Meditation Annoys Me

[stressucks]

When I was paleo, I had all kinds of sleep issues. Unable to fall asleep, waking up 5 times a night to pee, hard time getting out of bed, waking up in the middle of the night heart racing.

When I asked the paleo folks, they told me to meditate. When that didn't work they told me to meditate harder.

A lot of the sleep stuff is better now. But not perfect. Still far from it. I've thought about trying meditation again, especially since so many people tout various benefits.

But now the thought of meditation repulses me.

Does meditation help you in any way?

 

[Mufasa]

I think there are various way to interpret meditation, one way I like to do it, is as being the observer, and speaking out (in my head or loud), what I observe.

So for example, if I notice that Im annoyed, I would simply speak out. Hey, here we have a guy that is annoyed. Guy that is angry about this and that. Guy that is observing nature now. Oh, there is tree, oh another tree. Oh hey, leaves. Sun that is shining through the leaves. Oh what a beautifull reflection of the sun the in the water. Etc. etc.

I will speak things out until I feel its not neccesary anymore, to stay in this state.

Doing this feels really good to me

 

[Wagner83]

Yes I did it for some time and it still helps me shut up stupid and negative thoughts when they decide to overflow at times, of course diet has helped tremendously reduce the episodes as well. Being into what you are doing can be a form of meditation itself (e.g. washing the dishes , wandering), the trick is to learn how to stop the brain from always being somewhere else, with someone else, if you think about it anxiety is anticipation of the future (which does not exist), and sorrow is remnants from the past (+ effects on the body), being into the action you perform should help become better at it too.

 

[Constatine]

I prefer long hikes while focusing on mindfulness. I've tried more conventional meditation for a while and never got much use out of it.

 

[milomag]

Meditation practice can be just reinforcement of you as a meditator. The self can't get out of self. If meditation is done as an activity to get somewhere, that reinforces the illusion that there's somewhere to get to and someone to get to it. Once it is seen that who/what you really are is already whole and complete, now and always. Who is it that notices/sees and is always aware of whatever is happening, prior to any thoughts, feelings, states, experiences, etc.? That which is not even an "it" and cannot be put into words...."The mind can't have what you ARE" ~ Paul Hedderman

 

[James IV]

I'm too physical to meditate in the traditional sense. Long bike rides or vaccuming get me in my zen place...

or DMT

 

[LUH 3417]

When I was paleo, I had all kinds of sleep issues. Unable to fall asleep, waking up 5 times a night to pee, hard time getting out of bed, waking up in the middle of the night heart racing.

When I asked the paleo folks, they told me to meditate. When that didn't work they told me to meditate harder.

A lot of the sleep stuff is better now. But not perfect. Still far from it. I've thought about trying meditation again, especially since so many people tout various benefits.

But now the thought of meditation repulses me.

Does meditation help you in any way?

Meditation also annoys me. As does romanticising ancient Indian practices. Zizek likens trance states to what people were experiencing in the gulag. https://www.nypl.org/audiovideo/situ-cathedral-st-john-divine-how-reasonably-believe-god

 

[Elize]

Try Louhan patting

Elize

 

[Makrosky]

Meditation also annoys me. As does romanticising ancient Indian practices. Zizek likens trance states to what people were experiencing in the gulag. https://www.nypl.org/audiovideo/situ-cathedral-st-john-divine-how-reasonably-believe-god

Really, you can't judge ancient Indian practices from an cocaine-induced-over-intellectualized perspective like Zizek's. Makes no sense. IMHO.

 

[CoolTweetPete]

Many people have trouble meditating "correctly" and find themselves just sitting in place trying to stop thinking and not really knowing how. Once you understand that you are capable of halting the train of thought on command, that is when you begin to reap the benefits.

Ironically enough, that is also when you probably don't need to formally sit down and meditate anymore. A neuroscientist Sam Harris describes this phenomena as "meta-cognition". You are essentially able to see your thoughts as they enter your mind, and choose to discard them rather than allow them to affect you. At this point you see that you can meditate anywhere, even in the midst of loudness & chaos.

I recall the first time I experienced this, it almost felt like I left my body and I began weeping uncontrollably because I really had no idea it was possible. I had been jumping from thought to thought my entire life. I was using a device called an emWave, which guides you with sounds and tells you if you are doing it "right".

There are more advanced devices now. I have a device called Muse, which is a portable EEG (electroencephalograph) and can read the brains electrical impulses through the skull. It's a rather large investment, but it can certainly save you a lot of wasted time sitting there trying to figure out if you are doing it right or not.

