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> The goal is to be aware of things as they are without judgment. As long as it's being done your way, right? People get dogmatic and judgmental about everythi

> The goal is to be aware of things as they are without judgment. As long as it's being done your way, right? People get dogmatic and judgmental about everything, your post is evidence that meditation is no different.

hosh 14y ago
Getting dogmatic and judgmental has less to do with human nature, and more to do with human habit. We have a habit of avoidance and attachment. I don't think he is accusing you of being judemental so much as pointing out, it is possible to be aware of things without judgement. I was looking deep into the gamification two years ago when it was first getting popular. I even tried to gamify my meditation practice at that point. It did not work. It did not work because I was using the gamification to avoid experiencing what arises during practice. People who do not practice have an extremely difficult time starting a practice. I know this because I had trouble, and so do my buddies who practice. When you decide to start, some part of you knows you will be sitting there. In a room. In the quiet. With. No. Escape. With no escape from yourself. Never mind that you "volunteered." There are lots and lots of issues that arises -- most people don't really like themselves, or like their life. People consume entertainment product precisely to avoid experiencing what is going on in the present -- and gamification is at its heart, an entertainment product used for avoiding suffering. People are chasing after ... something. The irony being that, if you were to look at what it is you are chasing after, it can only be found in the present moment. I have been practicing daily for a year ... and I still have those pings I get whispering, "no... it is OK if you skip your practice today." It's really funny to see how my emotions start thrashing more as I approach the designated practice time. Or the kind of thoughts that arise to distract me from it. I still use the Streak app to track my meditation practice. When I first started, I was so hung up on it. If I broke a streak, I'd flog myself for having failed, spiraling into loops of feeling inadequate, being a loser, "Why can't I ever sustain a practice!?" kind of stuff. These days, I still use the app ... when I remember. Instead of having it on my home screen on my iphone, I keep it in the back. Even feelings of having accomplished an unbroken streak have attenuated. They vaguely arise like sleepy guests at a bed & breakfast; I feed them a bit of attention and let them go on their way.
- Benferhat 14y ago
  It doesn't matter, all ways lead to the center. To borrow an analogy: objecting to one way of meditation in favor of another is like a ferry boat captain complaining to the government that someone else has opened up another ferry business down-stream. "Let all operate ferry boats who will, and if you don't have the sense to stay off one that sinks, that's your problem." -Alan Watts
  - hosh 14y ago
    Sure, any step you take will lead you home. It's just that some will lead to more thrashing than others. So it doesn't matter, and yet it does.

hosh 14y ago

Getting dogmatic and judgmental has less to do with human nature, and more to do with human habit. We have a habit of avoidance and attachment. I don't think he is accusing you of being judemental so much as pointing out, it is possible to be aware of things without judgement. I was looking deep into the gamification two years ago when it was first getting popular. I even tried to gamify my meditation practice at that point. It did not work. It did not work because I was using the gamification to avoid experiencing what arises during practice. People who do not practice have an extremely difficult time starting a practice. I know this because I had trouble, and so do my buddies who practice. When you decide to start, some part of you knows you will be sitting there. In a room. In the quiet. With. No. Escape. With no escape from yourself. Never mind that you "volunteered." There are lots and lots of issues that arises -- most people don't really like themselves, or like their life. People consume entertainment product precisely to avoid experiencing what is going on in the present -- and gamification is at its heart, an entertainment product used for avoiding suffering. People are chasing after ... something. The irony being that, if you were to look at what it is you are chasing after, it can only be found in the present moment. I have been practicing daily for a year ... and I still have those pings I get whispering, "no... it is OK if you skip your practice today." It's really funny to see how my emotions start thrashing more as I approach the designated practice time. Or the kind of thoughts that arise to distract me from it. I still use the Streak app to track my meditation practice. When I first started, I was so hung up on it. If I broke a streak, I'd flog myself for having failed, spiraling into loops of feeling inadequate, being a loser, "Why can't I ever sustain a practice!?" kind of stuff. These days, I still use the app ... when I remember. Instead of having it on my home screen on my iphone, I keep it in the back. Even feelings of having accomplished an unbroken streak have attenuated. They vaguely arise like sleepy guests at a bed & breakfast; I feed them a bit of attention and let them go on their way.

Benferhat 14y ago
It doesn't matter, all ways lead to the center. To borrow an analogy: objecting to one way of meditation in favor of another is like a ferry boat captain complaining to the government that someone else has opened up another ferry business down-stream. "Let all operate ferry boats who will, and if you don't have the sense to stay off one that sinks, that's your problem." -Alan Watts
- hosh 14y ago
  Sure, any step you take will lead you home. It's just that some will lead to more thrashing than others. So it doesn't matter, and yet it does.