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Reddit mentions of The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science

Sentiment score: 46
Reddit mentions: 72

We found 72 Reddit mentions of The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science. Here are the top ones.

The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
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Found 72 comments on The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science:

u/dharmadharmadharma · 554 pointsr/IAmA

/u/everythingisforants, PM me if you're in the US and would like me to mail you, from Amazon, a copy of my favorite book about meditation. (Free, no strings attached.) :)

Edit: Wow, I didn't predict this enthusiastic of a response! I didn't list the name of the book because I wanted to offer a gift to someone, not be salesy. :)

The book is "The Mind Illuminated" by Dr. John Yates (Culadasa). There's a whole Reddit dedicated to the book at /r/TheMindIlluminated. Many of his students answer questions in the Reddit and offer assistance. Also check out /r/StreamEntry and /r/Meditation. If you're interesting in learning about the nature of suffering, the causes of suffering, and the way to end suffering, check out /r/Buddhism.

I don't think you need a book to learn how to meditate but getting good instruction is critical. Meditation is like any other skill—playing the piano?—without good instruction you have no guarantee of success. It can be the difference between sitting on the cushion for twenty years and not getting anywhere versus a decent chance of becoming enlightened withinin several years. A good teacher in person is best, but failing that a good book can be of great use... whether this one or several others. "The Progress of Insight" is also worth a read.

Edit part deux: Holy Inbox Batman!

I also just remembered that two of his students are teaching a 6-week video intro course online:

  • Dates: January 8th - February 12th
  • Time: Sundays 4:30 to 6pm Pacific Time (7:30 to 9pm Eastern)
  • Cost: $150 (no one will be turned away due to inability to pay).

    PM me if you want more details.
u/Th334 · 123 pointsr/Meditation

Beginner meditation is simple. Pay attention to your meditation object (eg sensations of breath at the nose), and when you notice that your mind has wandered off somewhere else:

(1) Take a moment to appreciate the part of your mind that informed you that you are no longer paying attention to the meditation object. This strengthens and encourages this useful faculty of your mind.

(2) Gently, without judgement, redirect your attention back to the meditation object.

(3) Strengthen your grip on the meditation object by engaging with it more fully.

Some further tips:

  • At all times keep being aware of your environment, like sounds or body sensations, just don't actively focus on them. Let them be in the background.

  • Untrained mind will always wander off, the exercise lies in noticing it and redirecting it back.

  • Just observe your meditation object (and your mind) exactly as it is. The goal is to learn and to be curious, and not to force your mind with willpower.

  • Positive reinforcement is key. Take a moment to think about your motivations to meditate before every sit. Accept every experience that you observe. Remember that there is no such thing as a bad meditation.

    (Source)
u/balanced_goat · 43 pointsr/Meditation

A much more comprehensive and practical explanation of this (including exactly how to do it, not just 'keep meditating') can be found in The Mind Illuminated by John Yates, PhD (aka Culadasa).

u/TamSanh · 28 pointsr/Buddhism

Ajahn Mun and Xu Yun were two monks that had claims of their enlightenment written into their biographies. Thich Quang Duc, of Rage Against the Machine album cover fame, was also arguably one such being, amongst many others.

But, really, if you're worried about evidence that the Buddha's path is true, the only way to remove all of your own doubt is for you to try it for yourself. Those without trust in the great teacher will never feel satisfied with anecdotes and proclamations of attainment; only going through the motions will allow you to see. Thankfully, there are markers along the path that are not as "far away" as enlightenment, and looking out for those during the journey should be more than enough to dispel those lingering doubts that what he taught is achievable in the current lifetime.

I recommend The Mind Illuminated for contemporary, clear instructions about the journey.

Edit Passive voice.

u/CelestialDynamics · 22 pointsr/Meditation
In order of importance:

Book|Author|Forum|Notes
--|:--|:--|:--
The Mind Illuminated|John Yates|/r/TheMindIlluminated|Sometimes too technical, otherwise, perfect.
Mastering The Core Teachings of the Buddha|Daniel Ingram|Dharma Overground, /r/streamentry|Most times, too arrogant. Still valuable.
Opening the Hand of Thought|Kosho Uchiyama|r/Zen, Local Zendo|Zen leaves too much to the reader to figure out
A Path With Heart|Jack Kornfield|--|Doesn't give the how, but the Why for many people.

To give you an idea from a technical meditation standpoint, The Mind Illuminated cuts this into ten stages, like a cooking recipe, or a college degree.

This post, based, on Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, tells you exactly what stream entry looks like, it's unmistakable.

Here are instructions for first Jhana. Once you get some access concentration, where you can rest your mind on something for a bit with some stability, you can reach concentration states. Jhanas are amazing! (That stoned feeling is a light Jhana)

* Daniel's Map. Not everyone see's it exactly this way, but I found it to be fairly accurate. I mean, there's a map, it isn't just "close your eyes and be."

Thanks for the feedback!

***

I am a Zen Buddhist, with heavy influences from Theravada and Vipassana.


u/kimininegaiwo · 12 pointsr/AskWomen

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook helped me with my anxiety.

It's not exactly a self-help book, but The Mind Illuminated has helped me learn more about meditation and mindfulness.

u/under_the_pressure · 12 pointsr/Foodforthought

Insight Timer is better (and free). Also (serious) The Mind Illuminated

u/KingKontinuum · 10 pointsr/todayilearned

It seems a lot of people have a misperception of what mindfulness meditation is/does. Many seem to think the goal is to focus on your thoughts when that is the exact opposite of what you're doing depending on your practice.

If anyone is genuinely interested you should check out r/meditation. From there, I found a great book -- the mind illuminated -- that gives insightful tips about meditation.

There's a ton of published work and literature out there that you can stick your head into and grasp a firm understanding of what it does to one's brain once they begin their regular practice.

Researchers have found that it can be more beneficial than a vacation.

u/lysergico · 9 pointsr/microdosing

I would recommend mindfulness meditation, I find it synergizes quite well with microdosing, at the same time it goes deeper and is longer lasting

If you have 9 minutes to spare, listen to this: https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/mindfulness-meditation-9

If you have another 26, listen to this: https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/mindfulness-meditation-26

The absolute best book on the subject matter in my opinion is The Mind Illuminated, it reads like a college text book and the process is laid out nicely and is easy to follow.

I have found mindfulness to be an important tools in my life toolkit.

u/[deleted] · 8 pointsr/Meditation

Sit, preferably legs crossed. Close your eyes. Breath in and breath out. Try to focus on your breath and notice how much calmer you get with each breath.

Whenever your mind wanders, note it, appreciate it and come back to the breath. Keep doing this for about 10 or 15 minutes. As the days become weeks, increase your time to 20 minutes or 30 minutes.

If you feel soreness or tightness in your body, try your best to note it and accept it as it is then come back to your breath. If it is too much pain, then by all means stop. Try stretching and exercising a little more during your free time.

This, IMO, is a great book and it is often recommended on this site: https://www.amazon.ca/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705

u/batbdotb · 7 pointsr/Meditation

A few options here:

  1. You may not be getting enough sleep - but you are normally too stimulated to notice. Meditation may be making you aware that you are tired. If this is the case - meditate BEFORE going to bed if you can, you will sleep much better.

  2. Diet is not mentioned much here - but it is extremely important. Having high vegetable intake has drastically changed my overall levels of focus and mental clarity.

