4 ms·

Take an hour to sit in a quiet room without any stimulation. You'll learn a lot about your mental situation, and understanding where you are is really helpful f

Take an hour to sit in a quiet room without any stimulation. You'll learn a lot about your mental situation, and understanding where you are is really helpful for understanding where to go (if anywhere).

nkrisc 7y ago
I think this is more valuable than it might seem. I'd wager many people couldn't even sit still for an hour in a room by themselves with nothing but their own thoughts.
- Insanity 7y ago
  Does it count if you lie awake in bed for an hour unable to sleep because of rumination? Because in that case, I'm sure plenty of people do it at some point. But what helps me is taking walks. You're alone with your thoughts, but the act of walking through nature is stimulating for more positive thinking, from my experience anyway.
  - shantly 7y ago
    > Does it count if you lie awake in bed for an hour unable to sleep because of rumination? Because in that case, I'm sure plenty of people do it at some point. Heh, shit, if that counts I "meditate" for an hour or more a couple times a week. It's absolutely horrible. [EDIT] in fact, running with that, most of my life has been a struggle to "meditate" less for the sake of my own health and sanity. I'm way down from the every single night for like two damn hours of ages ~7-16!
    - godtoldmetodoit 7y ago
      I definitely struggle with the same thing, my mind just not wanting to calm down and running through a million ideas. That is not meditation though. Learning to meditate has helped me a ton in being able to calm my mind down and get to sleep. I'd recommend checking out the Sam Harris Waking Up app, just do it for a few days and see if it clicks.
    - tayo42 7y ago
      I don't think it is. I think meditation is about stopping the rumination by being present, doing something like focusing on your breath. If your mind starts to wander/ruminate then you catch your self and return your thought to being present. It is hard
      - shantly 7y ago
        Yeah, it was a bit tongue-in-cheek. Though in fact at this point I have put many thousands of hours, over decades, into trying to control useless (and it's usually useless) rumination, with only moderate success. So yeah, definitely agree that it's hard.
  - nkrisc 7y ago
    I don't know, probably not quite the same since you're trying to sleep, as opposed to being fully awake and intentionally ruminating. I don't know though, personally, I fall asleep in about 5-10 minutes once I close my eyes and let my thoughts drift away. At that point my thoughts more and more resemble random noise and nonsensical things pop into my mind and at that point I know I'm about to lose consciousness into sleep (I'm surprisingly aware of falling asleep). So, for me anyway, it's not at all like sitting in a room alone with my thoughts, completely awake.
  - bluntfang 7y ago
    >Does it count if you lie awake in bed for an hour unable to sleep because of rumination? That sounds like a good start. Learning how to let go of ruminating thoughts is still a struggle for me, but when it happens it will change your life.
  - OGWhales 7y ago
    I don't find that similar at all, it feels more like torture than meditation. The bit about walking I fully agree with. I live in the mountains and love being able to walk cool trails with nothing but my thoughts
fbnlsr 7y ago
Cutting yourself from the world for one hour is absolutely amazing. I lately discovered the joy of simply going to a park with a book, sit on a bench and read a chapter or two. It's insanely rewarding.
taylortrusty 7y ago
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - French philosopher Blaise Pascal
dzonga 7y ago
if you want to strengthen your mental fortitude, I recommend folks to spend hours alone. or at least a month to maybe 6 with minimal human interaction i.e both online and offline. if you can go that period without going crazy, then you'll be surprised at what you can achieve.
theNJR 7y ago
Related - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21921462 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21921462

nkrisc 7y ago

I think this is more valuable than it might seem. I'd wager many people couldn't even sit still for an hour in a room by themselves with nothing but their own thoughts.

Insanity 7y ago
Does it count if you lie awake in bed for an hour unable to sleep because of rumination? Because in that case, I'm sure plenty of people do it at some point. But what helps me is taking walks. You're alone with your thoughts, but the act of walking through nature is stimulating for more positive thinking, from my experience anyway.
- shantly 7y ago
  > Does it count if you lie awake in bed for an hour unable to sleep because of rumination? Because in that case, I'm sure plenty of people do it at some point. Heh, shit, if that counts I "meditate" for an hour or more a couple times a week. It's absolutely horrible. [EDIT] in fact, running with that, most of my life has been a struggle to "meditate" less for the sake of my own health and sanity. I'm way down from the every single night for like two damn hours of ages ~7-16!
  - godtoldmetodoit 7y ago
    I definitely struggle with the same thing, my mind just not wanting to calm down and running through a million ideas. That is not meditation though. Learning to meditate has helped me a ton in being able to calm my mind down and get to sleep. I'd recommend checking out the Sam Harris Waking Up app, just do it for a few days and see if it clicks.
  - tayo42 7y ago
    I don't think it is. I think meditation is about stopping the rumination by being present, doing something like focusing on your breath. If your mind starts to wander/ruminate then you catch your self and return your thought to being present. It is hard
    - shantly 7y ago
      Yeah, it was a bit tongue-in-cheek. Though in fact at this point I have put many thousands of hours, over decades, into trying to control useless (and it's usually useless) rumination, with only moderate success. So yeah, definitely agree that it's hard.
- nkrisc 7y ago
  I don't know, probably not quite the same since you're trying to sleep, as opposed to being fully awake and intentionally ruminating. I don't know though, personally, I fall asleep in about 5-10 minutes once I close my eyes and let my thoughts drift away. At that point my thoughts more and more resemble random noise and nonsensical things pop into my mind and at that point I know I'm about to lose consciousness into sleep (I'm surprisingly aware of falling asleep). So, for me anyway, it's not at all like sitting in a room alone with my thoughts, completely awake.
- bluntfang 7y ago
  >Does it count if you lie awake in bed for an hour unable to sleep because of rumination? That sounds like a good start. Learning how to let go of ruminating thoughts is still a struggle for me, but when it happens it will change your life.
- OGWhales 7y ago
  I don't find that similar at all, it feels more like torture than meditation. The bit about walking I fully agree with. I live in the mountains and love being able to walk cool trails with nothing but my thoughts

fbnlsr 7y ago

Cutting yourself from the world for one hour is absolutely amazing. I lately discovered the joy of simply going to a park with a book, sit on a bench and read a chapter or two. It's insanely rewarding.

taylortrusty 7y ago

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - French philosopher Blaise Pascal

dzonga 7y ago

if you want to strengthen your mental fortitude, I recommend folks to spend hours alone. or at least a month to maybe 6 with minimal human interaction i.e both online and offline. if you can go that period without going crazy, then you'll be surprised at what you can achieve.

theNJR 7y ago

Related - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21921462 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21921462