Amazon.com: Muse: The Brain Sensing Headband, Black: Sports & Outdoors

 

[LUH 3417]

Really, you can't judge ancient Indian practices from an cocaine-induced-over-intellectualized perspective like Zizek's. Makes no sense. IMHO.

I appreciate your point but...I think it's odd that ancient India had one of the most rigid class systems and also developed all these practices for spiritual enlightenment. Personally I prefer to be more grounded to this planet and my idea of meditation is walking to clear my mind. I never felt calmer after meditation or shavasana.

 

[Lurker]

I've heard the goal of meditation stated as "seeing things exactly as they are" and not "clear the mind" (impossible), go off to la la land, or whatever. Awareness, consciousness, mindfulness, whatever you want to call it, sounds reasonably worthy of some effort. You can get as meta or deep as you want but at the basic levels, you are just trying to focus on one thing such as the breath or mantra and when you notice the mind wandering, bring attention back to the anchor (breath/mantra). That's the excercise, focus wander refocus. Lather rinse repeat. This brings attentiveness to the mind and leads to self mastery. That's a super power because most people have their heads up their backside.

And once you have some level of mastering the focus excercise you can focus on specifics of what are your thoughts, where do they come from, do you want to act on this thought, what is my body doing, where are the tensions in my life, how are they manifesting,etc... You may have some interesting experiences along the way.

Is this going to fix all your problems like magic? Of course not. Will being aware of your thoughts make you a better person? Probably. ABC news guy Dan Harris has a book/podcast/app called 10% Happier to set reasonable expectations. He seems to be trying to bring secular mindfulness more to the mainstream. He's seems a bit of a prick but he completely admits it and says that meditation helps.

But you find meditation voices all over the place from Navy SEALS like Mark Divine, mega celebs like Oprah, UFC killers, Havard Business Review, medical literature, cover of mainstream press Time and Parade. There a scientific studies on the effects on stress reduction and changes in brain chemistry. There are plenty of reasons to at least try it.

But back to your question it's probably annoying because you're not very good at it. You're not very good at it because you haven't practiced. Just like everything else in life, it requires some level of motivation->discipline->action. Daily practice helps tremendously.

I'm no guru by an stretch but I've researched this a bit. Putting it all into practice is completely another matter that I have yet to work out.

 

[stressucks]

Many people have trouble meditating "correctly" and find themselves just sitting in place trying to stop thinking and not really knowing how. Once you understand that you are capable of halting the train of thought on command, that is when you begin to reap the benefits.

Ironically enough, that is also when you probably don't need to formally sit down and meditate anymore. A neuroscientist Sam Harris describes this phenomena as "meta-cognition". You are essentially able to see your thoughts as they enter your mind, and choose to discard them rather than allow them to affect you. At this point you see that you can meditate anywhere, even in the midst of loudness & chaos.

I recall the first time I experienced this, it almost felt like I left my body and I began weeping uncontrollably because I really had no idea it was possible. I had been jumping from thought to thought my entire life. I was using a device called an emWave, which guides you with sounds and tells you if you are doing it "right".

There are more advanced devices now. I have a device called Muse, which is a portable EEG (electroencephalograph) and can read the brains electrical impulses through the skull. It's a rather large investment, but it can certainly save you a lot of wasted time sitting there trying to figure out if you are doing it right or not.

Amazon.com: Muse: The Brain Sensing Headband, Black: Sports & Outdoors

This might be why it annoys me. When I meditate now, I'm like alright, the thoughts stopped, lets move on and do something else. Of course some times I stop that thought.

It does feel really awesome to be thinking down some negative path about things I don't want to be thinking about it and consciously choose to stop that and think about something else.

I had (have) an emwave too. I would get those green bars all the way up over and over and still not be able to sleep.

 

[LUH 3417]

I've heard the goal of meditation stated as "seeing things exactly as they are" and not "clear the mind" (impossible), go off to la la land, or whatever. Awareness, consciousness, mindfulness, whatever you want to call it, sounds reasonably worthy of some effort. You can get as meta or deep as you want but at the basic levels, you are just trying to focus on one thing such as the breath or mantra and when you notice the mind wandering, bring attention back to the anchor (breath/mantra). That's the excercise, focus wander refocus. Lather rinse repeat. This brings attentiveness to the mind and leads to self mastery. That's a super power because most people have their heads up their backside.

