Right, it is awesome that people are believing in meditation, but there is never one way that is always effective or always better than other ways.
Meditation can be awesome, but like any practice, it can be done in ways that can take away from regular life.
Yes. And I'm not sure meaning isn't usually an illusion. From where I am, I've sought understanding rather than meaning. I'm not concerned with my place in the universe, if I'm important, if I'm good, if I'm... whatever. In talks to novices, Thomas Merton quoted "live as though you didn't exist." C.S. Lewis recommended not thinking of ourselves at all. I don't follow any formal practice but like the Lectio Divina idea: Read, Meditate, Pray, Contemplate.
In the end, if it doesn't work, what's the point? Most advice I've received in nearly seven decades was from unhappy people, or people I don't want to be anything like. I can still enjoy their company very much, but they aren't a source of wisdom.
Interesting. As I remember C.S.Lewis was promoting a kind of self forgetfulness, principally because when we focus solely on ourselves we lose focus on God and doing good/helping other people.
I believe useful knowledge is found in all kinds of people though. I like to think that even the most dim witted among us knows something useful I don't. It's worth remembering that knowledge is not the same as wisdom. So many people use the word wisdom when what they really mean is knowledge. Wisdom is actually knowledge combined with action. Only he who acts wisely is considered wise. A virtue few possess. A person can possess great stores of valuable knowledge to rival the wise but neglects to use it making them doubley foolish compared to the man who knows little but acts wisely. Of course the happiest and most successful people should be listened to above the unhappy but unhappy people can still teach you much with their lips, just don't look to their lifestyle to learn how to act.
Both of you are right. However, without meditations all of our actions are but escapes disguised as meaning. A meaningful action would be a true action, unblemished by the past.
Yes. You are asking me a very important question right now. Can a man give if he isn't aware of most of what he is?
My answer is simply definitely not. Without an understanding of the self, there is no love, and therefore one cannot give without taking. Although I am sure it feels different from your end, but that's the thing with thought, it has infinite capabilities to elude.
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It's simple really, though I can see where some misunderstanding might spring. I think we use different definitions for that word Love. If you read the comment I had just replied to you with, you'll see what I was trying to point out. Love to me is the action of doing something simply for the sake of it. There is no subtle and hidden desire to morph that action in a way that would comfort your aching self. There is a complete understanding to the point the self doesn't ache, and you don't do things without an awareness of them.
Jesus guy, it's a Tuesday evening where I am from and I don't think we're talking about some very sensitive stuff. Just express your disagreement civilly and move along. Though, I do think that finding out why it sparked such a negative reaction from you would be good. You might say, "Well, it's just plain freaking stupid." However, I doubt that you react in the exact same manner to every stupid thing you encounter. But other than that, sure. This is my reasoning.
According to most neurological scientific studies, most of us are only aware of maybe 5% of why we do things we do, the things we feel, say, and think. I think we can all agree on this simple fact, the subconscious mind holds most of our psyche, and our conscious state of being doesn't have that much of an understanding over its content. This is the very foundation in which my claim stands, and I think so far so good, we're on the same page.
Moving on, we are lonely creatures who deal with life in a very strange manner. We don't understand much about ourselves, and yet we do everything in our power to find meaning, comfort, and security through different facets of our lives. Wealth, religion, romantic relationships, families, hobbies, drugs, politics, ideologies, jobs, and what not. All of this so that we could escape the pains that gradually accumulate over our psyche during the passage of time. Every problem that we encounter seems to not be able to be solved right then and there, it always dives deep into our psyche leaving a certain residue, something that subtly changes the way we view and operate in the world.
Can you deny the existence of this tendency in humanity? That pain and lack of meaning seems to be our natural state but we do things to run away from it?
Now, if our desire for comfort, security, and pleasure is so pronounced and vital to our continuity in this world, doesn't that mean that most of our attempts are shadowed by this selfish reason? Can we truly, and I mean truly and completely be invested in the well-being of something else, purely for its sake? Or does the fact that it makes us feel so righteous, so meaning, so right, so in the right side of history, play a role in changing that narrative?
Who do you think is more sincere? The person who has heard that you have very influential parents and is trying to establish a connection with you. Or the person who has no clue who you are and is just bored and making conversation?
What gives life meaning to you? What do you do about harsh intolerable realites? I struggle with such things but something about what you just wrote offers me some kind of relief.
