Meditation: My mom found out I'm meditating and... |
- My mom found out I'm meditating and...
- My Epiphany moment
- Yoga Nidra wild experience
- Connection to others
- Sitting comfortably
- The misunderstanding about sports & meditation
- Understanding the why is terrifying
- T-shirt thoughts?
- Unique sensations during meditation ?
- UCLA Mindful app, completely free with no ads
- The Ego is a Monkey
- Does breathwork have an effect on blood work?
- Meditation and philosophical materialism
- A page out of my meditation journal, what are your thoughts on it?
- I've only seen / spoken to my higher self twice? Any advice on how to break through again?
- Waking Up free month!
- The Worth Of Things
- Guided vs unguided meditation. Which is best for consistent use?
- Question - am I doing it right ? From a somewhat experienced meditator
- Meditation not Redditation
- There are few things more distorted and dangerous than an ego that thinks it is God.
- Is it possible to be always in the present?
- Breathing
- How to stop beating yourself up: If you are your harshest critic, you can transform your anger towards yourself into peace
| My mom found out I'm meditating and... Posted: 03 Jul 2020 02:21 PM PDT So couple days ago I liked a Facebook post about a meditation seminar that will happen in my town and I honestly didnt think to go there I just liked it. My mom saw that today and she was like: "This stuff is satanic and doesn't have anything to do with our religion.. this is some Hinduism stuff ( we are a Christian family btw) and you should see a priest to teach you that it's against our religion" etc etc... I tried to explain to her that it's just a relaxation method and nothing more than that and to search about it but she follows blindly some things a couple priests told her... what should I do to try to convince her ? Or should I not try ? She cant understand even if i try to explain it in depth for her. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jul 2020 09:43 PM PDT Two days ago I went for my accupuncture appointment, I had all those needles poked in and I was asked to rest up, usually I close my eyes and kinda get into a shavasana (deep meditative state). Also background- I (35 F)have been very stressed at failed dating, relationship and I am clueless how I am going to find anyone, I really want to find someone and I am failing miserably. So continuing... In that meditative or resting state, I saw one of the nicest dreams I had - it looked like it was my wedding day and I had just finished the ceremony with my husband. I was laying my head on his shoulders seated and there was feeling of satisfactory, it wasn't a feeling of accomplishment; rather a very pleased, content and fulfilling feeling. I obviously couldn't see who I was with, I didn't get glimpse. I could tell easily that girl was so happy, I saw her feeling happy. Then my doctor walks in to wake me up, I was in this deep meditative state..I wake up and tell her "I want to be married" she says "....and I want to be divorced" lol Anywho happy 4th ya'll. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 01:02 AM PDT Hey all, So I'm a pretty novice meditation practitioner but I've been doing it more frequently because of a certain life path I feel I've been guided to. In short, something similar to healing the body with the mind. Unfortunately for me though, I haven't had much luck or even tangible responses until the other day when my entire body underwent an experience. I've been tuning into theta brain wave beats. Basically conducting internal dialogue with my body for what feels like 5 but ends up being half an hour sessions or so. This time my body responded with an entire feeling of numbing; numbing like pins and needles or a flowy feeling below my skin throughout my limbs and even in my stomach and head area. I was relaxed and breathing intently before it got even more intense because my hands came up off the bed. Like bent at the elbow with fingers slightly bent at the tips. I got up shortly after sweating and shaking slightly in my arm/hand area. Anybody known what this might be? Do I have reasons to be scared? I tried again and while it didn't get to the same point, my hands did twitch here and there before I got up. Thanks in advance [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jul 2020 07:51 PM PDT While I feel in so many ways meditation makes me feel more connected to many things, I often feel meditation makes me feel less connected to people who don't meditate. I often feel like since my values have shifted in a lot of ways, others can't see it or appreciate it, (i.e. no longer thinking happiness only comes from external realities) thus making me feel less connected to them. Any insight into this? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 03:26 AM PDT I like sitting with my legs crossed but within a couple of minutes I've got dead legs which completely takes me out of my meditation. Are there any tricks for sitting cross legged without getting pins and needles? Or should I just find a new way to sit? [link] [comments] |
| The misunderstanding about sports & meditation Posted: 04 Jul 2020 01:07 AM PDT My name is Quinten van Ommen. I'm an athlete, I train around 7 times a week. I am also very interested in mediation. Some people think that they become relaxed through sports, and that they also can become relaxed through meditation. And yes that's true. But then they start to think that it is the same, and that is a misunderstanding. Because there are some differences between meditation and sports. 1. When meditating the body is calm, therefore there is a deeper stillness. 2. When meditating you can observe your thoughts, when playing sports you don't. 3. During sports the mind is sometimes still during the most extreme moments, like when you for example are sprinting, or lifting heavy weights. These moments only last for around 0.1sec - 60sec. When meditating this stillness can remain longer. Meditation has also helped me a lot with sports. I was always very nervous, and the nerves could take control over me. But now I am able to just observe the nerves. They can't take control over me anymore. If you need help with meditation, feel free to send me a pm Yours sincerely, Quinten van Ommen [link] [comments] |
