Meditation: It’s not the thoughts and feelings we have that trouble us, it’s the meanings we assign them that does. |
- It’s not the thoughts and feelings we have that trouble us, it’s the meanings we assign them that does.
- Ever feel like mindful breathing puts you in touch with impacts of smoking/vaping?
- Its silly how much I use to value materialistic things
- (Question) When or how do you know it's time to end a meditation session?
- How to deal with regret
- Can we find the beauty in life by realizing we truly don't know what is gonna happen next but still trust that life is gonna surprise us in a good way?
- Meditation's "Pump"
- Transcendental Meditation Beginner
- Happiness is not difficult. Learning piano is difficult.
- Our mind keeps us in bondage.
- Does anyone else feel guided meditation recordings are weird?
- 40 Minute Guided Meditation - Full Body Scan Deep Relaxation
- If we are looking at the past when observing the stars outside, maybe we’ll find the future when looking inside ourselves.
- I'm fighting anxiety and OCD
- Any young meditators out there?
- Anyone have a torrent for Headspace but only for the 10 minute audios?
- Loss of physical/spatial orientation when meditating?
- Why does my belly look bigger after practicing belly breathing exercises ?
- You can't be content in a rush.
- When I close my eyes, I'm starting to see visuals and colours, don't know if they are actual visuals or imagination..
- Mulan 2020 Watch Full Movie Online
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 10:09 PM PDT This seems to be something that seems increasingly true to me. I notice now in a lot of my old ways of suffering that I'm still in the process of disentangling myself from that it's really not the thoughts and feelings I have that are the real things that bother me, it's really the meanings and truths I assign to them. Oh I just thought that my friend dislikes me right now because of something I said to them. Or maybe I am worried that my partner might be cheating on me because I had the thought. Now by themselves these are just thoughts. Where they bother us is when we decide for whatever reason to assign a likely truth value to them, that they hold some special significance over other thoughts we have. Now of course IF they are true these are of course things that would indeed bother us. BUT because of how our brains work, and often a lifetime of traumatic ways of thinking and treating ourselves, we don't actually spend any time questioning our assumptions. We automatically trust the label maker in our brains, which we really shouldn't lol. And because we would be so very upset by these things our brains unfortunately automatically assigns these things a high likelihood (or at least they do so out of an abundance of caution "better safe than sorry right"?). So of course now you are very bothered because you now have to go check to make sure that horrible thing isn't true. And now you are simply a slave to your brain that throws up all kinds of randomness. We always fail to stop ourselves at that early phase and question the meanings we assign our thoughts and feelings. Wait, IS it really true that I'm a bad person for having had this thought? Wait is it really true that I SHOULDN'T think or feel this way? Wait is it really true that I need to stop feeling, thinking these things? Wait, do I really need to fight this battle right now? And there is yet another option that often isn't at all obvious to most people if they find themselves easily upset, or lost in emotions, or triggered. I can actually choose to ignore the feeling or thought and go about things as if it was just there in the background. Yes it may take more effort, focus, and it may not "feel" great in some ways. But it's amazing how it's actually possible at all in many ways. So I can actually go about my daily life with thoughts and feelings in the background that in the past might have derailed me simply because I chose to focus on them but now instead I can go about my day with it in the background. It's. Well it's like having a broken arm in a sling and most of your life believing the "truth" that I can't live my life like a normal person if I have this broken arm. I must drop everything and worry about the broken arm. Put all my time and energy into the broken arm. And you believe this truth to the depth of your soul. Indeed your very personality might become wrapped up in the belief that "I'm the broken arm guy". But it never occurs to you. Oh wait no I actually can go about my day and just leave the arm there in the sling and choose to pay attention to the rest of my life. It's just there, even the occasional pain it brings. And if someone points it out and I can also just go "oh yeah that's just my broken arm, so what do you want to have for dinner"? The meanings and beliefs we have about ourselves end up shaping everything! [link] [comments] |
| Ever feel like mindful breathing puts you in touch with impacts of smoking/vaping? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:49 PM PDT I pretty much do mindfulness meditation where I try to use the breath as the anchor point for my awareness. I feel like I might be noticing diminished breath capacity from vaping dry herb (weed) lately, and I wonder if that type of body sensation is correlated with diminished emotional resilience/heightened stress response. Anyone else have any similar thoughts, contradictory opinions, etc? [link] [comments] |