And once you have some level of mastering the focus excercise you can focus on specifics of what are your thoughts, where do they come from, do you want to act on this thought, what is my body doing, where are the tensions in my life, how are they manifesting,etc... You may have some interesting experiences along the way.

Is this going to fix all your problems like magic? Of course not. Will being aware of your thoughts make you a better person? Probably. ABC news guy Dan Harris has a book/podcast/app called 10% Happier to set reasonable expectations. He seems to be trying to bring secular mindfulness more to the mainstream. He's seems a bit of a prick but he completely admits it and says that meditation helps.

But you find meditation voices all over the place from Navy SEALS like Mark Divine, mega celebs like Oprah, UFC killers, Havard Business Review, medical literature, cover of mainstream press Time and Parade. There a scientific studies on the effects on stress reduction and changes in brain chemistry. There are plenty of reasons to at least try it.

But back to your question it's probably annoying because you're not very good at it. You're not very good at it because you haven't practiced. Just like everything else in life, it requires some level of motivation->discipline->action. Daily practice helps tremendously.

I'm no guru by an stretch but I've researched this a bit. Putting it all into practice is completely another matter that I have yet to work out.

But you find meditation voices all over the place from Navy SEALS like Mark Divine, mega celebs like Oprah, UFC killers, Havard Business Review, medical literature, cover of mainstream press Time and Parade.

That was part of my point of bringing up the zizek link. He basically goes into the fact that meditating has nothing to do with being a good or bad person. You can be a serial killer and a master of meditate techniques. Sometimes people come to meditation attempting to fix their character or assuming it will change them for the better. Reduction in stress can make you less stressed out. But there are no moral implications in meditating and I think that's a misconception when these techniques go from east to west. It's not a goal oriented activity from my understanding.

 

[Xisca]

I think it's odd that ancient India had one of the most rigid class systems and also developed all these practices for spiritual enlightenment.

The bad point was only the out-casts!
We do not know what casts were, and they were the schooling system when there was no schools. You learned with your parents, so you stayed in the same job as them.

 

[Xisca]

I just think it is difficult to take some time for it,
so it works better in group or at least one other person with you.

Then what is the goal? Certainly not stop thinking. Just use your thinking for the meditation so that the mind is occupied. Why not use Buteyko breathing for example? t keeps your mind busy and you do 2 things at the same time, or else with what ever red light etc, do you have time for anything else?

Then, my goal for meditation is very special, and quite peat oriented I would say....
INCREASE ENERGY!

Meditation is an imagination exercise, so I imagine I have a battery in my chest, at the level were you put your hand naturally, under clavicle bones. Imagine you support your thyroid while doing so!
Then, as we are life and this is supported by metabolism, you can create a mantra that states it, which is no more than the way to occupy the mind!
So, just state something like what you ARE: energy, life, love, strength, joy.... all are synonym in a way.
Then imagine you fill this battery with more life energy.
I do this with the breathing. breath in and I imagine all the life coming in. breath out "only the air", and keep the energy by imagining it enters the battery as if you were compressing it when you breath out.
It also occupies the mind well...

When you are energetic, your energy is radiating like heat, you are not cold, you are not hypothyroid etc. So the inner exercise is to imagine this, and it works so much that you can feel high.

I imagine I am light radiating. If you cannot, well think about what the sun does, and we feel its strength millions of kms away!
Just be careful to imagine only the light shining, and that you keep the heat for you, for your metabolism.
I say this inward, or you can speak or sing it. this is the mantra part. I AM LIFE.

You already have the physical and mental, now add the emotional!

Remember the emotion of looking at a young child playing with a kitten in the grass... feel the tenderness and the joy for new life growing... Whatever makes a spontaneous smile come to your face without forcing it.

Now feel that the 3 parts, physical and energetic - mental - emotional, are saying the same but each in its own language, and they make a choir. You are in contact with the root of life, with your metabolism that wants to shine and expand, you are alive and this increases for ever.
When you can feel all 3 together, you will be so concentrated that there is no room for anything else!

When you have all this together plus you do the breathing part of aspiring energy form the universe and concentrating it in your inner battery, you will have a powerful tool to feel high in 10 minutes!
Actually, I had to be careful because I felt so strong that I put myself into problems without seeing it. 10 mns meditation had an effect that lasted 2 days.
I want to go back to it and be careful to not become a superwoman able to stand everything!
I think this was a personal reaction that might not concern everybody doing it.