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That description of meditation uses terms which cause a lot of confusion. Focusing on anything leads to problems. Dismissing thoughts leads to repression and
by Estragon 16y ago
That description of meditation uses terms which cause a lot of confusion. Focusing on anything leads to problems. Dismissing thoughts leads to repression and unconscious expression of the thoughts. The way my teacher puts it is "rest in the experience of breathing." That means fostering awareness of every aspect of experience: the physical, the emotional and the mental.
As for "effective," if you practice with any hope for improving your life, you're likely to end up disappointed. That said, I do two hours of dzogchen meditation a day, one hour when I've just gotten up, and one just before bed. This allows me to be highly functional on five hours of sleep a night. (I've always gotten about five hours of sleep a night, but this allows me to function that way) and has opened up a world of new possibilities in emotional awareness and emotional regulation. It does force awareness of the pressing problems in life, which is uncomfortable, but better, in the long run, than ignorance.
- furyg3 16y agoWhy not drop the meditation and sleep a more-normal (and certainly more-refreshing) 7 hours a night?
- adbge 16y agoLikely insomnia prevents him or her from getting more than 5 hours of sleep.
- Estragon 16y agoYeah, I'm a light sleeper.
- mleonhard 16y agoMy sleep improved a lot once I started using a white noise generator. It takes about a week to get used to it. Highly recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Conditioner-SleepMate-580A-Machine/dp/B000LQI2S0 http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Conditioner-SleepMate-580A-Mach...
- Estragon 16y agoYeah, I used to use an air filter for this purpose. Now I just use earplugs.
- heed 16y ago>...but better, in the long run, than ignorance. How so?
- silentbicycle 16y agoIn this case, he/she is probably referring to dealing with things before they have a chance to turn into big issues - remembering to buy toilet paper when you're almost out, picking out clothes the night before when you need to be up early, actually getting enough sleep / exercise, etc. Uncomfortable and boring sometimes, but you can avoid a lot of stress by catching things before they turn into big issues. Of course, if you thrive on drama, then making a habit of ignoring things until they blow up in your face will feed the fire. (Know anybody like that?) I think the people at my old Aikido dojo called this "zanshin".
- Estragon 16y agoAre you kidding? If you want to see the negative consequences of ignorance, just look at the trajectory of the US over the last decade. All the new problems the US faces today were anticipated by astute Cassandras.
- ahoyhere 16y agoNo, the "dismissing" of thoughts goes like this: 1. Recognize you are having a discoursive thought 2. Identify it 3. Release it It's not repression at all: it's acknowledgment, like saying hello to someone you recognize on the street, but continuing where you are going.