| Understanding the why is terrifying Posted: 04 Jul 2020 02:41 AM PDT Drinking always brings out the most prophetic thoughts [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 02:37 AM PDT Every time after I meditate I try to jot down a word or a quick sentence that comes to mind after I'm done, like something I feel I may have gained. I also have a separate page for I use as a gratitude list. Some people journal, I do that. My cousin is starting a website & said he wants t-shirt ideas that we all have in mind. Each of us will have our own page of T's no rules like mine would be a link to "Dakota" my cousins "Colten" he wants a variety & us to make T's that is something we stand behind. I have this idea of putting those one word messages on those T's, like "Flow" with a wavy line through it & in a relaxing font. Or "present"..."breathe" etc. the idea is simple statements with simple designs. Maybe a quote on the back too. Any thoughts on these meditation related t-shirt ideas? [link] [comments] |
| Unique sensations during meditation ? Posted: 03 Jul 2020 07:48 PM PDT Today in the morning I decided to do a walking meditation. Out of nowhere I noticed a very pleasant smell of flowers. The smell was unique, but I knew somehow intuitively that I was the scent of some form of flower. It was pungent and pleasant, my body felt as though it was off-balance for a second and then followed by a warm sensation on the crown of my head. After the scent of flowers, colors were more vivid, it seemed as though everything had an orange tint to it. For some reason I had a moment of synesthesia: I can somehow taste and smell the orange tint surrounding everything. I felt a great sense of peace and I was calm and centered in the moment. No thought arose as I was completely engrossed in the present. This is the first time I felt this, I'm not too sure what this means. Does anyone have any insight on what I may have experienced? [link] [comments] |
| UCLA Mindful app, completely free with no ads Posted: 03 Jul 2020 04:13 PM PDT I just stumbled across this app in the Play store while trying to find alternatives for the expensive subscription based apps. While this isn't as slick and polished as some others, it's totally free and has no ads. Lots of videos with guided meditations on a variety of subjects. https://www.uclahealth.org/ucla-mindful [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 12:41 AM PDT The ego is a monkey. The ego is the part of the mind that's from a completely different era than the part where self-awareness/consciousness resides. It's located in the more ancient parts of the brain. Where as cosciousness is located in the prefrontal cortex, the most recent addition to human/mammalian brains. There was a time where humans( or rather the evolutionary ancestors of humans) were the same as any other animal around. They were driven by instinct- tendencies they've either inherited from their ancestors, or learned through the course of their lives (past conditioning). These instincts were developed to guide these ancestors of humans to be better equipped to survive and reproduce in their precarious, hostile environments. Of course the human animal is a complex one, and in addition, is a social, pack animal, which comes with its own set of tendencies/instincts/desires. Which is why we crave status so much, as more status a social animal has in its pack, the better chances it has to survive and reproduce. This is why social rejection is so painful to the ego, it's directly linked to two of the most important biological imperatives that humans, like every other lifeform, possesses. So, in conclusion, the ego is simply a remnant from a time where humans didn't possess self-awareness, and the ability to go against your instincts. But it remains a powerful force in our behaviours. Meditation is the practice of deliberately developing this most recent part of the brain (prefrontal cortex). In doing so we improve the abilities that the prefrontal cortex houses. These are self-awareness/introspection, executive function, working memory etc. Long term meditators are as calm and serene as they are because they can quite literally stop negative thought patterns that arise from the egoic mind from taking hold in their minds as effortlesly as they breathe. [link] [comments] |
| Does breathwork have an effect on blood work? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 03:29 AM PDT My question is not precisely about meditation, but it's close enough, and this is the biggest subreddit I found related to it. Have breathing exercises had any effect on your blood tests or any other health/fitness indicators, like blood pressure, resting heart rate, or VO2 max? Apnea training can supposedly improve some of these indicators, but there is not a lot of research on it. Also, if it was useful, why aren't pro athletes doing it? [link] [comments] |
