Space

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Everything posted by Space

  1. I'm pretty sure they do work, but like most things, some people will be better suited to them than others. I've read reports of people having big emotional releases while using binaural beats. I'd say that for most people they will have some effect, even if it's just making you a little more relaxed and calm during your meditation.
  2. Be mindful of what this 'thing' ACTUALLY is. Is it a thought of something in your brain? A feeling? An intuitive sense? Is there actually anything there at all? But if you're experiencing it, how can it be you?
  3. I'd say all your focus needs to be on the self-inquiry, rather than trying to deal with the pains and discomforts of maintaining a super-fixed posture. You can still get very concentrated even when you allow yourself to move about a little bit. But like everything, there's a balance.
  4. Yes I find this as well. Just the nature of insight, I assume. Sometimes the insights stay fresh much longer though, days or even weeks.
  5. If you're not being aware then you're just sitting with your eyes closed. The whole point of meditation is to be aware, particularly of your thoughts.
  6. @CuteCornDog A lot of what you think are ingrained traits will actually just be limiting beliefs. Atleast that's what i've found from personal experience. In the case of being bad at conversing with people it's likely that you're really not as bad as you think. Often we'll have a few bad experiences early on in our lives and these will snowball into fully formed beliefs about who we are. The early experiences create the limiting belief, which then makes that particular behaviour more likely to happen, which then that reinforces the belief, etc etc. So be aware of this, and really think about whether this trait of 'I have bad conversation skills' is really true all the time. Do you have bad conversation skills with your parents? Or your best mates? Probably not. I do get where you coming from though. I have had a similar issue to what you're describing in the past, and i'm still working on it to some degree. Firstly as I said before, you've gotta' realise that you're probably not as bad as you think, so just relax! Secondly, people really don't give a shit, and if they do they probably just think you're a little shy. Nothing wrong with that. Here are some practical tips; Ask a lot of questions. Questions are easy to ask, and most people like answering them. Change your mindset to a growth mindset. Realise that you're ability to converse is something that can very easily be improved. I'm telling you, it's not a fixed thing. Just tell yourself that perfectly fine to not be that good at conversing, but with some practise you'll definitely improve. I know that my social skills are bad sometimes, but I also know that it's because i'm simply out of practise. Personally I find it's all about the mindset. As soon as I realised that my social skills changed over time, depending on how much socialising I do, the limiting belief dropped away. I have also found that an increase in mindfulness has helped a lot too. It's so important to be aware and mindful of your thoughts, particularly after a social situation where you think you might have said something wrong or stupid etc, like "Why did I say that?!", or "I should have said this not that!". Anyway, hope this helped!
  7. What are you expecting to happen from doing 30 minutes a day? It's great that your meditating, but don't be expecting some crazy results. Definitely combine it with strong determination sitting, and try to move up to an hour an day. Also, as Leo has said many times, go on retreat and do 70-100 hours straight. Then you'll get a taste of what meditation can do for you.
  8. The main things you need to focus on with the Do Nothing technique are; let go of all control and intention to do anything EXCEPT whilst also maintaining a completely non-judgmental awareness of what is going on. Yes technically this is doing something, but it's very important that you remain aware and don't have a lazy, unfocused attitude. But getting lost in thought is just part of the process, atleast in the beginning. It's always going to happen until you become a much better meditator. There's no stopping it by force, you have to slowly re-wire your brain. Don't get annoyed or frustrated when you realise that you've been unconsciously lost in thought. That realisation is the most important part! As soon as you realise you've been lost in thought, bring your attention back to the present, be hyper aware, and do nothing. Easy!
  9. It's not a big deal that you're controlling the breath. It's perfectly normal in fact. It takes a lot of practise to get to a point where you can just observe it without interfering, so don't expect it to be the case right from the beginning.
  10. @Youssef As bad as it may seem, it's most likely a sign of growth. Try to stay mindful of the experiences. Atleast you know that the techniques are working for you. If things get worse, I would recommend going to the forum on www.dharmaoverground.org. That forum focuses a lot more on insight meditation and the various stages, with a load of very experienced practitioners who will be able to give you some good advice.
