Meditation: The Midnight Gospel on Netflix touches on meditation and mindfulness pretty well |
- The Midnight Gospel on Netflix touches on meditation and mindfulness pretty well
- Started crying halfway through my meditation
- I spent a day being completely thoughtless and I wanted to share a few life-changing things I realised.
- Improving my meditation and spiritual values.
- People who meditate. When was the last time you "stared at a dot" randomly?
- What am I suppose to feel when I meditate?
- Anna Wise High Performance Mind
- How do I encourage my 12 year old brother to meditate?
- Vipassana vs Non-Duality meditation?
- I'm going to meditate as long as I possibly can today! Shooting for at least 4-5 hours. I'll update later today with my experience.
- Feeling sensations during mediation.
- The goal is to have no mind?
- Simple Overview of Mindful Meditation
- How has meditation helped you?
- Ringing in the ears?
- If anyone has some tips, it would be highly appreciated! :)
- Why do you meditate and how'd you learn about it?
- Just a thought
- Meditation is being yourself.
- Can you see that you are struggling through thinking only? (Unless you are in immediate physical danger)
- How do I determine what relationship I want to have with my thoughts? Completely detached or fully maxed out? Is this all subjective?
- Advice on beginning meditation
- Please help me meditate
| The Midnight Gospel on Netflix touches on meditation and mindfulness pretty well Posted: 26 Apr 2020 08:26 AM PDT So I finally gave the animated Netflix show a chance yesterday and I was blown away. The show is about our main character, Clancy, going to simulated universes and interviewing their inhabitants for his space podcast. Meditation and mindfulness are brought up quickly and while I thought it would just be a single point of discussion, it turns out to be a cornerstone of the whole series and the characters actually talk about it very well and in depth. I would def. recommend this show! [link] [comments] |
| Started crying halfway through my meditation Posted: 27 Apr 2020 01:30 AM PDT Newbie here. Haven't done meditation in a while. And today's session was different- decided not to use any app/music for meditation. Just sat down in a quiet space and started letting my thoughts run through my mind. 10min in and I noticed a buildup of tension which caused emotions to rise within my body. I acknowledged my thoughts and refrained from going deeper and resolving them. These emotions eventually reached the brim and I knew I was about to cry but continued with my meditation. 30min later, tears started rolling down and I refused to take any action and let these thoughts do its thing. 10 min later I wiped my tears, got up and started feeling good about myself. I've been doing guided meditation in the past and I've never had such results. But with this new format of just sitting down and being still, I'm seeing good(I guess?) results. Is it normal for someone to cry during meditation? Should I continue with this meditation technique? If yes, any changes recommended? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2020 08:41 AM PDT A quick background, I've been meditating for about 7 years now and had a breakthrough recently where I'm perpetually aware of my thoughts and able to completely disassociate myself from them and fully experience the now not just in my meditation practice, but in day-to-day life. I should clarify "thoughtless" because it sounds possibly like a lie or a delusion created by my ego, but there's no better way to explain it. It's like the chatter is still there, the narratives and old beliefs are still there, but I can simply rise above them and be unaffected by them. There is no hyperawareness or any form of mysticism to this state. I would probably describe it more as true awareness, where I am actually in the now, IN my reality rather than looking at it through my thoughts. It is less about understanding something and more about experiencing it. By "thoughtless", I am referring to this state. I also decided to purposely abandon language when I did this, because I feel language is the easiest way we conceptualise our reality. Instead of seeing a chair, I simply label that thing as "a chair" and then my mind is no longer interested in that object because to the mind, it is something it is already familiar with (mistakenly). I wanted to rid myself of the labelling, so I let go of language for the day (in my mind I mean. I had to use language in the external world to communicate). It took me a good half an hour to really settle into the thoughtless state. My mind was constantly trying to tell me that in the absence of thought, I would live like a zombie. But cutting out language from the equation simply turned this thought into palpable anxiety. Once, I settled in, it was a thoroughly pleasant experience. These realisations WERE NOT what I experienced when I was truly aware but are an afterthought that I reflected upon after the day was done: 1. Faith is a prerequisite of being thoughtless/purely aware I used to think of faith as a trait required when doing something risky. The truth is that if you intend to live in the absence of thought, it is a non-negotiable necessity. See, if I am choosing not to think about what I am doing, I need to have faith that whatever I do is right. There is no option to this. If you even have a singular doubt that you need to monitor what you are doing, you will have to succumb to your thoughts. It is binary in that sense. You either have faith or you do not. Faith, not in a religious sense, but in yourself with the knowing that you can do no wrong. Living with this shift is the most freeing experience I have ever had, honestly. And it's not new at all. I know I've been here many times before, especially as a kid. But to do it intentionally and in activities you would deem as mundane, it's really something. 