  3. In terms of meditation, you may be indulging in dullness as part of your practice. This is a major corner stone of The Mind Illuminated. Essentially, you may need to focus more on becoming alert in your meditation sessions. Much has been written about this elsewhere so I will not get into it here. But investigating dullness and alertness is a start.

    Best wishes
u/snoozyd87 · 7 pointsr/getdisciplined

Hi, 31M, fighting depression, acute social anxiety disorder and suicidal tendencies. I am doing good now. Had a scare a few months ago when a close family member fell really ill, and I really started to put in the effort to turn my life around. It is a work in progress, but I am doing well. My advice:

  1. Realize, first and foremost, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you, everything is okay. If you are an Introvert, that is perfectly fine, in fact that is a cause for celebration. You see the world runs on profit, on selling you shit you don't need and is actually harmful to you, and you being introvert is bad for business. Being calm, self-aware, introspective means no more impulse purchases, no more stress-eating, no more constant sugar rush, and most importantly no more addictions. Good for you, horrible for selling you supersaturated soda, processed junk food and drugs.

  2. Realize that being shy and socially awkward is not the same as introversion. These often rise from our deep rooted emotions and conflicts, sometimes we are not aware of them. I'll give a simple example, I have lower back pain since childhood. I recently started exercising and found a fantastic fitness channel on YT. I realized that the cause of my pain was that my Glutes are terribly weak, and my Abs are weak too. My back hurts not because there's something wrong with it, but because it is overworked. My back has to put in 3 times the effort just to stabilize my core and help move my spine. Similarly, The real cause of all your emotional distress can be found, and healed, only when you start to exercise. Which means:

  3. Meditate. Common sense, buddy, just as nobody but yourself can gift you with a healthy and athletic body, only you can find joy and happiness in yourself once you clean out all that fear and anxiety in your mind. Of course, a good teacher or a good book helps, just as with exercise. Simple breathing meditation. Sit comfortably. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Focus on the flow of breath. The mind will wander. Gently bring it back. Try it, start with what I did: try to perform just 3 perfect cycles. If you want to understand the scientific basis for why Meditation works, read: The Mind Illuminated | John Yates, Matthew Immergut, Jeremy Graves

    Some more reading: If you want to know how meditation helps the mind, read the best book on cognitive therapy:Feeling Good | David Burns.

    For instructions on breathing and mindfulness meditation, there are many great resources online. Also check out /r/Meditation.

  4. The one thing, the one attribute that defines us and helps us most in time of need is Willpower. There is this reservoir of strength inside you, an untapped fountain of energy that will sweep away all the uncertainty, fear and pain once you tap into it. Read this: The Will power Instinct | Kelly McGonigal.

  5. Develop some good habits. Wake up early. Keep tidy. Meditate. Exercise. Eat healthy. Read. Habits play a crucial role in forming us, and many of these habits are critical to our success or failure. Read this: The Power of Habit | Charles Duhigg.

  6. Finally, find a goal in your life. A goal that fulfills you, gives you purpose, and makes you whole. We have a word in Sanskrit: 'Samriddhi'. It means physical, mental and spiritual fulfillment. An observation: your financial well-being is a key factor in your happiness, because it directly affects you and your ability to care for and help others. Understanding how money works and how to enjoy a steady and growing flow of income is a key skill that is often neglected. Yes it is a skill that can be learned and trained just like exercise, with just a bit of help from our old friend willpower.

  7. Lastly remember you are not weak, fragile, pushover or any of these silly things. You are good. You are beautiful, strong and confident, and don't you dare think otherwise.

    I leave you with this song: Get up! Be good. PM me if you need anything.
u/lulzoiaf · 6 pointsr/Meditation

It is a very common, almost universal, phenomenon at the transition point between total beginner and "starting to get it". See it as a stage, it will go away as you keep sitting. It will probably come back regularly almost every time you sit for some time.

Culadasa calls it "Grade I piti" in his book The Mind Illuminated.

Daniel Ingram calls it second nana, or Knowledge of Cause and Effect, in his book Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha.

u/CoachAtlus · 6 pointsr/Meditation

That's the default state of mind. Your practice is simply making you aware of that state.

Unfortunately, there's no way to simply turn off thinking. That's like trying to turn off hearing. For brief stretches of time, with powerful concentration, you can absorb yourself in an object other than thought, such that the thinking recedes into the background (and depending on the depth of your absorption may appear to cease altogether), but that's a difficult practice.

Alternatively, through insight meditation, you can follow how your attention moves between thoughts (or mental objects) and the objects of your senses, moment-by-moment. Through that, you'll see how thoughts are constructed, always dependent on some other thing that has arisen, and you'll also see how thoughts pass away, like all other things.

Through this process of investigating the mind, you'll also see how experience is always unsatisfactory in some way, either because you're experiencing something unpleasant that you want to go away or because you're experiencing something pleasant, but you're anxious about losing it.

As the mind begins to understand this, it begins to naturally become less enchanted by all experience, and the quality of "equanimity" is developed, a sort of peaceful balance, where all experience -- for better or worse -- is allowed to arise and simply be as it is, without that added layer of constantly pushing it away or clinging to it, which is what generates stress or dissatisfaction.

With a more advanced practice, there may come a time when the mind ceases completely, a state called "cessation," which can lead to very powerful insight into the nature of mind, but also has the very practical benefit of seemingly re-wiring the brain in such a way that the volume and frequency of certain thoughts seems to subside to an extent.

All of this, though, requires exceptional commitment and effort. You alone own the practice.

Some helpful resources if you're interested: My teacher website, which talks about the practice I've engaged in and found helpful. Also, I'd recommend The Mind Illuminated, which is the best meditation manual I've read and discusses some of these concepts.

u/heartsutra · 6 pointsr/Meditation

Subtle dullness is a meditation obstacle that arises once you subdue mind-wandering, gross distraction, and gross dullness (sometimes described as drowsiness or mental sinking). The problem with subtle dullness is that it can fool you into thinking you've attained single-pointed concentration when in fact you're in a very subtle fog. It's considered a very dangerous state, and meditators can waste their lives that way.

I know of at least two meditation traditions that talk about subtle dullness. I first learned about it in Tibetan Buddhist meditation instruction. Here's some instruction from Pabongka Rinpoche as transcribed by Trijang Rinpoche, who was one of the Dalai Lama's two main tutors. In this case he's talking about using a visualized image of a Buddha or mandala as the meditation object:

> There are two types of dullness, subtle and coarse. When you recall your meditation device, its image may be steady but unclear. This is coarse dullness. Subtle dullness is as follows: you have not lost the retained features of the visualization, you even have steadiness and clarity of image, but the force of your retention has slackened and its clarity is not intense. Subtle dullness is the main obstruction to meditation. [From Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand]

Culadasa (my main meditation teacher) also talks a lot about subtle dullness and how dangerous it is. It Here's what he says in The Mind Illuminated:

> This new level of stable attention is precisely what makes us more vulnerable to slipping into a deeper state of sustained subtle dullness. That's because the mental agitation that stimulated the mind and helped keep us awake in earlier Stages has subsided. As subtle dullness deepens, it causes both peripheral awareness and subtle distractions to fade. If we don't recognize this as a sign of subtle dullness, it can easily be mistaken for the strong, exclusive focus of Stage Six... Without guidance, meditators often confuse a deeper state of subtle dullness with having achieved the more loft states of later Stages.

