5 ms·

You can measure how many times you get distracted, and how far do you get dragged. This is very easy to do during meditation.

aristofun 4y ago
Yes, but who decides the standard here? I am distracted 5 times a minute. Is it good enough or should I continue practicing? And in the end - why is this a bad thing, to be distracted? If it’s in our nature in the first place? I’m not being sarcastic - I truly want to know the deep answers from someone knowledgeable, but didn’t find any answers yet.
- toxicFork 4y ago
  You decide what you are comfortable with :) however in general we can roughly decide if someone is struggling or not. There are no "right and deep answers" for questions like this.
  - aristofun 4y ago
    It comes down to “why do I need to decide at all in the first place?” So why?
    - toxicFork 4y ago
      I see that you too are interested in philosophy ;) Everyone has their reason to be interested in meditation. The original Buddha was simply "not satisfied" and wanted to know why. So he discovered the causes and effects and removers of dissatisfaction in itself. Part of his discovery that dissatisfaction comes from within, from all of the thoughts that poke us, especially when we let them to affect us. Mindfulness meditation is only part of the puzzle of Buddhism.
      - aristofun 4y ago
        I’m not trying to be philosophical here. I’m trying to find those personal specific seeds that drove people to meditation. Judging by the comments here - there are not that much. Most just repeat common mass media Knowledge about meditation. Although some comments feel deeply personal, this is why I try to find more evidence, not just put a label on this meditation thing.
        toxicFork 4y ago
        My seed was very personal too. I had been overly self critical most of my life, and that made me unhappy. Additionally, I had a friend tell me that I had "too much ego". I did some research on "how to reduce your ego", and Buddhism appeared on my radar. I explored deeper, and started practicing. It showed me not to get too attached to a lot of the thoughts that I was very attached to. I was also very attached to a particular kind of self worth. I realised that I did have too much ego, not necessarily like the typical form of narcissism, but I was still too "self-centred", except instead of the "self-loving" narcissism, I was the "self-blaming" kind. With meditation I learned not to pay too much attention to some of the thoughts, which helped calm me down. My complete solution did involve more than meditation, though, I went to therapy as well. Meditation feels more like a kind of "supplement" rather than a cure-all, tbh.
        aristofun 4y ago
        Thank you for sharing that seed. Yes, I definitely feel some therapeutic role of it.
        elliu 4y ago
        For me it had two elements, an increasing dissatisfaction as I got older and realized none of the "standard" things that were supposed to make me happy (possessions, status, etc.) were really making me feel good, and pure curiosity.
        wavy-dingo 4y ago
        Meditation is an experience. If you have the experience and enjoy it, you will keep doing it. Some people are drawn to the spiritual and it isn’t if I do this X amount then I get Y.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- somenewaccount1 4y ago
  It's not a bad thing, it's just not as good of a thing. You want the benefits of meditating? Meditate. You don't want them? Than don't. The bar is where you set it for yourself. And that's part of the point - complete internal reflection, rather than awaiting someone else's instructions and/or approval.
- tumnus 4y ago
  > And in the end - why is this a bad thing, to be distracted? If it’s in our nature in the first place? But is it indeed in our nature? That comment assumes: if a condition exists, then that condition is correct. But, for example, it's in our nature to overload on sugar and fats, but that's not a healthy way to live.
- RamblingCTO 4y ago
  You want that capability to separate yourself from thoughts that are intrusive or that you don't wanna think. I like the metaphor of sticky thoughts. Oftentimes, thoughts that aren't good for us drive us. But what we really want is to be able to snap out of them and identify them for what they are. Meditating is just learning to notice things that go on inside your head or around you. You're training your nervous system. See https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/science-behind-meditation https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/science-b... or any other hit on google for "meditation parasympathetic nervous system". You're learning to regulate yourself basically.

aristofun 4y ago

Yes, but who decides the standard here? I am distracted 5 times a minute. Is it good enough or should I continue practicing? And in the end - why is this a bad thing, to be distracted? If it’s in our nature in the first place? I’m not being sarcastic - I truly want to know the deep answers from someone knowledgeable, but didn’t find any answers yet.

toxicFork 4y ago
You decide what you are comfortable with :) however in general we can roughly decide if someone is struggling or not. There are no "right and deep answers" for questions like this.
- aristofun 4y ago
  It comes down to “why do I need to decide at all in the first place?” So why?
  - toxicFork 4y ago
    I see that you too are interested in philosophy ;) Everyone has their reason to be interested in meditation. The original Buddha was simply "not satisfied" and wanted to know why. So he discovered the causes and effects and removers of dissatisfaction in itself. Part of his discovery that dissatisfaction comes from within, from all of the thoughts that poke us, especially when we let them to affect us. Mindfulness meditation is only part of the puzzle of Buddhism.
    - aristofun 4y ago
      I’m not trying to be philosophical here. I’m trying to find those personal specific seeds that drove people to meditation. Judging by the comments here - there are not that much. Most just repeat common mass media Knowledge about meditation. Although some comments feel deeply personal, this is why I try to find more evidence, not just put a label on this meditation thing.
      - toxicFork 4y ago
        My seed was very personal too. I had been overly self critical most of my life, and that made me unhappy. Additionally, I had a friend tell me that I had "too much ego". I did some research on "how to reduce your ego", and Buddhism appeared on my radar. I explored deeper, and started practicing. It showed me not to get too attached to a lot of the thoughts that I was very attached to. I was also very attached to a particular kind of self worth. I realised that I did have too much ego, not necessarily like the typical form of narcissism, but I was still too "self-centred", except instead of the "self-loving" narcissism, I was the "self-blaming" kind. With meditation I learned not to pay too much attention to some of the thoughts, which helped calm me down. My complete solution did involve more than meditation, though, I went to therapy as well. Meditation feels more like a kind of "supplement" rather than a cure-all, tbh.
        aristofun 4y ago
        Thank you for sharing that seed. Yes, I definitely feel some therapeutic role of it.
      - elliu 4y ago
        For me it had two elements, an increasing dissatisfaction as I got older and realized none of the "standard" things that were supposed to make me happy (possessions, status, etc.) were really making me feel good, and pure curiosity.
      - wavy-dingo 4y ago
        Meditation is an experience. If you have the experience and enjoy it, you will keep doing it. Some people are drawn to the spiritual and it isn’t if I do this X amount then I get Y.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
somenewaccount1 4y ago
It's not a bad thing, it's just not as good of a thing. You want the benefits of meditating? Meditate. You don't want them? Than don't. The bar is where you set it for yourself. And that's part of the point - complete internal reflection, rather than awaiting someone else's instructions and/or approval.
tumnus 4y ago
> And in the end - why is this a bad thing, to be distracted? If it’s in our nature in the first place? But is it indeed in our nature? That comment assumes: if a condition exists, then that condition is correct. But, for example, it's in our nature to overload on sugar and fats, but that's not a healthy way to live.
RamblingCTO 4y ago
You want that capability to separate yourself from thoughts that are intrusive or that you don't wanna think. I like the metaphor of sticky thoughts. Oftentimes, thoughts that aren't good for us drive us. But what we really want is to be able to snap out of them and identify them for what they are. Meditating is just learning to notice things that go on inside your head or around you. You're training your nervous system. See https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/science-behind-meditation https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/science-b... or any other hit on google for "meditation parasympathetic nervous system". You're learning to regulate yourself basically.