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The new science of meditation

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Re: The new science of meditation

#341

Post by gregfjohnson »

ClassyJacket wrote: post #301
choxi wrote: post #57

I’ve been meditating casually for almost 10 years, I couldn’t sit still for a minute when I started and can sit regularly for an hour now. I still have a lot of skepticism about the sensations that other meditators describe feeling, like jhanas and profound states of tranquility and whatnot. I have experienced deeper calmness and have made some insights about my brain (eg thoughts are like a sensor organ not unlike a…

" I couldn’t sit still for a minute when I started " This is me now. Do you have any advice on what meditation to do?

Here's a suggestion, plagiarized from a friend who is an experienced meditator! For one month, meditate for one minute. Set a timer on your smart phone, and do one minute. If you miss a day, restart the month. After a month of consistent practice, if you find yourself invited to do so, graduate to two minutes. Build from there. After quite a few years, I have found that a 20-minute sit at the beginning of the day and a 20-minute sit at the end of the day work for me.

Re: The new science of meditation

#343

Post by cypherpunks01 »

2-718-281-828 wrote: post #324
cypherpunks01 wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Not very factual on motorcycles, either" : )

would you mind elaborating? it's been for years on my book list. but if it is neither about zen nor about motorcycles on a meaningful level then i can probably remove it.

Both of the above are little quips from the author in his own short introduction to the book - his main point is that nobody should confuse the book with any work on Zen Buddhism. I just remembered these lines from the book's intro reading it many years ago, The line about motorcycles is him just being modest - he knows how to fix his bike, this does feature in the book.

It is a philosophy and adventure book, not about Zen, but filled with many of the author's own unique ideas. He studied Eastern religions and they do inform some of his ideas, which he combines with Western thought in an interesting way. It's off-beat, but I personally found it to be pretty inspiring and would definitely recommend reading it for anyone interested in philosophy.

Re: The new science of meditation

#344

Post by gregfjohnson »

On a light note: There is a difference between micro-wave meditation and slow-cook meditation! Personally, I'm a slow-cook kind of guy. This article seems to be describing various ways to short-cut or accelerate the process, and I'm not sure of the wisdom of that game plan.

One important aspect of meditation practice for me has been the gentle unpacking of suppressed trauma. Thomas Keating refers to this as the evacuation of the unconscious. In my experience this is an evaporative process. With gentleness and patience, this process happens naturally and organically over time.

Inner psychological defenses and coping mechanisms tend to fade away as they become less needed, because the inner demons they were containing have evaporated and are no longer lurking in one's subconscious. But trying to accelerate the process and crash the door down before one is ready via some artificial short-cut may not be advisable for some people.

Re: The new science of meditation

#345

Post by swayvil »

jules22 wrote: post #191
swayvil wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ya, the meditation scene is 99.99% pure bullshit. And that's a crime. First job for anybody trying to figure out this stuff is to scrape away the gunk and find a pearl of truth. You have to do your own research. There is no substitute.

> You have to do your own research. Generally a bad idea. Usually leads to quackery, pseudoscience beliefs etc. Individuals are much worse than institutions on matters of research.

Maybe if you have a dozen peers around to compare notes.

But the subject is esoteric. Peers are in short supply.

Re: The new science of meditation

#346

Post by mistermann »

jules22 wrote: post #314
mistermann wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I just read science, not the unsubstantiated metaphysical claims of meditation traditions. Playing the fantasy of an "omniscient oracle" often seems to be the ego trip of popular meditation gurus today. They are all quite scientifically illiterate.

[flagged]

Re: The new science of meditation

#347

Post by darthrupert »

haswell wrote: post #81
darthrupert wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One probably needs a bit of religiousity to be able to meditate as much as senior meditators do.

I think this is a misconception. I do think there’s a greater likelihood that someone with religious tendencies will pursue a path like this, but the religiosity is not the key. Sam Harris is the polar opposite of religious, but is arguably one of the leading meditators/teachers in western culture right now. I’m as allergic to religion as someone can probably be, but I’ve gotten serious about meditation and have made…

Sam Harris is not religious, but he certainly has practiced meditation in a religious way. I'm not saying this as if it was a bad thing, or that it detracts from his scientificism or atheism, just an observation.

Re: The new science of meditation

#348

Post by ccmonnett »

2-718-281-828 wrote: post #324
cypherpunks01 wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Not very factual on motorcycles, either" : )

would you mind elaborating? it's been for years on my book list. but if it is neither about zen nor about motorcycles on a meaningful level then i can probably remove it.

I would not let the author's tongue-in-cheek title discourage you from reading what is a very widely respected, well-received book :). Unless the rest of the books on your list are exclusively about motorcycle repair, in which case... still consider giving it a read.

Re: The new science of meditation

#349

Post by dorchadas »

duopixel wrote: post #320
opportune wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you recommend as an introduction to Daoism, even if academic? I am not an expert on the subject but IMO Taoism has a very similar phenomenon to Buddhism (and indeed all religions or popular philosophies really) in that the “classical”, original, core teachings are pretty different from the organized later movements under the same name. So the context - philosophical, historical, sociological, spiritual - i…

The Tao Te Ching itself is the best introduction to philosophical Taoism (the religion is something else). Perhaps certain passages can be obscure, but they reveal their meaning in time. Take a look for yourself https://terebess.hu/english/tao/gia.html

The dichotomy between 'philosophical' and 'religious' Daoism is ahistorical, and stems from the influence, especially, of the Jesuits. They were tied together and mixed together from the beginning, especially neidan traditions.

Yes, there's two words - but they were often used interchangeably.

Re: The new science of meditation

#350

Post by oatmeal1 »

crazygringo wrote: post #269
oatmeal1 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do people get the energy to take outward collective action if they are bogged down by stress and frivolous thoughts? I see meditation and/or psychedelics as the only way to get people to do pro-societal things, above individualistic things that are not thoughtful uses of time.

Well, experience with political organization makes clear that it's motivated by anger at injustice. Which is why consciousness-raising has historically been such a part of starting movements, to make people aware of the injustices, to stimulate the anger that motivates political action. If you're angry and want to change the world, stress and frivolous thoughts aren't going to interfere. If anything, your focus on th…

Angry people might get the change they want, but probably not thoughtful change that makes things better. Politicians and the media are expert at redirecting anger in a way that doesn't upset the balance of power.
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