Post: #101

Also Jordan Peterson's lectures were also really helpful, especially his focus on connecting life complication with distress - "some depressed people are depressed because their lives are really complicated and they don't see any way of making them simpler." His simplify-your-life-by-cleaning-your-bedroom advice was really useful; some people think that's crap advice but it's really effective if you are having trouble forcing yourself to simplify.

Post: #102

(12-17-2017 10:09 AM)BadgerHut Wrote:  I've realized I have major issues with regret and disappointment like this...I think it might be the root of my feeling bad about failure, thinking that I've wasted my time, moreso than the in-the-moment pain of losing.

To me this is the in-the-moment pain- I don't feel the sting long term because when out of the situation and can think clearly I can see the big picture and realise the grind and failure is necessary. But instinctively I don't like it.

(12-17-2017 10:09 AM)BadgerHut Wrote:  I find a lot of the solution to these things is simply recognizing them happening. Really getting square on recognizing when I'm doing time-wasting things to kill boredom has really helped, even though I don't do them much less, I keep a "bullshit budget" in my head where I know if I'm doing more than e.g. 5 minutes of social media I'm just trying to stimulate myself mindlessly so I know to knock it off.

Makes sense.

(12-17-2017 10:09 AM)BadgerHut Wrote:  Do you find your anxiety is lower because you feel you have some kind of plan for success? A big reason I was shit at game when I was young was I didn't have a framework I at all understood so the whole thing felt totally random. I also find myself not wanting to participate in things I'm not good at, so I shied away from escalating etc. I got a lot better and more motivated when I had some basic ideas in my head to validate that girls would actually enjoy my company.

I think having a plan/framework is definitely super imporatant. However I've always had some sort of plan for years, whether it be Roosh's Day Bang, then recently I had Krauser's LDM which I found suited me way more. However it wasn't until meditation itself which I only did very recently that I've ever felt my AA come under control to any significant degree.

Post: #103

Catalyst and Badger,

What type of meditation have you been practicing?

The constant mind-chatter of the mind is common. It eventually becomes less and less as you're able to sustain focused attention for much longer periods of time. However, it's still important to retain peripheral awareness while keeping the object as your main focus.

As for the practice, I suggest that you stick with it and try to work up to a 45 minute sit per day. If that seems like too much work up to it slowly. The most important thing is to actually meditate (even if it's just for a few minutes) rather than miss a session.

The benefits will increase with time and practice, especially being able to deal with anxiety and regret.

I've had meditation sessions where a certain experience came up that induced a large fear response. Through training I was able to just observe the sensations and thoughts with calm. The more you train your mind, the more wisdom you gain into the impermanence of these emotional states at the experiential level.

Meditation is not a panacea, but definitely an important tool in the bucket.

Post: #104

I'm not sure exactly what kind but I believe it's mindfulness meditation, and originally it was guided. However Headspace seemed to have run out of the free stuff, so I now do it on my own for now.

Post: #105

Neo,

I've been using both Calm and Headspace 10- to 15-minute guided meditations, not sure exactly where they fit in mindfulness taxonomy. I view meditation practice as akin to isotonic muscle training, a form of resistance training that acclimates your mind and emotive system to be robust in the face of external stresses (a view backed up by a buddy of mine who has been a practicing Buddhist for a few years now).

Usually if I find the time to do the meditation in the morning, I have a boosted feeling of resilience and focus that lasts me most the entire day. It's almost the exact same effect of getting ~10 minutes of morning cardio in, a good feeling wells up in me an hour after the workout and sticks with me, except that the workout raises my energy while meditating just helps me ignore negative things. It's a wonder I don't make sure to do it every day of my life but you know how these things work.

I've had a few moments like you describe, where something really intense comes over me and I'm able to objectify and observe it, and realize it's just a feeling that has nothing to do with the actual outcome unless I let it cloud my decision-making.

Post: #106

I've been practicing Shamatha Vipashyana in the Tibetan tradition of Chögyam Trungpa for a substantial part of my life. My practice has been off an on but over the years but over time it has helped me to calm my emotions, be less reactive in various situations, be more compassionate and to some extent, better understand the nature of reality.

In terms of Buddhist meditation, we believe that a genuine teachers get the teachings and method of meditation from other teachers that go in a direct line all the way back to Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (direct transmission). It is sometimes said that if you receive instruction from a genuine teacher it is like receiving the instructions from Siddhartha Gautama Buddha himself. I'm not sure how "direct transmission" works in other traditions but I am skeptical of new age meditation including the mindfulness movement. On the other hand I think there are a lot of valid spiritual traditions out there which have meditation as their basis. For people getting into meditation I would advise finding something that resonates as genuine and then sticking with it.

