Meditation: Weekly Discussion - May 11 2020 |
- Weekly Discussion - May 11 2020
- Take a deep breath and wait a few seconds... Are you thirsty? Maybe your feet are cold... Maybe that sweater is itching your skin? Take the time to check-in with yourself, and notice little things you wouldn't have otherwise.
- Is headspace worth the subscription?
- How to have the PERFECT meditation!
- Y’all, this meditation thing is messing with me
- Two part question: (1) What are some simple ways to separate yourself from your thoughts and be in that viewer mode? (2) Can someone explain to me what “you are not your thoughts” actually means?
- Why so serious?
- I can't understand mindfulness
- Waking early
- Now hold on a quick second
- Pretend every single day to be the Brahman, Pure awareness, The highest intelligence
- We need questions about our meditation journey for our YouTube Channel!
- The Balance App has been great
- Strange Smells
- Headspace - Free 14 day's
- Advice for my state of anxiety
- Can the observed be observed?
- I’ve recently started meditating and at times toward the end of my session I begin to feel really anxious.
- If I meditate a lot could I sense my own energy and others?
- Can meditation change you habits?
- Meditation Doesn't Help Me?
- Hello.
- Guided meditation, apps?
- "Right" and "Wrong" types of meditation; a personal history
- Is this meditation?
| Weekly Discussion - May 11 2020 Posted: 11 May 2020 08:10 AM PDT This is a reoccuring thread for questions relating to your practice and discussion around your experiences. Questions Ask questions relating to your practice, the theory of meditation, various traditions and lineages of thought, or practical tips. If you're new, please read our FAQ before posting, as it contains a wealth of information that all of us should come back to occasionally. Discussion Also use this thread for a more free-form discussion of your experiences and other tidbits that might not warrant their own full post. Use this space to connect with the /r/meditation community, it won't be heavily moderated. Also check out the monthly meditation challenge. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 04:50 AM PDT Edit - as some mentioned: if your sweater is soft and comfy, or your feet feel nice and warm take the time to notice it too :) [link] [comments] |
| Is headspace worth the subscription? Posted: 11 May 2020 09:19 PM PDT I downloaded the headspace app and just completed the first 10 day basics course, and I loved it. I'm a poor college student so I'm hesitant to buy the subscription, though I feel it may be worth it. I'm hoping for opinions from people who have tried it [link] [comments] |
| How to have the PERFECT meditation! Posted: 11 May 2020 09:39 AM PDT Here are some things you DO NOT NEED TO HAVE in order to practice meditation:
Here are some things you DO NEED in order to practice meditation:
There is no perfect meditation of course. Whatever meditation technique you are doing at the moment is the right one to focus on. Any state of mind (peaceful, restless, loving, angry, transcendent, etc.) is the right one for our meditation on that day. We do not need to have a clear mind or a silent mind or a pure mind. We don't need to judge our practice. There are not good meditators. There are not bad meditators. We are not trying to transcend anything. All we need is some technique and the humanity that we were born with. [link] [comments] |
| Y’all, this meditation thing is messing with me Posted: 12 May 2020 01:06 AM PDT I've been listening to Sarah Blondin's guided mediations on insight timer and I CRY ALMOST EVERYTIME. (4/5 to be exact) Meditating has really helped me tap into my repressed emotions and past scars that I try not to think about. A lot of her lessons are about self-love and self-acceptance, which is something I struggle with. Does anyone have recommended teachers on insight timer that gives a Sarah blondin esque feel? I love her calm tone and gentle background music. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 08:35 PM PDT I feel like I'm still struggling to understand these basic principles. If thoughts are not facts but I think a factual thought how is it not a fact? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 08:54 PM PDT Hi guys, I started meditating twice a day for a few weeks. The thing is, yes, I feel good, but sometimes I feel very serious about it. It is not the first time that I practice meditation techniques and this happened to me before. It is as if when I start these practices the inner clown that I appreciate so much is inhibited. I would like to know what are your thoughts on this :) [link] [comments] |
