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All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

theguardian.com

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Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#441

Post by HeavyStorm »

gambiting wrote: post #237
wpietri wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How helpful to have a person who knows nothing about my situation police my behaviors because of a vague congruence and an apparent desire to score internet points. No, for the purposes of what I'm doing, HN was not included in that. From my perspective, HN isn't really designed for addiction in the same way. No personalized, UAM-optimized algorithmic feed, no infinite river of small content bites, no rich mechanisms…

"From my perspective, HN isn't really designed for addiction in the same way." I mean, it's fine that you feel this way, and you are probably correct - it wasn't designed for it. But I suspect for a lot of us , me included, it serves that exact purpose. I post so that strangers on the internet read it and give me likes. I compulsively check my comments section on my account to see how many upvotes my comments have. E…

Didn't know HN could lead to this type of addiction.

I use it only as a news delivery system, and in there there's already pathological signs - for instance I rarely skip reading anything that pushbullet displays. And if by accident I "brush it aside" (literally), then I open the app and recover the link.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#442

Post by Aerroon »

hindsightbias wrote: post #397
Aerroon wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand. Most of the time you decide to go to sleep you are alone with your thoughts without any distractions. It might only be for a brief time, but it's still true, no?

I don’t think most people consider dreams to be a true internal dialog - at least a conscious one.

I meant the time period between starting going to sleep and actually falling asleep.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#443

Post by carapace »

gbh444g wrote: post #422
carapace wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a problem. That's why doing it (mediation, mindfulness, prayer, sitting zazen, ...) helps ! Watch animals: they meditate instinctively. Dogs, cats, birds, they all do it. Just like animals all stretch instinctively. (We had some chickens for awhile this year and they stretch too. It's funny: they stretch the wing and leg on one side together, then the other side.) What I'm saying is, "yoga" and "meditation" are…

Em... 12,000 years old? Where does this number come from?

IANAArcheologist-nor-Anthropologist...

The first city is generally considered to be Ur, which "dates from the Ubaid period circa 3800 BC" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur

However, there's the Potbelly Hill "dating back to the 10th–8th millennium BCE" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe

I've heard of stone cities in Southern Africa that are believed to be older than 100K years, but that's not part of the known archeological record.

Some would argue, and I'm inclined to agree, that civilization could be considered to date to the beginning of the Stone Age, which "lasted for roughly 3.4 million years" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Age

Stone knives aren't primitive, they're sophisticated ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithic_reduction ), arguably the product of a human (as contrasted with animal) mind.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#444

Post by rramadass »

nprateem wrote: post #439
rramadass wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of my study interests and hence i can offer some suggestions. Read up on "Kundalini". These models are explained in the school of Indian Philosophy called "Tantra" and its derivatives. They have been popularized under the practices of "Hatha/Laya Yoga". The entire subject is quite extensive and fascinating. However, there is a lot of Junk/BS/new age woo-woo out there which you need to avoid. For authentic…

I found The Serpent Power of fashioned and archaic. There are far better more recent introductions IMO, but an in depth knowledge isn't required. I'd recommend starting with something simple like the AYP lessons which are more experientially oriented and leave the details for another time. Too much knowledge, not to mention the discrepancies between authors, can be confusing.

Old fashioned and archaic? You realize this subject is centuries old and there is nothing new? It is important to study the original texts to get the real "kernel" of the subject before practice (lacking an accomplished Guru). It is the "modern" authors who are responsible for muddying the waters of this subject since most of them have half-baked knowledge and then market their "experience" (a lot of which is frankly fad/hyperbole/BS) to the gullible. Other than a few scholars like James Mallinson, David Gordon White, i wouldn't trust anybody else's translations/interpretations/websites.

PS: I took a look at the AYP website. It is junk and i wouldn't trust it. When the author is advertised as "Yogani, is an American spiritual scientist" and equates "Tantra == Sex" it is nothing but a marketing scam. Stay away and read the original texts and form your own interpretation.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#446

Post by nprateem »

rramadass wrote: post #444
nprateem wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found The Serpent Power of fashioned and archaic. There are far better more recent introductions IMO, but an in depth knowledge isn't required. I'd recommend starting with something simple like the AYP lessons which are more experientially oriented and leave the details for another time. Too much knowledge, not to mention the discrepancies between authors, can be confusing.

