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Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

health.harvard.edu

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Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#11

Post by oehtXRwMkIs »

EndXA wrote: post #9

The title seems very misleading to me, because much more than "regular meditation" was involved. Here is how they describe the study in the article: > The study was conducted at a resort in Southern California... The mindfulness intervention was an established meditation and yoga retreat consisting of 12 hours of meditation, nine hours of yoga, and self-reflective exercises over a week. The participants were divided…

It was regular as in practiced on a regular basis. It's a key term since as you might guess, one-off meditation is much less potent.

Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#12

Post by skadamou »

pmoriarty wrote: post #8
skadamou wrote: post #4

Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…

What technique of meditation did you try? There are probably dozens if not hundreds of different ways of meditating, and many mistakes one can make in implementing those techniques. If the one particular way you tried did not work for you, I would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that no kind of meditation would work for you, or that there was no room for improvement in your technique. Sometimes going to a teac…

The closest I've ever come to really using a "technique" to meditate was in college when one of my roommates went to a transcendental meditation retreat and tried to teach us how to meditate like he did at his retreat.

The last time I tried meditating though was on the headspace app though I'm not sure what technique you would call that.

The vibe I'm getting is that the best way to get started with meditating is probably to go to a teacher or a retreat neither of which I have tried so maybe there is hope yet!

Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#13

Post by skadamou »

circuit8 wrote: post #5
skadamou wrote: post #4

Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…

Totally get where you're coming from. I really recommend the Sam Harris "waking up" app. Really helped me and I think it appeals to the more skeptical and rational people you find on HN.

Is "waking up" significantly different from apps like headspace? What about "waking up" helped you so much?

Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#15

Post by skadamou »

rabidrat wrote: post #10
skadamou wrote: post #4

Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…

Mastering the Core Teaching of the Buddha might be up your alley. I won't strictly "recommend" it, as the path it espouses is intense and engineered for enlightenment, which is (perhaps ironically) "no fun", in contrast to modern western mindfulness meditation with phone apps which is pleasant and relaxing but won't get you anywhere. But if you want results and are willing to put in the work (which is 1000x the effor…

Thank you for suggesting this book. I'm not 100% sure what to make of it but it's all available for free online and the introduction is really intriguing. If nothing else, I now know something exists that I didn't before.

https://www.mctb.org/

Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#16

Post by pmoriarty »

skadamou wrote: post #12
pmoriarty wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What technique of meditation did you try? There are probably dozens if not hundreds of different ways of meditating, and many mistakes one can make in implementing those techniques. If the one particular way you tried did not work for you, I would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that no kind of meditation would work for you, or that there was no room for improvement in your technique. Sometimes going to a teac…

The closest I've ever come to really using a "technique" to meditate was in college when one of my roommates went to a transcendental meditation retreat and tried to teach us how to meditate like he did at his retreat. The last time I tried meditating though was on the headspace app though I'm not sure what technique you would call that. The vibe I'm getting is that the best way to get started with meditating is prob…

Yes, teachers and meditation retreats could be helpful. But just bear in mind that there are lot of different ones, and they're not interchangeable. I'd suggest you do a lot of research and talk to some people you respect and trust who've been to the retreat/teacher you're contemplating.

Also, I can recommend a couple of books: The Heart of Buddhist Meditation and Mindfulness in Plain English.

Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#17

Post by dumdaar »

skadamou wrote: post #12
pmoriarty wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What technique of meditation did you try? There are probably dozens if not hundreds of different ways of meditating, and many mistakes one can make in implementing those techniques. If the one particular way you tried did not work for you, I would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that no kind of meditation would work for you, or that there was no room for improvement in your technique. Sometimes going to a teac…

The closest I've ever come to really using a "technique" to meditate was in college when one of my roommates went to a transcendental meditation retreat and tried to teach us how to meditate like he did at his retreat. The last time I tried meditating though was on the headspace app though I'm not sure what technique you would call that. The vibe I'm getting is that the best way to get started with meditating is prob…

I had also tried meditation for years and never "groked" it. What ultimately helped me was using "One giant mind" app. It has 15 minute session for everyday. Doing it everyday for a week I didn't feel anything different but one weekend on a whim I decided to meditate using the app for 3 hrs straight and that's when I felt I finally got it.

Like others have said you can take help of teachers or try meditating in a group. Although I do feel because there so many choices available discovering what works for you may require a little bit luck too.

Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#18

Post by victoriasun »

skadamou wrote: post #4

Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…

I have been meditating daily for the last year and the improvements it has offered my mental health is immeasurable. I am a huge fan of the Calm app (I've also tried Headspace to less success). Calm has a lot of meditations directly dealing with situations personally applicable to me as a tech worker, so I definitely suggest giving it a try. I also enjoy the background noise; it helps cue me back into meditation when my mind inevitably drifts off. I also use their other features around sleep. The other day I was unfortunate enough to have a panic attack while tripping acid; my husband immediately pulled out an emergency SOS meditation session and it helped me thru it. My pavlovian response is to the point now where just opening the app calms me!

It's not at all a hyperbole to say that Calm has saved my life, my marriage, and my relationships. Come Christmas I will be purchasing a lifetime subscription.

Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)

#19

Post by _y5hn »

Now, there are as many meditation practices as there are teachers and practitioners. So approaches and answers may vary wildly.

To really investigate, I'd recommed to stay off the self-help books, tapes and apps, and seek out a well-established group doing regular practice. There is more to it and the support can be much more helpful, than just following words and sounds. An experienced meditator could easily slip into meditation anytime just by closing her eyes. Though there is nowhere to go and nothing to attain, practice can be used throughout life. Letting go of expectations is key. A robust group can help through many misconceptions, provide clear path and reassurances, beyond that of meditation alone. If everything is not applicable forever, at least it broadens perspective of life immensely, and provides reference points along more dimensions of possibilities.

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