PsiloPutty

Something I've kicked around in my head and may do in the future. I'm impressed that you're doing this at such a young age.

I set a loose intention when I trip. Sort of like planning a day off; some of the things you map out may not happen, and that's okay, but just getting an idea of the direction you'd like to see the day go in.

I like listening to BBs when I meditate, but not the wild ones that distract me. More the "pure tones" that just play a single sound. It becomes just a background tone. Maybe it doesn't actually do anything for me, but it doesn't hurt either. I usually have my headphones on the lowest volume before mute.

Ha, when you stood up were you like "soooo, am I all enlightened and shit?" Still it's nice to know that you can have those experiences. I'm waiting for my first one, but enjoying things along the way. I'm not in a hurry.

Holy crap, I did that shamanic breathing thing I think on the very first day he posted it here, but I did 40 minutes of it, and it was like a decent dose of mushrooms. Totally psychedelic and it felt like a huge release, but pretty scary breathing like that for 40 minutes. I can imagine a person could have some kind of psychotic episode if they did that every day. I doubt it was your seared meditation. That's just my guess, though.

@Tony 845 I always get a special feeling at those times of surrender, but I've never had anything way out of the ordinary happen like that, so I'm happy for you! Did you open your eyes and end the sit right after that, or stick with it to see if it would come again? LOL, I would probably end up with a three-hour sit, just waiting to see if it would happen again!

One thing that I will admit, and I was reminded of it when making my last post, is that I am struggling to keep my ego separate from the work of strong determination sits. I'm guessing it's super common, but I at times get so caught up with wanting to beat my record that I halfway forget why I'm doing it. LOL, I always remember again when I get to the freakout phase, but I tend sometimes to treat the sits like a juggler would treat progressively adding another ball. You know what I mean? I think letting the time become the focus is a real hazard with with this practice. I'm trying to stay more mindful of that.......as I try to add 10 minutes per month.

@Privet @starsofclay Yep, I agree with what you both had to say, although I think the minimum length of an SDS is totally dependent on the meditator. When I first started meditating, 45 minutes was an extremely difficult length of time to sit quietly and motionless without panicking and opening my eyes to end it. That was a SDS for me at that point, in every way that 2+ hours is for me now. The mental crisis at the end of these sits is exactly the same, it just takes longer to get there as you go along in your meditation practice. And it doesn't have to be linear, either. If I'm especially worked up about something mentally, I might sit down and remain motionless for only 60 minutes before that point of mental crisis develops and the battle begins. If I bail out at the 65 minute mark, that's a complete SDS right there, with no shame or defeat. 'Sitting motionless as long as you feel able to" is a SDS, regardless of how long you have done it in the past.

@DoubleYou I kind of agree.

I sit on a zafu, in Burmese position. It took me about 2 weeks of doing it daily before my back stopped hurting. Now it's second nature, and doesn't start hurting until about 2 hours or a little less, and it's my ass that hurts at that point. I've been thinking about getting myself used to sitting in half Lotus, just to see how that compares to Burmese. Might actually start that today, thank you for reminding me.

@passerby You're thinking too much. It's Labor Day; give your doubting mind the day off.

Yeah, from what I've read, it's the real deal as far as psychedelics go. It will get you there.

So beautiful, people.

That's excellent, man. Ironically, that is exactly how long I have gone as well, and that was just two weeks ago. I do it every Saturday morning. I think it's great for purging shit that is deep down.

I agree with this. Strong determination sitting isn't about being still mentally, necessarily. It's about being still physically. The determination that you make is to not move.

I've always wanted to go to Oaxaca, Mexico and do a freshly-picked mushroom journey. Maybe check that out. An ayahuasca trip in Peru would also be pretty damn cool.

Welcome, and good to hear that you are meditating! I think it's one of the best doorways into ourselves. Keep it up!

TM itself is indeed a product that costs money, but that doesn't mean that it isn't an excellent form of meditation. The thing is, from all I have heard and read and seen, it's simply a mantra-based meditation technique, which has been around for thousands of years. Google "Deepak Chopra effortless meditation" and watch the video. I have been told from people that purchased TM that what he is describing is almost exactly what Transcendental Meditation would teach you and charge you for. In my own personal experience, I use a mantra every single day, both in sitting meditation and in my normal waking life. I just repeat "Hare Krishna, hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare" over and over again in my head. It definitely puts me into a meditative trance and clears my mind. When I get obsessed with an unproductive thought, 10 minutes of my mantra clears my head and brings me back to baseline. I also use it in the first 10 minutes of an hour-long sit, and do vipassana for the remaining 50 minutes. Helps greatly in clearing the mind in preparation for vipassana.

For me, it would depend on where "out and about" is. If it's in town in public, I'd go for awareness practice (seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, etc). If I'm out in nature, I'd do breath focus.

If you know what you're getting and have a tripsitter, your own bed becomes a very good choice of locales.

The happier and calmer aspects are almost guaranteed, along with a long list of other possibilities. You'll almost certainly feel more connected to your real self. For me, it's like getting to know myself and how things work inside. Best thing I've done for myself in many years. Maybe consider it.

@SoonHei If you do 20 mins/day for a year, you will definitely make some huge changes for the better in your life. Do Nothing is fine, but I usually go with breath-focused Vipassana. You will be happier and calmer for sure.

I'm sure that not everyone here meditates, but it's one of the biggies. I do ~70 mins of formal Vipassana sits a day, but I'm also on my breath a lot while my day is going on. If you aren't currently doing it, trust that it gets way easier after you build up the habit. The first month is tough because you'll probably have to make yourself do it each day.

My cat sure isn't. She can be a moody lil bitch.

@SoonHei That story is gonna give me nightmares!