| I can't understand mindfulness Posted: 11 May 2020 04:46 PM PDT i started meditating 1 month ago 20min a day, going pretty great until now, it was told to me that i should look at my breath and when thoughts distract me come back to the breath. On reddit though it has been told to me that the observer is an illusion and should be dropped. It's made me get to a point that i don't know how to meditate anymore and i'm feeling like i'm not supposed to feel the self, the point of awareness "I" while trying to be in the moment and this is creating me a lot of stress. Everytime i'm coming back to the breath it reminds of that they told me that is too an illusion and makes no sense to me. They tell me to choose to look at the breaths when i notice i'm looking at the thoughts, but if there is no self how is the breath different than the thoughts? it's all one, how would it make sense to switch to one or the other? they happen at the same time. I'm thinking of stopping meditation permanently as i can't gasp how to practise and it's getting me into an identity crisis of some sort. I understand the concept of no-self and it never bothered me, we're just brains simulation consciousness, but i don't see how it is useful for my life to live trying to destroy my self. I just wanted to distance from my thoughts when i started meditation, but now it's making me not liking the awareness itself because i was told it is a thought too and distances me from the present. People even saying that you can see the observer if you look closely, like wtf? you can supress your "self", like when i'm playing guitar i forgot who i was and then when you comeback I now was gone temporarily, but being aware of its illusion in the moment seems bullshit to me. If you are aware then there was a self aware. I'm really confused and the subreddit is making me more confused. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 12 May 2020 01:43 AM PDT I like to use the YouTube meditation/hypnotize videos. I am recently separated(3 weeks now). I've been a SAHM for 7 years. I am trying my hardest to make sure I still get time with the kids.....anyways what I'm trying to say is I am EXTREMELY stressed. Money relationships.... although I'm very relieved to be rid of him. To have calm in my home. I used to listen to these as I fall asleep and would wake up, turn it off, and go back to sleep. Now since he's been gone I wake up while its ended and can't go back to sleep. I would think I'd be more at peace now but i guess with all the other stressors. Any ideas to help? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 09:13 PM PDT I'm going to be real, I always thought meditation was complete bull, how can closing your eyes and breathing really do anything? I thought. But after I did try it I think I owe this sub an apology, oh and thanks. Also if anyone has any tips for a complete newcomer I'd really appreciate them, thanks again! [link] [comments] |
| Pretend every single day to be the Brahman, Pure awareness, The highest intelligence Posted: 11 May 2020 05:45 AM PDT Speak as if you are the highest consciousness, see as if you are the eyes of god, live as if you are christ himself. Be as if you are one with the holy spirit. Automatically once you decide to pretend to be that which is ever-present, you automatically become that which is ever-present. But this pretending must be true, do not pretend as a thought, pretend so well that you even see this "pretending" to be a thought. Master the art of pretending to be the highest intelligence that you abandon even these thoughts of "pretending" and "someone who is pretending". Naturally only the highest intelligence will be left alone, empty of all delusion but full of its own holy spirit.
That is just another thought perceived by that great ever-present intelligence. Do not believe this thought, do not identify as this thought. See that it is merely a thought, and not what you are. You did not think this thought, nor do you need any more time to understand what I am saying. Truly you are able to understand everything now, but you must see through the thoughts, you see it is a thought, do not believe it. Do not hold on to any clouds, say only what the ever-present consciousness would say. The ever-present consciousness would never say "I need more time" because it is not true. Try to jump over the thought realm, and just be the ever-present consciousness. You can even just pretend for a moment that you are that ever-present consciousness, automatically it will connect you because you truly are that, and only the true self can pretend to be the ever-present consciousness, for the ever-present consciousness is beyond thought and thought can't pretend to be ever-present consciousness truly. You can use simple questions to help you discern between what is true and what is not, for example; What would the highest intelligence do? Then proceed to be that. Would the highest intelligence doubt itself? No. Would the highest intelligence be anxious? No. Would the highest intelligence be depressed? No. Would the highest intelligence be entertaining thoughts that lead to nothing? No. Would the highest intelligence not trust the universe? No. Would the highest intelligence envy, be jealous, be mad, be angry? No. Would the highest intelligence be calm, peaceful, loving, joyful, compassionate, serene? Yes. Would the highest intelligence just be instead of identifying as thoughts, emotions and sensations that all come and go, while knowing that itself is not coming and going? Yes. Would the highest intelligence be blissful in every single moment and free of all expectations? Yes. Would the highest intelligence be grateful, completely content and fulfilled in its own presence alone? Yes. [link] [comments] |
