- A valuable tip I’ve discovered recently: don’t set a timer to meditate. Set a stopwatch and meditate for as long as you are comfortable with. Record your times daily and see the progress. Doing this, I find myself now wanting to meditate instead of forcing myself to meditate.
- How meditation saves lives (neuroscience)
- Meditation techniques for depression
- A very different meditation session for me
- I'm finally free from the chains of the past and I'm struggling with the present now
- How do i stop my severe learning disability from hindering me in my practice
- How does one find the right mantra for Transcendental Meditation? I've tried a few mantras I found while looking into this and they just didn't feel quite right to me.
- Is falling asleep during meditation bad?
- MOMENTS OF RELAXATION
- A question about breathing
- M.E.D.I.T.A.T.E. MAN
- Welcome to look through my profile
- While holding my breath, thoughts are popping up and there is no focus on breath anymore.
- Could pain in between shoulder blades mean blockages in the heart chakra?
- Is dissociation a bad idea?
- How would VR tech affect the human mind in the future?
- Psychosis Update: Im lost
- Help starting with meditation
- Tips on starting
- Meditating to escape my negative thoughts feels like a cop-out
- Meditation illusion
- What are the experiences in deep meditation?
- Emotions in the present
- Anyone else troubled by guided meditation instructions?
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 01:14 PM PST |
| How meditation saves lives (neuroscience) Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:35 AM PST Ladies and gentlemen. We are currently at a revolutionary stage in neuroscience! The most of our brain is mapped, we understand a lot of the (basic) functions of the brain, and studies on meditation are increasing exponentially. We are truly lucky to be able to use this information for our own wellbeing. I have been hesitant to write about anything on the brain on this sub. I understand that most are new to meditation, let alone neurobiology. But please understand that even if you don't understand all of it now, it will make sense later. And the effort you put into learning now in how the brain works, will give you more understanding of how you are as a human being. There are many reasons why meditation is good for the brain, I will only discuss 1 reason now for the sake of the length of this post. The High and Low Road Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux discovered that the information we receive through our 5 senses (for example; a car that's suddenly stopping in front of us) can travel 2 roads in our brain, the High and Low Road. Both roads start at the Thalamus. The Thalamus is the hub of the brain that is connected with almost every other part. It brings all the information of the 5 senses together, makes a coherent personal story out of it ('I' am seeing this car, not someone else), and sends it up the High or Low Road. Let's discuss them further in detail. Low Road: If a car suddenly stops in front of you, your brain instantly takes the Low Road. This path sends signals with superspeed into your body to so you can 'act'. How does it do that? The Thalamus hub sends a signal to the Amygdala. The Amygdala is the fear sensor of the brain, it is responsible for translating Thalamus signals into 'danger' warning messages if needed. If the signal is picked up by the Amygdala, it then sends a message to the Hypothalamus, which is responsible for sending messages down (low road) our bodies to secrete hormones that force us to act (cortisol and adrenaline: stress). So you're brain if forcing your body to act through hormones. This Low Road is the fastest road to travel for the brain, but it is also the older part. It's basically the animal part. High Road: The High Road also starts at the thalamus, but it travels to the newer (upper) part of the brain, our Prefrontal Cortex. It's a factually slower path, but it leads to cognition, awareness and interpretation. When the Amygdala's 'fear sensor' is not triggered, signals have time to travel to our Prefrontal Cortex. Here, we become aware of the situation and use our high cognitive skills to understand and asses the situation. It is the human part. Studies on meditation have shown a significant decrease in Amygdala activation, which means the participants were more often taking the high road. It therefore also means that signals did not travel into the body, which leads to stress, but it send them to the Prefrontal Cortex. Why is this all important. It is important because when a signal travels to the Amygdala and Hypothalamus (hormone secretion), our mental fears become physical fears. Our heart rate increases, stress hormones are being pumped through the body, hands become sweaty etc. And once it's in the body, it's hard to get it out. We cannot instantly dissolve hormones. However, controlled breating is one of the fastest biological ways to lower stress, but that's a topic for another day. When the bear is coming, the body becomes stressed. What does your body do when the bear is coming? It turns off a lot of normal healthy bodily functions. You do not digest food when the bear is coming, you need to run. Therefore, stress is a slow killer. This leads our story to the single most important reason for meditation: Interoception. Scientists are only now becoming aware of things like the neural network of the heart, or the 'gut brain' etc. (my heart is broken, I feel sick to the stomach etc.). Scientists are slowly but surely