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Also, if it's possible to get into some profoundly different mental state after 1 day of meditation, it makes me a bit curious (and a bit concerned) about what

Also, if it's possible to get into some profoundly different mental state after 1 day of meditation, it makes me a bit curious (and a bit concerned) about what could happen in 10 days... If anyone else has had a similar experience and could weigh in if they've found an extended course helpful that would be really appreciated. I found it very, very difficult to get to no conscious thoughts for 30 minutes, so much so that I haven't tried it again, and I'm someone who's mind is I think usually pretty quiet (I don't have a running dialog or anything like that). But the results as far as I'm concerned were not negative at all, so if there's some practical benefit to pursuing that sort of technique further I'd strongly consider it.

denton-scratch 5y ago
> no conscious thoughts That's not mindfulness. I don't know what it's called; it sounds like some kind of auto-fascism. Noticing thoughts, and noticing that you've been distracted, IS the practice. Everyone has the running dialogue, all the time. One remarkable thing about mindfulness is the way it shows just how fast that dialogue runs. I had no idea that it was possible for me to have 30 thoughts in a couple of seconds. The practice is really Noticing.
- throwaway34241 5y ago
  > Everyone has the running dialogue, all the time. Actually this varies! It seems like most people have it, but some people don't (including me). People are often surprised the other exists. [1] I obviously still think, but most of it is non-verbal. > noticing that you've been distracted, IS the practice I'm talking about the exercise with the goal to focus awareness on the breath. Of course I found myself thinking all sorts of stuff at first, but I approached it with the goal to be undistracted with pure awareness on the breath. It was very difficult and took a long time, and I can't explain how exactly I did it, but I think I largely got there, and it put me in an intensely altered mental state afterward. Maybe not having a normal running dialogue made it easier? It still felt extremely difficult though. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9oyhie/is_it_true_that_many_people_or_even_most_people/ https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9oyhie/is_i... (I'm sure I've seen this come up more than once, there may be better links on Google)
  - denton-scratch 5y ago
    I guess quite a lot of my instruction may have been 'idiosyncratic'. The way I was instructed, focus on the breath isn't a 'goal', it's a sort of home-base - where you come back to when you notice thoughts (or physical pain, or whatever - it's all 'thoughts'). I was told not to approach it with a goal, and not to look for signs of 'success'. I think the results differ, even for what appears to be exactly the same practice, depending on your attitude.

denton-scratch 5y ago

> no conscious thoughts That's not mindfulness. I don't know what it's called; it sounds like some kind of auto-fascism. Noticing thoughts, and noticing that you've been distracted, IS the practice. Everyone has the running dialogue, all the time. One remarkable thing about mindfulness is the way it shows just how fast that dialogue runs. I had no idea that it was possible for me to have 30 thoughts in a couple of seconds. The practice is really Noticing.

throwaway34241 5y ago
> Everyone has the running dialogue, all the time. Actually this varies! It seems like most people have it, but some people don't (including me). People are often surprised the other exists. [1] I obviously still think, but most of it is non-verbal. > noticing that you've been distracted, IS the practice I'm talking about the exercise with the goal to focus awareness on the breath. Of course I found myself thinking all sorts of stuff at first, but I approached it with the goal to be undistracted with pure awareness on the breath. It was very difficult and took a long time, and I can't explain how exactly I did it, but I think I largely got there, and it put me in an intensely altered mental state afterward. Maybe not having a normal running dialogue made it easier? It still felt extremely difficult though. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9oyhie/is_it_true_that_many_people_or_even_most_people/ https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9oyhie/is_i... (I'm sure I've seen this come up more than once, there may be better links on Google)
- denton-scratch 5y ago
  I guess quite a lot of my instruction may have been 'idiosyncratic'. The way I was instructed, focus on the breath isn't a 'goal', it's a sort of home-base - where you come back to when you notice thoughts (or physical pain, or whatever - it's all 'thoughts'). I was told not to approach it with a goal, and not to look for signs of 'success'. I think the results differ, even for what appears to be exactly the same practice, depending on your attitude.