Meditation: Weekly Discussion - September 21 2020 |
- Weekly Discussion - September 21 2020
- Got my mom to meditate with me today
- I'm a mess and I'm beginning a new journey today.
- Just Bring Your Awareness Back to The Breath
- I tried to meditate but thoughts are crushing me. Some Youtubers say breathing can be the first step into meditation. Here is a summary of my research on breathwork
- Uncomfortable feelings from meditation
- Importance of daily meditation
- Starting today
- Is there a Self or is it an illusion?
- What are some of your tips to not freak out and get past this point.
- How many minutes do y'all meditate?
- I believe I had a realisation what True Self is
- Did mushrooms help your meditation?
- Thoughts are like a child’s story
- How am I supposed to breathe deeply?
- First time meditating felt kinda like I was tripping
- Seeing someone while you meditate, what does it mean?
- Question about finding guided meditation for breaking unhealthy relationship habits, if allowed here!
- I have recently started meditating and I am confused about the breathing. Should I both inhale and exhale through the nose or should I inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth?
- Did meditation help you overcome death fear?
- Any mediations for voices?
- Struggles with the breath
- Looking for advice
- Help with OCD please
- My thoughts on meditation and the practice different phases
| Weekly Discussion - September 21 2020 Posted: 21 Sep 2020 08:09 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] |
| Got my mom to meditate with me today Posted: 21 Sep 2020 09:20 PM PDT I've been meditating for almost 2 years now and today I finally got my mom to meditate with me. We did 5 minutes of meditation focused on breathing. She's been suffering from stomach pains for almost a year. Doctors have yet to find out what the problem is. She's gone through every medical exam and was even hospitalized for a week - the doctors have nothing they can do because they can't find the problem. My mom takes on stress over every little thing and doesn't know how to relax (and I don't blame her - it's how she was brought up). Her mind is always on and I'm convinced her stomach problems are stress induced. English is her second language so it's harder to show her educational videos on the affects of meditation and mindfulness - I decided to try my best and explain it myself. We decided we'll do 5 minutes of meditating together each night and eventually I want to increase that number. I'm glad she agreed to just give it a shot, so I want to start slow to ease her into it. I'm hopeful this will lead to positive health benefits for her 🤞🏼 [link] [comments] |
| I'm a mess and I'm beginning a new journey today. Posted: 21 Sep 2020 01:29 PM PDT Anxiety and intrusive thoughts are controlling me. I was meditating over a year ago for a period of 2 weeks or so, and I had a vision of a rose blooming followed by a sense of change. I stopped for some reason, but here's to a new beginning. Day one and I feel much calmer already. I need this, so it is my goal to meditate rather than looking at YouTube or the news in my spare time. [link] [comments] |
| Just Bring Your Awareness Back to The Breath Posted: 21 Sep 2020 07:18 AM PDT When your back starts hurting, or your ass gets sore, or you feel yourself leaning towards your phone to check how long it's been. Just come back to the breath. It will pass, and you'll be happy you stuck around. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2020 10:35 AM PDT I'm a random guy who runs a business from home and dealing with stress during the day. Half a year ago I started a diary. It changed a way I think about myself and "woke me up" in some way. It made me open to trying other "free tools" that are popping up here and there on the internet. The only thing I miss is support from others who do/learn something similar. But we can connect and share our experience. I tried to meditate for a while but it doesn't work for me. Some Youtube bloggers say breathing can be the first step into meditation. Breathwork There is emergency breathwork you can do to calm down. Once you feel overwhelmed try to extend your breath for 7 seconds and then release it for another 7 seconds. Your body goes to the parasympathetic nervous system that is responsible for the body's rest [1]. And your heart rate gets down. Use this in a stressful situation or if you go to sleep after the hard day. But we need something more powerful to deal with regular stress. There are many variations of breathwork. You may know about pranayama (yoga practice) or holotropic breathing. In general, breathwork is a process when you isolate your breath from any physical activity and do only it to push your body above previous oxygen limits. The Wim Hof Method I learned about the Wim Hof Method by watching the Joe Rogan Experience podcast [2]. This technique consists of three rounds. You do deep breathe for 40 times and hold it for as long as you can't. Then you release, inhale and do one more hold for 15 seconds. That's round one. There is even a