| Meditation and philosophical materialism Posted: 03 Jul 2020 11:17 PM PDT I just had a thought connecting meditation to philosophical materialism: The reason why meditation works in causing such a profound feeling of one-ness/fulfillment Is due to the fact that you are intentionally slowing down your metabolism from its baseline state/rate (slower breathing, relaxation etc). By consciously doing so for an extended period of time, your metabolism slows to a point that is closer to the rate that it's usually at when you're sleeping, but not quite as slow. Since your usual (non REM stage) sleep is for all intents and purposes an unconscious state (or at least a 'low conscious state'), through meditation you have consiously brought yourself to a state that is close to the feeling of what it's like to be unconscious. The reason why lowering your metabolism creates this feeling of peace and one-ness is due to the fact that your material body (brain, nerves, arteries, muscles, bones etc) are composed of unconscious materials (amino acids that once belonged to the proteins you've consumed that now make up your tissues, calcium atoms that were billions of years ago forged in the belly of stars that now constitute your bones, water molecules that have passed through countless living beings and rain cycles that now find themselves inside your cells etc). It's the communion of ones conscious material being with the unconscious matter from which it emerged. We were forged from unconscious matter, and in the end we all return back to it. The fate of our unconscious molecules and atoms (the material from which our bodies and our consciousness are built from) is to recycle back into the universe, to perhaps eventually end up reconstituting another living and conscious being at some point in the far future. Hope I made some sense here. [link] [comments] |
| A page out of my meditation journal, what are your thoughts on it? Posted: 03 Jul 2020 11:08 PM PDT Last night, in an online session with our local Tergar instructor, we tried objectless shamatha. Did not focus on anything in particular and trying to just rest in awareness. I liked the idea, and hadn't taken the concept seriously in a formal sitting meditation session setting, so I decided to try it today. It turned out that after I asked around about it, the mentor and the practitioners seem to be opposed to the idea of nimittas or white flashes during meditation. If you experience these of any kind, just meditate with open eyes. There is a risk that it would bring more clinging. This seems to be a really common knowledge/belief among Tergar practitioners (people in the chat notified me within seconds of asking). So I did that too. In the session, I became aware of what thoughts are and how they formed and exited, how they are just another sensation exactly like physical sensations that manifest in the body, and how I can manage them (hardly). It seems like it's very hard to manage the power of mind, because even trying so with words is another trick of the mind, too. The key is to be aware, but both the automatic machinations of the mind and the constant deliberate effort to bring myself back to awareness with words are both machinations of the mind itself. It's very meta and difficult to accomplish — I probably only lasted a few seconds in pure awareness within 20 minutes total. But, that was probably it. That's the thing. That's the point of the practice. Constantly bringing it back, and the mind trying to bring it somewhere else, the point that you notice this is the key. So I probably shouldn't worry too much and just keep practicing it. It felt funny that my awareness constantly shifted back and forth between thoughts and itself and breaths and body and sound and so on — I even laughed a few times because of how silly I felt. It felt like just sitting there doing nothing. Well, that's the radical part of meditation, I guess — it literally is doing nothing, and doing something at the same time. A very interesting conclusion today, after trying it out for 20 minutes, is that a lot of my meditation the past year have been quite misleading as a meditation practice. They probably are all meditation (as there is no really wrong way to meditate), but I sometimes get too deep a focus on breathing that I literally mulled over the breath and there was no actual awareness of awareness involved. This is an important point, and one that I have actually known from experience but forgot a lot of times — if you are startled by the sound of the ending bell, you were probably distracted. I need constant reminders of this. The best meditation is non-meditation Short time, many times [link] [comments] |
| I've only seen / spoken to my higher self twice? Any advice on how to break through again? Posted: 03 Jul 2020 07:11 PM PDT To make a long story short, I have bad anxiety and the first time I had seen my higher self I was meditating with a friend and someway somehow it wasn't dark anymore. I was on a lotus flower on what seemed like endless water with one person and it was me. I couldn't tell you what threads I was wearing even though I am an aspiring fashion designer. I was wearing white, all white and the texture of the clothes weren't clear to me, it just seemed like they were glowing but not bright enough to affect my eyes. I talked to him about the current situation that I was very worried about and he told me not to worry because when things aren't in my control I shouldn't pay attention to them, instead just relax and enjoy the things I want to do. After he spoke, he asked if I had anymore questions or if I wanted to ask him anything else and I said no because I was scared but also nothing came to mind. Second time I seen my higher self it was a way different vibe than the first time! About two months later I was meditating and I entered this dark room, a room where there were shutters and in the dark was this very buff, version of me with no shirt, I'd say navy blue pajama pants and I looked so mean! After sitting there in front of him, he was drinking something; I don't know if it was soup or water all I know is after that the room shifted and I was facing nothing, he was behind me around a wall just watching me as I meditated, nothing to say. This version of me looked much like Akuma from street fighter and honestly I felt frightened when I had seen him but during the time this was going on my mind had a thought that I shouldn't be afraid cause he is me. That was when the room changed. Does anybody have any recommendations or techniques to get in touch with your higher self? I want to have a blissful conversation with my higher self. