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    Saturday, March 21, 2020

    Meditation: Is anyone else just feeling.. totally fine?

    Meditation: Is anyone else just feeling.. totally fine?


    Is anyone else just feeling.. totally fine?

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 05:19 PM PDT

    So this is about covid-19. In the past days I have noticed quite an increase in people that I love and care about just completely going off the hook about this crisis. Now I completely empathize here: I too worry about my grandparents, or other loved ones being hurt or even facing death. However, its becoming rarer and rarer to see people be relaxed, or optimistic.

    Now I don't know if I'm a complete psychopath or just at a quite good state with meditation, but I just feel completely regularly "myself". The sun is just as beautiful, the days are just as precious. I handle my emotions towards the Coronavirus just as meditating has taught me to handle any emotion. I accept it, I feel it, and I let it pass. I'm learning to be a nurse, next week I will be back in the hospital.. but I am just not worried. Whatever will happen will happen. Things will pass. Things will be ok. They always are. I think meditating really has strengthend my mind a lot, and I am very grateful that the benefits of meditation help me so much in this global crisis.

    I hope I don't come off as a completely smug jerk lol. Anyways, how are you guys holding up?

    submitted by /u/BrixvonHoenn
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    4-7-8 Breathing for Sleep: How to Do It, Science of It, and More (resubmit)

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 10:24 AM PDT

    4-7-8 Breathing for Sleep: How to Do It, Science of It, and More

    How can a simple breathing technique help with insomnia and stress? The 4-7-8 breathing method has been really effective for many people – myself included – at helping relax the body and mind ready for sleep.

    The first time I tried it I was genuinely surprised the next day at how quickly I'd fallen asleep! It's also been successful for some sufferers of PTSD and anxiety at reducing their symptoms by stimulating the Vagus Nerve.

    In this article I'll explain what it does to relax the body, and why it is so effective.

    How To Perform 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise

    • Sit up straight in a relaxed position (or lie down comfortably, if you're doing the exercise to fall into sleep),
    • Keep your tongue loosely against your upper front teeth for the entire exercise,
    • Inhale slowly through the nose (using the diaphragm rather than the chest) for 4 seconds (doesn't need to be a full breath),
    • Hold your breath at this position for 7 seconds,
    • Release your breath through the mouth for a count of 8 seconds – the tongue position will help you extend the duration of the exhale and you should hear the sound of the air escaping,
    • Repeat several times (until you fall asleep or feel calmer, better).

    To understand why this breathing pattern is so effective, we need to look at the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for regulating the automatic functions of our body, such as heartrate, immune function and digestion.

    Two Halves of the Autonomic Nervous System

    Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) – activated when we perceive danger or need alertness:

    • increased heartrate and blood pressure
    • puts us in "fight or flight" mode, ready for action
    • causes us to breathe shallow, from the chest
    • keeps us awake

    Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) – activated when our body feels that it's safe to relax

    • decreases heartrate and blood pressure
    • puts us in "rest and digest" mode
    • causes our muscles to relax
    • allows us to sleep

    The sympathetic nervous system is super important, but with the busy modern life that many of us lead, full of stimulus and stress, it is activated too much of the time. Our PNS rarely has a chance to take over, which causes problems for recovery and especially for sleep!

    Using 4-7-8 Breathing to Regulate Your Nervous System

    Effects of Deep Breathing

    We have minimal direct control over what our autonomic nervous system does, but via specific breathwork exercises it is actually possible to switch its state between the SNS and PNS.

    When we breathe deeply (i.e., from the diaphragm rather than from the chest) we activate stretch receptors around the diaphragm linked to the parasympathetic nervous system. Any deep breathing will have this effect, but it's especially powerful in the 4-7-8 method as we pause for 7 seconds in the slightly stretched position for a stronger "rest and digest" effect.

    For many people, the level of cortisol (the "stress hormone") is chronically high and this can hinder sleep. Deep breathing, such as in the 4-7-8 method, has been scientifically shown to reduce levels of cortisol.