video where Wim Hof guides you [3]. Laird Hamilton shared a story behind the method [4]. He said Wim Hof's technique is a derivative of a Himalayan breathing technique called "Tummo". It was developed by monks to keep their body temperature in the right condition in a cold environment. Mister Hof says breathing is about changing chemistry. "When you saturate cells with more oxygen then you typically need, your body stores it. And your body's chemistry becomes alkaline. That enables control of all the body systems — immune, endocrine, lymphatic, vascular, etc." "Oxygen influences the body's chemistry by balancing it in affected areas. Scientists agree with me, doing psychotherapy is not enough to reduce stress. You should also work on your chemistry" [5]. There are some scientific papers behind the method [6]. Which makes it even more interesting to try. Hope you found this useful. Maybe I can tempt you with my newsletter about "Free tools that change people's lives". I'm going to share new research, like this one, once a month. Resources [1] The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5709795/ [2] Joe Rogan Experience #712 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np0jGp6442A [3] Guided Wim Hof Method Breathing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybOi4hjZFQ [4] You Should Be Doing Breathwork for Health and Stress Control https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBVn47DAFQA [5] Wim Hof Discusses the Benefits of His Breathing Technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBIVQGX1DCU [6] Influencing the Immune System | Wim Hof Method Science https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6jqaALpEFM [link] [comments] |
| Uncomfortable feelings from meditation Posted: 21 Sep 2020 06:27 PM PDT I've been meditating for 20 minutes both in the morning and evening for the past 40 days and it's been great BUT, I feel like I'm overthinking things more and worrying more than I was before I started. I feel like there's a lot of negative energy inside me, that wasn't there before. Maybe it was there and I was good at ignoring it? I don't know but a few weeks into my meditations I got headaches and pressure coming from my 3rd eye, I pushed through the uncomfortable feeling and it went away after a week or so. But now I have this really uncomfortable blockage in my throat. It feels like someone has their hands around my neck, it has been with me for a good week now. I was told that maybe I needed to say something to someone or that I need to let go of something. How do I go about letting these things go or easing this feeling? I've been using essential oils on my neck and when I meditate I try to picture a ball of light around my body and down my throat. I'm also in full lockdown at the moment so I can't leave the house to go see or speak to anyone about this, so any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| Importance of daily meditation Posted: 22 Sep 2020 02:17 AM PDT Meditation is always great and right if we use proper method. but i think that the most important thing is we need to be consistent. If we want to get benefits by meditation, I think we need to meditate every day! Because we are living in this world which is very complicated, confusing, annoying etc... this environment make us get into the stress and so many distracting thoughts. so unless we meditate every day. it would be really hard to get out of this hardness. So, Let's do meditate every day!!!! Jason- Meditação Lisboa [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:11 PM PDT Any tips or tricks for me? Edit: thank you for the great support this is my first award on reddit. Thank you so much [link] [comments] |
| Is there a Self or is it an illusion? Posted: 21 Sep 2020 06:08 PM PDT I'm a meditation novice and I'm having a hard time understanding a few concepts. I've been listening to Sam Harris waking up lessons. He keeps telling us to stare in an object and then try to find what's looking. In doing so I can't find a specific point that is a self but I have a strong feeling that there is one and if I try harder to look for it.l, I'll find it. Some other philosophers have explained that there is no self. They say there is no "l" that is experiencing, there is just experience. I'm having a hard time understanding this. Surely there must be a centralized entity constant through time that is unifying all this data from our senses and has the ability to analyze and interpret it through time. The more I read about ideas various polymaths believe, I find they all come to a similar conclusion, that there is no self. Is this something they arrive at through logic? Or you just feel it? How do they arrive at these conclusions? Does it take many years of meditation or psychedelics to have this experience to be able to truly understand it, or is polished logic sufficient? [link] [comments] |
| What are some of your tips to not freak out and get past this point. Posted: 21 Sep 2020 01:34 PM PDT I'm sure we deep meditators all know the moment when the meditation frequency starts change you start to vibrate. I get scared and I break out. What are some tips to get past this? [link] [comments] |