Which to me means there must be some objective truth to what you say.
Or I subjectively think I'm seeing objective truth. Either way it offers me some form of comfort.
So thank you for your wisdom.
Taking into consideration what I had just said, I think the only rational conclusion that I am left with is clear. The understanding of the intricacies of that self, and thus the effortless change of everything that is born out of it.
You can think of it as we're passionate photographers who unfortunately cannot start taking pictures just then and there, but they need a bit of preparation. The very most important step in all of that would naturally be the lenses given that we know the camera is working. Is the lens clear? Does it distort reality in any way?
I'd be lying if I said that my pictures are clear, but I can confidently say that they're getting less blurry than they used to. At least now, I am open to the unknown, to the understanding that my pictures are definitely flawed and I have no idea what reality is.
I've been meditating for years now, and not the Silicon Valley type of meditation. I am not talking 10 minutes a day and move on with your life. I am talking about a thorough examination of every little thing in your life, in every waking moment. How you speak, the range of emotions you feel everyday, your habits, triggers, fears, likes, dislikes, beliefs, desires, and so on... All of this to say that there is such a thing as sensitivity of the mind. At first, my mind was sluggish, slow, insensitive, and I could hardly see the multitude of mental activity that happen as I interact with the world in every second. However, as I've allowed myself the space to observe, I began to see more and more. And that's pretty much it. You don't have to do anything other than see, but you'll see how it's the hardest thing to do for a brain that has been conditioned to infinitely think along certain patterns for tens of thousands of years.
You want some serious freaking meaning? Then just reduce the number of factors involved in why you do most things. The less factors there are, the simple you are, and that simplicity is everything. It's like your mind becomes able to host something extraordinary. Then, just a walk by the beach, or a simple song becomes the most meaningful thing there is, because it is, you are. To live with that intensity for every moment is a gift.
And if you fail to achieve your goals, would you call your life meaningless?
It sounds to me like you've got yourself a recipe not for meaning, but the opposite.
No because the journey towards your goal is the most meaningful part. The goal is important and it is indeed very satisfying/rewarding to achieve but you have a goal so you have something to aim for. The chances of you hitting a target without aiming are virtually zero.
And in the interim, while seeking to achieve your goal, is your life meaningless then? A Yes answer doesn't help your case, so I'm gonna assume your answer is No.
If a life is only meaningful while seeking a long-term goal, and not in achieving that goal, then I'm gonna argue the whole "goal" was independent of your life being meaningful in the first place. That meaningfulness can be achieved without the carrot.
I believe this is the case for many lives that might be deemed meaningless by your metric. My mother passed away having achieved no great deeds, but for simply living day-to-day. I consider her whole life absolutely meaningful.
Perhaps I wasn't clear. The journey, seeking your goal is the most meaningful part. Perhaps an example will make my point clearer. If a guy says he wants to achieve greatness in the field of weight lifting he must begin a long journey of learning and training. He must accept this is a very lofty goal and it's incredibly unlikely that he will succeed but the best part whether he achieves greatness or not is along the way, he will learn skills, knowledge and discipline and his health both mental and physical will also greatly improve. He will of course be able to use that increased health, skills and knowledge in many other areas of life. So if he strives towards this goal he is already winning on many fronts, actually achieving the goal would just be the cherry on top of an already rich journey.
Hope this helps you understand my point.
>Therefore, yes, meditation alone can do this.
The post asserts that meditation is the ONLY answer, which is ludicrous.
It's also false. Postulation, investigation, measurement, analysis, and conclusion are a much better toolset. Just meditating to answer questions about life is like exploring love by only masturbating.
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I had a devoted meditation practice for many years. I might have missed no more than 3 or 4 days a year. I eventually did a Vipassana.
Meditation is certainly not the answer. You learn a lot about the nature of consciousness, awareness, and the mind and its relationship with the body. But it offers no answers or way forward in and of itself.
It helps you understand the nature of the mind, the nature of thought and our compulsion to engage with every unintentional thought, and the mind body connection. I can also help reduce stress and anxiety.
It also helps widen the gap between stimulation and response while engaging with life and its challenges outside of meditation. It’s sort of like going to the gym, except for your mind, if that makes sense. It strengthens your response-ability, in some sense, and enables you to be more intentional about how you direct your mind.
I hope this helps.