Post: #107

1. I've been a meditation teacher for around half a decade and meditating for a decade or so.

2. So what is Meditation? You'll get a lot of long explanations.. frameworks but they all will end up having the underlying as these..
.. Meditation is just "relaxing and letting yourself and your mind be".. Simply that.. once you get it.. And experiencing deep silent states of the mind at times.. transcending the mind..
.. Now what / how do you get to that place & what are the requirements or hindrances towards it..

First lets understand what is the opposite of meditation.. not Being.. its "activity, experiences & impressions" from every moment in life..
Every moment of life our 5 senses are EXPERIENCING the EXTERNAL WORLD.. in via People, Things & Situations..

These create impressions in the Memory (hard drive) & the Mind (RAM) keeps bringing up impressions into RAM (from HDD or from I/O devices - 5 senses)..

E.g. You see an Acai Bowl and it suddenly reminds you of the time you had with a Brazilian girl in Rio and suddenly you remember her laugh, smile & sex with her..

The MIND is a REFLEX ORGAN (..quote from peaceful warrior), IT REACTS TO EVERYTHING.. Millions of random thoughts a day.. And NONE OF THOSE THOUGHTS REVEAL ANYTHING ABOUT WHO ARE..

"The mind is just a reflex organ. It reacts to everything. Fills your head with millions of random thoughts a day. None of those thoughts reveal any more about you than a freckle does at the end of your nose."

- WHAT ABOUT THE THOUGHTS & MEMORIES THAT "COME" DURING MEDITATION?
... Those thoughts are not COMING, they are GOING.. very subtle difference..
- Can you have thoughts about an alien speciex ZXY unless & until you get some INFORMATION or IMPRESSIONS about them via one of the 5 senses / description in words?
.. So when one "practices" meditation its a process of "washing away" or "going" of "IMPRESSIONS" in the Mind-Memory complex..

But because we've decreased or disconnected the external sources of INPUT of DATA for some time, we're allowing the SYSTEM (automatic) to start DEFRAGMENTING and CLEANING OUT..

It is as simple as EMPTYING the Trash, as compared to GATHERING it over time.

But, in the physical world & realm.. what you push goes away.. the Mind-Memory complex operates on different principles..

Mind is like the Surface of Water..

The more you DO or INPUT the more RIPPLES get created in the Water.

One has to let the WATER CALM down... less ripples over time, as long as less input to the SYSTEM..

...Now what are the hindrances and things that help to a GOOD PRACTICE and getting good/ deeper meditations..

.. Yogic understanding is everyone has combination of energy of 3 types.. Sattva (Peaceful Clarity), Rajas (Activity), Tamas (Inertia).. the 3 have to be balanced..
.. Hence when one goes good physical activity (as long as its not HYPER) it will lead to burning Rajas and Tamas and help with good meditation..

The times when mind is restless or one cannot sleep or meditate its because of these energies..

This is affected by place, food (diet) etc..

So, people who get into Yoga or do Yoga Asanas will find it CAN help one fall deep into meditation.. again varies largely on types & flavors

In fact, the yoga people who are solely focussed on fancy poses & instagram tend to lose track of and forget what was the goal of the Asanas.. it was not BODY.. but Building Balanced Energy in the body so that one can be in a MEDITATIVE STATE.. And then the PRACTICE OF MEDITATION happens well..

At one point one can learn to meditation in every action.. But the "disconnect from external senses" practice helps one in this journey..

So burn of the physical restlessness (balanced quantity/ quality of activity) & inertia.. and then when you Sit for meditation with eyes closed.. you'll go deeper..

Non Stimulating (non spicy/ calmer flavors) vegetarian food is hence part of retreats like Vipassana because "we are what we eat".. And the energies of the food affect how our mind-body systems operate..

I highly suggest anyone here to watch the PEACEFUL WARRIOR movie.. It touches so many aspects of this..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3VTg_gjReg

(10-31-2017 12:39 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:  I used to meditate. Helped clear the mind, get centered type of stuff. It didn't help with my anxiety and the emotional roller coaster which I attributed to a vitamin D deficiency.

Then I started lifting heavy and all of the benefits I got from meditating came to me 100x harder and lasted a lot longer. My anxieties and other mental issues became far more manageable.

Unless there's some sort of physical component like power yoga, meditating doesn't really help me like it used to. To each their own.