    Effects of Slow Breathing

    Furthermore the rhythm of breathing affects our autonomic nervous system, with slow, controlled breathing activating the PNS. This should come as no surprise (given popular advice to "take a deep breath" when feeling overwhelmed) but it was only in 2016 that scientists first found the part of the brainstem that seems to cause this!

    In the 4-7-8 pattern, each breath is very slow – around 19 seconds, so again it stimulates the part of the nervous system that allows us to sleep.

    Reducing Effort for the Muscles

    The last thing you need when trying to sleep is physical effort. It generates unnecessary heat, increases heart rate and generally prepares your body for sport rather than rest. Even something as simple as a breathing exercise can require some physical effort.

    In particular, to extend the exhale for as long as 8 seconds, it is necessary to restrict the airflow out of the lungs. This would ordinarily be done by tensing up various muscles around the lungs and windpipe.

    The 4-7-8 method avoids this by simply placing the tongue against the upper gums to restrict the airflow considerably. The muscles have minimal work to do and we can physically relax a lot faster.

    Summary

    If you're like many people who have difficulty physically relaxing, this breathing technique may help you like it helped many before you. It quickly starts to activate the PNS and reduces cortisol, all while performing a meditative activity with minimal physical demands.

    ---

    This post has benefitted a lot of people, sadly it was removed after getting >700 upvotes, probably because I've included links here (now I've removed all links except the one that refers to a scientific article, has nothing to do with our website). I don't care about promotion, many people have benefitted from the technique and it should be available to everyone, so here it is. Thank you all for your interest (and the gold).

    Namaste 💛

    submitted by /u/CardioPumps
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    Body scan and genitalia

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 04:04 AM PDT

    Hi all,

    Kinda awkward post I must say. I put the nsfw but I don't know if it is relevant 🤷‍♂️

    I (26m) noticed today that I've never body scanned my genitals. Every time I simply omitted them as if they were not part of me.

    I'm sexually repressed and been through diagnosed sexual abuse of different forms so I would logically deduce a link.

    Do you body scan yourself completely? May I ask what do you notice when body scanning genitals?

    submitted by /u/Impersonal_me
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    Meditations during quarantine:

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 08:50 PM PDT

    When touch becomes impossible, when our minds are racing with thought that has no conclusion, there is one space to move into...the realm of your heart. Another level of understanding awaits to be explored. The boundaries of form and function have less command, which lends us to a softness and gentleness. This is the heart space. A lightness lifted.

    Like any new land, you have to orient yourself. You have to drop some habits and begin the skill of learning anew. A new kind of fellowship with yourself.

    Your heart is not bound by the pressures of time or to the limits of senses. It moves in slow churns — always available, but you can't sneak your way in. Your heart space is not now or here...it's transient. We prepare our bodies, our minds to then meet the heart—but only when it knows we are ready to.

    submitted by /u/mackyoh
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    A recent study found that practicing mindfulness, even over a short period, reduces feelings of paranoia.

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 08:25 AM PDT

    Coronavirus 2020 Meditation

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 09:05 PM PDT

    https://youtu.be/uwYNNVi17OQ

    Hey. Just posting this again for late night people. Enjoy :)

    submitted by /u/BasalGangliaaaaa
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    How to stop giving unsolicited advice?

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:46 AM PDT

    I am a great meditator, and I know the answers to many people's problems, and all that. But how do I learn to keep it to myself?

    For example, yesterday I was talking to my friend, and she started telling me all about her problems, and I was like "hold my beer, girl" and bombarded her with tons of meditation advice that she didn't ask for.

    Bottomline, I like to talk about meditation a lot, and I feel like saving people from their problems all the time even when they don't ask for it. What is this, and how to stop this tendency?

    submitted by /u/DearProduce1
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    If the 4-7-8 breathing method is used to help you feel sleepy, can you invert it to 8-7-4 if you're feeling tired and want to stay awake?

