3 ms·

Practicing Focused Thought

32 points by sscheper 16y ago

wcarss 16y ago
There, I upvoted; don't haunt me!
car 16y ago
Again? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1275177 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1275177
- msie 16y ago
  Nope. Content is different.
praptak 16y ago
Deep focus on work-related problems while driving a car? I think I'll pass on this one.
sqrt17 16y ago
where's my block of [citation needed] tags? Some of the things he claims (e.g., Eastern meditation is only about having an empty mind - that sounds like the Southern Californian branch of Zen Buddhism). Oh, just noticed - he does cite a website, which in turn cites "Buckland's complete book of Witchcraft" and "Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience". Extra credit for dressing up claims with neuroanatomical terms. But, yes, he's right in that you should set aside some time that is free from distractions and where you don't do anything but think about what you're about to do.
- michael_dorfman 16y ago
  I agree. He makes some very good points, but weakens his argument by talking out of his ass about subjects (i.e., "Eastern Meditation") he clearly knows nothing about. I can't speak about the whole of "Eastern Meditation", if there is such a thing-- but I happen to be taking a graduate course right now on Buddhist Meditation, and I can tell you that the breadth and variety of meditation techniques within the Buddhist tradition is staggering, and that a large number of them don't involve "meditating on nothing."
- sqrt17 16y ago
  (Apologies to any Zen Buddhists from Southern California. "Southern Californian branch" was meant as a slightly-snarky term for "Relaxation exercises for busy people, marketed as Zen Buddhism")
cracki 16y ago
please fix the URL, or did you intend to point at the #comments?
chegra 16y ago
"Hey Y Combinator Hacker Dude (or Chic). Thanks for stopping by. If you thought this chapter (post) was somewhat intriguing, please up-vote it. I'll love you extra. No, but seriously, if you don't up-vote this, I will haunt your dreams. " -Could you remove the threat. You might have a nocebo effect on some. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo
mbubb 16y ago
Hello - A bit late getting to this topic but I had a useful resource. Through my 'Google Listen' acct I found a good resource - zen cast podcasts on buddhist topics. In recent months there have been some excellent talks on meditation / awareness / focused thought / mindfulness from this teacher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Fronsdal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Fronsdal I offer this in light of some of the good comments in this thread about fuzzy thinking on "Eastern Meditation" etc. Michael

32 points by sscheper 16y ago

wcarss 16y ago

There, I upvoted; don't haunt me!

car 16y ago

Again? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1275177 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1275177

msie 16y ago
Nope. Content is different.

praptak 16y ago

Deep focus on work-related problems while driving a car? I think I'll pass on this one.

sqrt17 16y ago

where's my block of [citation needed] tags? Some of the things he claims (e.g., Eastern meditation is only about having an empty mind - that sounds like the Southern Californian branch of Zen Buddhism). Oh, just noticed - he does cite a website, which in turn cites "Buckland's complete book of Witchcraft" and "Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience". Extra credit for dressing up claims with neuroanatomical terms. But, yes, he's right in that you should set aside some time that is free from distractions and where you don't do anything but think about what you're about to do.

michael_dorfman 16y ago
I agree. He makes some very good points, but weakens his argument by talking out of his ass about subjects (i.e., "Eastern Meditation") he clearly knows nothing about. I can't speak about the whole of "Eastern Meditation", if there is such a thing-- but I happen to be taking a graduate course right now on Buddhist Meditation, and I can tell you that the breadth and variety of meditation techniques within the Buddhist tradition is staggering, and that a large number of them don't involve "meditating on nothing."
sqrt17 16y ago
(Apologies to any Zen Buddhists from Southern California. "Southern Californian branch" was meant as a slightly-snarky term for "Relaxation exercises for busy people, marketed as Zen Buddhism")

cracki 16y ago

please fix the URL, or did you intend to point at the #comments?

chegra 16y ago

"Hey Y Combinator Hacker Dude (or Chic). Thanks for stopping by. If you thought this chapter (post) was somewhat intriguing, please up-vote it. I'll love you extra. No, but seriously, if you don't up-vote this, I will haunt your dreams. " -Could you remove the threat. You might have a nocebo effect on some. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo

mbubb 16y ago

Hello - A bit late getting to this topic but I had a useful resource. Through my 'Google Listen' acct I found a good resource - zen cast podcasts on buddhist topics. In recent months there have been some excellent talks on meditation / awareness / focused thought / mindfulness from this teacher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Fronsdal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Fronsdal I offer this in light of some of the good comments in this thread about fuzzy thinking on "Eastern Meditation" etc. Michael