5 ms·

Ask HN: Do you meditate? How? Results?

17 points by fuzztester 3y ago

Question inspired by this comment on the currently top post on HN about attention spans: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36853689

fuzztester 3y ago
Thanks in advance to all who comment, whatever their viewpoints may be. I also asked the question because I was talking with a friend about attention spans just recently, and also have been observing and hearing about this issue over some months.
fuzztester 3y ago
This is that current top post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36851644 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36851644
LinuxBender 3y ago
I don't know if it counts as meditation but a couple times a day I make some tea, turn on some of the sleep music often found on youtube and spotify, turn on several red/NIR light clusters around a recliner, lean back and zone out. Sometimes my mind is blank and sometimes I have these weird almost day-dream like moments. I'm probably being programmed by Youtube to be their sleeper cell.
- swah 3y ago
  How can you not sleep? I'd sleep even if it was 7pm..
jacknobody 3y ago
I use the Buddhist metta bhavana meditation. Over 30 years I have developed an amazing spiritual life - I encourage you to meditate. You might discover that the world is not what it seems...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- htss2013 3y ago
  Can you help me understand what you mean by spiritual? I confess I have no direct experience with anything I've ever had the impulse to call "spiritual". This makes me wonder if I think the word means something different than most, or am I missing some kind of subjective experience others have? I assume spiritual doesn't literally mean spirit, like the whispy ghost that floats up when you die in the cartoons. I assume it means something like a negative definition. Take everything we know and can understand about empirical reality, then whatever remains is "spiritual".
  - jacknobody 3y ago
    Ohh. Just saw this. If you're still interested mail me. :)
  - jacknobody 3y ago
    A fundamental difficulty with explaining spiritual matters is lack of a common referent. For reason of this lack it is necessary to use similes. The particular misinterpretations of any given individual cannot be anticipated, so it is best to answer your question through dialogue.
dottjt 3y ago
So meditation is just one small piece of what is ultimately mindfulness. But meditation is not necessarily the answer. For example, it's completely possible to meditate mindlessly. Mindfulness can sound esoteric (and it certainly feels esoteric once you engage in that lifestyle), but ultimately it's about being present with every single moment, and taking the time to notice everything that's happening both within and around you. Now, there are many different ways and techniques for you to do this. A really popular way is to literally slow down what you're doing and really observe the movement and sensation within your body. In terms of maintaining mindfulness, a practical way to achieve this is to evaluate your day based on how mindful you were. I think where a lot of people go wrong, is they continue to evaluate themselves based on what they achieved or what happened during the day. As long as your focus is in that area, it because almost impossible to maintain mindfulness as a state of mind.
meristohm 3y ago
Sort-of, yes, I meditate. As a teenager I played around with sitting quietly and increasing the time between thoughts, to the point where I started having "visions" which felt like waking dreams. Now I just try to be "in" whatever I'm currently doing, and this way I almost never have that feeling of "where did the time go?" or "wow it's already summer?" I feel like I'm living each day, not necessarily to the fullest, but at least (I feel like) I'm more aware of my existence through time. Related: since I went from coffee to tea to no caffeine (also very little alcohol, like a drink a month, for three years), my dreams are back, I generally sleep through the night, and I'm less grumpy. I let my mind wander in a "just noticing" way when my head hits the pillow (before quitting videogames my mind would spin with replays and possibilities from the game), and I fall asleep quickly again- similar, as with dreams, to how I remember my childhood and teenage years. Simply taking a slow deep breath and sigh-ing it out and then pausing until I'm ready for the next breath is one of my favorite meditations. Started doing this after watching my dog do it.
kamphey 3y ago
Yes. I do meditate. What I like about it is that I can do it anytime nearly anywhere. Don't use any apps anymore. Don't use any method. Specifically what I do is to think about nothing. I systemically clear my thoughts completely. And what I have found that over the years it's much easier to "meditate" anywhere and anytime. I don't have to sit in any particular way, don't have to listen to any music and in fact can do it in a busy noisy place too. This particular meditation, which I just think of as "thinking nothing" is as refreshing to me as a nap. I'll do it before I have to present something to someone. I'll do it between tasks to clear my mind. I'll do it before I work. I'll do it between my "idea creation time" and "doing time" Could be as little as 30 seconds or as much as a few minutes.
moomoo11 3y ago
I meditate. Quite a lot, since I’m always stressed. My approach is pretty simple. I go sit somewhere comfortable (usually at home on the floor with a pillow, but sometimes at the beach or on a tree stump nearby) and just breathe deep and slow. I close my eyes and keep breathing. Eventually all the noises around me turn into white noise and I feel quite blissful. Maybe I’m just getting high on oxygen, but whatever it seems to help me out. The hardest part is when I think about something else and lose focus on my breath. However with practice and pure intent to meditate, it sorts itself out. Results wise? I’m a human. I am emotive and prone to speaking what’s on my mind. Meditation just helps me deal with the ramifications of living life, because I don’t feel that I should try to be someone I am not. I need to just be happy with who I am and I know I am not a bad person.
sophyphreak 3y ago
I've spent some time in monasteries in the Ajarn Chah tradition of Thai Buddhism. The most common form of meditation is observing the breath at the nose. Importantly in Buddhism, when observing the breath, don't control the breath but rather observe how it wants to be. Inevitably, the mind will wonder from the breath. It's important to kindly and gently come back to awareness of the breath. There are other forms of meditation as well, but this one and it's variants is probably most common. Very mercifully, I've never had visions in meditation. But recently I've been feeling a lot of weirdly physical pleasure in my head and shoulders from the samadhi--concentration or calmness--that comes from my practice. I've also had more "insight," which just means I notice more internally and externally. In Buddhism, we talk about how concentration and insight are the goals and results of meditation. It's important when talking about meditation, however, to mention sila, or morality. Sila for a common person means following the five precepts--not to kill any living creature, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct (rape, adultery, etc.), not to lie, and not to take intoxicants like alcohol and cannabis (caffeine is okay). Many teachers often say that if you summarize Buddhist practice, it's just sila, samadhi, and pañña, which means morality, concentration, and wisdom. If you want results from your meditation, also practicing the five precepts is a good idea. I suppose the final result for me is that after studying Buddhism in college more than ten years ago and then spending several years in Thailand in my 20's, I'm taking steps now to seek ordination as a Buddhist monk. I'm in the very early stages of turning my life upside down, but those are my results right now. So if you don't want to give up your worldly possessions and pick up the robe and bowl, don't meditate. Lol. I kid.
kingkongjaffa 3y ago
I do indoor rock climbing / bouldering and the practice of solving boulder problems is very meditative for me. I would say beyond the health and strength /mobility benefits, it’s a great brain defragger allowing you to focus on a non technical thing and subconsciously mull things over. I find I think clearer when I am in a good habit of going climbing.

