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okay, meditation thread. the goal is to discuss some forms of meditation i do. this won't be super structured, so feel free to ask questions or whatever i guess.
disclaimer: i am a largely autodidact practitioner without any formal lineage. i am not a teacher. i am a moron.
disclaimer: i am a largely autodidact practitioner without any formal lineage. i am not a teacher. i am a moron.
starting off i am going to cover basic meditation theory for folks who aren't into this stuff. as a rule, there are two types of meditation: concentration and insight. fusional combines the two.
put simply, concentration builds up stability of the object, insight breaks it down.
put simply, concentration builds up stability of the object, insight breaks it down.
core to almost all meditative practice is achieving a level of concentration that allows the mind to rest on a given object and not be distracted. some people don't bother with this. if you're going to do meditation, it is recommended. i tend to just assume it, but it ain't easy.
insight is traditionally associated with progress toward something like enlightenment. doing this shit will fuck you up. to the degree you have an abstracted model for understanding the world, doing insight will destabilize it. do not undertake this shit lightly. you can't undo.
basically any meditation technique i discuss here will elide a step zero of "enter access concentration". it's just something i do automatically. some practitioners, particularly those with adhd or other similar conditions, will find this hard to develop. it can take a long time.
as a pre-teen, i developed mysterious health problems and chronic pain. i developed my meditation techniques in response to this, to process and function. this will make them somewhat inaccessible to people who don't have such a convenient meditation object.
i was 12 or 13, and sitting in the passenger seat of a car on the freeway. we were returning from the airport and the pain was bad that day. i dropped into what i now recognize as concentration. i had no idea what i was doing, so i mostly let it develop itself.
i saw (visualized) a staff-bearing monk in a temple. there were four vast wooden pillars supporting a cavernous roof above a raised platform decorated like a go board. the monk was beset by wolves. the wolves were the pain. the temple was the body. the monk was something else.
the monk had to fend off the wolves without hurting them, because they were also part of the temple. this was very difficult and required intense concentration. i was sweating. the driver, my father, could tell i was doing something but was busy driving on a freeway.
i bring up this example to say that there are a lot of meditative experiences that will arise spontaneously. they tend to be more artistic, symbolic, and rely upon your intuition to pilot. not panicking is helpful. ime, there is always a better, deliberate meditative counterpart.
in this case, what i do these days.
0. enter access concentration.
1. let attention rest on some pain in the body.
2. attend to the pain without aversion.
3. broaden attention gradually to include the entire body.
4. allow the sense of the body to shift, drift, and warp.
0. enter access concentration.
1. let attention rest on some pain in the body.
2. attend to the pain without aversion.
3. broaden attention gradually to include the entire body.
4. allow the sense of the body to shift, drift, and warp.
some break down...
attending to pain without aversion means allowing the whole of the pain to be experienced. this is difficult at first, because the instinct is to draw away from the source of the pain. non-acute pain basically won't go away until you allow it to unfold fully.
attending to pain without aversion means allowing the whole of the pain to be experienced. this is difficult at first, because the instinct is to draw away from the source of the pain. non-acute pain basically won't go away until you allow it to unfold fully.
when you broaden attention to include more and more of the body, this unfolding needs to be occurring with total fidelity for each pain (and other) sensation. if you're losing hold of it, or there is too much going on, let the attention narrow down again until you can get there.
once you get that, you allow attention relax and diffuse. sensations will gradually delocalize and the sense of the body will decohere. this is not having no sense of the body, but instead not processing its inputs. roughly, the body will appear interconnected and vast.
at this point, you can do all sorts of neat things. i like dataviz, injecting colors to increase information density.
this is a stable concentration state from which to do insight. you can notice all sorts of things about how sensations present that might otherwise be alarming.
this is a stable concentration state from which to do insight. you can notice all sorts of things about how sensations present that might otherwise be alarming.
some very simple things to notice are that the sensations arise just where they are, unfold to attention, go away, and the next thing occurs.
later you may notice there is no real logic to it. it's not doing it to any particular place or observer. just the thing doing itself.
later you may notice there is no real logic to it. it's not doing it to any particular place or observer. just the thing doing itself.
