3 ms·

Amusingly, I am probably harsher on meditation than you seem to be. My stance is more that if you are otherwise healthy and making good choices, go for it. If

by taeric 5y ago

Amusingly, I am probably harsher on meditation than you seem to be. My stance is more that if you are otherwise healthy and making good choices, go for it. If you are wanting to use it as a treatment for problems/discontents in your life, expect that it won't help, and focusing on your problems is likely to lead to other problems. Comparing it to ibuprofen strikes me as begging the question that it has a mechanism. Something I am not quite ready to cede.

bowsamic 5y ago
I’m confused. Are you claiming that meditation might literally have no effect?
- taeric 5y ago
  Not literally zero effect. But I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the effect is the same as how propaganda works. I take it as similar to inversion tables. Could it help some folks with their back pain? Absolutely. Does it do so for the reasons they put forward? Highly unlikely. (Acupuncture is similar. Homeopathy? Maybe...)
  - bowsamic 5y ago
    So you're claiming that it's mostly placebo? That is absurd to me. Why wouldn't sitting down and doing a specific mental activity for 30 minutes a day (e.g. paying attention to breath) change something? It seems very obvious to me that it would train the mind in some way. This is a genuinely bizarre take
    - taeric 5y ago
      No. Placebo is a different thing. Persuasion would be closer. And I welcome being wrong. But spirituality of all types rings very hollow to me.
      - bowsamic 5y ago
        Meditation isn't really a spiritual act though, it's simply a form of mental training. It is like learning, or doing puzzles, etc. Do you doubt those things? The spiritual part is how to frame the results and shifts that come from long-term meditation in a helpful worldview. Have you tried it by the way? It sounds like you aren't quite aware what it even is
        taeric 5y ago
        For those that are neither spiritual nor meditative, they are both far away in thought. I have tried meditation before. Never did a weekend retreat, but used to do guided classes. They left me a bit high and dry. And they felt exactly the same as old religious acquaintances on how that helps guide and inform. I /do not/ doubt that it works for the folks it works for. I clearly have doubts that it is a general thing that even can work for everyone.
        bowsamic 5y ago
        Anyone who sits and keeps their mind on a single object for 30 mins a day will eventually experience _some_ kind of effect from it.
        taeric 5y ago
        Strictly, this is almost certainly false. If only because there is a ridiculously wide range of the ways that people think. Loosening it to most people, I mean, maybe? But then why does the nature of what you focus your thought onto matter? I suppose the mechanism is that you are effectively forcing a wiring of whatever in your mind is responsible for consciousness? Makes sense that you can effectively train your consciousness by rote in much the same way that you can train your arms/hands to juggle. But, at this point, we have to establish that consciousness is the same between us. Certainly plausible. I'd go so far as to say likely. But not guaranteed.
        bowsamic 5y ago

by taeric 5y ago

bowsamic 5y ago

I’m confused. Are you claiming that meditation might literally have no effect?

taeric 5y ago
Not literally zero effect. But I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the effect is the same as how propaganda works. I take it as similar to inversion tables. Could it help some folks with their back pain? Absolutely. Does it do so for the reasons they put forward? Highly unlikely. (Acupuncture is similar. Homeopathy? Maybe...)
- bowsamic 5y ago
  So you're claiming that it's mostly placebo? That is absurd to me. Why wouldn't sitting down and doing a specific mental activity for 30 minutes a day (e.g. paying attention to breath) change something? It seems very obvious to me that it would train the mind in some way. This is a genuinely bizarre take
  - taeric 5y ago
    No. Placebo is a different thing. Persuasion would be closer. And I welcome being wrong. But spirituality of all types rings very hollow to me.
    - bowsamic 5y ago
      Meditation isn't really a spiritual act though, it's simply a form of mental training. It is like learning, or doing puzzles, etc. Do you doubt those things? The spiritual part is how to frame the results and shifts that come from long-term meditation in a helpful worldview. Have you tried it by the way? It sounds like you aren't quite aware what it even is
      - taeric 5y ago
        For those that are neither spiritual nor meditative, they are both far away in thought. I have tried meditation before. Never did a weekend retreat, but used to do guided classes. They left me a bit high and dry. And they felt exactly the same as old religious acquaintances on how that helps guide and inform. I /do not/ doubt that it works for the folks it works for. I clearly have doubts that it is a general thing that even can work for everyone.
        bowsamic 5y ago
        Anyone who sits and keeps their mind on a single object for 30 mins a day will eventually experience _some_ kind of effect from it.
        taeric 5y ago
        Strictly, this is almost certainly false. If only because there is a ridiculously wide range of the ways that people think. Loosening it to most people, I mean, maybe? But then why does the nature of what you focus your thought onto matter? I suppose the mechanism is that you are effectively forcing a wiring of whatever in your mind is responsible for consciousness? Makes sense that you can effectively train your consciousness by rote in much the same way that you can train your arms/hands to juggle. But, at this point, we have to establish that consciousness is the same between us. Certainly plausible. I'd go so far as to say likely. But not guaranteed.
        bowsamic 5y ago