He goes on to say:

> We can sustain this type of subtle dullness for very long periods. It's often described in these kinds of terms: "My concentration was so deep, an hour seemed only like minutes." Or, "I don't know where I went, but I was just gone, and felt so peaceful and happy."

If you're meditating just to relax, I suppose that's OK, but both Culadasa and the Tibetan tradition warn that spending a long time in subtle dullness will just make you stupider over time, like a burnout. And if you're meditating with the goal to perceive higher truths, subtle dullness is a terrible trap:

> When the pleasure of dullness is particularly strong and our peripheral awareness of thoughts and sensations fades completely, our meditation can even seem to fit the description of a meditative absorption (jhana). We can quickly get attached to such experiences, prizing them as proof of our meditative skills. Yet, relative to the practice goals in this book, they are complete dead ends. It's crucial we learn to recognize and overcome subtle dullness to progress in your practice.

u/Fleezo · 5 pointsr/Meditation

I'm just going to link you to this book which has helped me. I have been practicing meditation for about a year and half now everyday. I got this book about 2 months ago and I wish I had gotten it when I first started. It basically lays out all the different stages of meditation like a road map while most things you read online are going to be like signs which say where to go but don't actually let you know where you are in the journey. Book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0990847705?keywords=The%20Mind%20Illuminated&qid=1451733621&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

u/tanger · 5 pointsr/Meditation

I am not a meditation expert (I think I am TMI level 4) so I can't fully evaluate its teachings but I read a number of books and I like this book the best. It is a very detailed guide with clear explanations for meditators of all experience levels. I think people just like the book so much that it looks they have a stake in the sales. Look at the reviews at https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ - 134 reviews, 4.9 stars in average. Redditor for 10 years ;)

u/TheRedBaron11 · 5 pointsr/LucidDreaming

For starters, I've been reading this absolutely amazing book, I've had a few revelations into how purposeful meditation can help lucid dreaming techniques. Firstly, the book emphasizes the idea that one of the main purposes of meditation is to cultivate two things: Mindfulness and Stable Attention.

------

Mindfulness, many of you are very aware of. It includes both external observation (what's going on around you, sensations in your body, etc) and internal, metacognitive observation (awareness of emotion and thought). It means being peripherally aware of these things, without directing your primary attention towards them.

Many lucid dreaming techniques involve mindfullness, and ADA is the pinnacle. ADA is a technique that is not only geared towards dreaming - it is an end goal of many who are purely interested in the benefits it can bring to waking life as well.

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Stable attention, on the other hand, is not so heavily emphasized in this sub. Meditation is like weight training for your mind. If you lift chest and bis every day, neglecting your legs, you'll look like a chicken. If you cultivate mindfullness without regarding stable attention, the book outlines a few "symptoms" that could not only make lucid dreaming harder, but also could be detrimental to (desired) brain function.

The hardest part about advanced stages of meditation seems to be combining the two together, at the same time, so that both your awareness and focus are effortless and powerful. For a long time, I was meditating with the purpose of developing ADA and mindfulness only. I have gotten very good at doing reality checks, my awareness is pretty solid throughout the day, and I often realize I'm dreaming. However, my ability to focus has not made very much progress - in fact sometimes I feel like it's gotten worse. Even though I become lucid often, the dream does not always become super vivid, the length is often short, and I tend to get distracted SUPER easily.

-------

Since I started focusing on the two as a pair during meditation, I have seen many benefits that come from training the attention, both awake and asleep. In waking life my focus has gotten better. Attention wanders naturally for everyone, but my cycle of re-focusing it has become much shorter. The way you get distracted doing work is the same way you get distracted from your meditation object (finger wagging, the breath, yoga poses, etc). In the dream world, the vividity of my dreams has increased, they've been more stable, and I'm more able to focus on my dream intentions without "losing it".

Instead of trying to be aware of everything but focussed on nothing (the silence that we talk about), it is sometimes good to be aware of everything and focus on nothing but the meditation object. Something specific is best, such as the sensations of the breath passing the tip of your nose.

tl;dr You can't pick and choose what you want to train. The meditation and lucid dreaming package includes both mindfulness and stable attention, and training one to the exclusion of the other has consequences - awake or asleep.

u/MonkeyIsNullo · 4 pointsr/Meditation

Dhamma Brothers is a film about teaching meditation to inmates. The teachers, I believe, were certified Goenka's style of Vipassana, which, crudely put, is basic body scanning. Some great links can be found on this thread. Your Breathing Body Vol1 & Vol2 by Reggie Ray is probably the most comprehensive coverage you're going to get for staying with the body - if that's what you want to do. Most likely you do since prison is not exactly a safe place. Mindfulness of the body would be a great refuge in a place like that. Also, you could look into stuff by Shinzen Young, he has a lot of videos on YouTube and new book coming out, however, to simplify his stuff even more you could get this book. Simple practices is what I would stick with for prison. Also, also, someone in this thread will, sooner or later, recommend The Mind Illuminated. You can't go wrong with the techniques in there.

Edit: grammar. :/

u/hissingcookie · 4 pointsr/samharris

The mind Illuminated is probably the most straightforward, no-nonesense, textbook style guide to meditation I've ever read. It can be a little dry but has clear actionable advice for anyone serious about practicing.

u/Sherlockian_Holmes · 4 pointsr/Meditation

I can really recommend the book A Mind Illuminated if you need a sort of guide through the steps. It's really well-made and helpful on the path.

Here's an excerpt that seems relevant:

>“You’ve reached Stage Nine when there’s complete pacification of the senses and fully developed meditative joy. This means that almost every time you sit, you can enter a state of mental and physical pliancy, accompanied by the blisses of mental and physical pliancy. This is also called Grade V or pervading pīti, which you experience as circulating energy, physical comfort, pleasure, stability, and intense joy. Although you can regularly achieve this grade of pīti, each time you do, the growing intensity of the joy and energy of the experience inevitably disrupts it.
The goal of Stage Nine is for meditative joy to mature completely, and for pīti to subside in intensity. You accomplish this by repeatedly reaching Grade V pīti and sustaining it for as long as you can. Other than that, you just have to keep out of the way while continuing to practice. When you can stay with the pīti long enough, allowing unification to proceed and joy to mature, pīti eventually gives way to tranquility and equanimity. This is the essence of Stage Nine practice.”

>“For the intensity of pīti to calm, you need to be able to sustain it until the intensity peaks and starts to subside, giving way to tranquility and equanimity. At first, Grade V pīti can’t be sustained very long at all because physical pliancy is so novel, interesting, and enjoyable. And the highly energized, excited state of Grade V pīti makes potential distractions, such as altered body perception, illumination, and inner sound, even more potent. Competing intentions to attend to these phenomena repeatedly succeed in disrupting the consensus to attend exclusively to the breath.”

>“The excitement can also produce a powerful, restless urge to get up and share your experience with someone. It’s also common to mistake the intense joy, inner light, and transformed perception of the body for something more exalted. The ebullient satisfaction of meditative joy may make you think, “I’ve arrived. What more could I want? This is it!” Remember, joy affects not only how we feel in response to experiences, but also how we perceive and interpret them. Enjoy these positive qualities, but don’t be misled by them.
To deal with these distractions, urges, and misperceptions, recognize them for what they are, and just let them come, let them be, and let them go. Yes, you’ll likely give in a few times at first, but as soon as the euphoria subsides, return to the practice with a firm resolve to ignore whatever arises. On the positive side, these disruptions let you practice regaining pīti after you’ve lost it. An adept meditator at this Stage can usually overcome these problem “quickly and easily and stay with the pīti longer.”

