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The Impact of Meditating Every Day

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Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#131

Post by andreilys »

mrlala wrote: post #94
andreilys wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>Why do you need studies to give you permission to do something? No one said that. >Particularly when science is facing a crisis of reproducibility, I would not put so much emphasis on them Err.. science is facing a crisis of reproducibility? Excuse me? If you can't reproduce something- that means you haven't proved it scientifically, thus the science is telling you that it can't tell you anything. >It’s really no di…

2/3rd of social sciences cannot be replicated [1]. 52% of scientists think there is a significant reproducibility crisis [2] If that doesn't signal a reproducibility crisis I don't know what does.

Dogma is dogma, no matter the origin. Many people who are today dogmatic about the scientific method, would be the same people that would be dogmatic about religion in the 16th century. At the end of the day it is merely one lens of looking at reality, not the only lens. This isn't even touching on the fact that the scientific method is riddled with issues and ill equipped to tackle certain problems. Paul Feyerabend explores this nuanced issue in Against Method, which I recommend reading if you ever want to take off the pro-scientific method spectacles [3]

[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/08/27/6422183... [2] https://www.nature.com/news/1-500-scientists-lift-the-lid-on... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Against-Method-Paul-Feyerabend/dp/184...

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#132

Post by le3dh4x0r »

I can recommend meditation for people with social anxiety. When I meditate on a regular basis, the way I interact changes completely. It's more intuitive and I say and do things I wouldn't do otherwise, yet people are completely fine with it and like me more. Like I am really authentic

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#133

Post by leetbulb »

aNoob7000 wrote: post #11
cube2222 wrote: post #6

I had always had some kind of anxiety or ocd for as long as I can remember. I'd searched for various ways to deal with it but only discovering meditation really worked for me. After meditating for 6 months every day (starting with 5 minutes daily, ending with 20-30) I've completely got rid of it. A nice side effect was that I got to be a happier person overall (though that wasn't ever a problem for me), and learned t…

Would you recommend an app like Calm or Headspace to get started with meditation?

Brain.fm works extremely well.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#134

Post by Obi_Juan_Kenobi »

aNoob7000 wrote: post #11
cube2222 wrote: post #6

I had always had some kind of anxiety or ocd for as long as I can remember. I'd searched for various ways to deal with it but only discovering meditation really worked for me. After meditating for 6 months every day (starting with 5 minutes daily, ending with 20-30) I've completely got rid of it. A nice side effect was that I got to be a happier person overall (though that wasn't ever a problem for me), and learned t…

Would you recommend an app like Calm or Headspace to get started with meditation?

A simple timer is all you need, and that's of course optional as well.

It is good to provide a bit of structure to your practice, and the duration of the sit is important. To get started, I think it's much better to offload that worry (have I sat long enough? etc.) to a simple timer. Then you just sit until it sounds.

Directed meditation is fine, too. Try it out if you like; it's usually best to try a few approaches and learn from each.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#135

Post by gbuk2013 »

snackman7 wrote: post #62
raidicy wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been interested in learning more about meditating and Raja yoga meditation specifically. I hesitate to read the book in parent as it seems that Buddhist meditation is focused on love, compassion, empathy or some kind of goal. I don't think the positive emphasis of Buddhism is bad. Rather I've been more interested in "abstraction of the mind" and the general non-religious approach of raja yoga. (I am sorry if the…

I recommend the book "Inner Engineering". The book is written by a man that goes by the name Sadhguru. He's spent the last 30 or so year spreading classical yoga around the world. He founded the Isha Foundation. They initiate people into classical yogic practices that involve asanas, kriyas, and different types of meditation. The movement has grown a lot of steam in recent years. Recently Sadhguru initiated 5000 peop…

There is also the simpler "Isha Kria" guided meditation available online:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/K4hCvdDn7Zc (important introduction)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wHnl_XugJyE (instructions and guided meditation).