now, as a practical matter, someone starting out is not expected to get this far. i imagine more accomplished practitioners can go much further, too.
a novice would be doing well to keep attention on some painful part of their body and fully attend to a single sensation.
a novice would be doing well to keep attention on some painful part of their body and fully attend to a single sensation.
if you are operating outside of a tradition, your particular predilections (as well as those of whomever you are talking to or what you are reading) will color your experiences. i consider this the same type of practice as the monk-and-wolves. obviously they are very different.
okay, going to pause here. tell me what you want me to talk about and i continue.
the goal of meditation can be many things.
if you just pursue concentration, peace of mind, emotional stability.
also, you can become enlightened. you can profoundly attenuate unnecessary additional suffering that compounds the basic suffering of life. https://twitter.com/VecnanKrait/status/1318945095790563329
if you just pursue concentration, peace of mind, emotional stability.
also, you can become enlightened. you can profoundly attenuate unnecessary additional suffering that compounds the basic suffering of life. https://twitter.com/VecnanKrait/status/1318945095790563329
it is also quite pleasant to develop skill in meditation, as it is to develop skill in anything. once you develop significant insight, many cognitive traps will simply not lure you (others will, you are still a flawed human no matter what you do.)
so, two things.
one, excepting physical fitness concerns, sitting quietly with your thoughts is healthy even if you're not doing anything.
two, the rewards of meditation are vast and tend to accumulate pretty quickly once you nail access concentration. https://twitter.com/deltaveeee/status/1318947657042321408
one, excepting physical fitness concerns, sitting quietly with your thoughts is healthy even if you're not doing anything.
two, the rewards of meditation are vast and tend to accumulate pretty quickly once you nail access concentration. https://twitter.com/deltaveeee/status/1318947657042321408
(from dms)
realization does not bring permanent, unaltered bliss. there are many ways to describe what it does do, but i describe it as ending certain ridiculous responses to the way the world is. this leads to a lot less suffering of a particular type. but you're still human.
realization does not bring permanent, unaltered bliss. there are many ways to describe what it does do, but i describe it as ending certain ridiculous responses to the way the world is. this leads to a lot less suffering of a particular type. but you're still human.
you can get a lot of bliss from highly refined concentration states if you want to. there's a reason these secluded monks in the jungle are so content compared to ordinary westerners. going to your brain from the chems you want is a much more direct route.
it's not the goal tho.
it's not the goal tho.
yes. my attitude is that it is a bad idea. it won't curse you or whatever, but the results are less durable. you want to be able to repeat things, ideally while sober, and chemicals of any kind are going to make that harder. https://twitter.com/ei8htohms/status/1318965938918707203
yes, but not perhaps in the way that you think. concentration largely allows you to stabilize attention on something which is sufficiently alien to your conventional experience of the world that the instability is less of a problem. https://twitter.com/CountJ0ecool/status/1318969281426710530
find a comfortable position you can maintain without moving. try to keep your attention on one of the following objects:
1. a candle
2. your breathing
3. sensations in your fingertips
if attention moves away, gently return to the object. repeat. repeat. https://twitter.com/laelemlos/status/1318972289283739649
1. a candle
2. your breathing
3. sensations in your fingertips
if attention moves away, gently return to the object. repeat. repeat. https://twitter.com/laelemlos/status/1318972289283739649
proper meditation instruction is essentially as boring as the instructions to hang a shelf. you want to do it right? listen to what the person is telling you. those little tips like "make sure the nails are angled slightly down" or "don't mind the lights" are learned at a price.
access concentration is a rough term for a level of concentration that is more or less self-sustaining and inures you against a certain degree of distraction. it is difficult to include your train of thought in the scope of that attention at first. https://twitter.com/VecnanKrait/status/1318984213786492928
your mind keeps operating even if it isn't the object of attention. thoughts keep going, just the same as they were before. the monkey mind stuff is referring to this quality of thoughts. realizing that thought isn't something you are doing actively is a big relief.
about now is when i sound the usual alarm that rewiring your brain for fun and profit is risky business. don't think this is all sunshine and roses. it's a hellish mess at times, and don't you forget it. be thankful for the people that stick by you as you flail along the path.
