61–70 of 122 posts
I heard one of these "Guru's" once say in response to allegations of meditation as brainwashing: "If the brain is dirty, it needs to be washed."
I am surprised that Matthieu did not address this question head-on: > This brings me to a critical issue: the side effects of meditation. One could argue that a strategy consisting of closing one’s eyes when facing conflicts, in escaping from problems rather than solving them, is perhaps a suboptimal strategy. In Dzogchen meditation (which is his main practice), one does not close one's eyes or always sit in a specia…
What is a good resource for descriptions of some Dzogchen meditation practices?
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Here's my understanding of "shadow work", which I believe was invented by Jung. Unpleasant thoughts and emotions are made conscious. In this way, the energy behind them is released and they no longer influence you subconsciously. This ties in nicely with the Buddhist Vipassana mindfulness meditation technique, although they are separate processes. In practical terms, I notice that something is bothering me, or that t…
Well put - lingering and unprocessed emotions don't go away, they fester. Shadow work often refers to dredging up feelings you have pushed down as "unacceptable" - anger being a common one. The idea being that shadow work helps you move towards total emotional development by embracing all of your emotional faculties.
Makes me think of how Marvin Minsky thought Meditation was a bad thing.
This is a valid concern. Most likely meditation doesn't do anything at all. If you trust "Western Research", e.g. reading "Altered Traits", it either did nothing, or changes were noticeable after years. Concrete example - the author (or one of) practice meditation for 2 years to reduce his blood pressure and then ended up just taking some pills for it. So it does nothing (likely), it's good for you, or it's bad for y…
I used to do a lot of "one pointed" meditation. Then I did one pointed + vipassana. Now I do just vipassana.
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Well put - lingering and unprocessed emotions don't go away, they fester. Shadow work often refers to dredging up feelings you have pushed down as "unacceptable" - anger being a common one. The idea being that shadow work helps you move towards total emotional development by embracing all of your emotional faculties.
Maybe not emotions per se but sides of yourself that you do not accept.
I know of 2 techniques. The Buddhists call them Samatha and Vipassana.
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Context? I have no idea what this quote is trying to say.
To become conscious of all things a person must look for that which they are unconscious of rather than focusing purely on that which they are already conscious of. Most people prefer to see themselves as competent, but to be a master one must always see oneself as a beginner.
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"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.
This is an underrated comment. Mindfulness is a precursor to objectifying your thoughts, emotions, sensations, and perceptions -- rather than "subjectifying" them (in other words, you are not your thoughts, emotions, etc). It doesn't at ALL mean laying down for others to kick you and taking it. They're completely different things.
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What is a good resource for descriptions of some Dzogchen meditation practices?
Getting the practice just right seems to require personal connection with a master for whatever reason, but Sam Harris does a pretty good job of communicating the essence of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSPWiEaOlfc . There are also lots of resources you can find online, though I can't say I recommend any one in particular. It is the kind of thing that requires a precise fit and the right conditions.
Personally I don't think there's anything to the Dzogchen psychic connection its adherents claim you need to establish with a guru to experience the real thing. It's just woo woo influenced by Shaktipat from Hinduism.
In my opinion one of the best Western teachers is Loch Kelly. Although he doesn't call it Dzogchen, it seems to be pretty much the same thing and without the maddening obscurantism of Dzogchen texts translated to English. He has a lot of videos out but I liked this (paid) Vimeo course: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/lochkellyhow/
Makes me think of how Marvin Minsky thought Meditation was a bad thing.
I've always found it interesting that many meditation techniques involve "emptying the mind" or "clearing the mind" of thought. While practicing concentration on a single point of focus definitely seems useful for strengthening the mind, I'm not sure that practicing a state of being completely devoid of thought is necessarily healthy. I would rather meditate on being full of thought, and thinking of many things simul…