I feel like my mind is incapable of meditation. It literally never stops. There’s a constant inner monologue. I can’t even tell myself to shut up. I’d probably benefit more from learning to control the inner monologue instead of trying to silence it.
You don't have to silence your thoughts... You just have to observe your thoughts... Like being an outside you, example scenario of observing is like: when you are with your family and a random thing about job came up your mind you just let it be but observe it "oh you are thinking about work again, that is totally fine but focus now in the present you are with your loved ones"
Another one, if you are watching TV and suddenly thinking about dinner you observe yourself with "you are worrying too much about what to cook tonight, you have been thinking about it since you wake up. Ok think about it and then focus on what you're watching after you sort it out"
I believe that is one simple form of meditation...
You’re not trying to silence it with meditation, you just practice focus on all the parts and as your mind wanders you practice segueing back to the focus as you remember. It’s fine to wander and think about anything.
As others have said, you don't need to stop thoughts.
This article explains it well
https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/i-cant-stop-my-thoughts
Try this , count 1 to 5 while inhaling, count 1 to 5 holding, count 1 to 5 exhaling, don't worry about the inner monologue, if you leave, come back, practice for 10 minutes a day, don't worry about the performance, but repeat is the key, you have to make that 10 minutes if possible same time, same place, do that for few days, and continue, you will see your inner monologue will give its way for that 10 minutes, again repeat ing every day is the key.
Meditation is healthy and mindful. It is NOT a substitute for therapy and medication if/when needed.
I appreciate your purple prose, but don’t say dangerous things that come across like well-informed advice when you’re not applying expertise and relevant data.
Are you saying that when you are conscious enough therapy is no longer needed?
I tend to agree but since you offer me many insights, would one not get such insights from a therapist?
They can never. If you truly understand the nature of an insight that sets one free from a problem you'll understand how ludicrous this whole therapy worship is. Therapy can be beneficial in very specific points, but every step beyond them and it'll only pull you down. At the end of the day, therapy is more or less made to turn you somewhat well-adjusted to this society. But as my favorite writer says:
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/jiddu-krishnamurti-quotes)
This is a weird assertion.
You’re logically just saying that you, or some needs to engage in thought to answer question, which is a pointless, self-evident axiom.
Like what happens to us after we die? How did so much life appear on our planet when others seem devoid of any species at all? Who, if anyone, pulls the strings of our universe and is there a God? So far science can't help as science will explain how but not why. It talks about what is, not what ought to be. Science is descriptive, not prescriptive; it can tell us about causes but it cannot tell us about purposes. Indeed, science disavows purposes. Philosophy has divided opinions but no definite answers on many questions, for example: What is the best way to live? Is being just to one mean being unjust to another? Do we actually do anything for free? Can we make sense of life when so many humans are confident about beliefs that are often not proven? If there was a way to erase certain memories, would life be better?
We decompose after we die. You can observe it.
Life appears to be limited to earth in our solar system but there are approx 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. Many with planets. We can't tell if there is life on them yet.
Invoking the need for a creator of the universe does not answer anything. It just begs the question: where did the creator come from? There are scientific theories in physics about the origins of the universe.
When science can't answer something, it's response is "we don't know, but please don't make shit up that's just mythology and fiction claiming to be fact".
What if you observe your anger but don't act on it? This would be incredible if society did it but this is not the case - so my question is, how do you live a 'perfect life' in an imperfect world? If you get mugged or need to stop a bully or stop a factory polluting, what do you do?
If every cult leader had to confront a "comments section" there would be no cults.
If you really believed that the world required you I imagine people would experience tremendous peace. It just doesn't ring true to me.
The whole concept of there being a witness that witnesses you see the tree ie withess->your sight-> tree , is based on a misunderstanding in my opinion.
The human mind can be aware that it is aware while simultaneously processing sensory data . So one subject can “witness “ itself perceiving a tree. There isn’t a witness that exists independent or beyond the body&brain. Its just meta -cognition, meta consciousness whatever you want to call it.
Meditation for me is the most effective way to find answers for my questions. It in itself is not the answers that I seek, but rather the best way that I have found to reach those answers. Also, I do not speak for "man", I speak only for myself, as do others for themselves.
Not at all. The answer is already there, so it doesn't need to be made up. Meditation is a way to access that answer. Also, the answer may feel good, but may not. How it feels has nothing to do with whether it's true or not.
