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I left my tech job to build a meditation app

troyshu.com

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Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#81

Post by sorokod »

hnzix wrote: post #75
emptysongglass wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meditation isn't a "trance state". There are recurring refutations of this throughout Buddhist literature over the millenia. The answer to a conditioned existence is not more conditioning. Yes, states of refined pleasure can be used as springboards for insight, so-called "jhanas" but they are by no means the dominant method of practice. Seeing through conditioned reality doesn't require any trance or altered state at…

> Qigong is its own thing Qigong exercises are very much like guided meditation, almost like kata in martial arts. You can gain the benefits of Qigong as meditation without buying into the energy work as anything other than a metaphor.

Better leave martial arts out of this. Kata is just a form, a pattern you repeat until the movments are known to the body.

If you overload the kata with spiritual/psychological baggage, it isn't martial arts anymore.

To quote a teacher, its "Ken before Zen"

Disclosure: have been practicing for more then two decades.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#82

Post by gabereiser »

emptysongglass wrote: post #59
gabereiser wrote: post #42

Ignore the naysayers in this thread. They have never experienced assisted meditation before. The biggest impact in my life (outside of having kids) was when I discovered Qi-gong and the power of assisted meditation. The thing that clicked the most for me was having calm soothing meditation music to help enter the trance state of consciousness. My mind tends to wander and focusing on the sound helped deliver clear tho…

Meditation isn't a "trance state". There are recurring refutations of this throughout Buddhist literature over the millenia. The answer to a conditioned existence is not more conditioning. Yes, states of refined pleasure can be used as springboards for insight, so-called "jhanas" but they are by no means the dominant method of practice. Seeing through conditioned reality doesn't require any trance or altered state at…

Qigong is a form of meditation. I've been practicing it for over 20 years. I learned it from Shih Yan Ming of the USA Shaolin Temple. My term "trance state" is an anecdote to the words he used. "Emptiness of the mind". I'm simply stating my own experience here.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#83

Post by SyzygistSix »

arthur_sav wrote: post #65
_hao wrote: post #37

If I want to meditate I don't want to have my phone or a computer anywhere near me. Having an app "guide" you is essentially another distraction you'll have to eliminate.

I've been meditation in silence for years. Never found something more annoying than a "guiding voice".

Guided meditation has a long history. There are some amazing Buddhist guided meditations.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#84

Post by BlissWaves »

froh wrote: post #18
username90 wrote: post #17

Why would you need to quit your job to make a meditation app? Can't you make one in a few days? They don't have any social elements etc, just an app that plays music and notifications.

and turn off and back on notifications and calls. and dim the screen. and collect the progres. and allow for intermediate "checkpoint" dings . and are flexibly configurable. and allow for guided meditations. definitively minimize power consumption. etcetcetc ps: for a backend think about collecting meditation statistics, and pulling in meditator networking, online meditation groups, running longitudinal meditation st…

Not to mention, a double-blind questionairre following a meditation, meditator ELO score and finally match-making based on said score.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#85

Post by SyzygistSix »

emptysongglass wrote: post #59
gabereiser wrote: post #42

Ignore the naysayers in this thread. They have never experienced assisted meditation before. The biggest impact in my life (outside of having kids) was when I discovered Qi-gong and the power of assisted meditation. The thing that clicked the most for me was having calm soothing meditation music to help enter the trance state of consciousness. My mind tends to wander and focusing on the sound helped deliver clear tho…

Meditation isn't a "trance state". There are recurring refutations of this throughout Buddhist literature over the millenia. The answer to a conditioned existence is not more conditioning. Yes, states of refined pleasure can be used as springboards for insight, so-called "jhanas" but they are by no means the dominant method of practice. Seeing through conditioned reality doesn't require any trance or altered state at…

Meditation is many things. One of those is a trance state, although I can see how that is not helpful to "beginners", when awareness and clearing the mind is generally more the point. But using meditation to achieve trance states has a long history. To the extent that it predates history.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#86

Post by ctvo »

jstx1 wrote: post #47
_hao wrote: post #37

If I want to meditate I don't want to have my phone or a computer anywhere near me. Having an app "guide" you is essentially another distraction you'll have to eliminate.

The usual progression is from doing guided meditation as a beginner to eventually using the app as a simple timer with no guidance at all.

The usual progression is sitting. Just sitting.

What your talking about is tech folks seeing the benefits of meditation and looking for shortcuts. If it works for you go for it.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#87

Post by SyzygistSix »

bizzleDawg wrote: post #61
gabereiser wrote: post #42

Ignore the naysayers in this thread. They have never experienced assisted meditation before. The biggest impact in my life (outside of having kids) was when I discovered Qi-gong and the power of assisted meditation. The thing that clicked the most for me was having calm soothing meditation music to help enter the trance state of consciousness. My mind tends to wander and focusing on the sound helped deliver clear tho…

Also, choosing to build a meditation app is only a small part of this post really - making the leap of faith to leave behind (apparent) security is a much bigger part of this in my view. Hats off to you Troy!

>making the leap of faith to leave behind (apparent) security is a much bigger part of this in my view.

Agreed. Which is why attaching use of phones to meditation seems contrary to the point. Perhaps leaving a world where everything is mediated by smartphones behind is the next step.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#90

Post by conductr »

fermentation wrote: post #5

Congrats! This is something I'd love to do one day if I find myself not tied to a location by social connections. This stuck out to me: > I decided to focus on building a meditation app as my main project. I came up with the idea because I saw others around me struggling to stick to meditation... Do you expect another meditation app to help with this? I think many folks interested in mediation quickly find a good beg…

I think meditation is the new diet fad. People try it but generally will not stick with it long term. Maybe they’ll try a different type of meditation (diet). A vocal minority will have success and life change that continues to inspire and fuel the trend. But as a business, high churn ahead is my guess.
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