quit... maybe I'm fooling myself.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#192
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ex cannabis user here, so I thought I'd give you my empirical perspective & and opinion. I will tell you what I would tell my own child: Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. I've been on benders in my life that I simply can not remember what I did during that period, sure, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is the time any person needs…

> Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. Everything 'steals time'... watching TV, reading books, listening to music, working a job, etc. > Life is the best teacher and recreational drugs are how you forfeit that precious, amazing, education. Not at all. It really depends on which drugs, how you use them, etc. > You don't have to go far to see this in action. Think o…

Yes, everything 'steals time,' but the biggest time stealers are those things which chemically alter your brain, such as alcohol, cannabis or other drugs. They alter the organs of perception in ways that reading a book or walking a dog do not.

Of course this is the fun of them. But also the downside.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#193
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…

I recommend the book "Inner Engineering". The book is written by a man that goes by the name Sadhguru. He's spent the last 30 or so year spreading classical yoga around the world. He founded the Isha Foundation. They initiate people into classical yogic practices that involve asanas, kriyas, and different types of meditation. The movement has grown a lot of steam in recent years. Recently Sadhguru initiated 5000 peop…

> I recommend the book "Inner Engineering".

The book does not teach anything. It's largely an upsell to Sadhguru's cultish meditation programmes.

Meditation instructions in the book are something like: a) pay attention to your heartbeat, or your breath, or your little finger for 11 minutes three times a day, b) eat less food, mostly raw, c) draw mandalas on the floor and place a ghee lamp in it and notice how the energy of the room subtly changes. This is a joke, right? It reads like somebody who doesn't know anything about meditation is lampooning meditation.

Sadhguru himself is an aspiring cult leader who teaches pseudoscentific twaddle like drinking happy water (because he claims water carries emotional memory [1]), how he can trap evil spirits in boxes with obscure tantric rituals (like Ghostbusters), encountering the frozen spirits of Native American soldiers in a forest [2], etc. He also claims his wife died by attaining Mahasamadhi [3] (allegedly you can meditate really hard and make your soul leave your body). Regardless of the murder charge, having to believe this nonsense to get with his programme seems hardly worth it.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C1p4HUHlfE

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBKvFnABpcA

[3] https://ksmphanindra.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/the-controvers...

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#196

This type of meditation - a secularized form of Vipassana in which one passively observers mental events - is very popular in the West. But it's not the only one, and shouldn't be called merely "meditation" without regard to the vast body of practices that exist. Another form of meditation that's traditionally talked about in Buddhism is shamatha, which translates to something like "concentration" or "tranquility." I…

I strongly recommend Shambavi mahamudra Kriya taught by Sadhguru https://www.innerengineering.com/

I’ve been practicing their 18 minute meditation for almost a year and it has been quite amazing.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#198
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ex cannabis user here, so I thought I'd give you my empirical perspective & and opinion. I will tell you what I would tell my own child: Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. I've been on benders in my life that I simply can not remember what I did during that period, sure, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is the time any person needs…

> Recreational drugs make you immature which will prevent you from going very far in life. Put a "may" before "make" and a replace "will" with "may", and you have a truthful statement. However, as it stands, it's simply false. Some of us "well adjusted, functioning adults" just use drugs safely and responsibly, because it can make life just a bit more interesting.

Ahh, so if you take away the recreational drug, you remove the part of you that has the ability to find life more interesting? Turns out it was the drug the whole time.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cannabis is just a substance, if I drink kombucha and eat broccoli while at a party it’s still going to be a “waste of time”. If I get high and go for an 8 mile hike and meditate at the top of a hill it’s going to be a great experience and really feel like an important and memorable use of my time. Granted alcohol and weed hinder self discipline but don’t blame the substances for your actions. Have you ever done a lo…

I don't really enjoy exercise at all, at least when I'm sober. Get stoned, use an app to tell me where I'm walking, and wind up at a picturesque spot with music in my ears, though? Or go on a scenic route to a grocery store that is a bit further? These are wonderful things.

My point exactly. Imagine if we actually developed the discipline to not only exercise but to also enjoy it. Think of how competent and emotionally strong we would feel. We could have all the wonderful things we crave and more. Or we can take a shortcut and learn nothing.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#200
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ex cannabis user here, so I thought I'd give you my empirical perspective & and opinion. I will tell you what I would tell my own child: Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. I've been on benders in my life that I simply can not remember what I did during that period, sure, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is the time any person needs…

This is not my experience at all. I am more motivated to eat healthier, exercise, and so on when I smoke regularly. I spent most of my 20's sober and the opposite in my 30's and overall, my experience in my 30's was much better. I remember about as much either way - at least in the long term. I also learned a second language while mostly stoned. Overall, I'm much more motivated. And I'll state that overall, my life i…

Do you want a family? It’s not too late. Kids these days would do well to have a conscientious person like you as a parent. Also seeing a child learn is underrated as one of the greatest joys in life.
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