| How many minutes do y'all meditate? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 12:59 AM PDT |
| I believe I had a realisation what True Self is Posted: 22 Sep 2020 12:27 AM PDT I would like to share with you my insights I got during my self-inquiry meditation and I would appreciate any comment or advice how to push things further. I didn't directly experience my True Self but I had a very vivid insight into its true qualities. The realization moved my very deeply. The True Self is void, pure awareness without any form or properties, with no freewill whatsoever. My True Self was taken over by some other entity (ego?) and it completely accepts it as it is – its infinitely patient because it cannot deny anything, it can only present full non-judgmental understanding towards any circumstances it's been thrown into, because it can only exist and experience anything as it is and nothing more. It accepts new ego's every thought, emotion, and commands as if they were its own, it provides unlimited freedom to the new ego. This way, the True Self doesn't remember Itself anymore, it fully immerses as the new ego, it believes it was always like this. I also realised that every each of us and every living creature is experiencing the same thing. We've all been imprisoned in other bodies and experiences, we are just not aware of the fact that each of us is a part of True Self. Now I feel partly detached, as if my ego and True self were seperate entities. I believe my destiny is to bring some relief to this world and find ways reduce others' suffering. Ego brought intense suffering to my life and I couldn't live like that anymore. I feel deep pain when I think of others in their ego-driven lives full of 'needless' suffering. [link] [comments] |
| Did mushrooms help your meditation? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 01:58 AM PDT There are some red fly agaric mushrooms next to my house. Im considering drying them (to make them less poisonous). Then see what kind of psychedelic effects they give. [link] [comments] |
| Thoughts are like a child’s story Posted: 21 Sep 2020 09:54 PM PDT Often, a parent reads a story to their child before bed. Then one day, that child figures out: -how to make it's own stories -that it could tell a story before anything, not just bedtime Overtime, these stories got better and more convincing and one moment in their early childhood: They decided they were the story. Now, think of how you listen to a child's story (2/3 years). You simply admire it. The story is beautiful, interesting, shows you something about them, but most importantly IT HAS NO BEARING ON REALITY. Your thoughts are but a child's story. [link] [comments] |
| How am I supposed to breathe deeply? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 01:15 AM PDT If I try to breathe with more abdomen movement I can only inhale for like .5 seconds and it's very shallow. There's a tightness to breathe any further than that, and my neck (specifically the back around the spine area, my shoulders get's extremely tight and intense that it hurts. The front tendons/muscles of my neck all activate when I try to breathe deeply causing a tight pulling in my neck. Also the right sternocleidomastoid also pulls my clavicle around because it seems hypertrophied. How am I supposed to get out of this? What exercises would help me? [link] [comments] |
| First time meditating felt kinda like I was tripping Posted: 21 Sep 2020 11:23 PM PDT Today was my first time meditating, and I did it with a guided video with noise. After about 15 minutes, I fully began to feel like I was "tripping". I have used both LSD and mushrooms before, so I feel I know was constitutes this. Intense visions/colors in my head etc. It didn't last for a whole lot of time, however was quite strong. I do use l theanine which does increase alpha brain wains and make me have vivid dreams at night, and maybe this is someway led my meditation experience to feel like that. I'm wondering, if this psychedelic type tripping experience is common and normal? [link] [comments] |
| Seeing someone while you meditate, what does it mean? Posted: 21 Sep 2020 06:07 PM PDT I'm relatively new to meditation and I most often do guided meditations since I struggle to meditate on my own. I find listening to the stories very comforting as well as the music. I feel like I've gone to another place. While in this "place" I often see my former fiancé who died a few years ago. He was someone very special to me and helped me to escape abuse and taught me life skills. I still have dreams with him. When I see him during meditation I am comforted and happy. It's a good feeling to "see" him even though I know he is not actually there. I am curious what this means from a spiritual and meditative standpoint? Does anyone else see something similar when they meditate? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2020 07:14 PM PDT I've been meditating for the last thirty years, with the last few months daily. I am currently undergoing an awakening of sorts, coming out of a codependent mindset and knowing what to really look for in a partner. Hypnosis has really helped me internalize life lessons in the past, and I would love to be able to find a guided meditation that can help me similarly. Along the lines of FDS, Natalie Lue/Baggage Reclaim, The Power of Love and The Four Agreements; that kind of thing. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you for any ideas! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 02:22 AM PDT A friend of mine scared me the other day saying - breathing through your mouth can change the shape of your face and recede your chin and give you a weaker jawline. Of course it's only for children who have been chronically breathing through their mouths their whole lives and not for people who spend 20 minutes of their 24 hour day only exhaling through the mouth, but it did give me a scare. Enough of a scare to ask on reddit. But it's not just him, a lot of people have told me different things about how to breathe. One person said that by both inhaling and exhaling through the nose you improve lung capacity and by only inhaling through the nose you don't have that benefit. The reason I chose to exhale through my mouth is because it's a lot easier, everytime I try exhaling deeply through my nose, it almost seems like there is no air in my lungs, I exhaust it that quickly through nose exhalation. Anyways I want to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Did meditation help you overcome death fear? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 01:49 AM PDT I'm always pondering the meaning of death, why we die. What happens when we die, and what's the meaning. And I think about how I should live my life considering death could happen any time. My fear comes from the finality of it, when you die, you can't go back. And the idea of dying seems so lonely. You go into it on your own, and you don't know what happens when you go through it, will you be alone on the other side? will there be another side? Wtf would be on the other side? Would you still be yourself on the other side? Everything about death is so crazy to me, and it scares me because there is no answers. I'm thinking meditation might help me get some perspectives on it. Have you gone through something similar? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2020 07:22 PM PDT I hear stuff all day. Unfortunately and it causes general anxiety and social anxiety. Help? Also any of you struggle with similar stuff? How do you manage? I try to stay on a routine like bedtime, meditation everyday, music, obviously take medicine, and moreover ignore it. It's definitely a struggle! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2020 11:53 PM PDT So recently i became aware that when i meditate i focus too much on the breath and counting them. I think i do it to prevent my mind wandering as much but it actually distracts me from connecting with the other body feelings and emotions. I am quite a shallow breather so i dont really physically feel the breath entering my nostrils or moving through my throat. Unless i alter my breathing to take really deep inhilations then it is not as noticable for me. But then i am altering my breathe and not observing it as it is. I do feel the movement in my abdomen and chest while breathing. I can feel my diaphragm move up and out with the in breath and contract and down with the out breath. Does anyone have any suggestions for this. I don't know how to improve my practice. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2020 11:52 PM PDT Hi, folks I'm a non-native english speaker whose emotional health is questionable. I feel like I've always been living inside my head, in my own world. And now, happens that I changed a bit for better, partly due to meditation: I acknowledge more often when I'm being selfish, or when I'm overreacting, I notice better people's feelings. But during my day I feel an annoying sad feeling that I don't know why it is there... And it bothers me a lot, when I try to look for reasons while meditating I just feel like something is stuck in my soul and I start to get distracted easily... Anyways, I'd like to ask you guys if you would have some perspective on how to unbottle this out through meditating [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2020 11:05 PM PDT I have OCD, any thought I think, I think on repeat over and over again. Any tips for how to overcome this? [link] [comments] |