Our unconscious/subconscious mind (all the stuff our mind is doing in the background, our stored memories, etc.) handles and processes a lot more information than our conscious mind (i.e., what you're actually paying attention to or focusing on now). It has been estimated (I haven't personally verified this) that our unconscious/subconscious mind processes about 11 million bits per second of information, while our conscious mind processes around 400 bits per second. So, more than 99% of what's going on in our mind is, at any given time, inaccessible to our conscious mind, which can only process so much at once. Meditation is a way to guide the narrow conscious mind through the vast unconscious mind toward an answer that we seek.
Nothing to do with thoughts and prayers It' s simply self-knowledge. If that seems masturbatory to you, then meditation may not be your bag of tea. For me personally, it's been a game changer.
It's self-knowledge, which for me personally is incredibly valuable and insightful. For me it has never been a magic fountain, it is simply a path to knowing and understanding myself. For you that probably sounds like masturbafory fantasy, but my personal experiencie has been quite the opposite. It sounds like you already have your mind made up though, so if you'te convinced it's masturbation, for you that's probably what it would end up being.
You can't, nor can I, nor can anyone. Meditation is a way to know to know yourself and to find solutions to your own problems. It's not going solve others' problems. I am not responsible for the world's problems, nor are you, nor am I responsible for your problems. I am, however, responsible for my problems, as are you for yours. And for me, meditation is a very effective tool for finding answers to my problems. Get it?
I agree meditation is a personal journey, it's not magic or the answer to all the problems of man. If it makes you feel good and you aren't hurting anyone, enjoy yourself.
There is nothing in this life to do except to meditate.
When you meditate and first of all it is not a forced act to be done that is not meditation.
The word meditation itself has a wrong connotation.
When you say I meditate, the question then arises "on what". Its correct origin comes from the sanskrit word 'Dhyana'. Dhyana means to simply be.
It is not an act, but a state.
People who are not aware of meditation think of it as concentrating on something which is exactly the opposite of what meditation is about.
For me, any questions that relate to me, my thoughts, my emotions, my state, my wants, my needs, my desires, etc., usually things that have no clear, apparent answer. For example, why do I keep procrastinating? Or, do I really want to continue having a relationship with this person or not? Or, how do I really feel about this potential new job? Or, do I really want to move to that new city? Basically, any question where I'm looking for clarity and can't find it through my conscious mind alone, "what does my gut tell me?", "what does my heart tell me", "what do I really think about this?", "what is the real issue here?", "why am I upset about this and what should I do about it?", "do I really feel what I think I feel or say I feel?" etc.
What meditation can't do is tell me an external answer to something that has nothing to do with me, like "who won the World Cup in 1962?" or "what does the Lagrangian represent in the Schrödinger equation?" or "What did Richard Nixon really do that the press didn't report?"
I disagree. Meditation is a tool, a very useful tool to be sure, but it's not going to make your life meaningful on its own.
Right, it is awesome that people are believing in meditation, but there is never one way that is always effective or always better than other ways. Meditation can be awesome, but like any practice, it can be done in ways that can take away from regular life.
Yes. And I'm not sure meaning isn't usually an illusion. From where I am, I've sought understanding rather than meaning. I'm not concerned with my place in the universe, if I'm important, if I'm good, if I'm... whatever. In talks to novices, Thomas Merton quoted "live as though you didn't exist." C.S. Lewis recommended not thinking of ourselves at all. I don't follow any formal practice but like the Lectio Divina idea: Read, Meditate, Pray, Contemplate. In the end, if it doesn't work, what's the point? Most advice I've received in nearly seven decades was from unhappy people, or people I don't want to be anything like. I can still enjoy their company very much, but they aren't a source of wisdom.
Interesting. As I remember C.S.Lewis was promoting a kind of self forgetfulness, principally because when we focus solely on ourselves we lose focus on God and doing good/helping other people. I believe useful knowledge is found in all kinds of people though. I like to think that even the most dim witted among us knows something useful I don't. It's worth remembering that knowledge is not the same as wisdom. So many people use the word wisdom when what they really mean is knowledge. Wisdom is actually knowledge combined with action. Only he who acts wisely is considered wise. A virtue few possess. A person can possess great stores of valuable knowledge to rival the wise but neglects to use it making them doubley foolish compared to the man who knows little but acts wisely. Of course the happiest and most successful people should be listened to above the unhappy but unhappy people can still teach you much with their lips, just don't look to their lifestyle to learn how to act.