I practised this twice a day for about 2 months before completing the Inner Engineering program and it was a very good experience. I have now switched to Shambavi but that takes longer and comes with more strict practice conditions.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#136

Post by Obi_Juan_Kenobi »

mlangenberg wrote: post #115

Personally, I find meditating on a daily basis for longer periods (months), the most difficult. Whenever I go through a "down" phase in life, I start meditating and observe it being really beneficial, but the routine quickly starts to bore me. When I feel good and energized, I jump out of bed, enjoy a day at work and fill the evening with stuff I enjoy. I totally forget to meditate and (digital) reminders are easily…

What are your meditation goals?

Some people treat it as a chance to sit and relax, perhaps process a bit of mental backlog, and generally 'open up'.

Others treat meditation as a disciplined and very deliberate form of mental training. This is a process that takes years and thousands of hours to achieve a degree of mastery, such as attaining single-pointed attention, jhana absorbtions, etc.

The latter is not easy, but it is also not boring.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#137

Post by ericmcer »

thomk wrote: post #76
cols wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mentioned quitting cannabis. If you don't mind elaborating, I'm curious what benefits you have experienced and why you ended up quitting. Thanks!

Ex cannabis user here, so I thought I'd give you my empirical perspective & and opinion. I will tell you what I would tell my own child: Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. I've been on benders in my life that I simply can not remember what I did during that period, sure, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is the time any person needs…

Cannabis is just a substance, if I drink kombucha and eat broccoli while at a party it’s still going to be a “waste of time”. If I get high and go for an 8 mile hike and meditate at the top of a hill it’s going to be a great experience and really feel like an important and memorable use of my time.

Granted alcohol and weed hinder self discipline but don’t blame the substances for your actions. Have you ever done a long run or bike ride and had a beer or two at the end? It is pure joy!

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#138

Post by Obi_Juan_Kenobi »

ypcx wrote: post #100

Mindfulness meditation is absolutely great, a miracle, a root. I don't meditate regularly but every time that I do it again (and if properly), the thought that opens is something like "where have you been so long / why have you denied this to yourself for so long" type of question. And yet, I feel like doing that every day is not fully compatible with the type of consciousness which is optimal to get me from day to d…

There's more to meditation than just mindfulness. Look into samatha practice.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#139

Post by RugnirViking »

me_me_me wrote: post #8
seren wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started meditating using some written guide/books and Headspace. An app is helpful to guide you at the beginning, but past a certain point having someone talking during most of the session seems a bit detrimental to your actual focus or awareness. I even wonder if there isn't some sort of Pavlovian response, whenever you listen to Andy Puddicombe voice, you want to meditate. The core of the issue is that there is a…

thanks, I think now I have no excuse not to try it out.

I would also suggest that if you want to try doing it without an app, try something like:

Wait for a free moment at home, maybe after work, set a timer on your phone for ten minuites, and sit cross legged if you can, or in a comfortable position if not, and just try to focus on your breathing for that time.

It's surprisingly difficult. You may find that its suddenly a lot easier to think about all the things you have to do later, and want to do them now, but resist the urge. This ability to bring things to your head easier is one of the benefits of meditation, and is suprisingly immediate.

Re: The Impact of Meditating Every Day

#140

Post by spodek »

andreilys wrote: post #128
GuB-42 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meditation may have specific benefits. But having a fit body and knowing how to draw, write or cook is also nice. But the important common part is that you take steps to better your life. Even activities that have no proven benefits by themselves such as magic rituals, "alternative medicine", prayer, etc... can work. The idea is that such activities can create a positive chain of events: you going to the gym, your tr…

The issue I take is saying the benefits differ slightly. It's difficult for me to appreciate the equivalent benefits of being able to draw nice pictures vs having mastery over ones mind.

I wrote a post about just this topic: http://joshuaspodek.com/choice-sidcha-isnt-important. It has a bunch of pictures or I'd copy it here, but the upshot is that more value comes from doing something self-imposed healthy and active every day than from the specific activity.

In my experience, a lot of mental mastery comes from discipline, focus, dedication, and such from consistently overcoming challenges.

From how you characterize creating art as drawing "nice pictures", I suspect you might underestimate the value of artistic self-expression, fitness, and other things, but I might be misinterpreting.

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