| My thoughts on meditation and the practice different phases Posted: 21 Sep 2020 03:22 PM PDT Hello all! Introduction about myself and this topic here Long time lurker (in reddit generally) and also meditator. I think I've been meditating on and off for about 8 years now? Back then it wasn't even a common practice. "A tool for concentration", I thought back then. Still have lots of trouble concentrating to this day. I also haven't maintaned the practice for too long. In fact, I don't think I have meditated for more than six months back to back. I did however spent a lot of time just reading and researching about the practice (even when not meditating! It's an incredible field of study, IMO.) What's my proposal with this topic, then? Well, I'm having a train of meta train of thought about meditating that has derailed. So instead of trying to focus on the breath or anything like that, what about I do what I call a mental masturbation? I'll make an analogy with sexual tension: you are under a lot, but you have to hold on. You can't release it because of whatever reason. BUT! trying to hold on too much may backfire. Instead you do a controlled release and go back to holding on. Not the best solution, right? But those of us who tried to repress... pretty much anything, knows that it's almost impossible. Thus, we go with the next best solution. I'm giving in to my desire to discuss meditation, then. In the process, for those of you who know less than me about the practice, a chance to learn. For those who knows about the same thing, a food for thought and discussion, perhaps. And for those who knows more and wish to improve the discussion, my most warm welcome. Let's discuss meditation phases, then. Well, meditation is a skill, and as with any, you progress on it. Like going to the gym, you come as an absolute beginner that knows nothing, but you will gain something from it! In time, you will learn how to improve your techniques to do it the "better" way. More efficient gains, less mistakes, more health. How does this apply with meditation then?
You don't want to waste time because there will be conflicting information and a whole sea of different tutors and techniques. If you don't know ANYTHING at all about meditating and would just like to go with a tip, here goes two ways you can begin: Try guided meditation. I had lots of prejudice with this one, most of them unfounded. It's like training wheels for meditation but on steroids because it just works so darn good. Try the most known apps out there. Just pick one and go with it. Try a breathing techinque. Sit down upright in any comfortable chair (do whatever you want with your body). Close your eyes. Breath in slowly counting to 10, then start breathing out slowly counting to 10. Do it for 7 minutes. There you go, close reddit, off with meditating you go. Come back in a month or so. Shush. I'm watching you
So you understand most principles. You know that there is about 100 different ways to meditate. You know that i'm talking about the standard mindfulness here. You probably know that there is plenty ways you can focus and that time doesn't really matter. What you should focus however is in maintaning the habit because it is HARD. Almost any excuse will work for you to drop it: "Ah, fuck. I missed yesterday and today I'm late. No point in doing that". And then you proceed to not do it for the entire week... month and puf. There it goes the habit. If anything, differently from the above topic, now is the time to study. It's the puberty of meditation: you are experimenting. Instead of focusing on sitting down at least once per day, focus on what IS mindfulness: is to focus on the present. Here are my biggest tip and something so obvious (and overtly repeated) and strong that it's a cheat. Yes, that is the steroids of meditation: There are plenty of practices you can focus upon. Yes. Wow. Who would know that you don't have to sit down once per day to focus? Here are some examples. When I'm done with the topic, I'll give you several other instances to think about:
In this phase you also notice you think a lot. About the weirdest things. You will also will have a very good day: you will feel veeeery good after meditating for a lot longer than you usually do. "Nice! I'm improving". And then, proceed to have lots and lots of "bad" sessions. That is somewhat to gym, and to an extent, every skill on earth. I do think that it's punishing with meditation because you can get the feeling that you aren't improving. When in reality you are. Your "perfect" session was probably perfect because you weren't even paying attention. Do you even remember if you were focused? Nah, probably not. So, back to basics. If you are beginner, don't know too many points of focus, do go with the very basic stuff. Relax, focus on the breath with the eyes closed because it just works so damn fine and yes your extraordinary mind shattering way of focus that involves your eyes opening or humming also works. Do what you want, what you need is an object of focus and, most importantly, to maintain the meditation. Like with the gyms, do whatever and you will have gains. Drop the gym because you missed one day or because John knows how to do pull ups perfectly and you don't and you won't get shredded. Yes, if you miss for a week, you can still practice. Yes, you can go with the weekly basis. Heck, go with it. Pick a day of the week and meditate that day. You don't need to do the rest of the week (I'm feeling I might get killed if I were to talk this with the whole subreddit face to face). There you go. You are meditating. Let's go, little buddha! I'm cheering for you!