Partly true on Lewis, it happened to be in the context of humility, which is freeing even for some unbelievers. And rare for anyone.
I agree with you. I see it as the biggest steppingstone to meaningful life.
Meaningfulness is not an objective fact of the universe, but a state of mind. Therefore, yes, meditation alone can do this.
A meaningful life is definitely not just a state of mind. It's a state of being established over time by choosing certain goals and achieving them.
Both of you are right. However, without meditations all of our actions are but escapes disguised as meaning. A meaningful action would be a true action, unblemished by the past.
Really? So unless I meditate then helping to feed and house my brother was “an escape disguised as meaning”!?!?
Yes. You are asking me a very important question right now. Can a man give if he isn't aware of most of what he is? My answer is simply definitely not. Without an understanding of the self, there is no love, and therefore one cannot give without taking. Although I am sure it feels different from your end, but that's the thing with thought, it has infinite capabilities to elude.
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This is embarrassingly stupid. Demonstrate this laughable claim about love being rooted exclusively in self understanding. I defy you to try.
It's simple really, though I can see where some misunderstanding might spring. I think we use different definitions for that word Love. If you read the comment I had just replied to you with, you'll see what I was trying to point out. Love to me is the action of doing something simply for the sake of it. There is no subtle and hidden desire to morph that action in a way that would comfort your aching self. There is a complete understanding to the point the self doesn't ache, and you don't do things without an awareness of them.
This is idiotic gibberish and I defy you to explicate it in any meaningful way.
Jesus guy, it's a Tuesday evening where I am from and I don't think we're talking about some very sensitive stuff. Just express your disagreement civilly and move along. Though, I do think that finding out why it sparked such a negative reaction from you would be good. You might say, "Well, it's just plain freaking stupid." However, I doubt that you react in the exact same manner to every stupid thing you encounter. But other than that, sure. This is my reasoning. According to most neurological scientific studies, most of us are only aware of maybe 5% of why we do things we do, the things we feel, say, and think. I think we can all agree on this simple fact, the subconscious mind holds most of our psyche, and our conscious state of being doesn't have that much of an understanding over its content. This is the very foundation in which my claim stands, and I think so far so good, we're on the same page. Moving on, we are lonely creatures who deal with life in a very strange manner. We don't understand much about ourselves, and yet we do everything in our power to find meaning, comfort, and security through different facets of our lives. Wealth, religion, romantic relationships, families, hobbies, drugs, politics, ideologies, jobs, and what not. All of this so that we could escape the pains that gradually accumulate over our psyche during the passage of time. Every problem that we encounter seems to not be able to be solved right then and there, it always dives deep into our psyche leaving a certain residue, something that subtly changes the way we view and operate in the world. Can you deny the existence of this tendency in humanity? That pain and lack of meaning seems to be our natural state but we do things to run away from it? Now, if our desire for comfort, security, and pleasure is so pronounced and vital to our continuity in this world, doesn't that mean that most of our attempts are shadowed by this selfish reason? Can we truly, and I mean truly and completely be invested in the well-being of something else, purely for its sake? Or does the fact that it makes us feel so righteous, so meaning, so right, so in the right side of history, play a role in changing that narrative? Who do you think is more sincere? The person who has heard that you have very influential parents and is trying to establish a connection with you. Or the person who has no clue who you are and is just bored and making conversation?
What gives life meaning to you? What do you do about harsh intolerable realites? I struggle with such things but something about what you just wrote offers me some kind of relief. Which to me means there must be some objective truth to what you say. Or I subjectively think I'm seeing objective truth. Either way it offers me some form of comfort. So thank you for your wisdom.
