Post: #126

Eight Lectures on Yoga by Aleister Crowley is the best no bullshit book on the subject... for those who want to get into it.

http://files.vsociety.net/data/library/S...20Yoga.pdf

Very user unfriendly.

Post: #127

(11-17-2018 09:22 PM)Bushido Wrote:  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

Thanks for the response Bushido.

10 minutes in the morning should be pretty easy to maintain and a good starting point. I'll give it a go.

Post: #128

I'm into transandental getting deeper and deeper..I'm only doing 2 20 min sessions a day..

Its like lifting weights ....If I have not lifted in days I'm depressed .Once I lift I'm high..TM is the same for me...I NEED TO DO IT.

I have been experimenting over the last 2 years with different meditation methods but its only since I was in the outback this year that meditation became important.

I just watched a youtube demo of TM .

https://youtu.be/9dy-e7DMnQY

I then went to a TM teacher but did not do the course as I was sure I was doing it .But I will do a course as I'm putting all my kids on to it and there is a cheaper price for families..I can't teach my kids myself and its worth to 2k for 3 kids and an adult..

I tried mindfulness and it just made me docile..I had issues with drinking now I'd rather TM than drink .The instant effect on my brain ,my mind is undescribable.I thought it was bullshit until I started hitting this level..It's fucking addictive

I also have PTSD and TM works for me.
But I never knew it was used as a treatment until a couple of days ago
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/transcendent...eases-ptsd


Yoga is great and I'll be going back to that.

Post: #129

I do Wim Hof breathing which is related to "breath of fire" meditation





I do around 3-4 rounds every morning after I wake up.

It's a good way to control of your breath and get rid of brain fog in the morning, I go all the way and follow the breathing with some stretching and a cold shower.

It's an active meditation technique and I found it pretty easy to get into without having any meditation experience before. He sells a master class which is great but he has plenty of free instruction online.

He has actually had scientific studies done where he was able to improve the immune systems of an experimental group to prevent infection from a virus.

https://www.wimhofmethod.com/science

Post: #130

I hate meditating, I really do, I really have to force me to do it... And to be honest I don't notice any difference... UNTIL I quit meditating again, then I notice, hm yeah life goes better when I do meditate...

Post: #131

MY unedited notes after I left a retreat recently:

Just Left Spirit Rock:

How to deal with Anxiety:

Focus on your feet, and legs. Next, take 3 to 5 deep inhales and exhales. See if it helps you become more grounded.

Thinking back to way back when.

It’s like I was sitting there 20 years in the past at times on my retreat. There’s nothing like my first Spirit Rock retreat that I could ever compare. This one had some moments of exhilaration, anxiety, fear, sadness, and a whole range of emotions that take place, while almost nothing significant is actually happening. On the retreats, we are doing insight meditation, walking meditation, listening to dharma talks or lectures from teachers, and also, they teach loving kindness meditation.

Loving kindness helps counteract negative emotions such as anger or resentment. Lets’ say you are hiking and there are a lot of hiker on your trail, but you have become upset because they are being loud and there are so so many people there today. It’s your trail, you imagine that they are invading your space. This storyline or judgement in your mind can be counter acted with doing some metta on the people who are being loud on your hike. “May you be happy, May you be healthy, maybe you be Safe, may you life with ease. This is a genius way to counteract negative emotions, and it’s been a type that of meditation practice for thousands of years. Ideally, you would do some during the day but it’s really not that complex:

There is also insight meditation. This is where you are focusing on an object constantly for a period of time and you’re directing your attention towards that object. The most classic and common thing to focus on is your breathing. If you would like to try to do some insight meditation, you could just sit down for few minutes and try it. Let’s say you want to focus on your breathing for 20 minutes. Just sit in a chair or somewhere where you can sit up straight. Try to focus only on your breathing for 20 minutes or 10 minutes or even 30 minutes. Usually, on the retreats we are doing sits for 30 to 45 minutes at a time. You can do as little as five to 10 minutes or for me the minimum effective dose is around 20 minutes. But if you want to go deeper into your mediation and get more of a clarity of thought, you can do 45 minutes or 30 minutes which is what we do on retreat, or even longer if you would like. Now that you are seated in your sitting position, just try to sit up straight and focus on your breathing for the next few minutes. I’ll just let you know if you haven’t tried meditation, you’re mind will wander. It’s going to happen a lot. When you notice you’re mind has wandered off, just gently remind yourself to bring back your mind to your breathing, or if you’re focusing on an object, back to the object. The trick is this. If you do notice you’re mind is wandering, don’t take the bait of continuing to think more about the thoughts. This can lead you down to a rabbit hole for the next 20 minutes and before you know it, you are are thinking about all kinds of unrelated thought. It’s called associative thinking. Just Kindly remind yourself when you do wander, which is going to happen, to go back to your breathing. If it’s something important, you should remember it later. I can’t promise you will remember it though of course

