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If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

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Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#211

Post by eternalban »

rdudekul wrote: post #165
starpilot wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read maybe a dozen books on vipassana meditation (the type usually posted to HN), zen, and mindfulness. The two best practical books on meditation I've read are: 1. The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh 2. Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Gunaratana. This one is free online, though the paid copy is a bit more edited for clarity. My primary guide is 1. It's concise and provides just the right amount of…

I highly recommend the book Passage Meditation by Eknath Easwaran.

Reading it now. (ot: His commentary on the Gita is also quite lovely.)

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#212

Post by im3w1l »

KirinDave wrote: post #114
aneth4 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Placebo effect has no meaning in this context. Placebo effects are caused by mind rather than a substance. In this case, the entire treatment is in the mind. There are many, many, many studies on the benefits and effects of meditation. If you haven't found any, it's because you are not looking.

"Placebo effect has no meaning in this context. Placebo effects are caused by mind rather than a substance. In this case, the entire treatment is in the mind." If you're a dualist, then okay. But I'm not. And since the mot compelling evidence of the effect of meditation so far presented involves structural changes to the brain, I think you just talked yourself out of a case. "There are many, many, many studies on the…

http://www.reddit.com/r/meditationpapers

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#213

Post by sandGorgon »

For casual meditation, all that has been pointed out here is fair and good.

But if you want to delve deep into meditation, then I seriously suggest that you look up MCTB - it talks about several of the dangers that lie in that path.

www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/dharma-wiki/-/wiki/Main/MCTB

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#214

Post by patrickdavey »

konstruktor wrote: post #78
ricvg wrote: post #27

I highly recommend to take a 10 days retreat in a Vipassana[1] meditation center. I know that 10 days is a lot to ask but in my opinion is well worth the effort. I've been there twice in the past three years. I thought that I understood everything the first time. Boy, was I wrong. [1] http://www.dhamma.org/

If those rules don't creep you out, then I don't know what does: http://www.dhamma.org/en/code.shtml No talking, no outside contact, no other forms of practice. This is not a healthy environment unless you know very well what to expect and are sure you really, really want this. It sounds very cultish to me, even though I do know somebody who goes on Vipassana retreats regularly and seems to benefit a lot. Those retre…

Vipassana is an _extremely_ powerful technique.. and not without its dangers - especially if you're not used to meditation. Check out http://livingvipassana.blogspot.com for a first hand account of a manic-depressive (bipolar) episode following it.

While no one knows the triggers to these things I would _not_ recommend just jumping in because you thought it'd be cool! Read up, do your research, and do lots of smaller practice before trying.

That'd be my recommendation anyway ;)

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#215

Post by KirinDave »

aneth4 wrote: post #169
KirinDave wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Placebo effect has no meaning in this context. Placebo effects are caused by mind rather than a substance. In this case, the entire treatment is in the mind." If you're a dualist, then okay. But I'm not. And since the mot compelling evidence of the effect of meditation so far presented involves structural changes to the brain, I think you just talked yourself out of a case. "There are many, many, many studies on the…

You may not be a dualist, but you sound like a negativist. It's nobody's job here to convince you of the benefits of meditation beyond the reams of research out there that for some reason you question. Regardless, the structural changes to the brain are one of the effects, not the cause. The cause is of those structural changes is mental. The goal here is changes that are highly subjective and personal. If meditation…

> You may not be a dualist, but you sound like a negativist. It's nobody's job here to convince you of the benefits of meditation beyond the reams of research out there that for some reason you question.

"Negativist." Ha.

Likewise, no one gets a free pass on claiming scientific backing on National Skeptics Day without at least something to back it up. You can believe whatever you like! I'm just pointing out that the article does little to source its claims while making a lot of prescriptive suggestions.

> The goal here is changes that are highly subjective and personal. If meditation helps people, that is its goal, so to complain there is no evidence is nonsensical. > I guarantee you if you learn to meditate and master a form successfully, you will not be in HN forums demanding evidence.

Yes I suppose I might be more prone to selection bias and personal investment if I sink years of my life into something. I'm pretty touchy about coffee that way, I suppose.

When you say stuff like, "You have to try it to understand," it's a huge red flag that suggests you're about to try and sucker someone.

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#216

Post by edwinyzh »

Some of you pointed out it's not easy to control/stop the mind, yes, that's very true, especially for some people. To solve that, I suggest to read Ekhart Tolle's The Power Of Now, I think it's the modern book that explains the orignal Zen in a easy-to-understand way.

I used to think/worry/imagine too much about the future, and thus missed every actual moment I was living in, and it made me unhappy. I was living like that since I was very young and until I read the book The Power Of Now. So I highly recommend it.

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#217

Post by brianmcdonough »

ericmoritz wrote: post #142

Aw, I know the benefits. I hoped this would help me find a way to fit it in.

Hey Eric, at risk of sounding like I know a lot about this, there are two facets that make it hard to fit in. The benefits take days to appear and it's uncomfortable in the beginning. Like running, it's hard to start a practice of meditating, but if you do 1 minute, then 5 minutes, then work your way up to 20 minutes, there is a breaking point where you will do it because the benefits are clearly making your life richer. Colors appear more vibrant, sounds more clear, emotions more fully experienced. You will take more moments, like while stopped at a stoplight, to meditate because it allows joyful feelings rise to the top. Then, you won't ever think, "how can I fit it in," it will become part of you.

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#218

Post by cellularmitosis »

jemfinch wrote: post #7
webwanderings wrote: post #2

The misconception about meditation is that it requires one to give up everything and sit silently. This is not true in its entirety as it depends on how one interprets the word "meditation". The meditation does not necessarily require you to give up one thing for the sake of another. The goal of the meditation is to "be in awareness" and you can achieve this same goal by being alert and aware with any activity your f…

Sorry, this is hard for me to understand. You seem to be saying--and I apologize if I misinterpret you--that it is better to focus on dishwashing than to use otherwise idle mental time to plan one's future. Is that really the case? What gains could one expect from focusing on dishwashing, only to take time away from some other activity to plan one's future?

"What gains could one expect..."

one of the most difficult principles of zen to understand and follow is "no gaining mind". this is an extension of the notion that attachment is the root of all suffering.

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#219

Post by aneth4 »

KirinDave wrote: post #215
aneth4 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may not be a dualist, but you sound like a negativist. It's nobody's job here to convince you of the benefits of meditation beyond the reams of research out there that for some reason you question. Regardless, the structural changes to the brain are one of the effects, not the cause. The cause is of those structural changes is mental. The goal here is changes that are highly subjective and personal. If meditation…

> You may not be a dualist, but you sound like a negativist. It's nobody's job here to convince you of the benefits of meditation beyond the reams of research out there that for some reason you question. "Negativist." Ha. Likewise, no one gets a free pass on claiming scientific backing on National Skeptics Day without at least something to back it up. You can believe whatever you like! I'm just pointing out that the…

Yes, the article does little to source its claims - largely because they are so widely accepted and the research is so prevalent and easy to find.

What you haven't said is that you actually looked for it. Go do that. You will find plenty.

Re: If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This

#220

Post by ashutoshm »

vividmind wrote: post #111

I use fishing for the same purposes. Helps me concentrate on just that activity and get my mind off work-related stuff. Every time after a fishing trip I feel really rested, although might be tired a bit physically.

"Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." ~ Henry David Thoreau
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