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jul 2020 05:56 PM PDT here's a free month of sam harris' app. i really love it and it's being very helpful, so i think it can also be helpful for many of you. btw, if your month ends, i can give you another one. or just send them an e-mail and they'll give you a free year!! You have been invited to experience the Waking Up app for free. The app is unlocked for one month. Enjoy. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 02:20 AM PDT There are 3 morally distinct types of things. 1) Good things 2) Bad things 3) Things that are indifferent. How should we proceed in our desires and aversions towards these things since these things are hardly measurable? First of all, we must be aware that everything of the same kind has equal worth - that is, all good things are of equal worth, all bad things of equal worth and things indifferent have equal worth. Faithfulness for example has the same worth as humility, just as anger and deceit are of equal value that is, no value, wealth and reputation are also both indifferent and of equivalent worth. But how are these things related to each other And what is the value of each? We may say that for a good man which we ought to be, on a value scale of 1-100, good things have the highest value of a100 to him, things that are indifferent are rated at 50 and bad things have no value whatsoever to him - that is 0 value. It then follows that they are all related in that... Good is a hundred percent of itself and has a positive value, things indifferent are both 50 percent good and 50 percent bad (Depending on their usage) and are therefore neutral, and bad things are 0 percent good or negative good. We should put this in mind in our desires and aversions and always aim first for that which is of the greatest worth. [link] [comments] |
| Guided vs unguided meditation. Which is best for consistent use? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 02:19 AM PDT When I am doing unguided meditation, I worry I am doing it wrong (even though I know I'm following the correct technique). When I do a guided meditation, I worry I will not go into a deep meditation because the instructions can sometimes make my brain more active. I stress that I'm more listening to instructions, as oppose to actually meditating. What gives you the best result? Guided or unguided? [link] [comments] |
| Question - am I doing it right ? From a somewhat experienced meditator Posted: 04 Jul 2020 02:17 AM PDT Hello I have been meditating for around 150 hours so far. But recently, I have been having this stinging thought about whether I am meditating correctly. I am simply observing the breath as it comes in and goes out at nostrils. However, I constantly feel as if I'm not doing something correctly or there is something more that I should be doing? Can someone please help me out with this. It's really bothering me as I feel I'm wasting my time and not doing the practice correctly. It's giving me anxiety. It would be extremely helpful if someone could answer this question. Thank you [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jul 2020 02:53 PM PDT |
| There are few things more distorted and dangerous than an ego that thinks it is God. Posted: 03 Jul 2020 10:15 AM PDT Be careful not to identify yourself with awakening and having a glimpse of Reality. It is possible to have an awakening and still have many egoic delusions and attachments. [link] [comments] |
| Is it possible to be always in the present? Posted: 03 Jul 2020 09:22 PM PDT Hi all, I was wondering if it is possible to always be in the moment, be present. I recently gone through a breakup and using meditation as a coping therapy. When I am present, I feel good and happy. But once thoughts of my ex start coming back I fall into that sorrow pit again. I try to acknowledge these thoughts and feelings and let them pass. But they still come back. I am also worried that I am using meditation as an escape from those feelings. Would anyone have an advice? ps, I really love this community [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jul 2020 04:28 AM PDT I have noticed that many people doesn't seem to have a understanding of the breathing in meditation practice, so I thought I should share my point of view in case it helps someone else. I try to look at the breath as a bridge between the interior world (Psyche) and the physical exterior world. When i dont try to control the breath , but just notice it, i am observing an action that is a part of everything and nothing. Without any interference the breath just comes and goes as naturally as the waves in an ocean without "me" doing anything. When this process is forced or disturbed by "me", I am no longer a part of it, because in doing so I separate myself from the process. Therefore the relation between thoughts and breath is important to understand. Clinging to a thought is the same as trying to hold my breath- i struggle and it creates friction. Letting a thought go without any attachment or clinging is the same as inhaling or exhaling effortlessly - knowing that it will come back with or without my effort. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jul 2020 03:32 PM PDT We can sometimes be our harshest critic, beating ourselves up for minor errors that other people don't even notice. If this is a common occurrence for you, mindfulness can help to reduce your suffering. The Buddhist tradition talks about the idea of the 'second arrow' - the first are everyday events or thoughts that cause us pain, while the second is our reaction to it. Often the second arrow can hurt us more than the first; but by being present with our difficult thoughts - even angry, negative thoughts towards ourselves - we can transform our suffering into happiness and learn to be kind to ourselves as we would to a friend in pain. [link] [comments] |
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