  • Culadasa John Yates. “The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science.”

    Either way, seems like you're doing tremendous work. Strive on.





u/redspade117 · 3 pointsr/Meditation

Very good guide on meditation: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0990847705/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Compassion training: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101982926/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Use these books to begin a consistent meditation practice. Also, I would recommend finding a good therapist to work with on a regular basis. Start journaling and try to give yourself a break, talk to yourself a little more nicely. You don't need to hate something about yourself, remember that you are human and be grateful that you at least recognize what may need to change within yourself. Some people never even get that far :)

u/Zossimov · 3 pointsr/LucidDreaming

I'm glad you're enjoying the book and that it's helping you on the way to ADA! I didn't post it earlier in the daily thread since I got sidetracked by different things and it slipped out of my mind.

While we're on the subject, I've got couple of more resources regarding mindfulness meditation that might be interesting.

The first one is a comprehensive book on meditation called The mind illuminated which offers a step by step process of how to meditate and provides plenty of answers for a novice meditator. It helped me a great deal in the beginning since I didn't know what to expect or what to think of certain emotions that I was having while meditating - for example, bliss, the slight feeling of disgust or disassociation from certain things. Without knowing what to think of them, I was surprised at first that such emotions can well up inside me while meditating - "trying to relax" in my mind - but reading through that book and "Mindfulness in plain English" made me realise that meditation is an active introspective attention that shines a light on one's thoughts and emotions. The goal of meditation is not the removal of such emotions or thoughts, it's their understanding through purposive attention. I would highly recommend it for someone starting out with meditation with the caveat that it could be "too good" of a guide, as it is very structured and after a while that can be one of its cons.

Another resource worth looking into is that of Open Monitoring Meditation. What surprised me in the beginning and still does to this day, are the numerous variations on meditation and what those entail. Open Monitoring for me is a natural progression of the meditative practice I'm doing while seated for 20-25 minutes a day in meditation. I start out by paying attention to my breath, noticing the sensation of breathing in, holding the breath for a split second and then breathing out. Noticing whether I take a long, deep breath from my diaphragm or a shallow breath from my chest. Ask myself at first: Do I feel a certain tension in my chest, neck or shoulders? Then I start to pay attention to my mind and what thoughts arise within it - is it a compulsive thought on posting to reddit something I forgot, maybe or that job interview I'm going to have later in the day? After that, in whatever I do or think I ask myself "Is this worth thinking/doing?" if it is then I ask myself "How well am I doing this? Could I improve on it somehow?". The latter questions aren't meant to be judgemental, in my opinion, rather they should bring your attention and awareness to the thing that you are doing whatever that might be, walking, reading or writing a post on the sub. To me there are plenty of parallels between Open Monitoring and ADA, perhaps they are based upon the same body of practices and motivations or perhaps they are referring to the same thing but in a different language?

Either way, I highly recommend looking into it. Here's a scientific paper I found on a quick search that investigates Open Monitoring Meditation and two other forms of meditation, giving a pretty good overview picture of the three and their uses to the everyday meditator.

Hope it helps and I'll keep posting such resources whenever I come across more!

u/Tabularasa00 · 3 pointsr/Meditation

Personally I feel it's like trying to still the rippling water in a pond. In the earlier stages your trying to focus, focus but the mind is like an annoying five your old kid constantly lobbing these big rocks in to the pond. "Maybe I'll have Pizza Later" or "I can't believe what that person said today," Once you get past those then it's often followed by little pebbles like, "Oh this is going well today," or "Wow I didn't think about anything there for about 30 seconds." Then you might get pulled away by those tiny reflections and its back to square one with "Wow this is the best session I've ever had maybe I'll quit my job and go on retreat for 6 months, where will I start?" ;-) You could think of them as 'schools of thought' as you say or just a more coarse level of thought that's progressing to a more subtle level. I'd see it as a sign your making progress though, it's a good thing that your recognising them for what they are..just more thoughts. After you get through those more talky discursive statements and fantasies you'll probably find more and more subtle levels of background 'processing' that you start to notice, less verbal but still active and fighting for your attention too.

In some of the traditions I've looked at this idea of checking up or the active monitoring of your session occasionally is fine but it's used more strategically and momentarally, sometimes it's called 'introspection' or monitoring the flow of mindfulness in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition I think. That's a whole area in itself though, too much to go into here. This is not the same as judging or reflecting leisurely on whether your having an overall good session though, it's more a kind of quick spot check of the body and mind ensuring the continued quality and vividness of your engagement with the object (the breath in your case). This is done wordlessly and after a while when you get better at it it's so fast (like an eyeblink) that it doesn't distract the attention. It can become a distraction if over used in later stages though.

There's a good book I found by recommendation on here that is more detailed on specifics of techniques in stilling the mind.

http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451936629&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Mind+Illuminated

The author summarises some of the techniques and practices that are common to a few Buddhist traditions in a more *cough accesible way. Although he labels some things differently I recognise alot of his ideas from other works and classic texts I have read and studied over the past year and a half, he references some of the original sources too, might be worth a look. Patience and practice is the main thing I believe but there are specific techniques and roadmaps available you can use to make the journey quicker and easier.

u/bewalsh · 3 pointsr/Meditation

I never consistently reached jhana 1 before i realized that 'watching the breath' doesn't mean manually breathing and paying attention to it. You let your body breathe the way it does when you're doing other things, but watch it.

I extra strongly suggest reading:

  1. The Mind Illuminated

  2. Right Concentration

    If you read these two books it will 100% without any doubt get you to jhana, zero questions, zero gimmicks. The fruit of reading these two for me is indescribable, I genuinely cannot communicate how big the payoff on this is.
u/Iamfindingmyself · 3 pointsr/Meditation

That's super cool. Keep going! Wait until you feel separate from your thoughts. Or I guess a better way to put it is to simply observe the thoughts.

Given this golden nugget you experienced, you'll probably keep pushing to see how far you can get. Once you get a taste, it's hard to stop.

I strongly recommend you get the book The Mind Illuminated to maximize your meditation time. Or get another book for achieving enlightenment. Something which has you follow a path. Without direction/guidance, it's easy to hit dead ends. Another issue is what's called Dark Knight of the Soul which can be anything from depression to an existential crisis. Most "paths" to enlightenment are made to avoid Dark Knight.... Or so I believe I read once? I'm just an average schmo so don't put all your stock in my words.

But definitely check out The Mind Illuminated. With the practice you have going on, you'll blow your mind. Completely changed how I experience myself, the universe, and my role in it. Life changing stuff. I bet I recommend this book 5-7 times a week. I should get some sort of kick back lol. It's the least I can do though for what it's done.

The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990847705/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_iLtNDbSQN30WW

Not the cheapest on Amazon, but a good description. Cheaper options if you Google and you might even score a free pdf with some digging around.

u/chiubaka · 3 pointsr/Meditation

I'd have to agree with /u/TheHeartOfTuxes, the more you advance, you will reach a point where you need a teacher to help you uncover your blind spots in your practice. Doubt is one major and difficult hinderance to remove. You need to acquire experiential wisdom instead of intellectual wisdom.