Because your Rajas, Tamas & Kapha & Vata needed to be balanced (Read up on them)

(11-06-2017 05:02 PM)nomadbrah Wrote:  No one can answer my question about meditating for "lucid remembering"?

Guided Meditation at times can be of this flavor but thats not always necessary just one of the ways of "triggering" certain FLAVORS of Mind-Memory impressions.. to RELEASE them and GO AWAY..

Actually SILENT MIND is not a REQUIREMENT, but a POSSIBLE OUTCOME of MEDITATIVE PRACTICES.. Calmer Mind is good enough outcome.. Once you go deeper.. silence (inner) becomes the state of being you begin to realize & cherish..

(11-07-2017 12:43 AM)Filbert Wrote:  A basic prerequisite for meditation is silencing the mind.
Below are some tips to do it.

Difficulties in meditation associated with invasion of various thoughts are caused not by wrong forces but by the usual nature of the human mind. All the sadhaks encounter such a difficulty, and many are facing it for a long time. There are several ways to overcome it.
1. One of them is to look at thoughts, observing the nature of the human mind they demonstrate, but not giving them any support until they fade and stop by themselves – this method was recommended by Vivekananda in his book “Raja Yoga.”

2. Another way is to look at thoughts not as your own, distancing oneself from them as an observer Purusha and refusing to support them – the thoughts are viewed as something coming from outside, from Prakriti, and they should be perceived as random passers-by crossing the mind’s space, you have nothing to do with and you are not interested in. And after some time, the mind is usually divided into two parts – a mental witness, completely calm and nonchalant onlooker, and an observed part, which is crossed by thoughts or where thoughts roam. Later on, one can establish silence or stillness also in this part of the mind.

3. There is also a third, active method, when you try to see where the thoughts are coming from, and you find out that they come not from the person himself but, as it were, come into his head from outside; noting the appearance of the thoughts, they should be discarded at once before they come in. It seems to be the hardest method, and not everyone can use it, but it is the shortest way to silence.

These are all methodical intellectual explanations of what I outlined above.. Practices that help the process..

(11-07-2017 05:48 PM)Neo Wrote:  

(11-06-2017 05:02 PM)nomadbrah Wrote:  No one can answer my question about meditating for "lucid remembering"?

In my experience yes. During my recent retreat, I remembered several long forgotten memories by the 3rd and 4th day. I was meditating for about 10 hours per day.

My suggestion is find a place as quiet as possible, if you can get something close to a sensory deprivation chamber that's the best. Focus your mind as much as possible.

Then don't try to force the memories, just go back in time in your mind. Memory mostly works by association and location, maybe begin with an elementary school memory and go back.

I wasn't able to choose the memories and dates that were recalled, in the sense I couldn't say "It's January 3rd, 1992 where was I?", but I remembered events as early as age 3. The reason I know my exact age during this particular memory was that it was related to a Hurricane that hit when I was 3 years old.

I was overwhelmingly surprised by how much I could remember and how clear and vivid the memories were.

Brilliant.. You were RELEASING a lot of IMPRESSIONS.. But careful its not about Focussing the Mind.. Its about Relaxing it so that the Mental Muscles can LET GO and RELEASE these things STUCK in the SYSTEM and MEMORY.. via the MIND.. the mind cloud..

(11-07-2017 05:50 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  I've been getting into float tanks. Fucking love it.

If one's system is not restless or needs lot of activity to calm down...this is another brilliant mechanism to help the SYSTEM.. go into JUST BEING..

(12-17-2017 01:23 PM)Neo Wrote:  Catalyst and Badger,

What type of meditation have you been practicing?

The constant mind-chatter of the mind is common. It eventually becomes less and less as you're able to sustain focused attention for much longer periods of time. However, it's still important to retain peripheral awareness while keeping the object as your main focus.

As for the practice, I suggest that you stick with it and try to work up to a 45 minute sit per day. If that seems like too much work up to it slowly. The most important thing is to actually meditate (even if it's just for a few minutes) rather than miss a session.

The benefits will increase with time and practice, especially being able to deal with anxiety and regret.

I've had meditation sessions where a certain experience came up that induced a large fear response. Through training I was able to just observe the sensations and thoughts with calm. The more you train your mind, the more wisdom you gain into the impermanence of these emotional states at the experiential level.

Meditation is not a panacea, but definitely an important tool in the bucket.

Sometimes it brings up "negative" impressions, but thats the job.. to RELEASE THEM.. and They do not Release in one sitting.. Its like Stinky Stuff inside you.. that smell takes its own time to GO.. the HOLD it has on the system gets weaker..

