
A Simple Guide to Meditation - MichaelAO
http://www.theflowstatecollective.com/flow-habits/a-simple-guide-to-meditation
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cko
Meditation is one of those things that people think they're talking about the
same thing when actually they're not. It's not just one thing - different
religions and traditions have completely different approaches. Sure, there are
some key concepts common to all like "awareness" and "mindfulness" \- but
awareness and mindfulness of what? Christians might "meditate" on a passage in
the Bible. Theravada Buddhists have the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. There
are Zen koans. I have no idea on other forms but I imagine there are way more.

Even among Theravada Buddhist meditation instructors there are clear
disagreements on what the experience should be, how concentrated the mind
should be, etc.

For example, for something as simple as a pull-up there are questions like:
what muscles are being worked? What is the proper form? Pronated or supinated
grip? What pace and why?

If I read an article on any subject I expect to see lots of footnotes.

Meditation is something way more subtle than doing pull-ups, yet most guides
seem to assume that there is one concrete definition in the learner's mind.
Where did the prescribed method come from? What is the goal? To just put
instructions or information about any subject without mentioning background or
citing any sources is strange to me - is meditation so new, obscure, or
insignificant a subject that it doesn't warrant a little more rigor?

TLDR: meditation is a bigger subject than most people reslize.

~~~
bayonetz
True - meditation means different things to different people. It's obvious the
author is referring to the "mindfulness" version though and is trying to do so
in simple-as-possible guide form so as not to distract with all the depth and
nuance you allude to. I think most people get that there are many different
types of meditation. I appreciate the article's simplicity because when I was
a once a beginner all I seemed to be able to find was less than simple school-
specific (Zen, Shambala, etc) instruction. The problem with the school-
specific teachings, IMHO, is that they are all mindfullness-oriented, yet each
adds their own special ritual and ceremony which as a beginner you mistake as
being essential. At least for me, I've converged on an intentionally Occam's
razor style approach aimed at stripping the non-essential. The coolest thing
about Bhudda's story to me is he just sort of figured it all out for himself
and said each of us should do the same. I've figured out for myself, for
example, that it is not necessary at all to sit cross-legged. It makes no
difference for me yet standard teachings always strongly encourage it to the
point that you feel like you are "doing it wrong" if you don't. Teachers will
even say, "if you can't sit cross-legged it's ok..." but when everybody in the
group is doing otherwise, the overwhelming signal is it is actually not ok.

I guess one thing I'm saying is the kind of folks drawn to try meditation are
often the same kind of folks who will willingly dive down rabbit holes
investigating the differences between the schools and entertaining themselves
with koans, etc. all the while distracting themselves from actually getting
started with the meditation itself. Can confirm; was one of these people.
That's why I'd caution against trying to raise awareness of all this
complexity to the beginners this guide is intended for.

~~~
adfm
I can't agree with you enough. Also, looking at all the comments, I'm amazed
at the complete lack of discussion of love and compassion. Regardless of your
personal beliefs, if you're not including either, you're doing it wrong.

Oh, and nothing is as perfect as you believe it to be.

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simongray
Definitely check out Sam Harris' book "Waking Up" (the atheist guy). It was a
great introduction to meditation for me.

~~~
crusso
I really enjoyed that book and Harris' approach to meditation. Since Harris is
a neuroscientist and an atheist, there's no mysticism in the book. No talk
about "feeling the energy".

In addition to the meditation information, he also goes into some neurological
theory of thought generation in the hemispheres of the brain that I found
quite fascinating.

[edited for clarity]

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chnx
When I first started meditating I found the book The Relaxation Response
helpful. It has a one page guide to activating the parasympathetic nervous
system and is non-spiritual in its application.

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fierycatnet
For those who are interested in advanced meditation and pushing the limits, I
can recommend book "Focused and Fearless". Covers very powerful techniques. I
went from unable to sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour of effortless deep meditation
within a week. YMMV.

