101–110 of 214 posts
I have been meditating for sometime now however lately I have been thinking that this is one more attempt at managing the stress of daily life. Its not the cure and definitely does not help in finding out why we need to do this to begin with.
This notion that somehow all this suffering and stress is generated by external factors is a trap, in my experience.
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Here is a podcast with the author: https://samharris.org/podcasts/is-buddhism-true/
Of course, Sam Harris himself has a meditation app (Waking Up). I think might be the best option for the HN crowd.
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The counter argument would be- just because you enjoy knitting 30 minutes a day and it relaxes you, does that mean it will work the same for anyone/everyone else? If there was a study that empirically proved knitting for 30 days made you happier, then it would be a lot easier for people to say "OK, I'll take the time to learn how to do this and do it for X amount of the day". Given that I still see your point. No rea…
Why do you need studies to give you permission to do something? Particularly when science is facing a crisis of reproducibility, I would not put so much emphasis on them. It’s really no different than the religious dogma of previous centuries, where scientists act as priests, and scientific studies as scripture.
But at the same time, for people like myself, who are surrounded by people offering millions of self-reported miracle-cures, I have to ignore the vast majority of self-reported and look to systematic study as a way to find reliable patterns when decided what to try with my limited time.
Whenever I hear about a particular technique that is supposedly backed by evidence I wonder what specific protocol was used in the studies supporting it. I also wonder how many studies have been conducted and for how many years. For those of you who want an actual evidence-based practice check out Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). It's the most frequently studied protocol and it's been studied for decades. W…
The mind is an incredible thing, it's difficult to know if tech has reduced my mind's ability to remain still -- but it's quite something to sit and realize that my mind goes it's own way and I struggle to keep up, like a dog walking it's master.
Hindu sages have advocated meditating for thousands of years, they do this in a specific time called Brahmamuhurtha in the morning when its most potent. Its the same sages that promote Yoga and Ayurveda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmamuhurtha It won't be long before the West I hope catches onto the next phase which is learning about Mudras - kind of an accupressure to target certain nerves.
> It won't be long before the West I hope catches onto the next phase which is learning about Mudras - kind of an accupressure to target certain nerves. Mudras are awesome! I discovered them accidentally because I'd get spots on my fingers that felt "heavy" and would make me jerk and shiver when touched. Pressing them can clear the tension, but it's always a temporary relief. If I can shiver then the energy release i…
This type of meditation - a secularized form of Vipassana in which one passively observers mental events - is very popular in the West. But it's not the only one, and shouldn't be called merely "meditation" without regard to the vast body of practices that exist. Another form of meditation that's traditionally talked about in Buddhism is shamatha, which translates to something like "concentration" or "tranquility." I…
The book is called The Mind Illuminated, and is an absolutely fantastic book on meditation. Super cheap too: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrati...
I have been meditating for sometime now however lately I have been thinking that this is one more attempt at managing the stress of daily life. Its not the cure and definitely does not help in finding out why we need to do this to begin with.
I might argue that it is precisely a route to figuring out why we need to do this to begin with. This notion that somehow all this suffering and stress is generated by external factors is a trap, in my experience.
It's really simple to start out:
1) Devote 10 minutes of each day to meditation time. Early morning is best, as your mind is fresh and not as distracted.
2) Find a quiet/non-distracting place to sit in a comfortable position. Legs crossed on the floor or in a chair are fine. You want to keep your back straight to help keep from falling asleep.
3) Focus on the sensation of your breath, wherever it is strongest. Typically this is the tip of the nose, or in the nostril, but chest can work as well. Your mind will become distracted with work, worries, thoughts of food, etc. When this happens, congratulate yourself on noticing that it happened, and bring your attention back to your breath.
That's it! It blows my mind how developing concentration can have such a profound impact on your life.
Here are some good resources for those interested:
http://dharmatreasure.org/wp-content/uploads/beginning-medit...
https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrati...
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMindIlluminated/wiki/index#wiki_...
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Would you recommend an app like Calm or Headspace to get started with meditation?
I started with Headspace, but feel like I get significantly higher returns without it. Something about having to concentrate on someone else's voice that makes the whole experience a little bit less effective for me. That said, I'd certainly recommend an app vs nothing, and perhaps as a good way to dip your toes in. I'd just also recommend trying it without the app after you've gotten comfortable with it.