In anycase, here are some scientific papers that might satisfy your intellectual itch:

Effects of mindfulness (Eberth 2012)

Why it pays off to be mindful (Fogarty 2013)

Mindfulness and self esteem (Randal 2015)

They might help you generate interest and motivation to practice.
If you are stuck, one highly recommended book is The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa. This is truly an amazing meditation bible that could help you get unstuck, if you don't have access to a teacher or if you are a DIY kind of person. This book is a gem, praised by several enlightened teachers and practitioners.

u/theLiftedMind · 3 pointsr/Nootropics

This book has everything you will need to know to become very avid at meditating. This book is for the first time meditator, and the advanced meditator. It covers the whole spectrum of meditation development and challenges. Check it out! http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458346490&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mind+illuminated

u/Sawagurumi · 3 pointsr/TheRedPill

OK, let's keep this simple and focussed. There are apps out there for subscription services, like Headspace or Calm, but I would strongly advise downloading 'Insight Timer' https://insighttimer.com. This is free (there is some paid content for extra ambient sounds or other bells, but those also are extremely cheap, like a couple of dollars, and you don't need to spend anything to get full use of the app), and is an excellent timer, everything you need. But it is much more than that. It also has loads of guided meditations and extra content for free, it tracks your sessions, includes a log for you to make notes, has groups for you to join, ask questions of, or encourage each other. You can't go wrong with this, it is extremely popular, and deserves to be.

If you don't know what it is all about, and don't have a teacher, then I highly suggest getting a copy of a new book called The mind illuminated: A complete meditation guide integrating buddhist wisdom and brain science by Culadasa, Matthew Immergut, and Jeremy Graves (Amazon lists Graves as the author) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_385721_139497151_TE_item. This will take you step by step through the process from the very beginning to advanced training in vipassana and samatha. You may also like A path with a heart by Jack Kornfield https://www.amazon.co.uk/Path-Heart-Jack-Kornfield/dp/0712657800/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467744239&sr=1-1&keywords=jack+kornfield+books, an old classic in the field. There are of course books about specific traditions within Buddhism, like those by the Dalai Llama, or Zen Training by Katsuki Sekida https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zen-Training-Philosophy-Katsuki-Sekida-ebook/dp/B007WVNUUW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467744277&sr=1-1&keywords=zen+training+methods+and+philosophy, but those first two are very good.

You may want to invest in a Zafu https://bluebanyan.co.uk/meditation-cushions/zafu-cushions-buckwheat.html and Zabuton https://bluebanyan.co.uk/meditation-mats/meditation-mat-flat-mat.html, but many westerners prefer a chair anyway.

Basically, meditation is taking your mind to the gym. Even without all the other benefits (and it does change the structure of your brain), even just the increase in self-discipline and stress reduction makes it very worth while.

u/visceralcumtyphoon · 3 pointsr/ADHD

Daily routine of meditation. Just keep going back to it even if you miss a day. After a month of a steady practice you'll start to surprise yourself with all the new mental kung fu you can do. I recommend this book highly: https://www.amazon.ca/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485222738&sr=8-1&keywords=the+mind+illuminated

For me, that book was life changing, only reading I did on meditation that didn't sound like "hippy-dippy nonesense". You don't even need to read the whole thing to get what you need out of it.

Excercise. I lean towards doing light consistent excercise everyday instead of lifting heavy three days a week.

Coffee, Nicotine, high protein/low-sugar diet.

I'm in the middle of my final year of undergrad and I'm totally without any medication (by choice). So I know exactly how frustrating it is. Do these things and do some research on how ADHD affects your mind, and you should make it just fine :)

u/mindful_amp · 2 pointsr/Meditation

Not sure if this book fits the bill (I honestly haven't read it myself) but I've heard it does a good job of explaining both the science behind meditation, as well as going into details about specific techniques.

u/filecabinet · 2 pointsr/Meditation

Rob Burbea's book Seeing That Frees has been the most helpful book for me concerning meditation. It has simply clarified meditation without using fluffy or poetic language. It does use some pali words but they're not overwhelming and the author is not preaching any set of religious beliefs.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0992848911/

This is a different book that I haven't read but looking forward to read after it arrives in the mail :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0990847705/

u/gcross · 2 pointsr/Meditation

I think you would enjoy reading The Mind Illuminated by Culdasa as it gives you metrics you can use to gauge how much progress you are making at a given stage on the meditative path (as well as an overview you can use to figure out where you are currently at) and instructions on the skills you need to work on at that stage in order to make progress. It also has a lot of interesting material on models of the mind and of consciousness.

I can't recommend this book enough because it brought a clarity to my practice that I was sorely in need of, and it sounds like you might be looking for something similar.

u/TheSpasticSurgeon · 2 pointsr/summonerschool

There really are a lot of places to start, but since I'm not sure which one to suggest to you I'll just give you all of them. I've been meaning to type out a post that I can copy paste for those who want to get into meditation, so this is the perfect place.

As you go down the list it gets more in-depth:

  • Headspace is an app that you can look up, it has several different kinds of meditation. I've never used it, but it seems to tailor it's stuff specifically to what you want out of meditation, so it might be perfect for this. You'd have to tell me if you try it because I've never used it, but it's very beginner friendly because it has a lot of guided meditations to walk you through it as you meditate.

  • /r/meditation is a nice board. People there are generally very helpful if you are looking for a specific kind of practice or something.

  • Actualized.org has a good meditation guide for beginners.

  • If for some reason you really want to get into meditation seriously, check out The Mind Illuminated. It's based on buddhist practice, but it's written by a neurologist and based in science, so it's secular.



    And I'll actually just give you a very basic guide for meditation right here.



    People define meditation in lots of different ways, but I think the simplest way to explain it is concentration and awareness training. It might sound... intense? at first, but it's actually quite relaxing at times. The idea is to focus on the meditation object (the breath, most often) while staying aware of your surroundings.



    So, there are more steps to ease into this process, so if you try this and it's and you won't more help, that's normal and I would be happy to give you a more extended/complete guide. Keep in mind I am basically paraphrasing from The Mind Illuminated.

    START GUIDE

    Get into a comfortable sitting position and just become sort of attuned to the present moment. Even if your thoughts are in the future or the past, try and become aware that all of the sensations and thoughts you are having are happening in the present.


    Then, just focus on the breath (if you want to be more specific, try and focus on the feelings of the breath as it goes in and out of the nose). Anytime you find that you are not focusing on the breath, whether it be other sensations or thoughts, just bring your attention back to the breath gently. Don't be upset that you lose concentration, because that's just a part of the process. While focusing on the breath, if you can go a bit without getting distracted, try and open your awareness to your surroundings (sounds, sensations, thoughts) while still maintaining focus on the breath. This is akin to CSing or auto-attacking someone while still being aware of the mini-map or the rest of the fight. Try and do this for 5 minutes at first. I really wouldn't recommend much more at first, because most people get frustrated. If you are having trouble keeping focus on the breath, which is totally normal, see if you can make it to 10 breaths without losing focus, and if you mess up just start over again. No biggy.

    The purpose of this simple practice is to train awareness (basically perception of everything happening around you) while maintaining concentration (focus on the object of attention) to better improve your life, and especially activities requiring focus. If you think about it, all of life is basically just a sea of awareness (stuff happening) and us choosing to focus in on one thing at a time, so it's very practical to train these two skills.

    END GUIDE


    So that's basically what a practice would look like, and you would do something like that every day. There are a lot more steps and methods, and honestly it can be a bit tricky to find one that suits you, but I think the resources I listed are great starting points, and really there is no wrong way to do it, and it can't really be harmful. I find it quite relaxing a lot of the time, and my life is a lot better when I keep up my habit of meditating.



