Definitely check out Sam Harris' book "Waking Up" (the atheist guy). It was a great introduction to meditation for me.
A Simple Guide to Meditation
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Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#32> Close your eyes and take one breath in through the nose and one breath out through the nose. Should I take this literally? I have a condition which makes it very hard for me to breath through my nose. Is it a requirement?
Nope, don't worry about it :)
Don't get hung up on the minor detail. It's super easy to do with meditation but unless you are following a very specific style, it's just not important.
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#33Meditation is one of those things that people think they're talking about the same thing when actually they're not. It's not just one thing - different religions and traditions have completely different approaches. Sure, there are some key concepts common to all like "awareness" and "mindfulness" - but awareness and mindfulness of what? Christians might "meditate" on a passage in the Bible. Theravada Buddhists have t…
Using the example of exercise, there are a million recommendations you will get on not just how, but whether to do the pull-up or a push-up or jumping jax. If your goal is to maximize general health then you monitor your heart rate, breathing rate and duration and quietly ignore those people and their absurd arguments to get to the top of some advice pyramid. In meditation you also need to ignore your mind imitating…
" it is increasingly practical for anyone to buy an EEG."
That's a fantastic idea I had not thought out before (getting old - I've fixated in my mind an image of an EEG as heavy and expensive specialist tool). Any references where I could get one cheap :) ?
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#34When I first started meditating I found the book The Relaxation Response helpful. It has a one page guide to activating the parasympathetic nervous system and is non-spiritual in its application.
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Using the example of exercise, there are a million recommendations you will get on not just how, but whether to do the pull-up or a push-up or jumping jax. If your goal is to maximize general health then you monitor your heart rate, breathing rate and duration and quietly ignore those people and their absurd arguments to get to the top of some advice pyramid. In meditation you also need to ignore your mind imitating…
" it is increasingly practical for anyone to buy an EEG." That's a fantastic idea I had not thought out before (getting old - I've fixated in my mind an image of an EEG as heavy and expensive specialist tool). Any references where I could get one cheap :) ?
I'm a poor source of modern information like current consumer ones, and never did build my own.
I used to follow the openeeg mailing list, which has tapered off in the last couple years: http://sourceforge.net/p/openeeg/mailman/openeeg-list/ (http://openeeg.sourceforge.net/doc/)
building one yourself was usually around $200 in parts but there were always interesting ideas to do simpler devices. You will find references to consumer ones people were considering, and responses that are helpful for figuring out which specs matter. I would also look for the names of new projects people are developing and maybe some of the hobbyist communities that are still active and debating the minimum specs for a budget device today..
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#36Definitely check out Sam Harris' book "Waking Up" (the atheist guy). It was a great introduction to meditation for me.
I really enjoyed that book and Harris' approach to meditation. Since Harris is a neuroscientist and an atheist, there's no mysticism in the book. No talk about "feeling the energy".
In addition to the meditation information, he also goes into some neurological theory of thought generation in the hemispheres of the brain that I found quite fascinating.
[edited for clarity]
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#37Here's a more complete beginners guide: Mindfulness in plain english. I believe its something of a classic. http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html Scroll down for the ToC.
Yes. This probably the best meditation book for secular beginners.
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#38My favorite guide to meditation is:
Being nobody Going nowhere
by ayya khema
This subject also highlights how irrational i am. I still remember how beneficial meditation was for me when I practiced it. But getting back into the practice ..... sigh
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#39Here's my issue with meditation. There's no guide to what progress should look like. As in, everything I read says you shouldn't have any expectations and to just do it and there's a lot of benefit in it. I get that, I've been doing it for over a year now regularly but how can I know if it has any effects whatsoever? Since I suspect there might be other techniques than focusing on the breath or body scans, I try to f…
Disclaimer: I'm only speaking of my own perspective and goals.
Meditation has been about a lot more than just feeling relaxed. It's been about gaining insight into how my mind works and gaining some measure of control over my thoughts. That awareness and control (mindfulness) extends to the rest of my non-meditating life - whether I'm on a tennis court or at my computer.
Because of meditation, I feel more in the present and less caught up in thoughts that would typically trap me thinking about the past or daydreaming about the future.
Despite the benefits I've seen from it, I know I have only scratched the surface. For example, I haven't experienced a strong "loss of self" that some meditation gurus describe.
Re: A Simple Guide to Meditation
#40My favorite guide to meditation is: Being nobody Going nowhere by ayya khema This subject also highlights how irrational i am. I still remember how beneficial meditation was for me when I practiced it. But getting back into the practice ..... sigh
It's like exercise. The benefits are pretty obvious and enjoyable when you're doing it, but putting forth the effort isn't always easy.
I actually try to combine the two practices. I have an exercise bike and I meditate while I'm riding it.