connecting our bodies to our 'minds'. We as a species become more and more aware of the fact that the things we feel inside are important messages of the body, and that we should listen to them. If we are aware of hormones flooding our bodies, we can quickly use the meditative state (watching the breath), to slow this process down, and to stop the stress response in the moment. However, if you are not aware, or are even scared of your feelings and the stress, you will enter fight or flight, and then you are in more trouble. Once you start to listen to your feelings in the moment during meditation, you will become more whole as a body/mind system. You're feelings and thoughts will work together as buddies. A quick number of ways to increase your interoception: - Walk outside, breathe in fresh air through the nose, and notice how you feel. - Smell things that smell good, and notice how you feel. - Listen to music that makes you feel good, and notice how you feel. - do yoga, and notice how you feel. - Taste a piece of delicious fruit, and notice how you feel. See how the mentioned ways above are all 'noticed' through the 5 senses? Our body picks up the information, and we use cognition to notice how it makes us feel. Ask yourself, what would happen to our 'feelings' if the bear is coming for us. What should we feel? What if we are stressed out in life, what should we feel? Your senses literally turn off because the bear is coming and the only thing you need to 'sense' is the bear, nothing else. Stress makes us feel less, which leads to a downward spiral. Edit: Some have asked for sources, these are the two I've used: What is the stress response system (easy read): https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00071 The body Keeps The Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk For further reading I'd suggest: The autonomic nervous system. How the nervous system deals with hormones: https://www.livescience.com/65446-sympathetic-nervous-system.html Neuroscientist Paul D. Macclean's Triune Brain Theory: https://www.thescienceofpsychotherapy.com/the-triune-brain/ I'm afraid I don't have a good source on meditation. I do have read the Mahamudra: The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal. It's a classic instructional handbook for Tibetan students of the Kagyu lineage. The basic idea is that the more you meditate, the more you become familiar with the state, and the more you can enter it during daily activities. [link] [comments] |
| Meditation techniques for depression Posted: 30 Jan 2021 01:55 AM PST So I have got back into meditating this year. Had a good few weeks slowly getting back to where I can sit with the breath, minimal mind wandering and it's mostly pleasant. However over the last few days my depression seems to have seeped into my mind. I am trying to cultivate the observer self view of it, learning to sit with the feeling. In meditation and in everyday life. I just had a lovely 20 min sit. At one point I was so lightly, and totally with, the breath it felt wonderful. But now I can feel and identify depression seeping back in. Which is fine, a 20 min sit is not a cure. My question is: is there a way to sit with the depression feeling itself. I go to sit with the breath and as much as I try to leave room for every thought and emotion, it just doesn't come up in the same way when I'm off the cushion. Thank you and have a peaceful day [link] [comments] |
| A very different meditation session for me Posted: 29 Jan 2021 11:20 PM PST I was wondering if anyone knows what this may mean? I was meditating yesterday and during my meditation i saw HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE !!! Most of them were black or POC and they were mostly younger( teens to millennials ) . they were popping up one after another and they were sooooo clear . i could see them so clearly it was so odd . and they were all so so so different i thought it was so beautiful. does anyone have insight on this ? or has this happened to anyone else . i meditated ab 30 mins and it was one face after another for ab 20 of it . [link] [comments] |
| I'm finally free from the chains of the past and I'm struggling with the present now Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:18 PM PST Today mark Day 90 of consistence meditation and for the first time in many months maybe a couple of years, I feel like the past doesn't feel as heavy as it was, my regrets are gone and while it's not fully gone I still feel 80% better than before. But as I became more aware I just realized that I was missing out life.. In the last two years my country transformed from a religious strict country to something like the west and everywhere I go now I see people show off with their clothes, cars and every single day boys picking up girls. I don't know but it feels heavy and painful, I stay home 90% of my time with my family and hang out with the same group of friends for the last 4 years, and while I'm blessed with people who love me I feel for the first time lonely, Everyone I know is in some form of a relationship, but I have refused that because I'm religious and my parents didn't raise me to be like them and also because most relationships doesn't work out and I want to find the right one. and I have no regrets and yet I hate it! Everyone around me being in one makes me feel incapable of getting a girl to like me, combined with not having new friends in ages and being unable to process the change the happened in my country. I know now.. I have spend too much in the past and now i feel like i missed it out, I forgot how to live in the present, and I hate it, I want to go out more, I want to learn to drive, I want to expand my Social Circle, I want to find someone who likes me and I want to improve my appearance. These things that have been in the back of my mind which i gave little thoughts about, I see it clearly now, as I finally realized I can't change the past, I'm uncomfortable with the stuff that Ii can change now, the present. I think meditation is making me see everything clearly, and now I'm up for a challenge I never faced, sorry if this is a very weird post. [link] [comments] |