    I know I've kinda given you a ton of information here, but I wanted to cover all the bases so I could use this for future reference. Hope you found this helpful, and if you have any questions let me know! :)
u/knilchmitmilch · 2 pointsr/Meditation

there is so much information in books, youtube, websites etc. that I (without knowing what TM has to offer) wouldn't recommend spending 900 bucks on it.
I also find it beautiful to develop my own practice and not go strictly after a certain system.

http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459324780&sr=8-1&keywords=the+mind+illuminated

I feel like this book alone can give you years full of food for your thought and practice when you just start off. And some point you might wanna add a personal teacher though.

u/9qop · 2 pointsr/Meditation

> Who here believes in chakras? Serious question

The thing is, the term "chakras" has been abused and misused. But the energy body of a human is verifiable and does exist within Buddhist and meditation teachings, among others. Culadasa, a former neuroscientist and long time meditator wrote [The Mind Illuminated] (http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705) for example; [here's an illustration from the book] (http://i.imgur.com/2c1e3BK.jpg)

I'd say, when one has greater but also more subtle awareness, the energy body is pretty obvious. But many people can't even watch their breath for 5 minutes, let alone be aware of the energy. I guess one would then ask, are the points on the body significant and I'd say this can also be experienced with authentic practices.

u/poega · 2 pointsr/entp

I think OP should look into meditation as well. For me the thought of having better control of your brain etc is exciting so I got this book. Meditation is now one of the things im most excited about doing/learning and it feels great.

u/Amiracle56 · 2 pointsr/CasualConversation

Lol whatever you're doing sounds pretty odd. The Mind Illuminated will teach you the best way to meditate. I could give you a guide on how to meditate, it's heavily influenced by The Mind Illuminated.

Here's a link to the guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/4jmwlm/what_is_stopping_you_from_being_the_person_you/d382zk4

tl;dr: Out of all the super long comments on reddit, this one is truly worth the read. But nevertheless, I guess I should still give a tl;dr.

Sit down, set a timer, breathe in and out, focus on the sensations of the breath. Don't get discouraged by mind wandering, as this is inevitable. Counting is a good method for stabilizing attention, this is explained below.

First off, I highly reccomend The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa. It's written by a (retired?) neurology professor with over 40 years of experience in meditation. He goes in-depth and gives clear advice for meditation at any stage of the journey. He's also pretty down to earth, and if there's an unfamiliar term he'll always explain it.

But I understand that not everybody has the money to go out and buy a book at their heart's desire, so I'll give you some basic instructions just to get you started, but please note that I am nowhere near an expert so my advice isn't a "be-all end-all".

Sit down somewhere and get yourself comfortable and relaxed. If you notice any tension, release it. Meditation is something that should be enjoyed and relaxing, not like a pill that you take every day, not because you like it, but because you know it will be good for you.

Set a timer for however long you want to meditate. When I first started to meditate, I meditated for 15 minutes, and now I'm meditating for 45 minutes. Whatever works for you, but try to increase it gradually as you go.

Close your eyes and breathe normally. Focus on the sensations of the breath -- the cold air coming in when you inhale, the warm air going out your nostrils when you exhale, whatever sensation you feel.

Inevitably, your mind will wander. That's okay. It's literally impossible to consciously make your mind wander, so why blame yourself for something you didn't even do? Instead of beating yourself up when you realize that your mind wandered, bring your focus back to your breath and be happy that you woke up. This repeated conscious intention will become a mental habit with persistence.

I recommend counting, too. On the beginning of each exhale, count, starting with 1 and ending with 10. If you get distracted, just start over and count back from 1. If this is too hard, count to 5 . After you achieve counting to 10 or 5, do not count anymore. Your mind will already probably count automatically anyway.

And finally I want you to remember: the only bad meditation session is the one you didn't do!

u/damaged_but_whole · 2 pointsr/Buddhism

There's some new book about meditation that's supposed to be, like, the most thorough book on meditation ever, I guess. Buddhist meditation, anyway. I read some reviews that said it was extraordinarily difficult reading, so I took a look at the "look inside" preview on Amazon and I could tell right away that I would never get very far with this book, but some people who find this thread might want to check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990847705/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=BRGP8O8PXQFC&coliid=I2KJYS9WGBUB9A

It seems like it would certainly help you master your own mind.

u/IlluminatiMind · 2 pointsr/Meditation

The Mind Illuminated is a huge upgrade to anything other that I have read. It has clear instructions tailor made for each of the 10 steps, with interludes in between and some additional information in appendixes and introductions, the first step being establishing a practice, working all the way up to quite high level. This plan is being estimated as taking anything from some months to seven years, given a serious practice regime that is suitable for laymen. All of a sudden a lot of advice that I have heard or read from other teachers make sense, while earlier it all just seemed like an unstructured mess of loosely defined ideas. If you're approaching this from the Sam Harris side (which I also am), this book is right on the mark.

From the first pages I knew that this was it, a book that doesn't undersell meditation as some relaxation exercise, and still approaches it from a scientific viewpoint that relaxes all of my skeptic alarm bells. Having said that, it is still very true to meditation as it is taught in Buddhism, but purely secular.

I will be posting about a Skype discussion group for this book after I have posted this message, I hope you're interested enough to join us!

u/ohchaco · 2 pointsr/Meditation

You're welcome! It is a book: The Mind Illuminated and there is a subreddit community for it as well: /r/TheMindIlluminated/. It's a really great guide to deepening your meditation practice. I only got the book a month or so ago and it has already changed my practice in so many positive ways.

u/Halorien · 2 pointsr/Meditation

It sounds to me like you're unsure of what you're supposed to be developing in your stage of the meditative path.

Just remain consistent, and continue daily practice. There will be days where you cannot find your focus. Bring it back to the breath. Not the breath itself, mind you, but that most prominent sensation on the nostril. That is what is meant by the breath, that point. Trust in the process, and with time 5 minutes will seem like nothing.

To expect such rapid progress when you've only just begun is the equivalent of the newgoers at the gym (especially around New Years); after two weeks of sporadic or far too intense daily exercise, they become disenchanted when they aren't already rippling with muscles, and burn out and quit. They feel they could be doing better things with their time than exercise. Sound familiar?

The prescription book for you, I think, would be The Mind Illuminated. What this book holds over Mindfulness in Plain English is that it has very clear stages for each level of your practice with very specific goals for progression, all with VERY helpful, and much more detailed techniques and advice. Sometimes, in order to let go and progress, all you need is a simple change in perspective. Isn't that wonderful?

I hope you stay diligent in your practice. Make it a daily habit, you'll be very thankful you did. Keep us updated!

u/mimmergu · 1 pointr/Meditation

It is not uncommon at all for meditators to have various sensations course through their body. Different traditions call it different things - chi, prana, piti, kundalini. It's very often a mark that your concentration is increasing. To learn how to cultivate it, why it happens, and other interesting meditative experiences, check out http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0990847705/ref=s9_simh_gw_g14_i1_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1HHQBJDGYDV0KRZFV3EJ&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

u/Feritix · 1 pointr/Meditation

I highly recommend The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa. I've recommended it so many times it may seem like I'm getting paid to suggest it, (trust me, I'm not) but that book was incredibly helpful along my path. It cuts through a lot of the nonsense you might read by some of these "teachers" one sometimes find on the Internet and establishes a clear guide on how to progress in meditation.

u/citiesoftheplain75 · 1 pointr/explainlikeimfive

EMDR therapy was hugely useful for me in comprehensively healing trauma. The Mind Illuminated is a fantastic guide to meditation.