| Its silly how much I use to value materialistic things Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:01 AM PDT A few years ago, I began meditating to explore my true feelings and accomplish a few goals I set for myself. While I am still far from accomplishing these goals, I feel I've learned gained a / lot so far. One of the biggest revelations I've made is the absurdity of how much society values materialistic items over other things. I found it bizarre how much I bought into this culture not too long ago, before mediation. I would constantly spend money on having whatever the latest fashion trend was and HAD to always have designer clothes in order to "feel I belong" if you will. On top of this I spent many hours / lots of energy watching videos and idolizing celebrity sports cars and mega mansions, fantasizing futures where I also had such luxuries. However, I find much more value in other things after some clarity, such as connections with people I care for, knowledge, personal freedoms / mental well being, and so on. Admittedly there are still times where I will catch myself admiring someone elses Rolex watch, and perhaps underlying feelings of jealousy as well. Even then I am very happy with the progress I've made and will hopefully continue to make. Anyways, I was wondering if I could get your guys input on this subject. What is the driving force behind the hyper-sensation of materialistic items in first world societies? [link] [comments] |
| (Question) When or how do you know it's time to end a meditation session? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:09 PM PDT Just keep observing. Hunger, thirst, aches from being in the same position, etc. When do you stop observing and decide to start acting? I, personally, never extend into such long sessions where any of those feelings become paramount to my focus, but I'm curious as to why I stop as a whole. At a certain point, I just feel agitated enough to where I lose concentration and decide to move. At that point, I usually just exhale and acknowledge that I just enjoyed a good session. But why should I stop there? Theoretically, couldn't/shouldn't I just acknowledge my agitation and continue to focus on my breath instead of moving despite the desire to do so? If so, where would I go from there? When would I or should I stop? Furthermore, how do you know when it's a good time to meditate? If I want to indulge in a videogame for 2 hours despite being aware that 2 hours of meditation would be better (by standard of introspectively learning and building useful skills) than gaming, should I meditate right then and there and combat the desire to indulge in videogames? Where do you draw the line, because as I see it, a logical conclusion for mediation would be to apply it to all things in your life as if it were a caustic compound and allow it to dissolve all you do down into a "why" and inevitably ask yourself if it is necessary. If it not and you still desire to do it, why not meditate on that desire? Essentially what I'm trying to convey is that I'm confused as to where to logically draw the line for meditation. We all have reasons, but I meditate because I feel it's the challenge I should be accepting - I just don't know when to not accept that challenge or (when I'm meditating) when to stop accepting that challenge. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:24 PM PDT Regret is one of the worst and most difficult things we experience. It feels like having lost something or as if you missed a good opportunity. Maybe you didn't approach or ignored a person who was interested in you and also very attractive, maybe you made the wrong decision or maybe, you said something that hurt someone else. The regret this causes makes you replay certain events over and over again in your mind. There seems to be no end. And with every repetition of these events, that feeling of being powerless, being a failure and having missed something becomes stronger and stronger. It is a downward spiral. But the pain you feel during this arises from the story you tell yourself. What happened back then isn't happening now and there is no reason for you to hold on to this story or to try to change it. So how do you process this stuff?
Trying to change the past creates resistance. So the more you try to change what happened, the longer regret accompanies you.
And instead of trying to change what happened, just be with this sensation. Notice where on your body it arises and observe it without labeling, judging or reacting to it. Keep in mind that you are the presence within these emotions and sensations arise. You are the observer.
You process this sensation of regret by doing pranic breathing techniques. Sit in a chair with your spine straight, close your eyes, place your hands on your laps and inhale for 6. During the inhale, visualize this sensation of regret moving up your body. Hold your breath for 3 and on the 6 second exhale, let it all out.
You likely won't immediately feel complete relief from it. Perhaps it will even get worse. This is a good sign because it means it wants to leave your body. You can now 'grab' it. Just remember to not become overly reactive.
Are there any lessons in this regret? If so, apply what you learned in the here and now.
