THE FORUMS
Haven't been there; i hope to get in from february 16-26, but there is a short waitlist.
However, I watched some youtube films where people tell about the experience, and the things I remember are:
- bring a little alam-clock with you, as the gong is sometimes to soft to wake you up (that was the case for the guy at least)
- discover what your favorite meditation posture is; you are going to meditate very long times, if you still need to find out which posture you are most comfortable in... well.. that adds to the physical discomfort!
However, I watched some youtube films where people tell about the experience, and the things I remember are:
- bring a little alam-clock with you, as the gong is sometimes to soft to wake you up (that was the case for the guy at least)
- discover what your favorite meditation posture is; you are going to meditate very long times, if you still need to find out which posture you are most comfortable in... well.. that adds to the physical discomfort!
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wel heb ik je ooit!
I tend to have difficulty with meditation. Many of the beneficial traits you guys talk about (detachment, awareness of arising emotions/intentions, etc) are already autonomous to me. I've actually been trying to escape detachment because I felt it was robbing me of the full experience of life. Also, when I meditate, I can't help but think about death and I'm caught between two paths: I can either focus on the moment of nothingness or create a distraction. I also tend to come across tidbits of profound information and it prevents me from continuing because I feel like I need to devote my attention to it to internalize it. For example, last time I meditated I was struck with the notion that I don't need to choose between either path: I should be focusing on the moment of creation, to enjoy the creating process as its occuring instead of creating for some future projection. The reason I have difficulty creating art is because I'm too attached to the outcome and too concerned about my ego to create what is naturally flowing from me. It's something that I already know (in the context of game) but I didn't think to apply it to art until then.
As I meditate, I do remain aware and try to stay focused (i.e. detach myself from distractions) but I always end up with some profound logic that I actually need. It's like I'm using meditation to focus my mind to find logical resolutions and if I don't find that, it feels like a waste of time. Sure, it leaves me feeling relaxed and more aware, but it's meaningless to me unless I've discovered something helpful. I guess I'm going about it the wrong way; like I should be able to enjoy nothingness... but it's difficult for me to do that because I would be wasting my life. Experiencing nothingness is the same as being dead. I guess I should be focusing strictly on my breathing?
As I meditate, I do remain aware and try to stay focused (i.e. detach myself from distractions) but I always end up with some profound logic that I actually need. It's like I'm using meditation to focus my mind to find logical resolutions and if I don't find that, it feels like a waste of time. Sure, it leaves me feeling relaxed and more aware, but it's meaningless to me unless I've discovered something helpful. I guess I'm going about it the wrong way; like I should be able to enjoy nothingness... but it's difficult for me to do that because I would be wasting my life. Experiencing nothingness is the same as being dead. I guess I should be focusing strictly on my breathing?
Every thought has the purpose of "figuring out" how to be ok with the present moment.
While I am aware of this, I can't help but view it as a coping mechanism (i.e. to exist is to suffer) and that death is the final stage of detachment, the full embrace of nothingness. I see it as if thoughts are what make up life ("I think; therefore I am") and that death is the absence of thought, that death is nothingness.
Are you able to see any colours, experience anything around you at all while you are thinking?
It's difficult to say. I understand what you mean, to think is to separate yourself from the moment, yet I often find myself appreciating the moment on a deeper level because of my thoughts. I mean, there are times when I am in intense thought and there are times when there is no thought at all and I'm simply in the moment, but I feel like those times of intense thought allow me to have more clarity in the moment. I'll use a Rubik's cube as an example:
At first it's all about figuring it out, finding shortcuts, learning the steps and memorizing the patterns. The process takes a lot of time and it's full of struggles and achievements. Once the information is internalized though, you're able to solve it in under a minute without thinking about it; it's autonomous at this point. I can still enjoy the process of solving it, even it it's thoughtless, but it's not as exciting as when I was figuring it out. If everything happens automatically and without excitement, am I really living?
Haha, I think I have may have contradicted myself. Perhaps I feel a combination of both, as if I'm enjoying the moment of deep thought. There's something enjoyable about organizing my thoughts. I think I find peace in it because it helps me feel secure in my perception of reality; it helps me "figure out how to be okay with the present moment" and unlike other people I've met, I tend to find that peace when I think.
it seems like the moment of nothingness is a thought or label you put on your experience by saying: "I can't have thoughts, i shouldn't label anything, I should experience everything as it is, and that is without distinction or meaning; it's nothingness"
but what you end up doing is labeling everything as "nothing"; which is STILL out of touch with your experience and not actually experiencing it.
don't know if this applies to you, but might be the case.
another thing i recognize from myself is: I am often obsessed with something and I just can't shut up. I occurs most often when I am busy with a logical project for my own. Especially computer programming, but also doing research or acquiring knowledge.
Then I just can't stop thinking about it; it just keep organizing my thoughs, seeing new connections, i keep looking for other perspectives. But all this excessive thinking also makes me more nervouw, more in my head, less in the moment, more out of touch with my emotions.