And the less "crap" in your system.. the better you can OPERATE..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXAxBnQuHwI

Post: #108

Another analogy thing that popped up..

Life Activities, Exposure & Impressions > similar to > Weight Training / Muscle Stimulation & Breakdown
Meditation Practices > similar to > Stretching/ Massage/ Recovery + Rebuilding & Relaxing of "Mind" (not brain) Tissue

Post: #109

I've always had a strange problem. If I close my eyes and try to imagine myself walking or moving in some direction, I can't control myself. I often end up being whisked away and floating sideways or backwards, even if there's a wall behind me. Sometimes I get taken up into the air, like I'm in an ejector seat. It's very annoying. It's like something is taking me away from the situation.

I've always felt that this is a sign that I'm not in control of myself and that I feel helpless and unable to determine my path in life, and that sooner or later something happens to mess things up for me, or that I'm unable to face things. Yesterday I tried to imagine walking around a supermarket that I'm very familiar with. It was a big challenge. I kept swerving all over the place and falling over, or spinning around, and often I couldn't even move forward.

Post: #110

(12-20-2017 06:30 AM)Vladimir Poontang Wrote:  I've always had a strange problem. If I close my eyes and try to imagine myself walking or moving in some direction, I can't control myself. I often end up being whisked away and floating sideways or backwards, even if there's a wall behind me. Sometimes I get taken up into the air, like I'm in an ejector seat. It's very annoying. It's like something is taking me away from the situation.

Honestly, the first think popped in my mind when I read this is something I read in works by Gurdjieff. He talked about modern humans being "machines" that are frequently on its own programmed course (of course, during his time robots weren't invented so he used term machine).
Only time when people snap out of it is when they stop thinking about routines and get into the meditative state. According to him when you snap out of this machine state for ever, you start to see people around you like they are moving mindlessly and slowly. Gurdjieff didn't talk about this being state of enlightenment but we can assume it's some kind of breaking connections to this prison reality.

Post: #111

(12-20-2017 03:28 AM)xmlenigma Wrote:  Another analogy thing that popped up..

Life Activities, Exposure & Impressions > similar to > Weight Training / Muscle Stimulation & Breakdown
Meditation Practices > similar to > Stretching/ Massage/ Recovery + Rebuilding & Relaxing of "Mind" (not brain) Tissue

Interesting you say that...I've started to view exercise as a quasi-mindfulness exercise in its own right. In one view of meditation you are training your mind to "objectify" distractions and react to them progressively less intensely. In cardio or weight training, you are pushing your body to create some kind of pain or hit some limit, and in the process training yourself to objectify that stress and ignore/push through it. Not a perfect analogy but some overlap going on there.

Post: #112

xmlenigma, thanks for the detailed post!

I've read that eventually the goal is to be in the meditative state all the time. It seems like a difficult task, however I'm finding especially after my retreat that I've been much more focused in certain situations off the cushion.

I'd say I'm in a meditative state as I'm typing this post.

The more I practice, the more I'm either able to enter the state at will or just realize I've been ultra-focused. This year I've been roughly keeping track of my hours and I'm somewhere between 200 and 250 hours of meditation.

The benefits I mentioned in my retreat post linked above have remained.

I've also begun to have experiences that are difficult to explain. There's definitely a link between spiritual development and beyond normal experiences. I need to gather more evidence, because it's easy to fool yourself and they are difficult to replicate.

One is being able to very clearly both observe and change the emotional atmosphere of a room and group of people.

I was dealing with some tense environments earlier in the year. It wasn't affecting me so much as it was others. However, as I've progressed this year I've had people make comments about my calming influence on them. I even had a coworker (who didn't even know I meditated) say to me out of the blue 'You are very good luck to me, I've seen it several times.' I'm not sure what specific circumstances she was talking about.

On the final day of my retreat someone told me "just watch, people are going to start looking at you and saying 'I want some of what he's having.'"

Looks like he was right.

I still have a lot of work to do, but it's been a fun ride so far on the meditation train.

Post: #113

"I've read that eventually the goal is to be in the meditative state all the time. It seems like a difficult task, however I'm finding especially after my retreat that I've been much more focused in certain situations off the cushion."

I actually think a lot of that kind of talk is bunk. Is the "end goal" of working out to be in the "pump" state all the time? People should view this as a process and not a goal, a form of psychological hygiene. I have mad respect for mindfulness pros, but nobody here needs to get too caught up in goal-setting a spiritual journey.

