
30 day challenge: meditation - niyazpk
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/30-day-challenge-meditation/
======
michael_dorfman
Too bad Matt didn't get some actual meditation instruction-- I think it would
have been more interesting (and beneficial) for him had he done so.
Unfortunately, his description makes it clear that he didn't really know what
he was doing:

 _First, it was difficult (impossible?) to turn my brain off. I’m accustomed
to using my brain all the time, every day. I don’t like to turn my brain off.
I definitely struggled with that all month._

Meditation is _not_ about "turning your brain off."

 _Someone recommended counting, for example counting leaves on a tree, as a
way to help. That worked very well, but it also felt like counting was keeping
my mind busy rather than clearing it out._

Some meditation traditions use counting-- but not like that. Counting the
leaves on a tree might be a nice thing to do, but it's not meditation (at
least according to any tradition I've ever heard of-- and I'm reasonably well
schooled on the subject.)

~~~
inovica
Absolutely agree with you. This seems like an excuse for a blog post rather
than something that he was actively seeking to truly learn. I'm sure if he'd
even read a decent book on it that he would have benefited much more. For
anyone reading these comments who is interested in meditation, check out these
two free books:

Happy To Burn - <http://www.sankhara.com.au/shop/products/displayFree.html>

Mindfulness in Plain English - <http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html>

I found these to be very useful as I started exploring meditation. I also
found a yoga teacher that also taught meditation - enough to make a difference
in my life, both working and outside of work.

~~~
michael_dorfman
I don't know "Happy to Burn", but Bhante G's "Meditation in Plain English" is
an excellent book.

However, I think that learning to meditate from a book is a bit like learning
to swim from a book-- I'm sure it is possible, but it's definitely not the
easiest (or most efficient) way to learn.

I'd recommend that anyone who is interested try to find a center to visit, and
take some in-person instruction.

~~~
jonhendry
There are also audio guided meditations available online from established
teachers.

eg, <http://www.dharma.org/ims/mr_audio.php>

------
hugh3
A while back I made one of the calming and relaxing decisions I ever made: I
decided to not meditate.

Before that, every time I saw an article like this I would feel pressured and
hounded into meditating. But now I'm totally relaxed about it, because I know
I'm never going to start meditating, and this detachment from the nonstop you-
must-meditate-to-be-happy pressure fills me with a feeling of bliss.

I highly recommend not-meditating to everybody.

~~~
awakeasleep
I guess you're eating it for the humor here, but I pretty much agree with you
at this point in my life.

I've tried meditating several times, once every day for a month or so, and I
feel like it's hype. Probably because I never fully "got it" but at the same
time I wonder why successful figures in history aren't known for meditating.

I feel like like such a beneficial and simple practice would have developed in
parallel throughout many cultures and we'd have our own analog- if it was
actually beneficial.

~~~
michael_dorfman
I'm certainly not going to push meditation on anyone, but I don't think the
"it wasn't developed in parallel" argument is a poor one-- meditation
practices are pretty much ubiquitous throughout all of Asia. That's not
nothing. Furthermore, besides the obvious Buddhist and Hindu traditions, there
_are_ meditative traditions (albeit minor ones) within Christianity.

I'm quite surprised to hear that you tried meditating every day for a month or
so, without "getting it"-- to me, that sounds like you had a terrible
meditation instructor.

Anyway: feel free to not meditate, if that's working for you, but the "not
invented here" argument seems pretty weak to me.

~~~
gnaritas
Prayer itself _is_ a form of meditation, it's not at all just minor
traditions.

~~~
michael_dorfman
Not all forms of prayer can be construed as meditation (as it is generally
considered.) Some can, but these are not the dominant form in most Christian
traditions.

------
jk
I have been doing Transcendental Meditation (TM) twice a day for 38 years. I
am not suggesting that you do TM. But I have some practical guidelines:

Be regular. Absolutely do not miss sessions. Regularity establishes a base
line to your day.

Find some group or guru who can help you discuss your experiences. Over time
you will need to talk about what occurs during your meditations.

Meditation is a different way of thinking not non-thinking.

Meditation is the high point of my day. If you are not enjoying it or
fulfilled by it, you are doing something else.

------
zafka
One of the best books I have read on meditation is: "Being Nobody, Going
Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path"

------
hess
I am helping a serial entrepreneur who has the exact same problem of "turning
his brain off". The best thing we have found is the pranayama iPhone app by
saagara.com.

Try it for 15 minutes, everyday, either in the morning, or before bed.

