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Wonderfully formulated! I have been making a similar effort and found that gradually these glimpses became easier to get into and I've even had some spontaneous

by ilkke 4y ago

Wonderfully formulated! I have been making a similar effort and found that gradually these glimpses became easier to get into and I've even had some spontaneous ones. I do wonder how much this can be expanded alongside an urban 9 to 5 life.

fredrikholm 4y ago
This is a central practice of Buddhism; consistently taking the time to deliberately stop and observe things gradually teaches you to appreciate things for what they are and helps to ween you off of your preconceived notions of what you think things are. For example, after my first few months of practice I increasingly got awe struck by everyday things. Even though the bricks of the church are identical in that they were made from the same mold, they are all unique after centuries of erosion and sun exposure. This might be intellectually obvious, but is a whole other thing to realize through subjective experience (as if looking at a masterpiece painting up close).
- mettamage 4y ago
  Can confirm, thanks to meditation I've been fascinated just looking at a pavement, any pavement. With that said, I've also experienced the dark side of meditation. It's not all roses.
  - fredrikholm 4y ago
    Would you be comfortable sharing some of those darker aspects? I hear this sentiment every once in a while, but I've yet to experience any myself (a few years in).
    - mettamage 4y ago
      I didn't recognize myself intuitively or emotionally in the mirror. I had to logically deduce it was me. I felt like I was looking at a different man that wasn't me with a face I couldn't call my own. The reason was: there was no "my own" I just was. So I couldn't feel that what I saw was me. Because of this, it felt like I was looking at someone else. To summarize, I almost failed the mirror test, lol. There were smaller issues, but that's all they were: smaller issues. This "almost not recognizing myself in the mirror" thing that felt scary as hell and I concluded that I couldn't wield the Buddhist philosophy properly and I was developing myself towards an unknown place with unknown consequences.

by ilkke 4y ago

fredrikholm 4y ago

This is a central practice of Buddhism; consistently taking the time to deliberately stop and observe things gradually teaches you to appreciate things for what they are and helps to ween you off of your preconceived notions of what you think things are. For example, after my first few months of practice I increasingly got awe struck by everyday things. Even though the bricks of the church are identical in that they were made from the same mold, they are all unique after centuries of erosion and sun exposure. This might be intellectually obvious, but is a whole other thing to realize through subjective experience (as if looking at a masterpiece painting up close).

mettamage 4y ago
Can confirm, thanks to meditation I've been fascinated just looking at a pavement, any pavement. With that said, I've also experienced the dark side of meditation. It's not all roses.
- fredrikholm 4y ago
  Would you be comfortable sharing some of those darker aspects? I hear this sentiment every once in a while, but I've yet to experience any myself (a few years in).
  - mettamage 4y ago
    I didn't recognize myself intuitively or emotionally in the mirror. I had to logically deduce it was me. I felt like I was looking at a different man that wasn't me with a face I couldn't call my own. The reason was: there was no "my own" I just was. So I couldn't feel that what I saw was me. Because of this, it felt like I was looking at someone else. To summarize, I almost failed the mirror test, lol. There were smaller issues, but that's all they were: smaller issues. This "almost not recognizing myself in the mirror" thing that felt scary as hell and I concluded that I couldn't wield the Buddhist philosophy properly and I was developing myself towards an unknown place with unknown consequences.