2. You are not your thoughts, yes. But you are also not the absence of your thoughts. I don't know how well I can communicate this, so I'll illustrate it with what happened. After I settled into being thoughtless, I got up from the bed I was lying on and walked around my room. While I was walking, I was aware of the floor, my body, the wind, the view from my window...everything. But, I never "decided" to get up from the bed. I never "decided" to walk around my room. Some would say that this is your subconscious. Some would say that while I blocked out language, it could be non-linguistic thoughts. But, I truly believe that it is a higher self that is completely in control of you. We have conveniently called it a "sub" conscious, implying it is somehow beneath us or our conscious mind (again, with its labelling), but I feel it is above our ability to grasp. In my thoughtless state, I can certainly say I had a clear awareness of I. But the very fact that I say I had an awareness of I, means that the "I" and the "awareness (of I)" are two entities and the "I" remains elusive, if that makes sense. So, no, I'd say that being thoughtless may get you closest to your true self, but it is definitely not being One with your self. I am giving basic examples of getting up and walking, which sound like non-activities. But imagine, I spent an entire day like that. All the things I did that day, I did not "plan" to. I did not "think" of doing. I did not even think while I was doing intricate things like cooking. At the end of the day, I could say that I did x and y and z, but the truth is that x, y and z happened through me. There is something beyond my control that is actually living my life. Which brings me to the scarier realisation... 3. You're really here for just the ride Once I had let go of thoughts and let faith take over, it was abundantly clear that my awareness of my now was simply to fully experience my now, not to control or influence it in any way. I have had full blown conversations with my family. I have played a game of cards, listened to music, watched a film and what not, and yet, I have honestly not chosen to do these things. I have simply experienced them. Even while conversing, the words came out of my mouth as I simply remained aware of the person I was speaking to. You need your thoughts for a lot less than you give them credit for. I don't want you to get caught up in the word, but it's almost like life is scripted. That your higher self is going to do exactly what it wants to and will unquestionably fulfil its destiny. This is probably The Truth - that we have no control. As I am writing this and as I pondered over this today, it freaked me out. When I say 'me' though, I mean my conscious mind. Yesterday, when I was in my aware state, I was fully and genuinely peaceful. Even when something bad happened, I couldn't help but smile because an unfathomable part of me had led me to the point where it had to happen and if I continued in full faith, it would inevitably guide me through it (irrespective of if that's "the right way" or "the wrong" because in faith, everything is right). I say this as if it was entirely a pleasant experience. But I swear, the more I realised how perfectly functional things were without my thoughts needing to intervene, the more nauseous I got at one point. If you've spent your life thinking that your thoughts matter, you're in for quite a wake-up call. And then comes the big and obvious one: 4. You only really have one choice You can either choose to live with the truth that there is no control in life and that whatever you do is right and your primary privilege of existing is to experience the life that is being guided by your Higher Self. (Note: It also made me see that the term 'higher self' seems to imply a self that is somehow better than who you are or enlightened or carries some other connotation of wisdom. I don't know if that's true, but to me, my Higher Self is a self I cannot fathom and a self that I am simply a smaller part of. That does not mean that he is necessarily better or wiser. Is a whole cake more "cake" (or tastier) than a piece of that cake? Not really. The whole cake is just more than the piece.) Or: You can choose to live with the illusion of control (through your conscious thoughts that somehow believe that they are making the decisions) and the cost of this choice, is suffering. You will inevitably suffer because you are thinking you are controlling something that is simply not in your control. I don't mean this in a profound way, but in a very literal sense. It's like if you absolutely believed you had control over time, wouldn't you constantly hate yourself for aging or not being able to travel backwards in time? But the reason the illusion works