| We need questions about our meditation journey for our YouTube Channel! Posted: 11 May 2020 04:02 PM PDT Hey guys. Me and my best friend finally turned our mental health from serious anger problems, depression, suicidal thoughts thanks to mediation over the last year. We've decided to make a YouTube channel being open and honest about how meditation is changing our lives, in the hopes to help others with similar problems make the lifestyle change. In amongst having fun, we have mini podcast sessions where we answer questions, and would love some questions for our next episode that we're filming soon. Thanks [link] [comments] |
| The Balance App has been great Posted: 12 May 2020 12:35 AM PDT I signed up with the Balance app because they sent out a free year subscription via email. I believe they are affiliated with the Elevate app (which I play). It's personalized based on your goals and has been easy to incorporate into my life. If they are still offering it and you are new to this journey I would highly recommend it. 👍 [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 12 May 2020 12:31 AM PDT Hey everyone, last week I smelled a weird scent in my room but not just there, in myself ... I practice mantras and sometimes meditation but not so often as mantras, I can't escape of that scent and is pretty weird, don't use any perfume or something, didn't changed anything in my room, in fact I don't have a window and I'm not exactly organized but I clean my space... Anyone can tell me something about? The scent is like wood and incense. But now, right now I can't smell it but smells like... Something old, sweet but old... Someone relates? Where can I find more info? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 08:45 AM PDT Hey all, I just got Headspace plus and I can invite a friend or multiple (not sure yet) for a free 14 days. Is anyone interested? :) Simon, [link] [comments] |
| Advice for my state of anxiety Posted: 11 May 2020 11:45 PM PDT Hi everyone! how is it possible to transform a state of anxiety for something that is about to happen without transforming this feeling into apathy? I would like to be able to transform my feeling of agitation into energy [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 05:18 PM PDT It was told to me that through meditation one can see the "I" and that it is just a thought. I don't think this makes sense and it's fucking with me perception of what meditation is. if you are aware that you're seeing the "I" THERE is an "I" watching. My view is that the observer can only be understood to be non existent when through meditation, or very focused attention, like playing guitar, you "lose yourself" and be in the moment, you became the "picture". But you only know, when you comeback, that the "I" wasn't present, you didn't see the illusion in reality, because it doesn't make sense to "see" in that state, you just notice when the "I" comes back that it was gone for some moments and thus concluding that it is illusion (not constant, ever changing). Am i right on this? I'm really confused... [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 10:46 PM PDT I normally use this as a sign to stop but should I continue instead? Any tips? [link] [comments] |
| If I meditate a lot could I sense my own energy and others? Posted: 11 May 2020 10:34 PM PDT I've heard and done meditation a couple of times but I'm a beginner :-P [link] [comments] |
| Can meditation change you habits? Posted: 11 May 2020 06:41 PM PDT Hi everyone! I'm new in reditt but I've found a community when I can express myself. An idea it's been in my mind lately, and I wonder, Can I change bad habits or can I use meditation to get a new one? Do you have any experience in this? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 10:24 PM PDT So I've been meditating for over a year now and I don't really feel a difference in the way I act or feel any 'calmer'. I still get agitated, I worry and feel like I'm wasting my time. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? I read so many posts about the benefits of meditation and how it changed people's lives for the better but I feel like an anomaly. I used to meditate using guided meditations on YouTube and have noe switched to meditations with just music in the background where I try to focus on my breath or total body awareness. I would appreciate if someone could give me some tips. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 09:18 PM PDT Can someone teach me how to meditate and die? How to die while meditating* [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 09:14 PM PDT I was using the app Balance for guided mediations (I just started) and now it wants me to pay and subscribe. Are there any free apps people know of that are worthwhile? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| "Right" and "Wrong" types of meditation; a personal history Posted: 11 May 2020 09:24 AM PDT I have a question for this community about types of meditation and their efficacy/value. But first, I will provide a (lengthy) description of my experiences to help explain the question. tl;dr: I did a very strict, controlling meditation in my twenties which led to a dramatic and spectacular experience, and have done more open, relaxed and "allowing" meditations since with much less dramatic results. Many years ago, when I was in my mid twenties, I decided to try meditation. I had recently graduated from a well respected university with a degree that I soon discovered didn't really suit me. I had been interviewing for a job in the field I had studied to enter, when I had an epiphany that I had made an error in picking my university major. I realized with a mixture of dismay and relief that it really wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. So, I had some down time. :-) I decided I needed to explore what I really felt connected to, what my life was truly meant to be, and thought meditation might help me discover those things. I hadn't ever meditated before, but I found and read a book: "How to Meditate" by Lawrence LeShan (https://openlibrary.org/books/OL18329592M/How_to_meditate). What I came away with (right or wrong, I haven't re-read the book since) was the belief that, ideally, during meditation my mind should be completely still and blank. So when my initial sittings were filled with busy mind activity, I concluded that I wasn't doing it right and I began to be more "strict" with myself during meditation. Methodology I would sit upright in a comfortable chair, close my eyes, and picture a blank white wall in my mind. Any thoughts that intruded on my blank white wall would be instantly dismissed, or even forcefully silenced, returning my mind with firmness to the blank whiteness. It has been a long time since this experience, but I believe I even began to admonish myself when thoughts intruded and put more and more energy into only seeing a blank whiteness. This was initially a very effortful practice. Since I had no immediate obligations (I was living rent free and had food provided), I spent my days doing this "blank wall" meditation as well as a simple, direct experience walking meditation. This walking meditation also involved keeping my mind "blank" except for the direct experience of walking: feeling my muscles contract to lift my rear foot, swing it forward, feeling the pressure on the sole of my foot within my shoe as I laid it down on the ground in front of me, etc. Daily Routine My daily routine was to get up and sit doing the "blank wall" visualization for 20-30 minutes, have breakfast, go outside and do 1 hour walking, go inside and do more blank wall sitting, have lunch, etc. Just alternating between blank wall sitting and blank wall walking outdoors. And I tried to maintain the blank wall/still mind state in all my activities during the day that weren't formally meditation; like eating, walking up stairs, reading, cleaning my living space, etc. After about 2-3 weeks of this practice, I found that during my sitting practice, I gradually needed to apply less effort to maintain the "blank wall/blank mind" state. It was like I'd found a resonance and I could just drop into the state as soon as I closed my eyes, and stay in the blank state more or less effortlessly. The Oneness Experience Then, one day I was doing this sitting and became vividly aware of my breath going in and out of my nostrils. I was tempted to push this experience away to go back to the "blank mind" but the breathing experience was compelling enough that I stayed with it. Soon, I felt like I was no longer the breather, but I was the breath itself, or even the act of breathing. This then shifted so that I then identified with the air itself that was being breathed. Then I identified with not just the air being breathed, but all of the air in the room. (I expect many of you are familiar with this idea/experience, but I was not.) This then shifted again so that I quickly "became" the air in the whole house, then outside the house, then rapidly all of the air around the entire earth. It was as if each boundary in turn fell away as illusory in quick succession: my body, my actions, the room, the house, the earth. Then the boundary of the earth's atmosphere was seen as just as illusory as the rest of them and I realized myself to be the solar system->the galaxy->the universe. For those of you who have had similar experiences, you know what I mean when I say this was a direct and vivid and real experience. It was not experienced like imagination or imagery. I could feel the entirety of existence, the massive yet simultaneously singular presence of all. I was awareness itself, boundless and infinite. After I don't know how much time had passed, I eventually chose to "come back" into my body, though there was no difference between my body and the entirety of the universe. It was just a matter of deliberately choosing to shift my perception and experience back into the illusorily limited vessel of my body. To limit it, if only for the time being. The Full and Vivid Present After this particular sitting experience I opened my eyes to a new world. Everything around me was vivid with presence and "is-ness." My bed was simply reality "being" bed. The carpet was reality "being" carpet. I got up from my seat to raise the venetian blinds on the windows and in absolute ecstasy observed my hand reaching out to touch and then grip and pull the cord. The direct and vivid experience of my fingers and palm making contact with the cord, and of the muscles in my fingers, hand, wrist, arm and shoulder contracting each in their own way to pull down on the cord which in turn resulted in the venetian blinds rising and revealing a sunny, bright