Post: #114

(12-20-2017 08:25 PM)BadgerHut Wrote:  "I've read that eventually the goal is to be in the meditative state all the time. It seems like a difficult task, however I'm finding especially after my retreat that I've been much more focused in certain situations off the cushion."

I actually think a lot of that kind of talk is bunk. Is the "end goal" of working out to be in the "pump" state all the time? People should view this as a process and not a goal, a form of psychological hygiene. I have mad respect for mindfulness pros, but nobody here needs to get too caught up in goal-setting a spiritual journey.

When you lift and workout your muscles become larger and more full. Can you deflate your muscles at will?

When you train the mind your focus and concentration become stronger and stronger. That in turn manifests in situations when you're not sitting down on a cushion and doing 'formal' meditation.

If someone's been meditating for one year and they still can't focus on the object for 2 minutes without mind wandering/day-dreaming I'd say they haven't progressed much. Truth is without some sort of goal and what to work on at certain stages, most people would just give up.

Each stage has a certain goal that needs to be met before progressing to the next stage.

Post: #115

(12-27-2012 07:16 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  I'm not deep into it by any means but have been a lot more curious about it lately. It's something I've experimented with doing in the morning after I wake up. I toyed with when younger doing martial arts.

I'm finding myself really interested in Vipassana Meditation lately. I recently watched Dhamma Brothers, really good documentary about the results of a 10-day meditation "retreat" they held for hardened criminals in Alabama. It seemed to work with these guys like nothing else had, and then the Christians in the community raised a stink and got the program cancelled. Now they're finally getting it back again.

I've read it's springing up other prisons around the nation as well.

Last night I went and attended a Zen Buddhist Group and then a Vipassana Mediation meeting to see what each had to offer. The Buddhist meeting didn't even have a teacher - we just meditated - and with the other group, while I did learn a few things, the people seemed flaky and out-of-touch. I also was struck with a real irony that, while meditation is mean to be a solitary endeavour, these people meet on a regular basis to meditate together...Why not just meditate alone at home?

It seemed a bit pointless, but I sense that Vipassana is supposed to be a lot more effective with some kind of guidance on what you should be doing with your mind. The teacher didn't seem that great. Everything that came out of her mouth was backtracked on or repeated in five different ways to make sure a) no one got somehow offended or b) she counter-acted every possible way to misunderstand what she said.

I appreciate a lot of these spiritual practices and recognize the benefits of meditation, but sometimes I find it difficult to relate to people who are so PC and don't seem very grounded on Earth.

Buddhist practices are really interesting to me as well. But again, I take issue with some real ironies within the religious side of it.

I've been watching some documentaries about Buddha lately, and he was essentially supposed to be a regular guy (albeit royalty by birth) who emphasized that he was not a deity and his entire path to enlightment was about realizing everything was impermanent and to let go of material possessions.

Yet Buddhism, at least as it exists in Southeast Asia, is fanatical in holding on to "material" objects representing the Buddha. They worship his statues and cling to him - seems to fly in the face of impermanence. The erect huge, luxurious structures. The city of Bagan in Bhurma built so many of these temples that they obliterated the land around them for the materials and everyone had to leave the city because it became unlivable.

And while reaching nirvana, or enlightenment, supposedly means you escape the cycle of reincarnation, they act as if the statues of their enlightened idols still have their spirits inside them. They pull them out to get sunshine. They bring them food and water.

Finally, Buddha reached enlightenment by sitting under a tree and meditating alone. Yet all his followers meditate together.

I guess just as with any other religion people make a mistake of getting caught up in the customs and losing sight of the goal.

Anyways, I'm rambling now. Was just initially curious if anyone here is big on meditation. I know some of you dabble, but how far have you gone with it?

And has anyone done a meditation retreat? I've been looking at doing one in Thailand for quite some time (not a tourist-centric one) where you live like the monks while you're there and meditate for days on end, with no speaking, eating after lunch, etc. There are also 10-day Vipassana retreats here in the states where they let you participate for free (donations recommended).

Thoughts? Experiences?

I think you are back to pre-historic times.Your collection of data in the post is awful and i like the subject.

Post: #116

(12-27-2012 07:16 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  And has anyone done a meditation retreat? I've been looking at doing one in Thailand for quite some time (not a tourist-centric one) where you live like the monks while you're there and meditate for days on end, with no speaking, eating after lunch, etc. There are also 10-day Vipassana retreats here in the states where they let you participate for free (donations recommended).

Thoughts? Experiences?