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:32 PM PDT

    Severe nerve pain in my tongue and am suffering immensely. The pain is so bad. My tongue just aches and burns and aches. My lingual nerve is inflamed and no doctor can find out why. Can meditation help me? Please help, any advice

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 08:36 PM PDT

    I tried it for 6 months. 30 minutes a day. Used headspace, I didn't get any kind of relief, in fact I feel as if it made it hurt worse. Like it made me more aware I was in so much pain. I stuck through for 6 months, here I am 2 years later in the same amount of pain, have been traveling all over the US trying to get help. It is now evident to me I have some choices 1. Get in opoids, at 20 years old, as none of the other medication for nerve pain does much of anything. 2.find a way to live with this, not being able to talk, dealing with disgusting tastes all day long and in so much pain I'm physically white with high blood pressure. It makes me sick to think about living in this condition. But if it's even remotely possible to live this way and be at peace, it's worth the try. 3. Die. Which I really don't want to do. I have a beautiful girlfriend and a sweet family. I just hate watching them having to see me suffer so bad.

    Words do not do my current situation any justice, I feel deeply deeply defeated and almost dead inside. I cry multiple times a day, I can't stop suicidal thoughts when the pain goes up (and yes I have like three psychiatrists and two psychologists and they have literally helped me 000 other than giving me a klonopin prescription for panic attacks when I feel like I can't breath)

    Before I was in pain, at 16-17 years old, I meditated daily. I also took lsd here and there, I found partnering the two made me feel completely at peace. Even when the drugs wore off. It was as if I was completely still and one with everything all day long. I was able to accept the good and the bad, I had goals and dreams and I was in a really good space. Then my tongue went numb driving home from school one day. And here I am at 20 years old.

    I'm hopeless. I need help. Please, anyone. Even if you don't think your advice will be helpful I need it desperately. Can meditation help me accept this high of a pain level? Is this even possible? Or should I just throw in the towel and get on opiates and raise my dosage until I suffer an early death? Thank you

    submitted by /u/extasis_T
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    A Year of Meditation: What I've Observed and Learned

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 12:24 PM PDT

    Hi Everyone,

    Long time lurker. Ironically, the idea to do this came to me while I was meditating and it became quite a sticky thought. I have been practicing mindfulness for a little over a year now, starting with 5-10 minutes daily and increasing the practice to 20 minutes. I have and continue to use Sam Harris's app "Waking Up", but for the most part now do my practice unassisted. I thought I would try to write down a few of the observations that I have made regarding my practice. This post is more than anything selfish in nature, as the process of writing helps to clarify my own ideas. With that said, here are a few observations I have had as a still yet novice of the practice of mindfulness. As a disclaimer, I am certain none of these observations are entirely of my own invention, and praise is due to Sam Harris in his intellectual assistance.

    1. Focus on the process, not the product. I, like many others, came to the practice of meditation with an intent. I wanted to get rid of my negative and pervasive thoughts and achieve a state of "zen". However, something Sam Harris said in one of his practices has stuck with me. Rather than focusing on what one wants to get from mindfulness, focus on the experience of it. Focus on improving your practice during these sessions, rather than using it as a means to an end. Although this sounds self-explanatory, it made a huge difference to my outlook and helped me think of meditation and mindfulness as a long term investment rather than a quick fix. It also makes the practice more enjoyable, as you begin to think of it as a skill worthy of improving.
    2. With that said, there are tangible differences in types of practices. For a few months I had no clue what the difference was between any of the exercises I was learning. However, I came to realize that the intentions of practices can be quite different. Often, one starts with breath-awareness meditation. This can be highly rewarding as one learns the benefit of intense focus while becoming introduced to the basics of mindfulness. It can even feel quite euphoric. Metta meditation can be extremely powerful as an exercise of gratefulness and a testament to love. Vipassana, or insight meditation, is what I have found I focus a majority of my practice on. One allows themself to experience the full range of consciousness: the breath, sounds, sensations, emotions, the visual field, and even the thoughts. One begins to realize the transient nature of consciousness, and that even the self is a product of it. With that being said, mixing these practices up can help alleviate the monotony.
    3. What is the nature of thought? I have had a hard time with this one. To me when I practice mindfulness, thoughts still feel somewhat distinct from other products of consciousness like sounds and sensations. Although it is probably illusory at its core, the difference to me is that thoughts are tied to our sense of self. Furthermore, the nature of sensations and sounds is that they are unalterable, whereas thoughts can be modified by the self. I am still very much confused by this, but hopefully someday I will come to understand.
    4. Journaling in tandem has been immensely useful. I began to journal about two months ago. I write three pages of my unfiltered thoughts first thing in the morning and I don't put my pen down until I finish the three pages. Afterwards, I meditate. I have found these two habits to be synergistic; allowing me to dump my foremost thoughts down while giving me time to orient myself before starting the day. Google "bullet-journaling" and there will surely be tons of resources.
    5. A new focus on ecological validity. The practice of mindfulness is intrinsically useful and I have certainly found this true. But now more and more I have used the analogy of an athletic event to explain to myself mindfulness's true utility. I view the practice itself as a kind of mental weight-lifting, training my brain to become "stronger" in a sense. However, much more important is "flexing" these new and stronger mental muscles in this game we call life. For example, when I get angry, I allow myself to become mindful of the sensations and processes going on within me, and typically this slices through duration and intensity of the emotions. Being honest, however, applying mindfulness to the real world has been by far the biggest challenge to me so far. One can easily forget the practice when busy or caught up in a stressful situation, yet these are the times when mindfulness is most useful.