17 points by fuzztester 3y ago

Question inspired by this comment on the currently top post on HN about attention spans: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36853689

fuzztester 3y ago

Thanks in advance to all who comment, whatever their viewpoints may be. I also asked the question because I was talking with a friend about attention spans just recently, and also have been observing and hearing about this issue over some months.

fuzztester 3y ago

This is that current top post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36851644 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36851644

LinuxBender 3y ago

I don't know if it counts as meditation but a couple times a day I make some tea, turn on some of the sleep music often found on youtube and spotify, turn on several red/NIR light clusters around a recliner, lean back and zone out. Sometimes my mind is blank and sometimes I have these weird almost day-dream like moments. I'm probably being programmed by Youtube to be their sleeper cell.

swah 3y ago
How can you not sleep? I'd sleep even if it was 7pm..

jacknobody 3y ago

I use the Buddhist metta bhavana meditation. Over 30 years I have developed an amazing spiritual life - I encourage you to meditate. You might discover that the world is not what it seems...

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
htss2013 3y ago
Can you help me understand what you mean by spiritual? I confess I have no direct experience with anything I've ever had the impulse to call "spiritual". This makes me wonder if I think the word means something different than most, or am I missing some kind of subjective experience others have? I assume spiritual doesn't literally mean spirit, like the whispy ghost that floats up when you die in the cartoons. I assume it means something like a negative definition. Take everything we know and can understand about empirical reality, then whatever remains is "spiritual".
- jacknobody 3y ago
  Ohh. Just saw this. If you're still interested mail me. :)
- jacknobody 3y ago
  A fundamental difficulty with explaining spiritual matters is lack of a common referent. For reason of this lack it is necessary to use similes. The particular misinterpretations of any given individual cannot be anticipated, so it is best to answer your question through dialogue.

dottjt 3y ago

So meditation is just one small piece of what is ultimately mindfulness. But meditation is not necessarily the answer. For example, it's completely possible to meditate mindlessly. Mindfulness can sound esoteric (and it certainly feels esoteric once you engage in that lifestyle), but ultimately it's about being present with every single moment, and taking the time to notice everything that's happening both within and around you. Now, there are many different ways and techniques for you to do this. A really popular way is to literally slow down what you're doing and really observe the movement and sensation within your body. In terms of maintaining mindfulness, a practical way to achieve this is to evaluate your day based on how mindful you were. I think where a lot of people go wrong, is they continue to evaluate themselves based on what they achieved or what happened during the day. As long as your focus is in that area, it because almost impossible to maintain mindfulness as a state of mind.