I have attended several 10-day silent retreats and would say they are one of the most important experiences you can ever have in your life.

We all like to talk red-pill on this forum, but for the ultimate red-pill awakening you need to truly understand unconditioned awareness and how 99% of what your think is real is just a story you have created.

Post: #117

Post: #118

So I just posted this thread.. and the opening post.. but linking the thread to those who are interested in meditation and martial arts and how the philosophy is embedded into this TV series.. for the times you want better TV.

/thread-67188.html

Quote:Classic TV Series: KungFu 1972 by David Carradine - stoic serene Shaolin in wild west

The whole series brings a very stoic & serene view of Masculinity that one ought to watch.

I love the entire set of quotes and downed the entire series.

A Redpill snippet of Shaolin Wisdom about women from KungFu by David Carradine




Key scenes and Quotes Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...vXfRndHWg_

Post: #119

(12-20-2017 07:35 PM)BadgerHut Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 03:28 AM)xmlenigma Wrote:  Another analogy thing that popped up..

Life Activities, Exposure & Impressions > similar to > Weight Training / Muscle Stimulation & Breakdown
Meditation Practices > similar to > Stretching/ Massage/ Recovery + Rebuilding & Relaxing of "Mind" (not brain) Tissue

Interesting you say that...I've started to view exercise as a quasi-mindfulness exercise in its own right.

In one view of meditation you are training your mind to "objectify" distractions and react to them progressively less intensely. In cardio or weight training, you are pushing your body to create some kind of pain or hit some limit, and in the process training yourself to objectify that stress and ignore/push through it. Not a perfect analogy but some overlap going on there.

For a truly zen master.. every moment is meditative.. every activity.. WE, you & me are not there yet.. exercise with calm managed breath has the ability to bring one into such states..
The true goal of yoga person is that.. but most people are stuck in the physicals & poses..
Thats what a Zen, a shaolin or a samurai will also strive towards.. Mastery of one's self..
Body, Mind & Spirit.. The integration or Union.. Yoga = Union.

but as I said.. every practice has its benefit.. there are open eye meditation techniques, there are chanting techniques, there are body & sensory awareness techniques, there are music ones, there are guided ones.. there are focus on your breath ones, there are single mantra ones.. and I can go on and on..

To respond again and remind you.. BODY develops by STIMULUS..
MIND develops by "deprivation" of STIMULUS..

To push something away from the body, one has to physically push it..
To push something from the MIND, the harder you push the harder it will come back..

What you RESIST, will PERSIST..

Body & mind operate on different laws.. for people deeper into this.. there are subtler levels of Mind, Intellect, Memory, Emotions.. and so on.. and for each there are different rules and mechanisms..

Do not associate Body Goals (Gross body & Gross rules of nature) to to MIND milestones (Subtle body.. subtler mechanisms of consciousness.. not subject to physical rules of nature)... So be careful in mixing the two. They are interrelated but operate with different paradigms..

----------------

Yes Neo, the practice is a mechanism to lighten the mind, increase AWARENESS & CONSCIOUS ability in "every day life moments" ... to be CENTERED in TRANQULITY.. and maybe one day be the CALM.. no matter how CHAOTIC the STORMS around you..

I've done around 15-20 of them over span of a decade, most of them in the earlier half.. life changing.

(12-20-2017 08:13 PM)Neo Wrote:  xmlenigma, thanks for the detailed post!

I've read that eventually the goal is to be in the meditative state all the time. It seems like a difficult task, however I'm finding especially after my retreat that I've been much more focused in certain situations off the cushion.

I'd say I'm in a meditative state as I'm typing this post.

The more I practice, the more I'm either able to enter the state at will or just realize I've been ultra-focused. This year I've been roughly keeping track of my hours and I'm somewhere between 200 and 250 hours of meditation.

The benefits I mentioned in my retreat post linked above have remained.

I've also begun to have experiences that are difficult to explain. There's definitely a link between spiritual development and beyond normal experiences. I need to gather more evidence, because it's easy to fool yourself and they are difficult to replicate.

One is being able to very clearly both observe and change the emotional atmosphere of a room and group of people.

I was dealing with some tense environments earlier in the year. It wasn't affecting me so much as it was others. However, as I've progressed this year I've had people make comments about my calming influence on them. I even had a coworker (who didn't even know I meditated) say to me out of the blue 'You are very good luck to me, I've seen it several times.' I'm not sure what specific circumstances she was talking about.

On the final day of my retreat someone told me "just watch, people are going to start looking at you and saying 'I want some of what he's having.'"