    Thanks for listening to my rant. I'm sure someone has already shared this, but below is a link for a free month of Sam Harris's app. Although by now I'm sure I sound like a snake-oil salesman, it helped me a lot to form the intellectual foundations of my meditation, and I thought it was worth a share. By the way, if you cannot afford to pay for the app after the trial is over, I believe he mentioned if you contact them via the app store they can waive the monthly fees. Here's the link:

    https://share.wakingup.com/a51ff1a6f1fa

    Regards and have a great day.

    submitted by /u/vertigo6969
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    Discovered a new meditation experience that may be my stepping stone to meditation commitment

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 07:58 PM PDT

    I have been struggling with meditation commitment and tonight I may have had a breakthrough.

    I have a 5month old son who has been crying non stop all day for past several days. We struggle getting him to sleep and it takes hours. He would stop only when we pick him up and walk around with him.

    Tonight my wife was exhausted and I picked him up and just started around around with him in the living room. I got kind of bored and decided to do walking meditation which I learned at a retreat. He was quiet but eyes was opened and after about 15minutes asleep while I was very mindful and blissful. I put him into his crib and the house is peaceful again.

    submitted by /u/HogNeon
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    Guided Morning Meditation for Relaxation, Healing and Vitality (30 Minutes)

    Posted: 21 Mar 2020 02:38 AM PDT

    Hi!

    This is my first guided meditation.

    What do you guys think?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj8WhnvSW9U

    submitted by /u/perfectaffirmations
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    Meditation produces awareness

    Posted: 21 Mar 2020 02:15 AM PDT

    Meditation is not only there to achieve altered states of consciousness or to send us into emotional highs, or raise our vibration. Meditation is there to produce awareness in us and it is much more than something you practice for yourself. It is something you do to benefit both yourself and others through by bringing awareness into your actions. Because only through awareness of the consequences of our positive, neutral and negative actions and what gives rise to them can we end the cycle of violence in ourselves each other and the world as a whole.

    submitted by /u/mazuzu212
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    F Coronavirus and start online meditation

    Posted: 21 Mar 2020 01:59 AM PDT

    tired of sitting home? want to do something productive? start meditating with this online mediations already and explore something new.

    submitted by /u/onlyilluminations
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    Can deep meditation kill my creative abilities?

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 08:47 PM PDT

    I'm a creative / artsy kind of person and sometimes I use intense emotional states etc. as a way to get into a creative flow. I find that a certain hyperactive mindstate makes me much better at creative activity. I work myself up with music or just extreme fantasizing and I find that my mind can generate all kinds of ideas very rapidly in that state, like its buzzing with ideas and sense-formations every second. Extreme overthinking. It's basically the opposite of equanimity and no-mind. I actually enjoy it.

