What are its origings? Is there a non religious form of it? I hear it has benefits, but buddhist meditation began with the intent of making meditators passive and obedient to the religion. Where did meditation come from? Staring into campfires, or what? Are there dangers to meditation?
>>66388231
I've been meditating daily for years now and I'm an atheist. Even religions that promote meditation often do it without implying anything supernatural about it. As you said, it has many benefits, but it's mostly a way of improving self-control, and there's nothing religious about that. Hollywood likes to push that "clear your mind" crap, but it's actually the exact opposite - the whole point is to concentrate on something and hold that focus. The only "danger" to it that I've heard of would be that kundalini awakening crap which I obviously don't believe in.
AMA, i guess. I'll try to answer what i can/know.
It just lets you think about stuff that you might not if you're not participating in daily activities. It opens our mind a little bit without forcing you to believe in a non-existent deity
>>66389900
Sure. What is your routine? What is the procedure? Have you ever wondered how it came to be a practice?
>>66388231
Meditation ain't a religous thing faggot
I meditate every other day for quiet some time it does help sorting out your thoughts and it sharpens your mind
But the thing is it does get on your back
>>66391337
How does it get on your back?
>but buddhist meditation began with the intent of making meditators passive and obedient to the religion
wat. The non-westernized buddhist are fucking hardcore when it comes to questioning their own belief. They always have debates and stuff when they're not meditating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s--f_Z3bSG4
>>66388231
Saved my ass on numerous occasions.
Be warned though, if/when you fall out of practice, you'll be back to square one.
>>66391888
Valid point. Thanks for the link.
>>66391893
Warning heeded; been doing it since december, but I have missed the last three days. Hmm.
>>66391893
I need to go back to the temple.. I haven't meditated in over a year and now I don't think I can do it anymore.
>>66392235
Let's just say that, the mental peace you feel afterwards? Can slip away in the span of a day.
That said if you're a sperg I couldn't recommend meditation enough, since as a sperg, it's helped keep my autist symptoms at bay.
>>66390817
This isn't really the routine I'm running because I'm trying to achieve something completely different, but I won't go into that cuz' you'd call me degenerate. The most basic/general meditation would be to sit down comfortably with your back straight. It doesn't have to be that lotus position, it can be anything as long as it's comfortable and easy to hold for longer periods. Close your eyes if it helps you avoid distractions, relax, and start focusing on your breathing. Breathe slowly and deeply and just focus on the breath. The sound, the feeling, the pace. Initially your mind will constantly sidetrack and you'll suddenly find yourself thinking about something completely else. This is fine. When it happens, just go back to breathing and repeat.
That's it. Really. That's all there is to it. You're really just training your mind to focus on one thing.
>>66388231
Fuck meditation. Whenever I speak to anyone about my problems, they either tell me to get help, or they tell me that I should take up meditation. Meditation is bullshit; I am not going to waste my time sitting like a retard trying to believe that I am in a trance. Whoever believes meditation is real must have the mind of a child.
>>66393066
This is exactly what I do, but for about the past sixty days I have added 'noting', and I do equal time walking, then sitting meditation. Just wondered about it though, as the guy who teaches the videos is a monk, and celibate, and stuff, and I so sometimes I wonder about that.
>>66393270
Ha. I wish I had the mind of a child. Things were simpler back then, it seems. Hope you find some peace, friendo.
Sedevacantist Catholic here.
Catholic meditation is a thing. "clearing" your mind means opening a door way for demons.
Athiests do what you want, you're full of demons anyway.
>>66393270
>trying to believe that I am in a trance.
You've completely missed the point of meditation, and on a side note, you don't even understand what trance is.
>>66394081
Could you expound a bit on your Catholic meditation. I mean no insult to the religous, I am looking at this from a secular viewpoint because I have no religion, but there are numerous religions with a form of meditation.
Just got done meditating just now haha.
Meditation is not a cut and dry thing. There are many forms of it and you can use it for your own desired purpose, whether it's religious or not. That's the beauty of it imo.
Yes, it has many benefits. Clearing up mental clutter, increasing focus, conditioning yourself to a desired emotional/mental state of being.
There are even some studies that say it increases grey matter in the brain and increases IQ which could be possible but debatable. Either way the anti-stress benefits can be nothing but good for your mental and physical health anyway.
I really don't see how it could be dangerous in any way whatsoever.
I personally meditate to combat my depression and ground myself in a balanced state of mind, which it works wonders for. I'm not really religious so I don't focus on god or anything like that.
Just my physical state of being and clearing my mind, and allowing positive "energy" to enter through me.
