[esoteric]

So I just wanted to make a thread about something that has been very rewarding in my life. It's one of those things that when you find something good, you want to share it with others.

Meditation is great. It makes you better at everything you do, even if you were already good at it. This applies to your work, your sex life, your relationships with others, and your religious/spiritual life. Christian and other religious theologians have been meditating throughout history too, so it's compatible with every religion I can think of.

I've been meditating for about twenty years and I've gotten pretty good at it. So I'm happy to answer any kind of question possible on the topic. It's surprisingly easy to do: just sit down on the ground, close your eyes, look straight ahead, keep your back straight, and cross your legs in whatever position feels fine. Then take slow, deep breaths and count every time you exhale, from one to three and then back to one again. For beginners, 10 to 15 minutes is fine, but after a while you should try to work your way up to 30 to 45 minutes. Try to focus only on your breath and not on other thoughts, but it's really normal for other thoughts to pop up. Just patiently refocus on your breath when they do. Some days it will be easier to focus than others, but the more you meditate, the better your concentration will be.

The biggest challenge is really just convincing yourself to do it.

Again, the rewards are many, and part of the fun is figuring out in what ways and to what extent meditation is making your life better as you go along. You even get high from it sometimes, but that should definitely not be the point of doing it.

Anyway, if this post gets even one person to meditate, then it was worth my time in typing it.

 

[lock2k]

 

[DonDonDonPata]

Good post! Everyone should practice it in some form. I think a reliable, condensed meditation method -- if someone is merely into it for the physical and basic psychological effects -- would be to dabble in Wim Hof breathing + cold training. This only touches on some aspects of meditation, but is pretty tame / non-threatening for people who might be 2spookd4god and avoid any spiritual practices accordingly



As you also mentioned, though, meditation is an ancient practice that ancient cultures have explored and documented thoroughly. It's not something that can be easily prescribed as a one size fits all but should be tried. I pray and meditate every day, trying to do it in my opening thoughts each morning as I get out of bed.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

 

[lock2k]

How do you do it when you're an hyperactive motherfucker like who can't stop thinking for one minute?

 

[DonDonDonPata]

I've been ADD since childhood, even got pumped with Ritalin et al.

I mean, how do you learn to do anything other than one bit at a time? Hard to describe, but even 'focusing' is a skill that can be trained. Feels impossible but then over time you have the focus + clarity in larger amounts, like a resource pool you can draw from. Meditation can help sharpen and lengthen your focus.

 

[lock2k]

I've been ADD since childhood, even got pumped with Ritalin et al.

I mean, how do you learn to do anything other than one bit at a time? Hard to describe, but even 'focusing' is a skill that can be trained. Feels impossible but then over time you have the focus + clarity in larger amounts, like a resource pool you can draw from. Meditation can help sharpen and lengthen your focus.

This is good to know, I'm heavily ADD and the only thing that makes me concentrate is listening to music while working.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

Yep, music works really well for me too. Hours upon hours every day. It's a good metronome, which I use for the aforementioned breathing routines, but also to gauge exercise reps. There's an element of brain health. If you eat well, sleep well, meditate, don't overdrug yourself on caffeine, etc ADD symptoms all but vanish.

I'm not a Dr of ADD, just a lifelong sufferer, if ADD is indeed even a real thing. In either case, structuring mundane routines through my day, but not slaving myself to them (which might cause someone to tip too far into OCD tendencies) makes it very easy to focus when I need to focus.

 

[esoteric]

How do you do it when you're an hyperactive motherfucker like who can't stop thinking for one minute?

That's actually an advantage more than a disadvantage. The reason being, that once you're used to doing it, the rewards will be more obvious and you will have more of an incentive to keep doing it.

I've been ADD since childhood, even got pumped with Ritalin et al.

I mean, how do you learn to do anything other than one bit at a time? Hard to describe, but even 'focusing' is a skill that can be trained. Feels impossible but then over time you have the focus + clarity in larger amounts, like a resource pool you can draw from. Meditation can help sharpen and lengthen your focus.

Yep, this is great advice. Main thing is @lock2k : just do it. If you have questions after that (or even before), just ask us and we'll help you figure it out.

 

[esoteric]

I just thought I'd share this to give a sense of how powerful (in a selfless and positive way) meditation can make a person.

As for Rubin's meditation position, I'm almost the same, though I keep one of my feet positioned a bit differently.

 

[CloudNull]

I used to practice the whim Hoff method back in the day. Today while at the spa they had an equivalent of an ice bath for hydro therapy. I decided to give it the old college try.

I got to 13 minutes before I had to get out and then jumped straight Into the hot tub. It made me feel 10 years younger and gave me tons of clarity. I think I would like to incorporate ice baths in my fitness/mediation routine in the future.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

I used to practice the whim Hoff method back in the day. Today while at the spa they had an equivalent of an ice bath for hydro therapy. I decided to give it the old college try.

I got to 13 minutes before I had to get out and then jumped straight Into the hot tub. It made me feel 10 years younger and gave me tons of clarity. I think I would like to incorporate ice baths in my fitness/mediation routine in the future.

lotta athletes / bodybuilders have been giving it a try now that health clubs, gyms, spas, etc are including more ice baths.

It's amazing. Glad you got back into it!

 

[lock2k]

I think I would like to incorporate ice baths in my fitness/mediation routine in the future.

Tell me more...