Old fashioned and archaic? You realize this subject is centuries old and there is nothing new? It is important to study the original texts to get the real "kernel" of the subject before practice (lacking an accomplished Guru). It is the "modern" authors who are responsible for muddying the waters of this subject since most of them have half-baked knowledge and then market their "experience" (a lot of which is frankly…

Yes I realise that. But modern English is easier to read.

And of course, how could an American have anything valuable to say on the subject of yoga? /s

Ok champ you obviously know best. Good luck. Jeez...

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#447

Post by bschwindHN »

wpietri wrote: post #105
codechicago277 wrote: post #50

This quote comes from Blaise Pascal's Pensées, accessible here. "That is why we like noise and activity so much. That is why imprisonment is such a horrific punishment. That is why the pleasure of being alone is incomprehensible. That is, in fact, the main joy of the condition of kingship, because people are constantly trying to amuse kings and provide them with all sorts of distraction.—The king is surrounded by peo…

That has a lot of resonance for me. In this modern age, we are all kings, and there are vast industries to save us from ever being alone from our thoughts. For December, I quit sugar, social media, and video games. It's been really interesting to notice what state I'm in when I go to reach for those things. Sometimes it's just habit, but often it's because I'm uncomfortable or in distress and want to avoid those feel…

> The same for me is definitely true with Twitter and Facebook. An infinite feed of shiny, entertaining, funny, and outraging things, but almost nothing that's ever satisfying.

Facebook has been making it pretty easy for me to quit - it's mostly been an unending stream of boring advertisements with maybe one or two meaningful posts from friends.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#448

Post by pknerd »

tectonicfury wrote: post #388
pmoriarty wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The truly vast amount of literature on both Buddhism and Hinduism argue to the contrary. Also, the ultimate reality in Buddhism, Hinduism, and (incidentally) mystic forms of Islam, is often described as being beyond words and even beyond conception, so there is a limited amount that could be said about it in ordinary language -- though that hasn't stopped people from trying. In Buddhism one often hears the teachings…

As a Muslim, I can assure you there’s no such thing as mystic Islam. Islam is foremost about clarity, simplicity and straightforwardness in its message of pure monotheism. It does not seek to lure people by mesmerising them with incomprehensible riddles. It hides nothing. The so called mystic Islam also known as Sufism, is a deviant sect, and is fundamentally a gateway to polytheism, as it borrows many practices from…

I kept reading your comments above till reach here. Your knowledge about Autism is pretty narrow and region-centric. No one considers taking drugs and shaking as Sufiism. It's opposite of that. Sufism is all about self discovery and connecting to God with Dikr. The Dikr as described as in Quran as satisfaction of heart.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#449

Post by ronyfadel »

decuran wrote: post #243
nprateem wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No idea. Biology isn't my area. Some kind of resonance in the central nervous system perhaps, accompanied by a quietening of some parts of the brain?

More than likely something is going on from the changes to the active neural circuitry. Usually the "Default Mode Network" is active. When this is quieted down, which is similar to what happens when you're on LSD, it's possible that very unusual states of mind and body (the "currents" mentioned, which I've experienced as well) can arise.

Is this a good thing?

I know that meditation is lauded, and I practice it myself, but I do wonder if it is good for you.

My best definition of “good” in this context is “closer to your true self”, or possibly “happier and content”.

I fear that meditation will make me lose my drive (generated, in part by my ego).

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#450

Post by zajio1am »

guytv wrote: post #286
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is just depression. I don't think about dying, unless its the topic of conversation or whatever. I think about living. There's no real point in dwelling on the other.

I think there's a lot of merit on dwelling on death. Death can put your current life in laser like focus and perspective. Is what you're doing now really important? Is that what you want to do if you only had 1 year to live? Are you spending enough time on the things that are really important to you? All of these questions became clearer to me once I started realising and contemplating death regularly.

You do not need death, just discount rate preferring near experience to far. Thinking about what if you only had 1 year to live just encourages short-term gains to long-term ones.
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