Meditation and the Unconscious
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Meditation and the Unconscious
1–10 of 122 posts
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#2Makes me think of how Marvin Minsky thought Meditation was a bad thing.
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#3Makes me think of how Marvin Minsky thought Meditation was a bad thing.
What from the article makes you think that meditation is a bad thing?
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#4Makes me think of how Marvin Minsky thought Meditation was a bad thing.
What from the article makes you think that meditation is a bad thing?
"As far as your own inner conflicts are concerned, if you use meditation simply as a quick fix to superficially appease your emotions, you temporarily enjoy a pleasant deferral of these inner conflicts. But as you rightly say, these cosmetic changes have not reached the root of the problem.
Merely putting problems to sleep for a while or trying to forcibly suppress strong emotions will not help either. You are just keeping a time bomb ticking somewhere in a corner of your mind.
True meditation, however, is not just taking a break. It is not simply closing one’s eyes to the problem for a while. Meditation goes to the root of the problem. You need to become aware of the destructive aspect of compulsive attachment and all of the conflictive mental states that you mentioned. They are destructive in the sense of undermining your happiness and that of others, and to counteract them you need more than just a calming pill. Meditation practice offers many kinds of antidotes. "
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#5Earlier quoted context omitted.
What from the article makes you think that meditation is a bad thing?
"As far as your own inner conflicts are concerned, if you use meditation simply as a quick fix to superficially appease your emotions, you temporarily enjoy a pleasant deferral of these inner conflicts. But as you rightly say, these cosmetic changes have not reached the root of the problem. Merely putting problems to sleep for a while or trying to forcibly suppress strong emotions will not help either. You are just k…
Minsky thought meditation was dangerous in and of itself. (e.g. you aren't meant to inspect your own functioning)
Personally I did a mindfulness practice for a while that I thought was harmful because it encouraged me to accept unacceptable situations which was already leading me to bad outcomes.
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
"As far as your own inner conflicts are concerned, if you use meditation simply as a quick fix to superficially appease your emotions, you temporarily enjoy a pleasant deferral of these inner conflicts. But as you rightly say, these cosmetic changes have not reached the root of the problem. Merely putting problems to sleep for a while or trying to forcibly suppress strong emotions will not help either. You are just k…
Minsky thought meditation was dangerous in and of itself. (e.g. you aren't meant to inspect your own functioning) Personally I did a mindfulness practice for a while that I thought was harmful because it encouraged me to accept unacceptable situations which was already leading me to bad outcomes.
"Accepting" in the context of mindfulness doesn't imply being passive. That's a common misconception. It's often said that passivity is the "near enemy" of acceptance, meaning one is easily mistaken for the other.
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
"As far as your own inner conflicts are concerned, if you use meditation simply as a quick fix to superficially appease your emotions, you temporarily enjoy a pleasant deferral of these inner conflicts. But as you rightly say, these cosmetic changes have not reached the root of the problem. Merely putting problems to sleep for a while or trying to forcibly suppress strong emotions will not help either. You are just k…
Minsky thought meditation was dangerous in and of itself. (e.g. you aren't meant to inspect your own functioning) Personally I did a mindfulness practice for a while that I thought was harmful because it encouraged me to accept unacceptable situations which was already leading me to bad outcomes.
Meditation is a tool that cuts both ways. It must be used, like any tool, with respect and careful practice. The Buddha analogized it to a poisonous viper in the wrong hands.
I'll give you one example from my own practice. When I learned the Mahasi style of vipassana (mindfulness) meditation, which has you note sense objects as they arise, I noted everything, including conversation. I noted "hearing, hearing, hearing" as I'd listen to the story of my elocutor. This brought me no closer to awakening! The act of hearing and awareness of hearing is so very far from understanding the content of conversation.
Small misunderstandings like these lead to big consequences.
"What is abstruse, subtle, deep, hard to see, going against the flow — those delighting in passion, cloaked in the mass of darkness, won't see."
Abstruse and subtle! Difficult to discern. Difficult for anyone, even monks in their monastic redoubts.
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#8Makes me think of how Marvin Minsky thought Meditation was a bad thing.
Can you cite? I'm interested in this idea but it's unclear where he discusses meditation as such, rather than things like consciousness and introspection?
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
What from the article makes you think that meditation is a bad thing?
"As far as your own inner conflicts are concerned, if you use meditation simply as a quick fix to superficially appease your emotions, you temporarily enjoy a pleasant deferral of these inner conflicts. But as you rightly say, these cosmetic changes have not reached the root of the problem. Merely putting problems to sleep for a while or trying to forcibly suppress strong emotions will not help either. You are just k…
That comment sounds like it applies to watching TV (or any other form of escapism) as much as meditation.
Re: Meditation and the Unconscious
#10Makes me think of how Marvin Minsky thought Meditation was a bad thing.
Minsky had many questionable opinions. Obviously somebody consumed by avarice would have an aversion to meditation.