Nobody goes through life unscarred. People make mistakes and bad decisions all the time. That does not make you a bad person. It makes you human. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:40 AM PDT One thing I'm certain is that we never know for sure what's gonna happen. Even if we made a list of all the events that could unfold(positive/negative) We have to realize that expecting the positive outcomes is extremely powerful (to influence how we feel beforehand and motivate us on a fearless level.) Life has even given me situations that match the good feelings I felt after expecting exciting positive situations! If you're interested in this concept, here's my YouTube video about how breaking those barriers of negativity and letting all that enthusiasm, from the positive outcomes, flow in has deeply helped me feel like I'm on fire! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 08:26 PM PDT So I'm sure atleast some of you guys have worked out and gotten the blood in your muscle causing it to feel tight and good, which usually indicates a good job with working out. So I think meditation does a similar thing, but in a way that your ego is lessened and you become more loving and mindful. Its like a mind pump! And same as working out, I think this is a good indication of a meditation working well for you. All thats left is consistency. Train hard haha [link] [comments] |
| Transcendental Meditation Beginner Posted: 23 Oct 2020 08:48 PM PDT I just did my 3rd session of TM. About 15 minutes in I started sobbing. And it felt amazing. Like I've been wanting to cry for weeks but couldn't. This is the real deal, isn't it? [link] [comments] |
| Happiness is not difficult. Learning piano is difficult. Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:07 AM PDT Happiness is not difficult. Learning piano is difficult. Becoming content, vibrant, and joyous just requires some clear instructions. Unfortunately I was never given good instructions until I sought out and met good teachers. This is what I learned. Happiness is mainly about involvement. How to be involved? At first we only know how to become involved through activity towards sensual and/or emotional pleasure. Moments of pure absorption are considered happy moments: socializing, food, sex, sports, tv, gambling, art, gaming, etc. Most vices are of the variety that bring intense involvement with minimal effort. Becoming aware that involvement = happiness is important because we think the cause is happiness. A nice cup of hot noodles on a cold rainy day is not happiness. The involvement it brings it is. Nonetheless relying on activity constantly to bring about involvement often brings misery because the default state is non-involvement. A whole drama of unsatisfied desires arises. It's even more painful when we have to involve ourselves in things we don't want to do. Like work. So the key is to bring about a sense of involvement all the time not reliant on the activity. Doing dishes. Sitting on the couch. Ok, but how? Sitting on the couch isn't that interesting or stimulating. This is where we have to look at the antithesis of involvement which is: reluctance. Reluctance is what prevents happiness. "Huh? But I'm not reluctant to sit on the couch." But actually we are. What does reluctance feel like? Well, it's the very feeling of "me" sitting somewhere behind the world. Like a layered background screen. This feeling of "me" sits there constantly as a cautious analyzer like a child afraid to dive into the swimming pool for the first time. Unfortunately, this way of functioning becomes an ever defensive state of mind, a sense of hesitation. The result is anxiety, exhaustion, and boredom. So the solution is obvious. The tools here are feeling, awareness, and attention. We can take this feeling of self-reluctance in mundane states and find a way to throw ourselves into life happening moment to moment no matter how mundane each moment is. At first it'll be thrown to immediate sensory experiences, like the view of a chair or the sound of passing traffic. It might feel hectic. But the point here is not to hyper focus on constantly passing phenomena. Nor is it to make it an exercise to "be in the moment, be in the moment." Rather the purpose is to identify the sense of reluctance on intellectual, sensory, and emotional levels and stop it from constantly being formed and maintained. The understanding and realization is what we are after. (Haaaah. The sigh of relief of not having to play defense all the time!) Intellectual reluctance can also take the form of needing to have an idea about life before engaging in it. There's an element of fear here of facing the unknown, of being ignorant. Hence the quick need to analyze everything beforehand. But understanding should follow the experience first not the other way around. In other words, just dive. In sum, happiness can effortlessly happen by using attention and awareness to bring about a sense of involvedness and immediacy in mundane situations. Then one day it becomes clear that the self = reluctance = defensiveness = background is a manufactured way of being. It can be dropped in an instant. Reluctance is a needless shell. Just a step forward then we can return to a sense of naturalness we had when we were younger. TL:DR: The summary is that happiness is involvement. And unhappiness is due to reluctance. Moment to moment. So if we can bring willingness, immediacy, involvement to the mundane moments, we can feel a sense of happiness and contentedness without relying on stimulus or activity. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:30 PM PDT Our mind is constantly hijacking us from the present moment -- it compels us to remain either into the past or into the future. It never allows us to be here-now, to be empty of thoughts. Meditation is the only way to counter this hijacking. [link] [comments] |