  11. Don't just accept what someone else has told you. Chances are you don't have any idea what you are so 'Nothingness' is just another concept. Unless you're directly conscious of what you are, which may or may not be nothingness, you need to throw out all your ideas and beliefs.
  12. @Leo Gura I have a question. Should I be actively trying to grasp the fact that I really don't know what I am, or is a deep not-knowing just a sort of bi-product of the process that comes without intentional effort?
  13. Wow I didn't expect so much close-mindedness in the comments.
  14. @john5170 Well I don't think he's enlightened, no. But he's is just a normal guy. The crazy talking etc is all done for laughs. There's one or two interviews of him talking about why he does it on Youtube.
  15. Just by focusing on something isn't likely to result in loosening your identification with it. You have to question it and question it and question it, over and over again if necessary. Ask yourself things like, if i'm able to perceive this sensation then how can it be what I am? Or, what is aware of this sensation? Or, is this sensation being aware of itself? It's great that you're clear about what you believe you are, but you've gotta keep going back to it with repeated questioning. If you do this the identification with loosen. But it shouldn't take too long to realise that you can't possibly be a sensation. Try dis-identifying from your whole body!
  16. @John I am guilty of this too. I suppose it is a fear of being judged.
  17. Depends what their definition of enlightenment is. If they regard enlightenment as the level of consciousness that the Buddha had, or maybe some of the really deeply enlightened masters, then sure it's very very difficult. But it isn't impossible. Although in truth I don't know. There's a really good book on Leo's booklist by the author D.I. who mentions this issue of people in the spiritual community not talking about enlightenment.
  18. @nexusoflife Why don't you quit your job? Or atleast try to work part-time?
  19. Try just not buying cheese in the first place. It's a lot easier to not buy something in the supermarket, than it is to resist the temptation to eat something that's in your kitchen cupboard.
  20. @Max_V Thanks for sharing that insight! It's interesting because just today i've also done a few things just to please other people. At the time I didn't think much of it, but after reading your post I realise why I was doing it.
  21. Woah, sounds awesome! I'd say keep going with the binaural beats. Sounds like they're really working for you. See how far you can take it!
  22. Emotional intelligence is certainly something that improves with meditation. But it doesn't improve your ability to control emotions, it teaches you to let go of control and let emotions be as they are without any resistance. It's about becoming more mindful and aware of emotions and thoughts, so that you don't get lost in them when they arise. This is what meditation is about, for me anyway. Suffering = Pain x Resistance. Taste of Purification = Pain x Equanimity I can't really give any advice about your shyness, other than becoming more mindful of your thoughts and emotions, and then just intentionally putting yourself in difficult social situations.
  23. What results are you actually hoping for? Some dramatic behavioural changes? Realise that most of what you expect to happen as a result of your efforts is just your own ideas. Meditation deals mostly with the subconscious. Most of the changes that occur will go unnoticed, atleast in the beginning. But if you're doing the technique right, then spiritual purification will be happening on some level. Just trust in the process. With regards to Noting, there are quite a few different approaches to the technique. There's no reason why you can't note much faster than once every 10 seconds and still 'soak' into the experience. The speed of noting is pretty much up to you. Shinzen himself has said that the soaking in process may only last half a second or so, but he has been meditating for 50 years or something. It also depends on how easy you find the technique and what you feel most comfortable doing. Some other teachers don't bother with the soaking in aspect at all, and just recommend noting as quickly as possible. It's all about experimenting and trying different things out, but just remember to stick with one focused technique per sitting. Just some advice about the labels, personally I don't use the 'out' or 'in', and just stick with 'Feel', 'Hear', 'See'. But it's totally up to you. When you're saying a lot of labels, removing one word makes a big difference. It also requires less effort, and keeps your attention on the experience rather than trying to figure out what label to use.