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This piece reads like some westerner that hasn't practiced meditation in any way before. Which imo, leads to the stupid trap that a lot of westerners like to be

This piece reads like some westerner that hasn't practiced meditation in any way before. Which imo, leads to the stupid trap that a lot of westerners like to believe in meditation and make an effort to do it as some sort of "healthy" lifestyle choice (a la Sam Harris; although I do admire his work). Just because you did a retreat for a few weeks by no means opened the stars in your eyes and changed the world. You're not special, we all die. The fact that you came to some profound conclusion on your own is not any more special than someone else going to lunch at McDonalds for the day. Solitude for some reason is championed as some sort of virtuous among westerners, but seen as a weird thing if it's done too much, thus canceling out it's positive aspect. Why? Because you become a self centered asshole that's why. Jim Carey has a quote on it and I 100% wholly agree with it:"Solitude is dangerous. It’s very addictive. It becomes a habit after you realize how peaceful and calm it is. It’s like you don’t want to deal with people anymore because they drain your energy." I bring this up because I myself have been a borderline schizoid through middle school through college. All it did was made the world flat and filled with pessimism for myself. You begin to really see and understand the world for what it is...except you have no power to influence it to work for you. You get stuck in a rut that makes you go back and hide in your solitude of misery. You realize it's a safe space for any thinking and engagement. But you forget to interact with people. From 10-21, I said a rosary, various other prayers, and read the bible, and then reflected on that piece of scripture in my life or just let my mind wander while I read it. Every. Single. Day. If I missed for whatever weird reason, I made up for it by doing it twice that next day, which was extremely rare. What you learn in solitude, you ignore in real life. What you don't know in real life, increases your anxieties in solitude. Leading to a viscous cycle of self centered cynicism. The biggest irony about all these western revelations about solitude are the exact things religions that exist have been preaching for centuries. Praying to god or going "ohm" for 2 hours at the end of the day achieves the same objective in that you pretend like what you're doing is beneficial when in reality it's not and it's just a waste of time.

Apocryphon 5y ago
That’s an uncharitable reading of the piece, particularly because TFA says that it isn’t intended as meditation and allows his mind to wander. It certainly seems like a much looser practice than most meditation-mindfulness wellness remedies. All it is is transporting the self fifteen years in time to the pre-smartphone era.
imartin2k 5y ago
“ Which imo, leads to the stupid trap that a lot of westerners like to believe in meditation and make an effort to do it as some sort of "healthy" lifestyle choice (a la Sam Harris; although I do admire his work)” Sounds to me like a total misrepresentation of Sam Harris’ work and stance in this field. He’s definitely more in the “you are not special, we all die” camp. Have you tried his Waking Up app?
- MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
  He's not, but he certainly has a perception of meditation can be helpful. The trap most westerners fall into is that meditation is some sort of fantastical way of helping your psyche when all the drugs you've taken failed. It's not and never has been. It's just a form of willing self restraint and discipline. The whole healing aspect never existed until marketing gurus realized they could make money off it. Like when Hinduism took off in the 70's. Stripping away the religious aspect of spirituality is almost even dumber because now it becomes a religion of the self. And if you have no confidence in yourself or are bouncing back from a major failure in life, the last thing you need is introspection in how you know it all or don't. I'm not advocating religion, but it would do you a lot more help to use that as a stepping stone versus on your own seeing as people have developed these ideas with worse problems than you. Whether it's about vishnu, god, or a prohpet of some kind is irrelevant seeing as their thoughts can help spur new thoughts in your own mind.

Apocryphon 5y ago

That’s an uncharitable reading of the piece, particularly because TFA says that it isn’t intended as meditation and allows his mind to wander. It certainly seems like a much looser practice than most meditation-mindfulness wellness remedies. All it is is transporting the self fifteen years in time to the pre-smartphone era.

imartin2k 5y ago

“ Which imo, leads to the stupid trap that a lot of westerners like to believe in meditation and make an effort to do it as some sort of "healthy" lifestyle choice (a la Sam Harris; although I do admire his work)” Sounds to me like a total misrepresentation of Sam Harris’ work and stance in this field. He’s definitely more in the “you are not special, we all die” camp. Have you tried his Waking Up app?

MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
He's not, but he certainly has a perception of meditation can be helpful. The trap most westerners fall into is that meditation is some sort of fantastical way of helping your psyche when all the drugs you've taken failed. It's not and never has been. It's just a form of willing self restraint and discipline. The whole healing aspect never existed until marketing gurus realized they could make money off it. Like when Hinduism took off in the 70's. Stripping away the religious aspect of spirituality is almost even dumber because now it becomes a religion of the self. And if you have no confidence in yourself or are bouncing back from a major failure in life, the last thing you need is introspection in how you know it all or don't. I'm not advocating religion, but it would do you a lot more help to use that as a stepping stone versus on your own seeing as people have developed these ideas with worse problems than you. Whether it's about vishnu, god, or a prohpet of some kind is irrelevant seeing as their thoughts can help spur new thoughts in your own mind.