Either way it works. At times I can get to such a deep state where I can't feel my body and it feels almost like I'm on a drug, except it's completely natural and feels amazing. I wake up in a new state of mind and am completely happy.
>>66388231
Meditation is useful for calming down and getting your thoughts straight in particularly stressful situations
All of that "cleansing your soul of demons and negative energy" is nothing more than new age bullshit peddled by well-off white celebrities. It is about as likely to "strengthen you" as is tying a crystal around your neck
>>66393453
there are a lot of studies using MRI that show mindfulness and mediation can increase neural plasticity and regulate emotion. i've even seen studies that show meditation increases the size of the hippocampus.
>>66388231
There's meditation that you do by sitting still and being mentally calm. I rarely do this.
There's also a form of active meditation where you focus intently on what you are doing, and don't let thoughts cloud out the moment. Have you ever daydreamed while walking? Before you know it, the moments are over and you spent them lost in your own mind. Try to avoid that and you'll find that each day gets longer and longer.
>>66393066
>That's it. Really. That's all there is to it. You're really just training your mind to focus on one thing.
Sounds like a healthy habit actually. I'll definately try to start.
>>66388231
>Is there a non religious form of it?
Yes
> but buddhist meditation began with the intent of making meditators passive and obedient to the religion
What?
>Staring into campfires, or what?
You are retarded if you think that meditation doesn't require actively concentrating. If you asume that it's just sitting around and breathing then you're retarded.
>Are there dangers to meditation?
No.
Meditation has very tangible and scientficially proven benefits. You can literally see the difference in a person's brain who frequently meditates vs those that don't. People who meditate have wrinklier brains which is actually a good thing implying more complexity. People with mental disabilities usually have more smooth brains.
The most common type of meditation is mindfulness meditation. This consists of focusing your thought on a single thing like your breath or a mantra and entirely pushing away every other arising thought.
Meditation for beginners has a lot more to do with mental wrestling than sitting around and doing nothing.
When you first start you won't be able to focus on your breath for more than 5 seconds. Every few seconds you have an arising thought and you'll need to recognize that thought and let go of it returning your mind to the breathing.
This can actually be very difficult and frustrating in the beginning but even as a complete amateur you'll notice being more calm after a mental workout.
Here is a good guided meditation with sam harris. It looks quite long but time really flies by if you follow along. Just keep in mind that he is slightly altering mindfulness and makes you focus on every sensory input instead of a singular thing like your breath.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OboD7JrT0NE
>Does meditation provide real mental benefits like concentration and calmness?
YES
>Is the community muddied with pseudo science and woo?
Yes, if you go to the wrong places.
>>66397143
Also don't be too focused on things like sitting position or how you hold your hands.
Those things are entirely unfounded and while it is fun to keep traditions it doesn't really benefit you in any way. Only thing I don't like is lying down because that will naturally make you tired.
>>66396595
>There's meditation that you do by sitting still and being mentally calm.
This isn't meditation.
>>66397143
>>66397376
Another intersting type of meditation is "Mettā" or compassion meditation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett%C4%81
Here you focus on the feeling of love and empathy instead of something like your breath or sensory sensation. Here again you can achieve measurable effects and increase your own empathy and love for the world.
I always thought these zen-like people like the Dalai Lama were bullshitting but you can very much condition your mind just like you can condition your body. It just takes effort and dedication.
>>66389900
I also slightly disagree with this. What I understand under "clear mind" is having acheived a decent level of mindfullness/awarness of your own thought and recognizing that your conscious is seperate from involuntarily arising thoughts and emotions enabling you to distance yourself and remain calm even in stressfull situations.
But I'm not really aware what exactly those hollywood types are doing.
>>66397143
>>>Is the community muddied with pseudo science and woo?
>Yes, if you go to the wrong places.
Really this. Meditation is effective but the hippy dippy crowd tends to ruin it. Just strip away the woo and you'll be well-to-do.
>>66397143
Sorry, Pajeet Singh, I am not buying it. Go poo in the loo or slay some mudslimes please.
>>66399046
LOW EFFORT TROLLING
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>>66393270
if you aren't willing to solve your problems with any advice thrown at you then they aren't problems youre just a bitch
>>66388231
It's New Age modernist garbage polluted with shoddy research and corporate shilling. Buddhism belongs in the East where it is fully appreciated for its history and culture, not for Westernized feel-good hippy shit used for selling books and seminars.
>>66400652
>Here, have my uninformed opinion based soleley on my gut feeling
WEW LAD