| How do i stop my severe learning disability from hindering me in my practice Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:06 PM PST |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:01 PM PST |
| Is falling asleep during meditation bad? Posted: 30 Jan 2021 02:05 AM PST I have the most time to meditate after I get home from work, but every time I meditate I fall asleep… Am I doing something wrong? I don't want to be "bad" at meditation, what can I do better? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2021 01:35 AM PST |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2021 01:12 AM PST I have always had sinus and breathing problems throughout my life due to allergies. Quite frequently, in fact most of the time, I just don't have the ability to breath fully through my nose. At this stage in my life, I use antihistamines daily. I also have an inhaler. So, my question is about breathing. I often see people discussing the importance of breathing, as it relates to meditation. I wonder if I am at a disadvantage to others in terms of how I can benefit from meditation, due to my struggles with proper breathing. I'm here to discuss my FOMO. Am I missing out? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 08:38 PM PST Was sitting out in my yard trying to take a few minutes and focus on my breathing and all that I could do was listen to M.E.T.H.O.D. MAN yelling in my ear about not eating green eggs and ham, i think I'm going insane, what are some tips you guys have for getting (admittedly very catchy) songs out of your head when meditating? [link] [comments] |
| Welcome to look through my profile Posted: 29 Jan 2021 11:50 PM PST What are some good recomemdations for meditation for an angry porn addict. Not going to lie I really think meditation is stupid but I've gotten recommended it alot so I'll see what the hype is about and if it works [link] [comments] |
| While holding my breath, thoughts are popping up and there is no focus on breath anymore. Posted: 29 Jan 2021 05:18 PM PST Hello all together, I started meditating about 3-4 months ago and feel pretty good about every session. Many posts in r/mediation helped me getting more understanding in what is happening the moment I close my eyes. Currently the breath is my best focus to return back to the present. When thoughts are coming about the past/future, I try to find the first thought that was leading into this direction, don't judge it and go back to the breathing. Some in here wrote that mediation is like going into the gym and doing a biceps-curl (practice with your brain/mind) Thoughts are always popping up and evertime I come back to the breathing it's a repetion. Sometimes I'll hold the breath (Wim Hof method) and without breathing, I find myself thinking and I can't stop it. Is it just experience I'm missing or has someone a tip/metaphor what to try? About another question I'm a little afraid to ask, but since its anonymous I have nothing to lose I guess: I know that the mind has always a technical advantage because it knows everything about yourself (fear/insecurities/past), and when I meditate, my mind wants to analyze everything. Its hard to describe it in words. The intelligence of the body and the unconsciousness is functioning on another level that the ego will never understand. Just a view on the work of the organs in our body or holding body temperature all the time constantly is a tiny percentage on what is happening during the day, what we don't realize. So while meditating, through gratitude and appreciation that I have a full-functioning body, my ego is saying: "haha, forget it, just because you just read sth. on reddit/book you think you understand it". So when I'm starting to be the observer of my thoughts, it feels like my ego is the actual observer and I'm trapped not knowing if I'm doing it right. So I'm not in the past or future, these are thoughts in the present and my ego is fighting me mentally. It feels like a bully, thinking it's superior and I can't get in deep touch with myself in fear that when I do, I opened a door and my ego knows everything. Super strange and I read all the time that meditating is not about understanding/thinking/knowing it's the opposite, to let go of all these. Even when nobody answers, it felt good to write about it. It's something I could never talk about someone in reallife. Much appreciation and love goes out to every single one of you! [link] [comments] |