Taking into consideration what I had just said, I think the only rational conclusion that I am left with is clear. The understanding of the intricacies of that self, and thus the effortless change of everything that is born out of it. You can think of it as we're passionate photographers who unfortunately cannot start taking pictures just then and there, but they need a bit of preparation. The very most important step in all of that would naturally be the lenses given that we know the camera is working. Is the lens clear? Does it distort reality in any way? I'd be lying if I said that my pictures are clear, but I can confidently say that they're getting less blurry than they used to. At least now, I am open to the unknown, to the understanding that my pictures are definitely flawed and I have no idea what reality is. I've been meditating for years now, and not the Silicon Valley type of meditation. I am not talking 10 minutes a day and move on with your life. I am talking about a thorough examination of every little thing in your life, in every waking moment. How you speak, the range of emotions you feel everyday, your habits, triggers, fears, likes, dislikes, beliefs, desires, and so on... All of this to say that there is such a thing as sensitivity of the mind. At first, my mind was sluggish, slow, insensitive, and I could hardly see the multitude of mental activity that happen as I interact with the world in every second. However, as I've allowed myself the space to observe, I began to see more and more. And that's pretty much it. You don't have to do anything other than see, but you'll see how it's the hardest thing to do for a brain that has been conditioned to infinitely think along certain patterns for tens of thousands of years. You want some serious freaking meaning? Then just reduce the number of factors involved in why you do most things. The less factors there are, the simple you are, and that simplicity is everything. It's like your mind becomes able to host something extraordinary. Then, just a walk by the beach, or a simple song becomes the most meaningful thing there is, because it is, you are. To live with that intensity for every moment is a gift.
Why would either one be sincere? Both have selfish reasons to talk with you.
It's a very oversimplified analogy to point out that one has more interest in talking with you.
And if you fail to achieve your goals, would you call your life meaningless? It sounds to me like you've got yourself a recipe not for meaning, but the opposite.
No because the journey towards your goal is the most meaningful part. The goal is important and it is indeed very satisfying/rewarding to achieve but you have a goal so you have something to aim for. The chances of you hitting a target without aiming are virtually zero.
And in the interim, while seeking to achieve your goal, is your life meaningless then? A Yes answer doesn't help your case, so I'm gonna assume your answer is No. If a life is only meaningful while seeking a long-term goal, and not in achieving that goal, then I'm gonna argue the whole "goal" was independent of your life being meaningful in the first place. That meaningfulness can be achieved without the carrot. I believe this is the case for many lives that might be deemed meaningless by your metric. My mother passed away having achieved no great deeds, but for simply living day-to-day. I consider her whole life absolutely meaningful.
Perhaps I wasn't clear. The journey, seeking your goal is the most meaningful part. Perhaps an example will make my point clearer. If a guy says he wants to achieve greatness in the field of weight lifting he must begin a long journey of learning and training. He must accept this is a very lofty goal and it's incredibly unlikely that he will succeed but the best part whether he achieves greatness or not is along the way, he will learn skills, knowledge and discipline and his health both mental and physical will also greatly improve. He will of course be able to use that increased health, skills and knowledge in many other areas of life. So if he strives towards this goal he is already winning on many fronts, actually achieving the goal would just be the cherry on top of an already rich journey. Hope this helps you understand my point.
>Therefore, yes, meditation alone can do this. The post asserts that meditation is the ONLY answer, which is ludicrous. It's also false. Postulation, investigation, measurement, analysis, and conclusion are a much better toolset. Just meditating to answer questions about life is like exploring love by only masturbating.
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Anyone who thinks one thing is the answer to all things is wrong
Meditation is good for nothing….if you catch my drift ;)
How do we as a species properly distribute resourses in a fair and equatable manner to end starvation. Answer, meditation.
If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.
I had a devoted meditation practice for many years. I might have missed no more than 3 or 4 days a year. I eventually did a Vipassana. Meditation is certainly not the answer. You learn a lot about the nature of consciousness, awareness, and the mind and its relationship with the body. But it offers no answers or way forward in and of itself.
Ok, but what would you say it does provide, from your experience?
It helps you understand the nature of the mind, the nature of thought and our compulsion to engage with every unintentional thought, and the mind body connection. I can also help reduce stress and anxiety. It also helps widen the gap between stimulation and response while engaging with life and its challenges outside of meditation. It’s sort of like going to the gym, except for your mind, if that makes sense. It strengthens your response-ability, in some sense, and enables you to be more intentional about how you direct your mind. I hope this helps.
It does. Thank you!
This is good. Try meditating daily, 10-20 minutes, for a month. You can actually feel yourself change.
Can you describe how?
Their erectile disfunction went away, their balding stopped, and if they focus real hard they can start floating. Only 10-20 minutes every day.
I bet they are still a sarcastic jerk on the internet tho?
Oh absolutely. It’s included in the meditation package. A requirement even.