You might also benefit from The Body Keeps the Score, which describes how trauma becomes trapped in the body and how different approaches can help. I haven't read this yet, but it's on my list.

u/elnoxvie · 1 pointr/Meditation

I would recommend to check this book out. It is a complete meditation manual by cudalasa.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705

You will find a stage by stage instructions. Thus, you know how far you have progress.

u/MeditationGuru · 1 pointr/LifeProTips

The meditation that I learned was Vipassana meditation at a retreat. You can go on a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat at dhamma.org
I can tell you from personal experience it is hugely beneficial to attend a full course. Meditation has improved my life in every aspect.

Now of course for some people that is a huge commitment, but you can still start meditating daily without attending a 10-day course and it will still be very beneficial.

If you cannot attend a 10-day course, I suggest doing mindfulness meditation of the breath. (Anapana)
The basic instructions are this:

  1. Set a timer for 10 minutes to an hour and sit with your spine and neck straight, try to get as comfortable as possible, but try to sit up straight. Perfect posture is not important when you are first starting out

  2. Begin following the sensations of the breath at the tip of your nose.

  3. Whenever you notice that you are lost in a thought, return to the breath. Don't be hard on yourself for losing focus on the breath, it is totally normal.

    Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the duration of your sit. Do this everyday, it must become a priority to sit every day. Only miss a sitting if it is completely unavoidable.

    "The secret to success is continuity of practice" -S.N. Goenka (The teacher that created the Vipassana course that I attended and linked above)

    Those are the basic instructions, the practice goes deeper, if you are interested in learning more about meditation I suggest reading The Mind Illuminated (A guide that will take you through all of the stages on the path of meditation)


u/_pope_francis · 1 pointr/eldertrees

http://www.dhamma.org/en-US/index

We all wish we could start at a 10-day retreat, but truth is you can just sit and focus on your breathing. The Mind Illuminated is a great how-to manual.

u/CptDefB · 1 pointr/TheRedPill

> Requesting the equivalent of 5x5 or starting strength, for meditation.

[The Mind Illuminated, Culadasa (aka, John Yates)] (https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705)

u/waketech_student · 1 pointr/Meditation

Online meditation course ?
Whats the difference between it and between books, or being on the dharmaoverground.org or any other meditation forum or one of the meditation Sub Reddit for that matter?

Edit:

A lot of people here seem to like this, it looks pretty good.

https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459294735&sr=8-1&keywords=the+mind+illuminated

u/xabaddonx · 1 pointr/Psychonaut

You have started down the path of insight that typically occurs with advanced insight practices (read Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha if you want a thorough understanding of what has happened to you, but DO NOT PRACTICE IT as you will just give yourself more insight that you are not prepared for yet).

You have had insights into Emptiness and No-Self. Part of your mind has recognized the fact that the reality you live in is manufactured in your mind, and most disturbingly, that your self is not real. These insights can be very destabilizing. Because you have not trained your mind enough to be able to generate stability, you have put yourself into what they call a "dark night of the soul".

The good news is that there is a way out and you will come out on the other side a much happier, more actualized person. The bad news is it's going to take a lot of work.

I highly recommend following the steps in The Mind Illuminated. There are 2 sides to meditation, shamatha (concentration) and vipassana (insight). You need both to achieve enlightenment. Your problem is you have too much insight from the psychs... you need to cultivate concentration to balance it. This shamatha first approach is what is recommended in The Mind Illuminated as it leads to much shorter dark nights than pure insight practices.

Also definitely stop smoking weed and using psychs. They have shown you what you need to see and more, now you need to put in the work to integrate that.

u/mahlzeit · 1 pointr/europe

Behind all the religious bullshit and the old-fashioned language in Buddhism there's actually a very nice psychological model of the mind. So I'd argue that this is a bit different, and I don't think anybody who likes to meditate daily would see himself as a convert to anything, I certainly don't, I'm still just as atheistic as before I started meditating.

There are several religions that share the label "Buddhism", you can recognize them by their shaved heads and orange/brown robes. And people subscribing to those religions are just as zealous as other followers. Thankfully they are more or less harmless to outsiders (not to insiders, though; for example different Buddhist sects are fighting with and murdering each other in Tibet, which nobody in the west seems to know about).

In the end there are different degrees of harmfulness, but swallowing any ideology (with or without a god) without skepticism and reason is kind of always a bad idea.

> buddhist may use "traditional medicine" for their children or other things like that.

Yeah, there's a new religion that has developed in the west, which is called "New Age" and has combined a lot of feel-good-bullshit from various sources. It's time we recognized this as an actual religion, but we're probably not far enough removed from it historically to see it for what it is. People who read "The Secret" or base life decisions on astrology may not blow themselves up at military checkpoints, but they can do a lot of damage to their social group too.

u/ferruix · 1 pointr/zen

> The fact that the inside of a cauliflower head exists is something that amazes me and that I cannot understand in a useful way.

Causality/Karma just means that the state of the universe right now, in which you, me, and the head of cauliflower all exist, is one universal state, one function. Actions that change the state change the one state. Thus everything is causally related; everything interdependently exists with everything else. No one thing can be isolated and stand on its own.

Every action that changes the one state arises from that one state. Thus there is both causality and no causality.

> Having read mostly zen texts, you saying it almost assumes quality samadhi relaxes me a little. That kind of skill I suppose the teachers would impart to their students in everyday interactions. "Look what I do with my mind, young fellow, do you see?"

Honestly, my reading is that they didn't have great methods for teaching this in the first place. Any meditator that dozes off is an extreme beginner, barely able to sustain focus at all, so you can see just how difficult it was getting people out of the beginner state given the prevalence of dozing.

But yes, this was done in-person. Methods included whacking people with sticks and asking people randomly to observe what they were thinking of at that moment, with the intention of getting them to be more inwardly aware in general.

Things are actually better these days. Lay people have more free time and Buddhism is moving away from the monastic model. As a result we're getting better descriptions for self-study by a Western audience all the time.

> I have also started reading some of the Pali canon, and I know information about it can be found there, so I will learn about it when the Buddha thinks it proper, but what good texts do you personally know of that teach samadhi-vipassana?

The best text for this in the Pali canon is the Anapanasati Sutta. It is completely worthless for you to read it, because it is written in such highly coded language that you won't be able to get any meaning out of it unless you already know what it means.

The absolute best text for samadhi is The Mind Illuminated. There is also a subreddit for it at r/themindilluminated. It explains the Anapanasati Sutta in a secular way for a Western audience that is self-studying. This is what I'm following now.

For vipassana, pick a koan. But this is not worth doing until you can maintain mindfulness. The Progress of Insight Map is also a useful reference outside of the Zen tradition; it's talking about the same thing.

u/Singulis · 1 pointr/Meditation

I would recommend seeing a therapist to get yourself on a more stable level so that you can meditate. You can also feel 'safe' when meditating because you have that security, someone who can help you through experiences that you might come across while meditating.

Now about my experiences.

I reasoned around half a year ago that since life is all process, it's meaningless and had the thought of committing suicide. I lived with misery and panic attacks every so often for a few weeks after having this thought as my instincts were wanting me to live, but my intellectual mind saw no point to it.

After my third panic attack, I decided to make an appointment with a therapist.

He was cool, drugs were last resort and he wasn't religious. My perfect match on the first try!