~~~
nstart
Sadly, I never made it to advanced meditation. 10 minutes in and I fall
asleep. Used to do that in the shower right after I got home from
sports/training. Meditate for 10 minutes under a very light stream of water.
The results from doing that for nearly 6 years serves me well every single day

~~~
cnp
Sometimes 10 minutes is all you need. I feel like years of heavy partying
wrecked my memory and I've been meditating for about 8 months and I can feel
it returning to what it once was.

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kitwalker12
I found a helpful primer to meditation and associated benefits in a good book
by Dan Harris - "10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress
Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works"

Mainly he decouples the practice from the spiritual part of it. so you can go
in without expecting a monk to come out the other side.

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tugberkk
Well, @cko is definitely right; and there are many kinds of meditation
techniques. But for one, without getting into too much detail, there is Zazen
(without koans), where you are trying to "just be"; and think nothing. Just
be, do not cling to any other ideas or thoughts, and when you realize you are
thinking, stop it. Just be.

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JonnieCache
Here's a more complete beginners guide: Mindfulness in plain english. I
believe its something of a classic.

[http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html](http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html)

Scroll down for the ToC.

~~~
draven
I'm currently reading it (kindle edition.) Highly recommended. The style makes
it easy to read (I'm not a native english speaker), it's very down to earth in
its tone and addresses potential problems as it goes.

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scorpioxy
Here's my issue with meditation. There's no guide to what progress should look
like. As in, everything I read says you shouldn't have any expectations and to
just do it and there's a lot of benefit in it. I get that, I've been doing it
for over a year now regularly but how can I know if it has any effects
whatsoever?

Since I suspect there might be other techniques than focusing on the breath or
body scans, I try to follow different guided meditations. After my session, i
feel relaxed and my mind slow but efficient. Like getting up after a good nap.

But so does working out at the gym, sort of. Over there, however, you can
directly see progress. With meditation...

Perhaps I am looking at this in the wrong way?

~~~
ryanjshaw
Hopefully this doesn't seem an obvious response, but to my mind there seems to
be at least two schools of thought regarding meditation. These schools are not
mutually exclusive, FWIW.

One school seems to see meditation as an end to itself, the other as a tool
towards some other end. I can't speak to the former, but for the latter - one
approach you could follow is to identify experts who have written on the area
of improvement and who prescribe meditation as a tool. For example, if you're
using meditation to improve willpower, then a book on willpower will help you
identify whether your meditation techniques are improving your willpower [1].

[1] For example, "The Willpower Instinct" (K. McGonigal) discusses the use of
meditation to improve willpower, as well as the 'state of the art' on the
subject, so it provides you with some tools you can use to evaluate whether
you're making improvements or not

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cnp
Just got back from a meditation gathering from meetup.com and all I have to
say is WOW. Powerful, and highly recommended.

Start with 3 min a day right when you wake up (before food, cigarette,
anything at all) and then go from there.

~~~
tomjen3
I tried meditation for a month, all it did was bore me and make me fall
asleep.

~~~
kseistrup
In meditation, mental states and thoughts will play out that are never or
rarely allowed to play out. If you are ever so slightly sleep deprived,
chances are that sleep will sneak into your meditation. Just watch what comes
up in meditation, and act accordingly.

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Kiro
> Close your eyes and take one breath in through the nose and one breath out
> through the nose.

Should I take this literally? I have a condition which makes it very hard for
me to breath through my nose. Is it a requirement?

~~~
simongray
It's not a requirement. The reason many vipassana guides say to breath through
your nose is because most people can easily feel the air at the tip of nose
and it gives them a clear point of focus. You can breath through your mouth
too. Some people prefer focusing on air coming into the stomach instead.

When I have a cold or some other build-up in my nose, I just breath through
the mouth, no problem.

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rdudekul
I practice a form of meditation called Passage Meditation. Though simple,
Passage Meditation is definitely not easy. However the results I have seen
from myself and others, makes it an extremely beneficial practice.

Here is a free online course for those interested in it.

[http://www.easwaran.org/introductory-passage-meditation-
cour...](http://www.easwaran.org/introductory-passage-meditation-course-
introduction.html)

~~~
slowmotiony
It would be nice if you elaborated on those results.

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zafka
My favorite guide to meditation is: Being nobody Going nowhere by ayya khema

This subject also highlights how irrational i am. I still remember how
beneficial meditation was for me when I practiced it. But getting back into
the practice ..... sigh

~~~
crusso
It's like exercise. The benefits are pretty obvious and enjoyable when you're
doing it, but putting forth the effort isn't always easy.

I actually try to combine the two practices. I have an exercise bike and I
meditate while I'm riding it.

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leke
A while back, I was looking for a guide to meditation and found this to be
really helpful:
[http://www.meditationmojo.com/](http://www.meditationmojo.com/)