Looks like he was right.

I still have a lot of work to do, but it's been a fun ride so far on the meditation train.

I am glad to see that you are starting to see the FLOW of life change.
Let your EXPERIENCES be YOURS... if the EVIDENCE is for you thats fine.. try not to share with those who are not ready to receive.. Matrix 1.

At the initial stages I'd gone through that and now its a way of being.. flavors keep changing.. Just Be.

And maintain your MOMENTUM around your DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY practices & repeat RETREATS as many times as possible ANNUALLY.. in a few years you'll have a whole different view on life..

(12-20-2017 08:25 PM)BadgerHut Wrote:  "I've read that eventually the goal is to be in the meditative state all the time. It seems like a difficult task, however I'm finding especially after my retreat that I've been much more focused in certain situations off the cushion."

I actually think a lot of that kind of talk is bunk. Is the "end goal" of working out to be in the "pump" state all the time? People should view this as a process and not a goal, a form of psychological hygiene. I have mad respect for mindfulness pros, but nobody here needs to get too caught up in goal-setting a spiritual journey.

I agree with Neo.. one learns or ones conditioning becomes that of BEING in THE MOMENT.. with CALM AWARENESS... more and more.. Its an experiential observation.. that also brings us EVIDENT Return on Investment.. and further COMMITMENT towards the practices.. So i would not call it BUNK.

Again as I mentioned above lets not compare BODY & MIND ... apples & oranges..

It is not to be pump.. It is a process.. and yes.. I agree it is NOT A GOAL.. But then what is the GOAL or OBJECTIVE? The process & objective become one.. The psychological & mindful hygiene is where you start.. and over years it "can" (most likely could be) become a WAY of OPERATING in LIFE, less shaken & colored by biases of Emotions, Feelings & chaos.. Calmer in Storms..

That, in itself is a spiritual journey, like it or not..

(12-20-2017 08:37 PM)Neo Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 08:25 PM)BadgerHut Wrote:  "I've read that eventually the goal is to be in the meditative state all the time. It seems like a difficult task, however I'm finding especially after my retreat that I've been much more focused in certain situations off the cushion."

I actually think a lot of that kind of talk is bunk. Is the "end goal" of working out to be in the "pump" state all the time? People should view this as a process and not a goal, a form of psychological hygiene. I have mad respect for mindfulness pros, but nobody here needs to get too caught up in goal-setting a spiritual journey.

When you lift and workout your muscles become larger and more full. Can you deflate your muscles at will?

When you train the mind your focus and concentration become stronger and stronger. That in turn manifests in situations when you're not sitting down on a cushion and doing 'formal' meditation.

If someone's been meditating for one year and they still can't focus on the object for 2 minutes without mind wandering/day-dreaming I'd say they haven't progressed much. Truth is without some sort of goal and what to work on at certain stages, most people would just give up.

Each stage has a certain goal that needs to be met before progressing to the next stage.

I'd look at it a little differently.. Do not look into Meditation for progress.. at a bare minimum it will give MENTAL HYGIENE..

Every person & their MIND & CONSCIOUSNESS ..evolve uniquely at their own pace..

If you think body types & their transformation to PHYSICAL STIMULUS was unpredictable due to genetics.. the subtle side becomes even more complex..

Just do it.. Even if someone has trouble after an year.. they are better off doing it.. at the bare minimum it will give MENTAL hygiene..

For those who SENSE they are have trouble progressing a good teacher could guide and point out what could be improved..

"You are what you eat" ... Lot of life experiences and choices will have their impact.. But DO NOT STOP.. the practice

Even if LESS EVIDENT.. it will be the saving grace even in worst of times.. Every time I see some CRIME or ACCIDENT that happened due to someone having lost their CALM.. I wish and pray that their life had gotten touched by meditation.

(12-23-2017 09:07 PM)BB1 Wrote:  

(12-27-2012 07:16 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  And has anyone done a meditation retreat? I've been looking at doing one in Thailand for quite some time (not a tourist-centric one) where you live like the monks while you're there and meditate for days on end, with no speaking, eating after lunch, etc. There are also 10-day Vipassana retreats here in the states where they let you participate for free (donations recommended).

Thoughts? Experiences?

I have attended several 10-day silent retreats and would say they are one of the most important experiences you can ever have in your life.

We all like to talk red-pill on this forum, but for the ultimate red-pill awakening you need to truly understand unconditioned awareness and how 99% of what your think is real is just a story you have created.