He suggested I look up 'mindfulness meditation' which led me to this guided meditation by Sam Harris.

As a secular person new to meditation who had assumptions about the practice, this guy gave me consolidation about the practice, as well as a professional psychologist suggesting it to me lol. I can't remember what the first session was like, but I know i kept doing it and saw results in the first week. Hell yea!

I wanted to explore more when it came to meditation and got this app. It's a guided meditation app that got me into the idea of working on certain aspects of meditation, developing certain muscles to become a better meditator and around this time I was making good progress with overcoming depression.

After about a month of using the app I started to get into the 'roots' of meditation and seeing where these practices come from.

In short, Buddhism.

I was now seeking knowledge about meditation in the realm of buddhism and came across Mindfulness in plain english.
This book showed me a glimpse into how the mind worked and how meditation was more of a philosophical/empirical way of overcoming suffering and such. It's a good book.

After some time, maybe a few weeks, I came across another book called The Mind Illuminated which has been my sole resource of guiding my meditation practice for six months now. This book dives deeep into the practice of meditation, in a secular manner, from the perspective of past skilled meditators and neuroscience. From learning how to start a habit of practicing meditation to creating a mind prone to Awakening or Enlightenment, which is not mystical, the book covers it.

Again, I would really suggest seeing a therapist to help you stabilize a bit but if you can't, start out with the guided meditations NOT stoned (lol) I mentioned and see for yourself the benefits of meditation.

Meditation is a whole other world my friend.

Have a good one.

If anyone has any questions or concerns, hit me up.

peace



u/QubeZero · 1 pointr/Psychonaut

It's worth a try, but I don't think you should rely on them. Personally I have not done much experimentation with them, but I'm glad that I've changed a lot without these substances. Meditation is the key. I would recommend that if you are willing to go the long-term route. It was the only thing that helped me with my depression, and the level of growth never stops.

The Buddha said that he basically only teaches these 2 things:

  1. There is suffering;

  2. There is a way leading to the end of suffering.

    Meditation isn't an overnight fix, but it will help transform your mind gradually overtime, and can radically build you a whole new personality.

    Every meditator should pick up The Mind Illuminated if you haven't already.

    Also, I highly recommend this Metta book. Be patient with this, it can have very life-changing effects, especially for people with depression.

    Joining a sangha, or getting in touch with friends who also meditate, or want to overcome their depression will be a lot of help. /r/meditation and /r/buddhism are good to browse occasionally.

    Other than mind-training, I highly recommend How To Not Die (a book on why and how to eat a vegan, whole-food plant based diet), which cleared up a lot of things for me. And /r/intermittentfasting as a diet and lifestyle change. This is highly underestimated, as almost all dietitians and doctors underestimate the importance of this, and are unaware of what is the right diet for our chemistry. As for exercise, I personally stopped when I was depressed, as I seemed to be pushing myself too much. Running fast gave me a short-term high, but it was physically too stressful. I started then just going going out, doing long walks (walking meditation) and slowly rising up my energy and building mental clarity.

    Take care = ) Hope you find these resources helpful (if you want, I can send you a link on where to get these books for free online if you can't pay)


u/jonathan_bart · 1 pointr/Meditation

The Mind Illuminated really helped me to ground into a particular method. Read some reviews and see if it resonates for you. Can't hurt to try :-). It certainly gave a giant boost to my practice (frequency, duration, and results).

u/hurfery · 1 pointr/Meditation

Sounds like a very normal first experience. :)

What were you focusing on?

If you're aiming to make meditation a part of your life you should consider following a book such as The Mind Illuminated

u/soutioirsim · 1 pointr/Mindfulness

Body scans are brilliant for this type of situation.

I've got a presentation to do at a conference in roughly one hour and last night I slept terribly. My thoughts just kept on jumping to the presentation, which got me worked up, and therefore couldn't sleep (which obviously stressed me out more). It wasn't until 3am when I decided to do a guided body scan mediation that I finally fell asleep.

I find that when I have a super scattered and jumpy mind, the breath as a meditation object is simply not strong enough to pull me out of the thought stream. I need to sink into the sensations of the body in order to help break the cycle of getting caught up in my thoughts.

Specifically, I would recommend the body scan meditation by Mark Williams (his book comes with a CD).

When I'm not stressed, then I go back to using The Mind Illuminated.

u/p4nx · 1 pointr/Meditation

Excuse me, but did you read The Mind illuminated: a complete Meditation Guide or did you read The Illuminated Mind by June D'Estelle? And is this the right book to read when I want to improve my concentration meditation to someday reliable reach jhana? Sorry if this question is dumb or already answered. Anyways it was a good read about your achievements. I wish you and your wife the best of luck.

u/exit_eu · 1 pointr/edefreiheit

Das hier ist momentan so die Go-To-Empfehlung, so weit ich weiss. Das ist eigentlich eine Meditationsanleitung, man kann aber auch die Praxis-Kapitel überspringen und nur die Theorie-Kapitel lesen, damit wird das ganz gut erklärt.

Sam Harris hat glaub ich in Waking Up auch darüber geschrieben, allerdings weiss ich nicht wie tief er reingeht, da ich es selber noch nicht gelesen hab.

Du kannst auch mal bei Gary Weber reinschauen, der hat gute Videos zu dem Thema, obwohl ich nicht weiss, wie viel man da rausnehmen kann, wenn man nicht schon weiss, wovon er redet.

u/becomingmanofsteel · 1 pointr/Meditation

Honestly, the answer is Your Mileage May Vary. :)

There are people who have lived alone for 12 years doing meditation, growing their own food etc.

The Vipassana course structure certainly makes a lot of things easier. Primarily food, removing distractions of all kinds and guidance from an experienced meditator.

A home retreat with all the above attributes would certainly be good. And it would make the meditator quite self sufficient in their practice.

Meanwhile just to share, a reference guide and a more tactical approach to tackling meditation, check out the book Mind Illuminated by Culadasa

Edit: Formatting

u/Thotality · 1 pointr/milliondollarextreme

Yes! This book really helped me improve. A problem with meditation I've found is there's no real plan besides just sitting. This helped me realize how I can get better. https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473015317&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mind+illuminated

u/lukievan · 1 pointr/Meditation

+1 to this. You are doing quite a lot of "self-improvement" lately and that challenge/goal mindset can actually undermine your meditation practice. Most of the time when we apply ourselves to something, there is a more-or-less linear response in terms of positive results. I think meditation is different - because it deals with the mind itself, 'progress' can be much more subtle and slippery. I'm a relative newcomer to daily meditation myself and I'm struggling with a similar dynamic - a lot of "progress" at first, and now it seems like I'm going backwards. Letting go of expectations and returning to the breath, and trying to not judge myself for mind-wandering helps. I'm reading Culadasa's book The Mind Illuminated and it's very helpful in presenting a methodical, reasoned approach to meditation practice. It outlines stages ands goals, which I like, though it can also play into the achievement trap that may be responsible for self-judgement and impatience. But I think it's worth it. I'm going to continue meditating because I know it's the right thing to do and let the 'results' come or go as they may.

u/pornpompornpomporn · 1 pointr/Showerthoughts

/r/meditation has good resources. they often recommend this book

u/FelixFaller · 0 pointsr/pcmasterrace

Can I recommend meditation? I do about 30 minutes every day and I can see the world and peoples actions more clearly and I feel overall more stable. Here is a grate book to start you off: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705