is that we mistake the realisation of our thoughts for the creation of them. Even if you continue to live the world through your thoughts, your life is still being governed by your higher self. The decisions you think you are making or not making are actually acknowledgments of decisions your higher self has already made. It may be hard to digest, but if you are honest with yourself, you will know this to be true. Either path you choose, you are on your way to the same destination :) I put this post here to firstly just let this out. I've written it in so many words here, but when it hit me, it hit me all at once. So I'm feeling a lot lighter now. The second reason is that I'm certain I'm not here first and there must be a lot of people who have been here and probably made this choice. I want to hear from you and know what path you took and how it's been going. **************** My personal inferences: Honestly, this is where I'm at all day today. The option of living with the truth of no control sounds defeatist and bleak but that is only to the thinking mind that craves control. When I was actually in the state of pure awareness, I did not feel so or think so (such a wonderful irony, because I withdraw from doing so in that state!). In fact, I think it was the most peaceful day I had, despite being horribly uneventful. While the thinking mind, by its nature will obviously want to know it can exert influence. If you are like me, you are thinking that this is ridiculous. Of course you have conscious control, especially when you have to make a choice, for example when you have to choose between Job A and Job B as a profession. Either path you take could lead to two different lives. But can you fathom the amount of happenstances that must have needed to occur (that were entirely not in your control) for Job A and Job B to even exist? Further, can you fathom the amount of specificity of how your life panned out for you to particularly get the option of Job A and Job B? Do you think you really have control still? Maybe that's all coincidence. Maybe you're wondering that still choosing between the two shows control, but you know the actual moment when the decision happens...that impulse or that thought that says go with Job A and you go for it...can you honestly say the thought came from you? Or is the truth that it came to you? I may sound like I am certain of continuing to live in true awareness, but I am not. I am simply coming to the realisation of the choice I mentioned above. Either way, life will not be the same for me anymore. Either way, I am also certain that control is an illusion. My mind is still convincing me that it is better to live in this illusion of control at the price of constant suffering than to abandon it completely. Actually, I am beginning to truly identify why humans developed a thinking mind because perhaps this "pre-written" life may feel stifling to some who become aware of it. I can see why concepts and labelling give us a feeling of control and how science, rationalisation and logic help us predict outcomes which further solidify this illusion. The path of true awareness implies that life will only be revealed to you and I can imagine that putting a lot us in sheer anxiety. Thoughts can help put this to rest by letting you feel that you are creating your future. Or maybe my journey is going to be about merging this pure 'awareness of I' with the 'I', till either the 'I' or simply the 'awareness' remain. This state of One, maybe, can see its prewritten destiny and then it might be even more easier to just go along with the joy of experiencing it, whatever it is. I don't want to label either of the choices as right or wrong. It's just a lifestyle. It would be tough if I'd to choose between peace and control but it is actually a choice between peace and the illusion of control (which also, in some form, gives peace to our chattering mind that can't take the idea of no free will). The catch is that my thinking mind has a distinct voice that can build up a rationale for living with the illusion of control, DESPITE knowing that it is an illusion. Whereas the way of truth, the path that actually offers peace simply cannot defend itself or build a case for itself. To choose that path is to again, go with faith. Perhaps the only real downside of my realisation is that ignorance is no longer an option for me. Even as my mind is making decisions all day today, it isn't quite feeling the same. Almost like figuring the trick of a magician. There's no way of going back to the state of innocence where I believed my chattering mind was somehow shaping or mis-shaping my life. I feel liberated but also know that the time has come to choose my way forward. Any guidance is highly welcome :) ********************* A few things I feel like getting off my chest:
[link] [comments] |
| Improving my meditation and spiritual values. Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:14 AM PDT For a long time my exposure to spirituality and meditation was through the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I did like a lot of his ideas and my life seems better when I dis-identified with my mind and tried to focus more on the present. Have been using this for the basis of my meditation along with some breathing exercises. Recently I came across many arguments against this book, where it challenged many of the author's ideas and claimed a lot of it to be non-sense. I do not feel like I know enough to say who is right. I am interested in finding out what would be the correct approach to meditation and spirituality if this is not the right one. I like having the purpose of always striving for a higher degree of peace in my life and deal with it's many challenges with a level head. Thank you for reading. [link] [comments] |