15-20 + and counting I can attest to what BB is saying.. I'd be posting Zen quotes in response to what he mentioned above ^ ... so dont deny yourself a few such retreats..

Post: #120

I started Vipassana meditation in the 1980s, also known as insight meditation, and once in a while I have an insight which jolts me.

I was recently doing an eyes open meditation, and it struck me. I was looking at a world that appeared vividly three-dimensional. But yet, the actual image on my retina is two dimensional. If you were to take a snapshot, the retina would be similar to a two dimensional distribution of pixels indicating intensity and color. Nowhere in the image is there a three-dimensional world. Therefore the three dimensional vivid image has to be constructed by the brain. Similarly, when you listen to someone speak, you hear individual words, but if you put the sound at the base of your ear on an oscilloscope, you would see a continuous waveform, and would not be able to distinguish individual words. Thus, the perception of words is generated by the brain. If you hear someone speak Chinese, you also will not be able to distinguish the words which will sound continuous to your unconditioned ear.

The philosopher Kant said that there is noumena and phenomena. There is a world that actually exists and this Kant called the noumena. However, we don't have access to noumena. We only have access to phenomena. Thanks to millions of years of evolution, our senses such as vision are fairly accurate maps (e.g., phenomena) allowing us to perform functions in the real world because our representation seems to correlate in useful ways with the real world. However, even here, optical illusions can fool our sense of reality reminding us that the world is different than our perception of it.

In my meditation, this flashed into my mind in a few seconds, and I could actually at a deep level see that the three dimensional image I was looking at was in my mind and not reality. I felt like I was looking in a mirror and could never turn around to see the real thing. This caused me to tremble as I directly perceived the illusion we call everyday life.

This also made me realize how even more tenuous is our map of social reality and the importance of meditation to interacting with people in a nonjudgmental way not clouded by preconceptions and a mind open to multiple interpretations .

Post: #121

I'm signed up for a vipassana course for next year. My mentor has done 10 courses and has instructed me on the vipassana technique.I've been meditating 20 minutes as part of my daily practice for the past 6 months. Game changer.

I'll report back on my experience in the next few months.

Post: #122

It's a shame more guys aren't into meditation. I dismissed it for many years due to the new age image.
It's been nothing short of life-changing.

Post: #123

(11-17-2018 04:19 AM)Bushido Wrote:  It's a shame more guys aren't into meditation. I dismissed it for many years due to the new age image.
It's been nothing short of life-changing.

In what respect have you found it to be life-changing?

I meditate occasionally but struggle to incorporate it into my daily life. Any tips on how to maintain a regular practice?

Post: #124

I feel more centered. Things that would have normally cause an emotional reaction in the past are just a blip. Clearer thinking overall. More conscious of my actions and words. Stress levels down. Confidence levels up. Meditation is just one of the things that have improved these things. Some others are the gym and jiu jitsu, eating clean and organic foods (most of the time), building my faith, and finding my purpose and balance in life. If I'm meditating consistently, then other things in life get easier which in turn makes meditating easier.

The best advice I ever received on meditation is to just start doing it every day and think of it like working out or running. You will want to stop before the allotted time is up, but keep going and you will get better at it and you will be able to hit that meditative state earlier and for longer periods of time without wanting to stop.

The technique that was taught to me in a nutshell is to sit up straight with your hips, back, and head in alignment, breathe in and out through your nose, and concentrate on the sensation of your breath around the lower part of your face.

No music, no special audio track. I usually take an inventory of what I need to take care of for that day or how I can improve on something before I meditate. After meditation I say a prayer to God.

I make it a part of my routine by meditating in the sauna at the gym after a workout. If I don't hit the sauna that day I'll make enough time before I go into work to meditate for 20 minutes in my car. I try to do this every morning but it's more like 5 to 6 times a week.

Bottom line is there are no tips to make it a part of your life. Just start doing it and you will reap the benefits.

Post: #125

Lagavulin,

It takes a while to see the benefits (they started after around a month of consistency for me) but I've experienced the following:

Much lower stress/anxiety
Super concentration at work to the point where people have commented
Life feels richer/fuller (meditation trains you to better use your five senses - you'll find yourself marveling at the taste of meals!)
Sometimes I have these moments where I'm just happy for no reason.
Social events are more fun
Appetite for learning and curiosity are way higher
More confident

It's a bit like flossing every day. Once you do it you wonder how you ever went without it. I recommend making five-ten minutes in the morning as it's easier to maintain that way. Headspace is a good app to start with to develop a habit but it's better to then eventually move onto doing it alone as this better internalises the habit. Hope that helps