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I know I'll get some heat for this, but here it goes anyway. Disclaimer: I'm a Christian. Not of those that make the news or your typical "fundamentalist". I r
by levifig 16y ago
I know I'll get some heat for this, but here it goes anyway.
Disclaimer: I'm a Christian. Not of those that make the news or your typical "fundamentalist". I read and study the Bible and do my best to be a good person, understanding the world around me yet living as closely as possible from that which God has asked of me, through the Bible. And if you ask, I've been doing pretty good at it while remaining relevant in the world around me, even in the tech community, so often agnostic or even atheist.
Meditation, unlike commonly thought of, is not about "emptying your mind" or "getting in tune with the Universe". Meditation is all about letting a thought, concept or idea completely soak your brain. That allows you a superior cognitive understanding of it. The different areas of your brain will be called to process it from all different angles.
From a Christian standpoint, there are a few things that we are called to meditate on: "(…) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (http://bible.us/Phil4.8.ESV http://bible.us/Phil4.8.ESV) If you read the previous verses on that passage (4-6), it talks about "rejoicing" and "not worrying". That is only possible when you let your brain soak in the pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, etc thoughts.
Now, I'm not trying to preach or ask you to follow Christ or God. What I'm telling you is that meditation is actively thinking about certain things and those things alone. It's not passive. It's not "emptying your mind". That is relaxation and it's also a good thing. But "emptying your mind" without filling it with the right things can have terrible consequences.
Personally, I'm trying to "disconnect" a little bit more. Less Twitter. Less RSS. Less… Apple rumors. Why? Those are all fine things and I enjoy knowing the latest news on the things that interest me. But living on the "now" has terrible consequences over how I analyze the past and prepare the future. I need to read more books and… meditate on what is important.
Bottom line: take time off, unplug, relax. Read/listen to things that fit the verse I quoted or bring up things that are either troubling or exciting you. Then allow yourself to unwind by letting the silence around you help you focus on what you have soaked your brain in. And I'd say "pray", but that mind be beyond the scope of your question… ;)
- epochwolf 16y ago> And I'd say "pray", but that mind be beyond the scope of your question I happen to be a Christian as well. Do you think of prayer and mediation as separate activities, aspect of the same activity, or identical? (I am withholding my opinion as to not bias your response)
- levifig 16y agoTotally! Before, during and after. Praying goes in tandem alongside meditation. :) I could go on on why that is the whole reason for meditation, but that would be drifting away from the issue towards my beliefs (and I promised I wouldn't get "preachy"), but I do have an opinion. :)
- levifig 16y agoArgh… By "totally" I meant "part of the same activity". :p Not identical but not separate (hence my use of "in tandem"). :)
- jcromartie 16y agoI agree with your take on meditation (theologically), but to play devil's advocate: I think the common idea of "emptying your mind" could actually be seen as focusing on something, even if that something is "nothing," or silence. I've found that one of the best things for "unplugging" is actually Instapaper and other readers. Instead of flitting from link to link and doing shallow reading on HN or Reddit, I tend to send a few things a day to Instapaper so I can focus on them in a better context for reading. I absorb a lot more, and I am less distracted by articles while I'm trying to work, and less distracted by work while I'm trying to read! I'm very thankful for that app.
- financegeek 16y agoAlso check out "The Way of the Warrior" classes on meditation for different methods. You don't always have to focus on the breath or try to empty your mind.
- levifig 16y agoI use Instapaper religiously (hah!). The bad thing is how it became a graveyard of oh-so-awesome-must-read articles and less a queue of stuff I do read. :) As to the "emptying your mind", all I said was that if you're focused on "emptying" you might miss what goes on to "fill" it. If your focus is on what you're filling it with, you'll automatically start "emptying" it of what shouldn't be there. :)
- thomas11 16y agoInstapaper is fantastic, but focusing on an article has nothing to do with meditation. An article is someone else's thoughts. Meditation is stilling one's thoughts.
- initself 16y agoIt's not really helpful to state that meditation is 'all about' anything. There are so many different techniques of meditation. It helps to define a technique and demonstrate in some way what it does.
- thinkMoveBe 16y ago"Meditation, unlike commonly thought of, is not about "emptying your mind" or "getting in tune with the Universe". Meditation is all about letting a thought, concept or idea completely soak your brain." I'd need to see sources to back this up. It's completely the opposite of everything I've read about meditation. You're neither supposed to hold on or actively attempt to push out any given thought while meditating. For me I found that meditation helps concentration, sleeping and helps me to not cling to the various negative things my brain throws at me on a daily basis.
- bkudria 16y agoYou said: 'But "emptying your mind" without filling it with the right things can have terrible consequences.' Can you elaborate?