| Does anyone else feel guided meditation recordings are weird? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:12 PM PDT Seems odd to have someone I've never heard of or met whispering ever so softly in my ear while I'm alone & in a vulnerable state, expecting me to blindly follow their directions. So I choose to just read books, which allow me to judge for myself beforehand what I'm going to practice. My question is, how do you feel about recorded guided meditations? Do you have specific people you respect that you listen to? Have you encountered anyone who feels like I do about recordings of guided meditation? Do you think there is some special value in guided meditations, or are they primarily a device for people who are not disposed to learn about meditating through reading books? [link] [comments] |
| 40 Minute Guided Meditation - Full Body Scan Deep Relaxation Posted: 24 Oct 2020 01:15 AM PDT This is my first guided meditation video, check it out: [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 10:23 AM PDT |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 04:33 PM PDT Today marks day 6 of meditation. Has my anxiety and ocd reduced? Not really. But what has happened is that I've put things into perspective. Although short lived, my reconciliations are more convincing now. I'm pretty sure meditation may have had something to do with that. Experiencing a little bit of relief for just 20 minutes out of the 16 hours I am awake seems to have made some difference. Meditation is not easy. But I'll keep doing it and keep getting better at it. I'm lucky that I believe in God because I know that whatever happens, if I am righteous, grateful and patient, God will make things better for me. And to be honest, that wasn't enough for me before. But it's beginning to sink in now. I'm going to keep meditating twice a day, and take life one day at a time. Taking life one day at a time is something I couldn't actually get to grips with either. The fact that anxiety makes absolutely zero difference to the outcome has sunk in much better too. All these things are beginning to sink in. Although the difference is really small, it's only been 5 days. Now I am able to take life one day at a time a lot easier than before, now I am able to acknowledge the fact that I just have to be patient which wasn't enough for me before. So that's what I am going to do. From now on, I'm going to meditate with no expectations. It's only 20 minutes, I can do anything for 20 minutes a day. I will get rid of my anxiety and learn to be happy with what I have, and focus on one day at a time and become stoic. [link] [comments] |
| Any young meditators out there? Posted: 24 Oct 2020 12:00 AM PDT Im just 14 and doing meditation, and just wanna know if anyone else if also doing it around my age? As in below 18 [link] [comments] |
| Anyone have a torrent for Headspace but only for the 10 minute audios? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:57 PM PDT I found a torrent that has all the headspace audios, but they are all for the 20-30 minute ones. I cant seem to find the 10 minutes ones. I tried modded apps as well but cant seem to find one that works :S [link] [comments] |
| Loss of physical/spatial orientation when meditating? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:59 PM PDT I'm quite new to meditation: I've been using Headspace every day for the last month or so for ~20 mins. But in the last few days, I've noticed that once I'm deeper into my meditation, I have a strange sensation. It's like my brain things I'm oriented in a different direction. I'm always sitting up, but in my head I'm 100% sure that I'm lying on my side, or that my head is cocked over. Is this normal? [link] [comments] |
| Why does my belly look bigger after practicing belly breathing exercises ? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:32 PM PDT So something I notice after practicing belly breathing exercises is that my belly pokes out. When I don't do belly breathing my stomach looks flat/ thin etc Is this normal and why does this happen ? [link] [comments] |
| You can't be content in a rush. Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:59 AM PDT |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:38 PM PDT Hi, I'm new to meditation, I meditated just now, and slowly after like 5 min, I started seeing a eye with 2 lines below it , then it felt as if some sort of power was twirling and then I saw a purple color slowly appearing and then after a while it stopped and I opened my eyes What have I gone through and is this normal as in I want to find out more about what I gone through? [link] [comments] |
| Mulan 2020 Watch Full Movie Online Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:24 PM PDT |
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