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I think that, given a limited amount of time, I'd rather do exercise (cycling) than meditate, as it's a pretty good way of 'getting away from things' and thinking without interruptions, and I also get some physical benefits from it.
Mediation is sort of the opposite of thinking. You don't actively think, and when thoughts do occur, you dismiss them.
I think that, given a limited amount of time, I'd rather do exercise (cycling) than meditate, as it's a pretty good way of 'getting away from things' and thinking without interruptions, and I also get some physical benefits from it.
I do about 2 hours of meditation a day. This is useful because it builds a huge capacity for emotional regulation and lets me stand in situations I once would have run from or otherwise sought to avoid, and and I can still clearly see what's going on in these situations. Exercise has its merits (I also walk about 2 hours a day) but they are very different. As Suzuki Roshi said "Sit Zazen. To live life without sitting…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do about 2 hours of meditation a day. This is useful because it builds a huge capacity for emotional regulation and lets me stand in situations I once would have run from or otherwise sought to avoid, and and I can still clearly see what's going on in these situations. Exercise has its merits (I also walk about 2 hours a day) but they are very different. As Suzuki Roshi said "Sit Zazen. To live life without sitting…
I also sit for 2 hours a day, and I see the same benefits. I wouldn't normally post a "me too" message, but I don't see too many comments about meditating 2 hours a day.
This is almost poetry, expertly written. "The essence of our experience is change. Change is incessant. Moment by moment life flows by and it is never the same. Perpetual alteration is the essence of the perceptual universe. A thought springs up in your head and half a second later, it is gone. In comes another one, and that is gone too. A sound strikes your ears and then silence. Open your eyes and the world pours i…
Reminds me of: "You can never step in the same river twice." - Heraclitus
"Couples are wholes and not wholes, what agrees disagrees, the concordant is discordant. From all things one and from one all things."
"To God everything is beautiful, good, and just; humans, however, think some things are unjust and others just."
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I also sit for 2 hours a day, and I see the same benefits. I wouldn't normally post a "me too" message, but I don't see too many comments about meditating 2 hours a day.
How did you guys get to this point? Did you do a Vipassana retreat?
[1] Recordings of the talks at that retreat are linked from this URL: http://unfetteredmind.org/audio/podretreat.php?code=PAP#here They're the PAP01-PAP10 links.
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I also sit for 2 hours a day, and I see the same benefits. I wouldn't normally post a "me too" message, but I don't see too many comments about meditating 2 hours a day.
How did you guys get to this point? Did you do a Vipassana retreat?
Even though 2 hours seems like a lot, because of what it is (focusing the mind, learning to not overreact to external stimuli, stability of the mind), it makes people able to be very highly productive throughout the day.
We try to stick each perception, every mental change in this endless flow into one of three mental pigeon holes. It is good, or it is bad, or it is neutral.
Does anyone actually live just like that or is it a strawman that wrings another drop of ethos from the audience?
I don't want to make a statement against meditation, actually. I have some mental antiviral habits that make me think Vipassana as its practiced in the US is half truth and half marketing delusion, but at the end of the day stress is a huge problem and anything that can get people to honestly, psychically relax has its value. My own experience is that meditation can take many forms and truly is a perspective inversion with a great personal ROI. I go backpacking, and I'll recommend it heartily too.
I want to go one step further. I've known and spoken to a few people who practice meditation both here and in China and will say the essay isn't wrong in its spiritual recommendation either. I am thoroughly convinced through testimony and personal practice that you can learn a lot from sitting still. There was even a link on HN a few days ago that suggested rational, tested support.
But even if meditation were the honest cure for all existential angst in the human condition, even if it cured AIDS and fixed Greece's financial woes, I'd still prefer someone talk to me with respect instead of trying to wheedle their way into my heart with meandering, gypsy-like proselytizing.
It only sounds bleak when you view it from the level of ordinary mental perspective
You too can be extraordinary! How many payments is Vipassana? (Well $125)
There is only one way you will ever know if meditation is worth the effort. Learn to do it right, and do it. See for yourself.
The only valuable 3 sentences in this whole business.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also sit for 2 hours a day, and I see the same benefits. I wouldn't normally post a "me too" message, but I don't see too many comments about meditating 2 hours a day.
How did you guys get to this point? Did you do a Vipassana retreat?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
How did you guys get to this point? Did you do a Vipassana retreat?
If you do vipassana via http://www.dhamma.org/ the ideal daily sitting schedule in day to day life is an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. If you make it part of your routine, it can be somewhat easy to do. It's actually trivial to be on the 2 hr/day schedule after finishing a 10 day sitting since 2 hours is nothing at that point and you remember exactly what you're doing, but in my experience it's diff…