| People who meditate. When was the last time you "stared at a dot" randomly? Posted: 26 Apr 2020 07:41 PM PDT |
| What am I suppose to feel when I meditate? Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:25 AM PDT I've been trying to meditate for so long but my thoughts just carry me away and I either lose focus, interest or get sleepy. Am I suppose to feel at ease? Motivated? I just can't get in that mindset [link] [comments] |
| Anna Wise High Performance Mind Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:11 AM PDT Has anyone here read that book and tried guided meditation from it? Any opinions? [link] [comments] |
| How do I encourage my 12 year old brother to meditate? Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:07 AM PDT He suffers from chronic pain as he has an auto inflammatory condition. I think meditation can help him. Should I just force him to meditate with me by saying he won't be allowed to play video games if he doesn't try to meditate with me? I want this practice to be sustainable for him as I think it will help him deal with the physical pain he's feeling. [link] [comments] |
| Vipassana vs Non-Duality meditation? Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:01 AM PDT Is there a difference between Vipassana (mahasi method) and 'Self-Inquiry' (ramana)? The fact that there is this system of 'noting' in the Vipassana technique and realising that there is no self, feels similar to the question 'who is seeing' or 'to whom does this appear'? Vipassana feels like there is just one step missing (for me) and to question 'who am I' helps me to add this in another 'noting' fashion feels more complete. Any advice would be appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2020 01:24 PM PDT I've been feeling stressed and way too influenced by my emotions lately, and I've always wanted to try something like this. In the past I've usually done 20-30 minute sessions and have found them to be helpful. I want to see how I'll feel after doing this. Not looking for karma or anything, I'm just making this post to hold myself accountable in giving this my best shot. See ya guys later tonight! Edit 1: Start time: 2:51 PM MST Edit 2: End time: 5:51 PM MST Update, as promised: The Meditation I started out with a breathing meditation. I focused on my breath, and repeated mantras to keep myself focused. I then transferred to an om (is that how you spell it?) meditation, and did that for a while, then went back to breathing. After a while, I felt myself starting to want to fall asleep, so I transferred to a walking meditation. I did that for maybe half an hour, then spent the next half hour to 45 minutes alternating between sitting still and listening to everything I could hear, feeling everything I could feel, and noticing everything about my environment I could notice. I finished up with an additional 30 ish minutes of a breathing meditation.
The Result As usual, it was initially hard to focus, but I eventually settled into proper concentration. Approximately 45 minutes or an hour into the breathing meditation, a mantra just came to me, that I said because it felt right. The mantra was something like, "With each passing moment, I become more and more present." After saying this a few times, emotion swelled within me, for some reason. I truly felt the presence. I felt where I was, and everything about it, quite intensely. Tears flooded my eyes. For some reason I felt briefly overwhelmed by the beauty of being so aware and present in that moment. This was something that had never happened to me before.
The om meditation brought focus and awareness of my body, but nothing beyond regular meditation like I experienced above. The subsequent breathing had a similar result, and I switched to walking meditation because I found myself falling asleep. The walking meditation was good, and connected me with my body, and made me aware of all of the intricate complexities of walking, and just aware of myself in general.
Finally, the observing my surroundings was alright. It was very relaxing to listen intently to the leaves rustling against concrete outside from my balcony. I felt kind of like a child, observing the world almost anew. When seeing sights, I saw things and details in a way I hadn't before. Feeling the sensations of being outdoors was grounding as well, but about similar in intensity to the walking meditation.
The final breathing session I was somewhat ready to be done, hence me setting the timer to end right at the three hour mark. I had some trouble focusing, but it was a good way to conclude the session.
Overall, it was an interesting experience. I think I connected with my emotions some, but feel alright with them. I feel more raw and vulnerable, and I think it's a good thing as I've felt closed off lately. I also, of course, feel more aware of how I feel and of my own consciousness.