spring day outside the window was so far beyond anything I had ever previously experienced. The day continued in this way, with simple acts like brushing my teeth and washing my hands being ecstatic and revelatory, but in a grounded and real way where I recognized everything had always been happening in just this way, I had just been blind to or ignorant of the glory of every moment. Breakfast, the walking meditation, the next sitting, every piece of it was just so fully what it was. I felt completely and utterly present. This state lasted for several days (3-4) and was effortless to maintain. I was just in it. There was nothing special to do except remain present, which I could not help but be anyway. I had some remarkable experiences during these several days. I followed my whims to explore new experiences in this state, like going to a running brook to listen to the water. One day I decided to walk to a nearby crowded city center about three miles away. Once there, I felt like I could easily and clearly observe the emotional state and history of all of the people I saw. It was like they were displaying their fears and hopes and impulses and contractions in every aspect of the way they held their hands, arms, legs and faces and their posture. I felt like I was intruding on these people's private lives by simply looking at them with what felt like absolute clarity. This awakened in me a deep compassion for all beings. I saw their suffering and striving (recognizing it in myself as well), but I also knew that they didn't intend to share it with me. I knew no one was doing anything differently than they normally did, I was just seeing through to their underlying selves with ease and it felt invasive. But it also made me want to help, to ease the suffering I saw. The End Then, after 3 or 4 days of this state, the person I was living with, who was not aware of what was going on with me, asked if I could drive to the grocery store to pick up some milk as we had run out and they wanted some for the morning. I agreed, thinking it would be very interesting to drive in this heightened state of vivid awareness. But as I did so, I was so focused on the present moment that I made decisions in order to have an experience rather than to accomplish the shopping. For example, I chose to take a right turn when I came to an intersection because there was a downward slope that direction and I wanted to experience braking the car with full mindfulness, even though I knew the store was to the left. I made a series of choices like this, more focused on what was going to happen next than getting to the store. I was aware of these choices and that I was not going to the store, but didn't care. After driving for a while in this way, I realized it was late and I might not even get to the store before it closed. I pulled the car over and decided "This state is amazing and ecstatic, but is not sustainable in this way. I need to be able to accomplish practical tasks without getting sidetracked by moment to moment impulses for exploration." So I made a deliberate choice to pull back from the fully present state, knowing it was, of course, always right there to return to. In fact, I felt that there was no way to NOT be present, now that I had discovered it. I sort of "dialed it back" and made my way to the store to buy the milk. The next day, the meditation was fine, but my lived experience was not as vivid. Practical considerations came flowing in: What was I going to do with my life? Where was I going to live? What would I do for work? I decided to leave the place I was living and move back in with my parents temporarily, find a job near them, and spend time discovering who I was and what I wanted to do until I could support myself. But I found as time passed I was not, in fact, able to return to that state that had seemed like something I could never truly leave. I still believe it is right here, but my experience of the world is not as it was during that 3-4 day period. Over the years since I have explored many different types of meditation and mindfullness practices: Zen Buddhism, Vipassana, Qi Gong/Tai Chi, Tibetan Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta/Non-Duality. And many teachers, including Jack Kornfield, Adyashanti, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, Jeff Foster. They all resonate with me in different ways, but I haven't found any support for or description of the meditation method I came up with back in my twenties, but which I believe led directly to the awakening I experienced. Most of these practices recommend a gentle, relaxed allowing of intruding thoughts in meditation, rather than a strict and effortful pushing away like my "blank mind" work. The Questions Finally, my questions:
Thank you to those who were patient enough to read this whole post. I appreciate any feedback on my experiences or any pointers to other resources online or elsewhere. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 04:33 PM PDT I like to just sit down for 20 minutes and go over what's important to me. No restrictions and my mind is allowed to wander. I just like to make plans that will lead me to more success. What type of mediation is this? [link] [comments] |
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