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The practice of meditation makes me curious. Isn't the active ingredient of it just to take a break from outside stimulation for a while rather than to go throu
by jahaja 10y ago
The practice of meditation makes me curious. Isn't the active ingredient of it just to take a break from outside stimulation for a while rather than to go through all the requirements of formal meditation - like not allowing your mind to wander off?
- johnfn 10y agoThis is a common misunderstanding about meditation. In reality, the requirements of formal meditation are exactly what makes it work. Just taking a break does not have the same effects at all. It's really hard to explain why- it feels to me like it's a weird quirk of the mind at times, because of how it only works if you follow the steps precisely. At times I feel like it's the focus that you constantly bring yourself back into that helps. At others, I think it's the recognition of all the thoughts that are swirling around your head. At others, I think it's the anti-anxiolytic effect of simply dropping your worries. I don't understand it at all. But it works.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- physicsyogi 10y agoWhen I meditate, what my mind does or doesn’t do makes no difference. It really has nothing to do with me. I pay no attention to it. I basically sit as if I am dead, not responding to anything internal or external. If thoughts come, they come. If thoughts don’t come, they don’t come. Either way, I simply sit. It's oddly relaxing and energizing at the same time.