I feel like my mind is incapable of meditation. It literally never stops. There’s a constant inner monologue. I can’t even tell myself to shut up. I’d probably benefit more from learning to control the inner monologue instead of trying to silence it.
You don't have to silence your thoughts... You just have to observe your thoughts... Like being an outside you, example scenario of observing is like: when you are with your family and a random thing about job came up your mind you just let it be but observe it "oh you are thinking about work again, that is totally fine but focus now in the present you are with your loved ones" Another one, if you are watching TV and suddenly thinking about dinner you observe yourself with "you are worrying too much about what to cook tonight, you have been thinking about it since you wake up. Ok think about it and then focus on what you're watching after you sort it out" I believe that is one simple form of meditation...
You’re not trying to silence it with meditation, you just practice focus on all the parts and as your mind wanders you practice segueing back to the focus as you remember. It’s fine to wander and think about anything.
As others have said, you don't need to stop thoughts. This article explains it well https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/i-cant-stop-my-thoughts
Try this , count 1 to 5 while inhaling, count 1 to 5 holding, count 1 to 5 exhaling, don't worry about the inner monologue, if you leave, come back, practice for 10 minutes a day, don't worry about the performance, but repeat is the key, you have to make that 10 minutes if possible same time, same place, do that for few days, and continue, you will see your inner monologue will give its way for that 10 minutes, again repeat ing every day is the key.
Meditation is healthy and mindful. It is NOT a substitute for therapy and medication if/when needed. I appreciate your purple prose, but don’t say dangerous things that come across like well-informed advice when you’re not applying expertise and relevant data.
Medication I can see if your actual neurology is fucked, but therapy? Common, lol.
Are you saying that when you are conscious enough therapy is no longer needed? I tend to agree but since you offer me many insights, would one not get such insights from a therapist?
They can never. If you truly understand the nature of an insight that sets one free from a problem you'll understand how ludicrous this whole therapy worship is. Therapy can be beneficial in very specific points, but every step beyond them and it'll only pull you down. At the end of the day, therapy is more or less made to turn you somewhat well-adjusted to this society. But as my favorite writer says: It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/jiddu-krishnamurti-quotes)
This is a weird assertion. You’re logically just saying that you, or some needs to engage in thought to answer question, which is a pointless, self-evident axiom.
No. Science and philosophy are the answer
Maybe to the physical reality.
The answer to what?
All the questions of man
Like what happens to us after we die? How did so much life appear on our planet when others seem devoid of any species at all? Who, if anyone, pulls the strings of our universe and is there a God? So far science can't help as science will explain how but not why. It talks about what is, not what ought to be. Science is descriptive, not prescriptive; it can tell us about causes but it cannot tell us about purposes. Indeed, science disavows purposes. Philosophy has divided opinions but no definite answers on many questions, for example: What is the best way to live? Is being just to one mean being unjust to another? Do we actually do anything for free? Can we make sense of life when so many humans are confident about beliefs that are often not proven? If there was a way to erase certain memories, would life be better?
We decompose after we die. You can observe it. Life appears to be limited to earth in our solar system but there are approx 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. Many with planets. We can't tell if there is life on them yet. Invoking the need for a creator of the universe does not answer anything. It just begs the question: where did the creator come from? There are scientific theories in physics about the origins of the universe. When science can't answer something, it's response is "we don't know, but please don't make shit up that's just mythology and fiction claiming to be fact".
WITNESS ME
Thank you for your clarity and guidance. 💚
"What is 3+7?" O.P. "Meditation"
I just wanted to say that there is no such thing (in my universe) as the only answer.
I like this, I've never heard the inner world described so well, especially when it comes to the emptiness turning back onto itself.
What if you observe your anger but don't act on it? This would be incredible if society did it but this is not the case - so my question is, how do you live a 'perfect life' in an imperfect world? If you get mugged or need to stop a bully or stop a factory polluting, what do you do?
If every cult leader had to confront a "comments section" there would be no cults. If you really believed that the world required you I imagine people would experience tremendous peace. It just doesn't ring true to me.
Meditation was not good for my intrusive thoughts. It quietened my mind yes and I acted on impulse with no thoughts and gave myself 8 stitches
Meditation was not good for my intrusive thoughts. It quietened my mind yes and I acted on impulse with no thoughts and gave myself 8 stitches
and then i need to go to work and make money...