meristohm 3y ago

Sort-of, yes, I meditate. As a teenager I played around with sitting quietly and increasing the time between thoughts, to the point where I started having "visions" which felt like waking dreams. Now I just try to be "in" whatever I'm currently doing, and this way I almost never have that feeling of "where did the time go?" or "wow it's already summer?" I feel like I'm living each day, not necessarily to the fullest, but at least (I feel like) I'm more aware of my existence through time. Related: since I went from coffee to tea to no caffeine (also very little alcohol, like a drink a month, for three years), my dreams are back, I generally sleep through the night, and I'm less grumpy. I let my mind wander in a "just noticing" way when my head hits the pillow (before quitting videogames my mind would spin with replays and possibilities from the game), and I fall asleep quickly again- similar, as with dreams, to how I remember my childhood and teenage years. Simply taking a slow deep breath and sigh-ing it out and then pausing until I'm ready for the next breath is one of my favorite meditations. Started doing this after watching my dog do it.

kamphey 3y ago

Yes. I do meditate. What I like about it is that I can do it anytime nearly anywhere. Don't use any apps anymore. Don't use any method. Specifically what I do is to think about nothing. I systemically clear my thoughts completely. And what I have found that over the years it's much easier to "meditate" anywhere and anytime. I don't have to sit in any particular way, don't have to listen to any music and in fact can do it in a busy noisy place too. This particular meditation, which I just think of as "thinking nothing" is as refreshing to me as a nap. I'll do it before I have to present something to someone. I'll do it between tasks to clear my mind. I'll do it before I work. I'll do it between my "idea creation time" and "doing time" Could be as little as 30 seconds or as much as a few minutes.

moomoo11 3y ago

I meditate. Quite a lot, since I’m always stressed. My approach is pretty simple. I go sit somewhere comfortable (usually at home on the floor with a pillow, but sometimes at the beach or on a tree stump nearby) and just breathe deep and slow. I close my eyes and keep breathing. Eventually all the noises around me turn into white noise and I feel quite blissful. Maybe I’m just getting high on oxygen, but whatever it seems to help me out. The hardest part is when I think about something else and lose focus on my breath. However with practice and pure intent to meditate, it sorts itself out. Results wise? I’m a human. I am emotive and prone to speaking what’s on my mind. Meditation just helps me deal with the ramifications of living life, because I don’t feel that I should try to be someone I am not. I need to just be happy with who I am and I know I am not a bad person.

sophyphreak 3y ago

I've spent some time in monasteries in the Ajarn Chah tradition of Thai Buddhism. The most common form of meditation is observing the breath at the nose. Importantly in Buddhism, when observing the breath, don't control the breath but rather observe how it wants to be. Inevitably, the mind will wonder from the breath. It's important to kindly and gently come back to awareness of the breath. There are other forms of meditation as well, but this one and it's variants is probably most common. Very mercifully, I've never had visions in meditation. But recently I've been feeling a lot of weirdly physical pleasure in my head and shoulders from the samadhi--concentration or calmness--that comes from my practice. I've also had more "insight," which just means I notice more internally and externally. In Buddhism, we talk about how concentration and insight are the goals and results of meditation. It's important when talking about meditation, however, to mention sila, or morality. Sila for a common person means following the five precepts--not to kill any living creature, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct (rape, adultery, etc.), not to lie, and not to take intoxicants like alcohol and cannabis (caffeine is okay). Many teachers often say that if you summarize Buddhist practice, it's just sila, samadhi, and pañña, which means morality, concentration, and wisdom. If you want results from your meditation, also practicing the five precepts is a good idea. I suppose the final result for me is that after studying Buddhism in college more than ten years ago and then spending several years in Thailand in my 20's, I'm taking steps now to seek ordination as a Buddhist monk. I'm in the very early stages of turning my life upside down, but those are my results right now. So if you don't want to give up your worldly possessions and pick up the robe and bowl, don't meditate. Lol. I kid.

kingkongjaffa 3y ago

I do indoor rock climbing / bouldering and the practice of solving boulder problems is very meditative for me. I would say beyond the health and strength /mobility benefits, it’s a great brain defragger allowing you to focus on a non technical thing and subconsciously mull things over. I find I think clearer when I am in a good habit of going climbing.