We are also doing walking meditation, and working mediation, and eating mediation on the retreats. The Buddha did a lot of walking mediation from my understanding. When I did my 10 day retreat in Thailand, our teacher talked extensively about the Buddha. This guy was an actual English speaking forest monk living in Thailand. I found his lectures to be fascinating and the retreat there while quite a bit tougher than the ones I”m used at spirit rock, was very interesting.

Waling mediation is big part of all of the silent retreats that I have been on. You will generally alternate

Finally, you will have a job assignment. Usually it takes a bout 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

It was a very amazing digital detox for me. Sometimes I feel like I came off of a another planet after I leave a retreat.

I was at the airport just people watching, in fascination with every little detail that I was noticing. The people in San Francisco seemed like they are in a very good mood today, or perhaps I was in a good mood and they are mirroring my relative chillness after my retreat.

Post: #132

I'm not sure about "deep" but I have been meditating every day for 10 minutes since november of last year. I can definitely tell a difference.

Post: #133

The usual advice about "counting your breaths" and "trying to not think anything" has done nothing for me. It's not meditation, it's closing your eyes and improving your attention span.
I have had the best results with mindfulness and kundalini meditation where you direct your breath to certain parts of your body, which usually gives immediate results.

Post: #134

(01-17-2019 03:54 PM)positivity33 Wrote:  I'm not sure about "deep" but I have been meditating every day for 10 minutes since november of last year. I can definitely tell a difference.

What's your meditation routine - just mindfulness, counting breaths or what?

Post: #135

This is a good introduction to meditation by Mingyur Rinpoche. He gives intuitive easy to understand explanations and exercises.

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

Post: #136

Quote:The usual advice about "counting your breaths" and "trying to not think anything" has done nothing for me. It's not meditation, it's closing your eyes and improving your attention span.
I have had the best results with mindfulness and kundalini meditation where you direct your breath to certain parts of your body, which usually gives immediate results.

What do you think meditation is? The entire point is to focus your attention span on the present moment, thereby eliminating wandering thoughts which serve no purpose other than putting your mind in either the past or the future, which we don’t want.

Post: #137

Meditation doesn't have to be in that standard bhuddist cross legged pose going "ummm".

You can meditate on long car rides where the cruise control is on, the music is off, and your focus is just on driving straight. It's partly the reason I enjoy long road trips. I used to do a lot of long distance driving and found I would enter some sort of "state" where my mind would wander, but I would have enough focus to drive.

Even in stop and go traffic, I find I enter a meditative state. The trick is not having any music on and just hearing the rumble of the car. Just let the mind wander.

Post: #138

Anytime you are aware, you are meditating. If you think a thought, you are absorbed in the thought. You aren't meditating. But, if just once you are aware that you are thinking the thought, you are meditating. Mingyur gives the analogy of a clear sky. Sometimes the sky is clear. Sometimes there is a cloud in the sky. The sky is your awareness. It is empty space and is always there. The clouds are your thoughts. Even when you are thinking, the sky is still there, even though there are clouds. This is a useful metaphor to keep in mind. If you are really upset, just remind yourself of this. Being upset is like having a violent thunderstorm. But even if there is a thunderstorm, the sky, the empty space is still there. So calmness is always available. Also, meditation practice where you set a formal period is aerobic exercise where you build your muscles. But you are always using your muscles throughout the day. Thus, the goal is to always be in a state of meditation.

Post: #139

beginner question but to get more into meditation does it help to get the add-ons for meditation apps like headspace,calm? I saw some book recommendations just wondering what source you use to meditate more effectively

Post: #140

I tend to do it before stressful events and before bed. I find that my work days go by faster and I'm more productive.