Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?

I use to meditate a lot. Now it's like 2-3 times a week. The difference between when im not meditating is of course a lot of reduced stress. I just have a clear sight of everything happening, the solution to problems are always obvious. This is a great feeling and this is why i enjoy and i encourage you to meditate. What to do is simple, there is plenty of meditation you can find on the web. Just find one you like and do it. Do it a lot like for 2 years and master it. Once you master it, it will be natural for you to get this state of mind, this lucidity, even when you are not meditating.

I meditate in the tradition of Vipassana meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka: http://www.dhamma.org/

One can take a 10 day course at many centers around the world to learn the technique from qualified teachers in its purity.

I knew about Vipassana for a long time but I did not attend a 10 day course until I was completely at rock bottom suffering from depression. Once I learned the technique, experiencing reality as-it-is for the first time in my life, it changed me fundamentally from the inside out. It was there that I found out that the results of my poor actions in this lifetime (and possibly others) were stored within my physical body and that I could remove them via observing them objectively without reacting to the sensations that came up via this observation. Having that direct realization meant that I could never go back to the ignorance of not being aware of how the law of karma has direct results upon one's experience of life. After the course had finished, I continued practicing Vipassana morning and evening for one hour each sitting for many months/years and continue to experience profound benefits.

I am much less angry and much more calm, much more adept at handling life's inevitable challenges. When I do find myself reacting strongly to certain situations, I am able to witness my reactions objectively and thereby reduce their negative effects swiftly. Emotions disturbances that used to persist for weeks are now gone in minutes.

I am happy and grounded in the knowledge that I have within my possession a technique to control my mind. That is a very liberating knowledge and worth pursuing for one's self!

It's not really helpful to state that meditation is 'all about' anything. There are so many different techniques of meditation. It helps to define a technique and demonstrate in some way what it does.

Try meditating for 24 hours in a row. Something "interesting" is bound to happen - most likely severe pain somewhere in the body.

If you were able to observe that pain objectively with equanimity, meaning a) not averting from an experience you don't like or b) craving to have an experience you do like, wisdom about the nature of reality arises spontaneously.

More specifically, pain is not really what you think it is - some experience to shun worth avoiding at all costs. Watching the mind react to such an experience, and there are so many experiences that the mind is nearly hardwired to avert from or cling to, speak volumes. You will see how desperate it wants to stay in control of your experience and you should also note that because you can observe your mind, YOU ARE NOT YOUR MIND. Now you are starting to inquire into the nature of reality as-it-is, not as you want it to be.

Yes, you can sit against a wall.

Don't think you are participating in anything special. How long do you give up bathing before nothing special happens? Well... it's really that sort of question.

If you do it with 'easy' going attitude... you might feel sensations in your body. Or else.. just a relaxed mood and balanced body. Just be easy about it.