| Could pain in between shoulder blades mean blockages in the heart chakra? Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:56 PM PST I get severe pain between my shoulder blades when I talk to my sibling. I meditate regularly so I'm used to being relatively physically relaxed. Is it that the person is toxic or that I need to work on letting go of pain stored in my heart chakra? I scoured the internet and found info on somatic pain but I guess I'm too involved to think objectively. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 10:36 PM PST I've recently gotten into mediation, and have found it very rewarding. I can normally maintain a solid 10 minute mediation most days. My method is to forget about the world and myself, and just kinda bathe in nonexistence for a couple minutes. While this is very cleansing, I've heard about dissociation and ego death which sound pretty similar to what I'm doing. Any pointers or tips would be appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| How would VR tech affect the human mind in the future? Posted: 29 Jan 2021 10:07 PM PST What kind of changes would VR technology cause in the human mind? I mean since we see the progression of this tech, what do y'all think about what would happen with the human cognition by using VR tech overtime? I was thinking like it helps us practice mindfulness and VR acts as a tool to override pain receptors... I wanna explore more on ideas like this. Like how would it be different in 100 years from now? It can be used in treating mental illness and helps develops mental cognition and all that... I wanna explore like these ideas as well :) If y'all have any ideas, feel free to comment. Thank you so much.😊 [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 10:07 PM PST Read my recent posts if you wish to know more. I know what I need to do, but I cant seem to apply it, How do I just be aware of my thoughts? (become natrually aware of my thoughts, so that once I listen to them like another sense impression, they vanish, If I can just be aware of my thoughts then I wouldnt be thinking them, resulting in liberation.) I feel like im losing myself, I find myself acting compulsively, I dont have any thoughts in my head just "noise" I dont want to do anything, I fear im going to lose myself. I just wanted to be a loving feeling person Ive decided all I can do is want the best for myself, and do everything I can to make tha happen, Ive decided this is what I will try to do. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 12:10 PM PST First of all, english is not my main language so I truly apologize if I make any major grammatic error. This post is kind of a plain question, and the title pretty much sums it up. How have you guys started with meditation? I know there's a bunch about it through the internet and on this same sub, but I'm really curious to start some conversation with anybody from this sub that is actually confident and secure about his methods. My life hasn't been going the way I want it to go and I know FOR SURE it's because of my mind and its approach to and with reality. I'd love if anybody could give me a tip in particular to approach meditation in a way that helps me being happier, more willing and driven to do things (studying in particular) and actually complete tasks (not just starting them). Any help is appreciated, thanks to anybody that replies. Have an awesome rest of your day! And life! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 03:33 PM PST Hi I've tried meditating using Netflix's head space doing a different one a night but I was wondering what i can do to get into it more [link] [comments] |
| Meditating to escape my negative thoughts feels like a cop-out Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:55 PM PST Can anyone shed light on this feeling? I feel like when I meditste and focus on the present, im abandoning the emotional hangups and thats irresponsible. The sadness of being alone, of not going out and making more friends, etc. Meditsting makes me content with who I am, and I feel like thats at the expense of future development. Additionally, if one was to live in constant now, not thinking of futute or past, but just living in the present - the classic hippy caricature, would that also devoid you of a personality and similarly just be an escape from all that is that makes us human? Thanks, Kyle [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:28 PM PST Hi guys, I was meditating today for the second time in a while. I had a binaural song with it and I started seeing really weird things like I was on drugs. I saw altered reality like the world was surrounded by stone giants or like I could see really deep into atoms and see weird shapes. Anyway, I was wondering if it was more my imagination or if it was normal during deep meditation to see interesting things. Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| What are the experiences in deep meditation? Posted: 29 Jan 2021 07:02 AM PST Many people say they see lots of things during meditatation. Some says they see light, some say the see galaxies, some says they see lord, some says they went out of their body. I am new to meditatation. I havnt seen anything. Only thing i see to struggle with concentration in breathing. What are your experiences guys? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2021 04:16 PM PST When mediating are you suppose to have feelings? Because I notice at times I have feelings, but it's difficult for me to control them, especially when I feel self conscious at certain things [link] [comments] |
| Anyone else troubled by guided meditation instructions? Posted: 29 Jan 2021 01:57 PM PST Whenever I follow an online meditation they almost always tell me to expand my stomach when I inhale, but personally that does nothing to increase my breathing or focus. If anything my stomach wants to be sucked in when I inhale so my lungs can expand even more. Does anyone else feel like this? [link] [comments] |
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