Thanks for reading! [link] [comments] |
| Feeling sensations during mediation. Posted: 26 Apr 2020 10:08 PM PDT It was night time, I felt like I should do some meditation before going to sleep. The lights are out and the sources of light coming from anywhere is my window. While practicing mindfulness for 10 to 15 minutes. Thoughts of love ones and losses popped up. So I decided to breath in normally. I faced them and accepted them as they are part of who I am. Suddenly, I felt fear and every single things that scared me as a kid popped up. I fend it off telling myself that these fears are illusions and have no powerover me. They disappear right after that. Now.. here is the part that got me feeling these sensation. My body start like its rotating and feel like it's being sucked away or a blackhole at the center of my body trying to suck everything as well as myself. Suddenly, I felt massive amount of fear and had to calm myself down with the breath in and breath out technique. During those moment, my body was hot and my upper body felt pin and needles. Can someone explain this or have similar experiences? Sorry for bad grammar. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Apr 2020 01:19 AM PDT Just want to confirm, the goal is to have no mind? No intellect? No question? Just being? Is this correct? [link] [comments] |
| Simple Overview of Mindful Meditation Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:47 AM PDT Deciding to begin meditation is the first and most important step. Another thing to know about meditation is that it isn't a solely spiritual, esoteric or complicated practice. While it has spiritual roots, it is ground in evidence for its efficacy. Point being, spirituality is not a prerequisite to begin meditation. The meditation I will refer to is mindful meditation. Mindful meditation in a single word is "acceptance". It acknowledging the present experience without judgement or resistance. To elaborate, the operant definition of mindfulness is used below. "Self regulation of attention, with an attitude of acceptance, curiosity and openness". Now, let's apply these words to Mindfulness. Self regulation of attention This refers choosing where to focus our attention within the present moment. It is commonplace to use the breathe as an attention anchor during mindful meditation. The mind will wander, this is natural and assured. When you become aware of the mind wandering, bring your attention back to the breathe. Acceptance, curiosity and openness When giving our attention to a single aspect of the present moment, the mind will fight this. It likes to be in a state of perpetual thought. This makes sense, we are wired for survival and threat. Additionally, the act of thinking is addictive to a degree; although, this is a topic for another time. Acceptance, curiosity and openness are the second key to mindful meditation. When we become aware that our attention has drifted or we are caught up in emotionally charged and u comfortable thoughts, we practice these words. We allow the pain, the thoughts, the sensations to be there. We accept them. While we accept them, it is important we do not indulge them. While we make space for them, it is important we do not devote space to them. So, we bring our at the nation back to the breathe, while letting these sensations, thoughts and emotions do their dance. We become a third party. Detached from the problem solving process. To summate
I am happy to answer any questions regarding the practice below; or elaborate in more detail for those who are more experienced in the practice. All the best, Josh [link] [comments] |
| How has meditation helped you? Posted: 26 Apr 2020 08:52 PM PDT |
| Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:37 AM PDT Hi everyone. Hey meditated and did yoga today which left me feeling pretty good. Shortly after I had a terrible fight with my roommate who is also my close friend. I did not say everything I wanted to so I did a throat chakra guided meditation. Not long after my ears were ringing. It was really a bother. I put on another meditation and while I can't focus at alllllll, the ringing stopped. Any feedback? [link] [comments] |
| If anyone has some tips, it would be highly appreciated! :) Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:34 AM PDT |
| Why do you meditate and how'd you learn about it? Posted: 26 Apr 2020 03:34 PM PDT Are you hoping for: -stress reduction? -self-improvement? -spiritual awakening? -something else? And how did you come to find out about it? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2020 11:59 PM PDT I started meditating 4,5 years ago to get rid of anxiety and depression. I had a daily schedule and after a few months I had my first big insight I thought I figured it all out. That feeling of oneness made me meditate less and soon fell of the wagon. This kinda repeated every year. When I would get a grasp again at meditation, it made me somehow 'cocky' and I will slowly lose progress cuz I though I figured it all out, I was actually giving friends advice how meditation cured my social anxiety and depression. I thought i'm a great meditator just cuz i could sit for 1h30 being aware of myself. Now I realize I know nothing and also how much of a hindrance it was for me the fact that I thought i'm so good at meditation. Sorry for the ramble, Namaste [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2020 08:06 AM PDT Meditation is actually the practise of being yourself, if you're doing if rightly. This is so because in meditation you take a step back and drop everything that isn't you, meaning you stop identifying with thoughts and feelings, which you previously thought were you. None of your thoughts are you. Most people aren't themselves, and this explains why most people find meditation difficult and unpleasant. Isn't it weird that we live in a world where just sitting and being the awareness behind thoughts isn't the norm? We've invented countless ways just to avoid looking at and being with ourselves. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2020 10:35 PM PDT Can you see that you are struggling through thinking only? (Unless you are in immediate physical danger) You think that you can end the struggle by more thinking and be relieved. Struggle ends when you notice that you are struggling. You will see that you can not reach at a comfortable end point through thinking. Thinking is automatically restricted to its actual use. You can act or not act and see what happens. Any action or no action is relaxed, conscious. Pick a pen. A whole set of physiological and neurological movements are involved. Now the thinking – I have picked the pen – is expression through words. The ground is realised. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2020 06:29 PM PDT I'm probably conflating terms, but it seems like as a meditate, the goal I'm working towards is detachment. It's been very powerful to escape ego validation (excitement, vain self-esteem) as well as ego destruction (self-hate, anxiety). However, I feel like totally detaching is maybe not what I want. It feels like getting rid of the high and lows of life to a degree. Like I could be perfectly content all the time, undisturbed. But then I feel like my passion is killed. Or I no longer will think of big goals. Or I won't experience the depth of sadness. I've learned that meditating is "changing my relation" with these feelings as I observe them as oppose to being subject to them. The big question is then "How do I determine what relationship I want to have with them?" If I'm chasing what makes me happy, what if working on achieving respect and reputation is what I want? Something totally ego based and subject to self judgement? I feel I'm in a better place, but now that I have more control over my mind, I'm not sure what I want to do with it. Or who the true "me" should be, if the former me struggled with a cluttered and frictional mind. [link] [comments] |
| Advice on beginning meditation Posted: 26 Apr 2020 10:09 PM PDT Since young I've always been interested in spirituality and everything that has to do with it. I keep saying I want to start mediating and achieve some sort of enlightenment, calmness of the mind, happiness, peace, less stress, less worries, etc. I might be wrong on many things about meditation but In a summary I just want stillness of the mind and some peace in my mind. Where do I even begin? I know there's a wiki on this subreddit on different techniques but like... Where do I even behind lmao? How long should I start? Should I focus on some music or just my breathing? When in the day? Early morning? Before bed? How many times a day? I keep seeing stages and what do those mean? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2020 09:26 PM PDT I need guidance. I watched midnight gospel and it made me realize how much I included meditation from the earliest I could remember until I was about 17. I'm 22 now. Back then I would whenever I wanted to accomplish something I always quietly thought about what I wanted to accomplish and focused all the positive energy I could until I felt a feeling that made me feel like it was impossible for me to fail. When the task I set my sights on would not benefit my personal development, it would be impossible for me to achieve this feeling. This "gut feeling" always led me on the right path, from finding jobs to romantic relationships. But I did all this without knowing about meditation, it was always something I found myself doing subconsciously. But after I turned 17 the world seemed to turn a different color. I could no longer focus on the bright warm yellow and happy naive green, but it was a vibrant blue and striking gray. My world had the same colors as before but now the colors I could only focus on were different. Although something seemed different I didn't notice this color change though until I was about 20. I know it sounds weird but what I say is all true. Although I've tried mediation before whenever I truly reach a state of solemn mediation, I feel all these channels rushing through. Like extremely fast paced rivers that I can't mentally slow down. This leaves me out of breath like I'm drowning and my heart racing. If someone can give me tips on how to meditate correctly (trust me I've researched all I can from the internet) and how I can reach the enlightenment I felt when I was you get it would be much appreciated. [link] [comments] |
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