    I've been doing daily 30-60min meditation and the longest I ever did was a 10 day Goenka retreat. So far I don't think this has had any adverse effect on my creative/hyperactive mind (which I would like to retain, this trait of mine has been a tremendous asset for me in my work)

    I'm looking to do something like a 60 - 120 day retreat but I'm worried about any potential 'dulling' effects it might have, since I will abstaining from sensory pleasures and all that. I fear that I won't be able to get that hyper/rapid thought formation type state of mind once it becomes equanimous to a certain degree. While many do meditation to put a leash on their overthinking mind, I'd like to retain that ability as much as possible.

    Just wondering if anyone here is a creative / musical type of person and whether deep meditation practice has had any effects on you.

    submitted by /u/nyoten
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    Mindfullness In Simple English

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:06 PM PDT

    I recently got recommended a book called Mindfulness In Simple English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. It would be the first book to get me started in meditation and I wondered if it is worth the read.

    submitted by /u/Angelus_Artis
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    QUARANTINE 2020 - GUIDED MEDITATION

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:47 PM PDT

    https://youtu.be/uwYNNVi17OQ

    Hey there. As promised, a brand new quarantine-focused guided meditation, just for you. I know they all say this but really, you need headphones for this one :)

    Please like and subscribe, and share with your loved ones.

    Namaste

    submitted by /u/BasalGangliaaaaa
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    If you're interested in mental health and meditation through the angle of music, hope this helps :)

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:47 PM PDT

    Hey everyone - hope y'all are hanging in okay with everything that's going on. My name's Amol, and I'm one of the creators of www.ensu.com. Me and a few of my mates have built an app to help people use their music listening (Unfortunately Spotify only atm..) as a tool to more easily understand and manage their mental health!

    Sometimes it can be tough to be introspective (probably less so in this community though), but still it can be very hard to keep track over-time of how you've been going emotionally (aka - how has your emotional state been in the last 3 weeks, in comparison to the 3 weeks before?). We're trying to help make that a lot easier, and in that way give people a compass for their journey of mental health!

    The app gives you insights around how your music listening correlates to emotional states, makes it easy to track emotions over-time, gives you new mood-based playlists in Spotify, lets you check in on friends when they are upset and vice versa, and can also give you small prompts of something you can do to come back to the present and improve your emotional state if you check in that you're upset.

    You can check out who we are as people on the team section of the website! And if you want to get to know us more, feel free to join our team's discord server too :)

    If you're interested, please go to www.ensu.com/download and sign up! Feel free to message me if you have any questions :)

    P.S. if you do end up downloading the app, you can go to the social page and in the codes section, enter in "PANDA" and you can then see my moods and how I'm going! (Go vulnerability!)

    submitted by /u/Blueskyoverandunder
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    What do you guys think about mindless phone using? Blankly scrolling through Instagram/Facebook (Even reddit!)

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:20 AM PDT

    Do you think stopping all this would completely help?

    submitted by /u/snorlaxerr
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    Threat, Stress, COVID-19 & Meditation: Useful, Useless, Or...?

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:02 PM PDT

    See the brief article originally posted here, but now moved to this link.

    submitted by /u/not-moses
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    Meditation for being housebound during Corona Virus

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:42 PM PDT

    I was wondering if there was any type of guided meditation I could do that will help me with being inside for long periods of time. Normally I have to go out twice day or else I start getting agitated or anxious really badly. Thanks

    submitted by /u/CalebAndre97
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    [Need Advice] Can't seem to focus - keep giving into instant gratification

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 05:45 AM PDT

    Hey peeps I've been struggling with my anxiety for a while, my mind perceives threat even in safe situations I'm guessing that's my conditioning but it's making it hard for me to be aware open and productive. This flight or fight comes on whenever nowadays, I've realised it starts the second I give into my thoughts which usually happens way before I notice it and there I am uncomfortable and anxious most of the time. It's hard for me to focus, even if it is to read a book. I've been using pot and alcohol to cope with the anxiety over the last week and I know it's time to make a change. Throw some tips at your boy Peace and love

    submitted by /u/gautamsarin23
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    For Those of You Who Started Meditating at Young Age(10-16), What Insight Could You Provide?

    Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:15 PM PDT

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