But I still can't control it. Shit, I'm not supposed to control it. Just let it got. What the heck is that supposed to mean? Ah, off to meditate. I mostly stop here, whenever I get back to meditating. It's a very confortable place because you noticed the results and you notice just how damn effective it is. damn, I think a LOT. And damn, I'm focusing so much more now. This is a delicate place. Because you are very aware of what to do but progress just comes so slowly. Also sometimes you just falter. "Am I doing this right?". Most of the failings in this phase don't come from the lack of habit, instead, it comes from a mental boom. Also, of not noticing that meditating takes a toll of mental energy (not qi, ki, chi, whatever. Your literal mental energy. That thing that gets tired when you study a lot). Thus the great hurdle of this phase is to train your muscles. Er, I mean, your focus. And the battery. It's both intensity and stamina: you want to focus harder for longer. Also, focus here doesn't mean to concentrate on the breath, or to concentrate in your activity/nothing. Also another big mistake. Focus is to notice. You are being mindful, not empty headed. By now, you should know that the best That is because the purpose of mindfulness is not to focus. It's to notice, and be present. Notice what? Well, anything... as long as it's in the present. Thrive on the fact that you notice your feelings and thoughts and don't worry if you can't control damn. Ah dammit, but I've read that you weren't supposed to control or supress then. Forget it. Focus. Yes... notice. Just notice. In fact, mental note, NOW!
I can fly, shoot laser beam through the eyes and mind control anyone. I also forgive any misdoings with me because I'm just so darn good at just being in nirvana and above everyone else. Also, beginner, why are you still here? Didn't I told you to meditate? Fucks' sakes. Just kidding. I've never been here actually, but I figure I know what to expect and know when I reach there. There goes: I can control my thoughts. "What? The room of intermediary anxious adhd filled meditators dies of shock. But everyone told me not to do it!!!!" And your emotions. For most of the part, actually. That is the biggest point of this "phase". I don't do it on a whim, or on the flick of the switch. Instead I mastered the spell and mana of this skill. Shit, I mean, the principle act and the mental energy toll that comes with it. I'm pretty good at noting and also don't get as tired when doing it. I also make a lot less mistakes. That is because my brain adapted to what I did. So I don't suppress my thoughts because I want to. I suppress it as a byproduct: by noticing, I break the wave of thought and flick the "focus on the moment" trigger. It's not particularly tiring to do so, and as I'm pretty experienced in maintaining focus because I trained for so long, this is just easy. Thus, you come to the true super power of meditating. You become just too good at not getting tired and as a result you focus much more. That doesn't mean you don't feel, you don't think. You are much more aware and you can even ride the waves of thought if you want, as well as get out of it if you wish. (Otherwise, meditating would be useless. You HAVE to think if you want to do pretty much anything.)
I have a wider range of attention and I can switch it with ease, something I couldn't do previously. I do worry much less about meditation and it became second nature to me. In fact, I do now sit down to meditate anymore, because I'm constantly doing so. It's interesting the steps I walked to reach here. I may not agree with everything that was told previously, but I could see this happening. I'm also pretty content and happy with life. I've learned not to be a slave of my mind, nor to try bossing it around. Doesn't make sense, we are one and only. Thus my mind has become my greatest partner and I have an entire lifetime of a journey to go. But instead of carrying two in the body of one, I've merged to become one as strong as two. This is it. Those are the steps of meditation. Do you agree with my take? Though not very mindfulish to meta-think about it, there's always opportunity to learn and share. Optional content! I did promise to bring some interesting and perhaps exotic ways to meditate:
[link] [comments] |
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