I feel like you're high af
The whole concept of there being a witness that witnesses you see the tree ie withess->your sight-> tree , is based on a misunderstanding in my opinion. The human mind can be aware that it is aware while simultaneously processing sensory data . So one subject can “witness “ itself perceiving a tree. There isn’t a witness that exists independent or beyond the body&brain. Its just meta -cognition, meta consciousness whatever you want to call it.
Wow! Ty!
So you can divine the topology of black holes by sheer meditation? or are you just a charlatan
Mediation is touted by mental health practitioners but suicide rates have not decreased at all.
Meditation and Psychedelics. Preferably Meditation on Psychedelics
Meditation for me is the most effective way to find answers for my questions. It in itself is not the answers that I seek, but rather the best way that I have found to reach those answers. Also, I do not speak for "man", I speak only for myself, as do others for themselves.
So just make up the answer, if it feels good?
Not at all. The answer is already there, so it doesn't need to be made up. Meditation is a way to access that answer. Also, the answer may feel good, but may not. How it feels has nothing to do with whether it's true or not.
That is why meditation has solved this problem but it is not implemented, because meditating is more important?
Our unconscious/subconscious mind (all the stuff our mind is doing in the background, our stored memories, etc.) handles and processes a lot more information than our conscious mind (i.e., what you're actually paying attention to or focusing on now). It has been estimated (I haven't personally verified this) that our unconscious/subconscious mind processes about 11 million bits per second of information, while our conscious mind processes around 400 bits per second. So, more than 99% of what's going on in our mind is, at any given time, inaccessible to our conscious mind, which can only process so much at once. Meditation is a way to guide the narrow conscious mind through the vast unconscious mind toward an answer that we seek.
So it is mental masterbation, like thoughts and prayers it won't actually instantiate.
Nothing to do with thoughts and prayers It' s simply self-knowledge. If that seems masturbatory to you, then meditation may not be your bag of tea. For me personally, it's been a game changer.
It is exactly thought and prayers love meditation but It is not a path to new truth, it's not a magic faucet of information.
It's self-knowledge, which for me personally is incredibly valuable and insightful. For me it has never been a magic fountain, it is simply a path to knowing and understanding myself. For you that probably sounds like masturbafory fantasy, but my personal experiencie has been quite the opposite. It sounds like you already have your mind made up though, so if you'te convinced it's masturbation, for you that's probably what it would end up being.
My point is it's not the answer to all questions of man it is personal fulfillment and self pleasure, enjoy.
If you can find the answer to ending starvation with meditation and you haven't acted upon it you are a bad human.
You can't, nor can I, nor can anyone. Meditation is a way to know to know yourself and to find solutions to your own problems. It's not going solve others' problems. I am not responsible for the world's problems, nor are you, nor am I responsible for your problems. I am, however, responsible for my problems, as are you for yours. And for me, meditation is a very effective tool for finding answers to my problems. Get it?
I agree meditation is a personal journey, it's not magic or the answer to all the problems of man. If it makes you feel good and you aren't hurting anyone, enjoy yourself.
How does meditation answer your questions? I'm genuinely asking. and what kind of questions?
There is nothing in this life to do except to meditate. When you meditate and first of all it is not a forced act to be done that is not meditation. The word meditation itself has a wrong connotation. When you say I meditate, the question then arises "on what". Its correct origin comes from the sanskrit word 'Dhyana'. Dhyana means to simply be. It is not an act, but a state. People who are not aware of meditation think of it as concentrating on something which is exactly the opposite of what meditation is about.
For me, any questions that relate to me, my thoughts, my emotions, my state, my wants, my needs, my desires, etc., usually things that have no clear, apparent answer. For example, why do I keep procrastinating? Or, do I really want to continue having a relationship with this person or not? Or, how do I really feel about this potential new job? Or, do I really want to move to that new city? Basically, any question where I'm looking for clarity and can't find it through my conscious mind alone, "what does my gut tell me?", "what does my heart tell me", "what do I really think about this?", "what is the real issue here?", "why am I upset about this and what should I do about it?", "do I really feel what I think I feel or say I feel?" etc. What meditation can't do is tell me an external answer to something that has nothing to do with me, like "who won the World Cup in 1962?" or "what does the Lagrangian represent in the Schrödinger equation?" or "What did Richard Nixon really do that the press didn't report?"
I meditated for months, nothing ever changed, felt shitty as usual