The most effective ways to stop it are:
- to go out and be social; this gets your mind of thinking since being social requires you to use a lot of brain power and be out of your head
- become self-expressive; play (improvise) music, or create (improvice) art/paintiings/drawings,
- meditate for 5 minutes again and again and again.. until I have an episode of 5 minutes in where I have no obsessive thoughts (about the subject).
it may take 40 minutes, but when I reach that points, a burden falls of my back and I feel relieved and have more inner peace and rest again.
oh ps. And YES; you should only concentrate on the breath. This trains your concentration, and when you are done meditating you can contemplate on your thoughts; then you can use that extra concentration to get insights and order your thoughts.
but what you end up doing is labeling everything as "nothing"; which is STILL out of touch with your experience and not actually experiencing it.
don't know if this applies to you, but might be the case.
another thing i recognize from myself is: I am often obsessed with something and I just can't shut up. I occurs most often when I am busy with a logical project for my own. Especially computer programming, but also doing research or acquiring knowledge.
Then I just can't stop thinking about it; it just keep organizing my thoughs, seeing new connections, i keep looking for other perspectives. But all this excessive thinking also makes me more nervouw, more in my head, less in the moment, more out of touch with my emotions.
The most effective ways to stop it are:
- to go out and be social; this gets your mind of thinking since being social requires you to use a lot of brain power and be out of your head
- become self-expressive; play (improvise) music, or create (improvice) art/paintiings/drawings,
- meditate for 5 minutes again and again and again.. until I have an episode of 5 minutes in where I have no obsessive thoughts (about the subject).
it may take 40 minutes, but when I reach that points, a burden falls of my back and I feel relieved and have more inner peace and rest again.
oh ps. And YES; you should only concentrate on the breath. This trains your concentration, and when you are done meditating you can contemplate on your thoughts; then you can use that extra concentration to get insights and order your thoughts.
__________________
wel heb ik je ooit!
I got accepted however it states:
***CONSTRUCTION***
The center will be undergoing construction during your course. The construction will be taking place directly behind the meditation hall. Nail guns, construction workers' voices, etc., will be audible from 7am to 6pm. We believe you will still reap great benefits from the course, despite the construction noise.
This is my first time so do you guys think I should try to switch to a different location/date or just interpret as an additional challenge that shouldn't have any impact on my growth?
***CONSTRUCTION***
The center will be undergoing construction during your course. The construction will be taking place directly behind the meditation hall. Nail guns, construction workers' voices, etc., will be audible from 7am to 6pm. We believe you will still reap great benefits from the course, despite the construction noise.
This is my first time so do you guys think I should try to switch to a different location/date or just interpret as an additional challenge that shouldn't have any impact on my growth?
__________________
A friend who had the exact same situation told me that he used headphones.
Not the earplugs, but actually headphones that block noise out and shit.
He said it allowed him to focus on the breathing. And it wasn't "cheating" because he'd take them off whenever the construction was done and he'd meditate just as well.
Not the earplugs, but actually headphones that block noise out and shit.
He said it allowed him to focus on the breathing. And it wasn't "cheating" because he'd take them off whenever the construction was done and he'd meditate just as well.
I got accepted however it states:
***CONSTRUCTION***
The center will be undergoing construction during your course. The construction will be taking place directly behind the meditation hall. Nail guns, construction workers' voices, etc., will be audible from 7am to 6pm. We believe you will still reap great benefits from the course, despite the construction noise.
This is my first time so do you guys think I should try to switch to a different location/date or just interpret as an additional challenge that shouldn't have any impact on my growth?
***CONSTRUCTION***
The center will be undergoing construction during your course. The construction will be taking place directly behind the meditation hall. Nail guns, construction workers' voices, etc., will be audible from 7am to 6pm. We believe you will still reap great benefits from the course, despite the construction noise.
This is my first time so do you guys think I should try to switch to a different location/date or just interpret as an additional challenge that shouldn't have any impact on my growth?
__________________
My game = social skills + having a dick. Morely the latter.
A friend who had the exact same situation told me that he used headphones.
Not the earplugs, but actually headphones that block noise out and shit.
He said it allowed him to focus on the breathing. And it wasn't "cheating" because he'd take them off whenever the construction was done and he'd meditate just as well.
wow brilliant suggestion, good luck on your upcoming session looking forward to hearing about your experiences and growth Not the earplugs, but actually headphones that block noise out and shit.
He said it allowed him to focus on the breathing. And it wasn't "cheating" because he'd take them off whenever the construction was done and he'd meditate just as well.
I got accepted however it states:
***CONSTRUCTION***
The center will be undergoing construction during your course. The construction will be taking place directly behind the meditation hall. Nail guns, construction workers' voices, etc., will be audible from 7am to 6pm. We believe you will still reap great benefits from the course, despite the construction noise.
This is my first time so do you guys think I should try to switch to a different location/date or just interpret as an additional challenge that shouldn't have any impact on my growth?
***CONSTRUCTION***
The center will be undergoing construction during your course. The construction will be taking place directly behind the meditation hall. Nail guns, construction workers' voices, etc., will be audible from 7am to 6pm. We believe you will still reap great benefits from the course, despite the construction noise.
This is my first time so do you guys think I should try to switch to a different location/date or just interpret as an additional challenge that shouldn't have any impact on my growth?
__________________
Got accepter for a 10-day Course aswell!
Thanks a lot for posting about them!
Excited as hell! :D
Thanks a lot for posting about them!
Excited as hell! :D
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Leaving for my course in 12 hours.
Fucking A.
Fucking A.
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My game = social skills + having a dick. Morely the latter.
ceoarob
Trusted Member
Join Date: 05/20/2008 | Posts: 1250
Any recommendations of what to do between now and then?