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How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

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Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#181

Post by mrpetrick »

westoncb wrote: post #163
_ihqt wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.5 hours per day is a very impressive accomplishment. Even some serious gurus don't pull that off on a daily basis. I've read about legendary artists who considered meditation a key to their sanity, and they often couldn't do it for more than 15-20 minutes in a day. You are actually able to do proper meditation -- the removal of all focus on thoughts -- for 1.5 hours at a time? Or do you mean several times a day, a…

I only mean that I sit and /attempt/ (i.e. /not/ attempt :P) for 1.5 hours/day.

Oh, yeah, I know what you mean. I certainly wasn't saying you're NOT meditating for 1.5 hours a day. Just was trying to convey that when most people meditate for 90 minutes, they're tend to spend some portion of that session utterly distracted by something, even if only briefly. Or so I've been led to believe. It's certainly true for me.

I was more responding to hellofunk when they said "1.5 hours per day is a very impressive accomplishment. Even some serious gurus don't pull that off on a daily basis." This make me think that meditation is viewed as something you can check a box for, or as a goal to be achieved, which isn't really quite right.

Particularly the use of the word 'accomplishment'... If meditation is something to be accomplished, then if you thought about that noise your transition is making on steep hills for 60 seconds in the middle of a sit, you got distracted, and thus you did not successfully meditate today. I don't view it that way.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#183

Post by crusso »

LunaSea wrote: post #16
personjerry wrote: post #14

For those of you who consider meditation a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, I get it, for I felt (and sometimes still feel) the same way. But let me try to phrase meditation in the terms I understand it as. We often find ourselves in stressful or difficult situations, we are constantly bombarded by external worries, and we think it is difficult to deal with our problems. However, no matter how big external issues are, the way t…

> interpretations of the world are all in our head I don't think most people are stressed because of "interpretations" of the world rather than very real problems like paying the bills and terrible working conditions.

It's impossible to worry without interpretation. The method of interpretation can determine needless worrying about externalities vs handling them in stride.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#184

Post by pixelperfect »

rsaarelm wrote: post #99

I really liked the recent book The Mind Illuminated by John Yates as a basic meditation guide. Goes from the basics to advanced concentration, has detailed practice instructions for each stage, and is grounded in cognitive science with basically zero mysticism in the mix. An earlier short article http://dharmatreasure.org/wp-content/uploads/LightOnMeditati... describes the same 10-stage model the book is about.

I really like this book as well. It would be my first recommendation to any meditator, new or experienced.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#185

Post by crusso »

Scarblac wrote: post #40
personjerry wrote: post #14

For those of you who consider meditation a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, I get it, for I felt (and sometimes still feel) the same way. But let me try to phrase meditation in the terms I understand it as. We often find ourselves in stressful or difficult situations, we are constantly bombarded by external worries, and we think it is difficult to deal with our problems. However, no matter how big external issues are, the way t…

I don't consider it mumbo-jumbo. But I feel it doesn't fit well with my Western mindset: it costs a lot of time, and is that really the best way to spend that time? I'd rather go out and walk, and think about problems I want to solve. Or use the time to get something done.

I have a stationary exercise bike in my basement. I ride it for 20-30 minutes almost every day. While I'm riding, I close my eyes and meditate, mostly just focusing on my breathing. I get my cardio and my meditation handled in one shot.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#186

Post by crusso »

ZenoArrow wrote: post #82
asdrubale88 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because desire is linked to suffering? Unfilled desire is linked to suffering. Filled desires are linked to pleasure, but after fulfilling one desire, another one appears. It's life. So it's not fulfilling desires but being conscious about how desires are born, and consciously choosing which one to fulfill.

Why can't you enjoy something for what it is? As I said, it's possible to enjoy chaos. You don't know what chaos will bring, but you can still enjoy it as it comes along. Desire is a misused word. It's used as a catch all for all pleasure seeking, but in reality it's a special type of pleasure seeking, a directed form of pleasure seeking based on craving. If you're a pleasure seeker that doesn't have any strong cravi…

But you've lost the thread of the discussion.

>> I was suffering every second, >Do you realize you are probably suffering every minute even >when you don't have to sit quietly?

This wasn't about enjoying "life as it comes". This was about being addicted to the next stimulus; exposed by just trying to sit down and meditate for 20 minutes.

You're conflating being able to handle and enjoy some chaos with the inability to tolerate a few moments of peace.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#187

Post by lubesGordi »

seivan wrote: post #175
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

How do you keep your mind still? I've tried counting my breaths up to 10, one for in and one for out, but honestly, it's a lot harder than it sounds. I end up having to start from 1 again a lot of times.

Counting is thinking. The idea is to not follow wandering thoughts. When you get it your mind is silent, and you are fully present. You can hear everything around, not even a ninja could sneak up on you.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#188

Post by YZF »

bonoboTP wrote: post #75
LunaSea wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> interpretations of the world are all in our head I don't think most people are stressed because of "interpretations" of the world rather than very real problems like paying the bills and terrible working conditions.

It's analogous to physical pain. If you're holding your hand on the stove and it burns, it makes you pull your hand away. But some people may be "miswired" and not pull away. But then the solution isn't to give them painkillers and just watch their hand burn its flesh away. But then again, there is pain that doesn't indicate something fixable. Like chronic back pain. Then it's best to just reduce the pain itself. Now…

It turns our that in many cases chronic back pain (and other pain) has a psychological component to it as well. Often that pain is a response to some sort of mental stress or tensions.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#189

Post by ZeroFries »

erdojo wrote: post #18

There is also a growing body of evidence that for some people mindfulness and meditation can cause intense and lasting anxiety and exacerbate depression. (Just one of several recent stories on the subject: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/23/is-mindf... ) That has been my experience. I've done meditation retreats and the like. I do find it slows down my mind, but can also surface things that frankly I…

I can somewhat relate to this. Meditation ups my sensitivity level of all sensations it seems, including the negative ones. There are times when this is a good thing, like when I have the time and energy to solve personal and inter-personal problems. Other times, when I just need to get some shit done, it can be exhausting.
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