starsofclay

Just to offer an update... I did buy this and have used it for about three days. I'm realizing I don't really care if it "works". For the past two years, I have attempted to learn to meditate. I do a lot of subconscious work and self-reflection, but have always found it extremely hard to sit down and meditate, and just "be". I usually give up about 3-5 minutes in, completely bored out of my mind... not sure if it's my inattentive ADD, or an extremely determined ego. However, I can now sit for 10-15 minutes with the muse headband, stay awake, and it feels like I only sat for 5 minutes. This is amazing for me. Definitely a breakthrough in my meditation practice. So I recommend this to anyone who has tried for years to learn to meditate, and have the extra cash to spend. You just have to not care if it "works", because, I promise it does.

You guys can just let the thread die if you don't agree with what he says, rather than passive aggressively/ openly make fun of- doesn't sound like very "enlightened" responses to me...although im sure that due to joseph's lack of identifying with his ego, he won't take any of it personally, right?

I haven't, but I do remember someone mentioning that on here not too long ago. I'll look into it. I mean, I get the concept... I've seen "the secret" documentary, and I have integrated it into my ego's daily life piece by piece, (when I think about it). I just wish the visualization while awake was even on the same planet as while asleep. I have been working very hard on it for about a year an a half now- when I first started, it felt like what they call aphantasia

@Slade I find that when I'm lucid, flying is pretty easy, but other things like going through walls or making something happen usually defies my will. Then I learned (during a dream) that if I include visualization (which is much easier for me in "sleep dream" than this one) it works every time. Often makes me wonder if in the "waking dream", if my visualization skills were even half as good as while sleeping, what all I could accomplish.

how fast can you blink?

@Patang thank you for sharing I feel like we've.... connected.

@MsNobody you could try smoking tiny tiny amount of marijuana and watching a sad/uplifting movie. Of course it also works without marijuana, but that stuff always heightens my emotions.

@Viking practice makes perfect

I'm no expert, but pot can cause depersonalization along with hallucinations... at most it probably caused you do experience what your subconscious thinks an ego death may be.

@Stefano Provenzi Yeah that's a good question... Although I believe I have read somewhere that the act of spinal breathing will do the work for you... although you should also work on the psychological aspects of each chakra in your daily life.

@Stefano Provenzi I know you didn't ask me, my here's my 2 cents. IF the assumption that yogananda made is true, that Jesus himself practiced kriya yoga, then I think it would definitely be a good practice to do. Then again, some people say Jesus didn't exist, but was written in as an allegory, so who knows?

So I have been trying to practice (or not practice?) the do nothing meditation for a few days. I have never been able to form a successful meditation practice no matter how many times I've tried, so hopefully this will be the ticket. I put "do nothing" in the search box, but no results are found, so I'm making a new thread. I'll probably update it as more questions arise... First of all, doing it with open eyes as Leo suggests is very distracting.. they cross and create double vision, move around, sting, etc. For experienced non-doers, does this resolve over time or do I teach myself to not be bothered by it? Does the meditation lose any benefit by closing the eyes? Also, when I enter a stream of thought, I can't tell if I am forcing the thoughts or if I am observing them. Very tricky. Any other advice that you wish you knew when you started?

@pluto I've had similar things happen, it has always fascinated me

@YellowButterfly this is good advice, thanks. I'm quite used to letting itches be, because I've experimented a lot with trying to induce trance and sleep paralysis. Was never successful though and I think that practicing do-nothing will greatly help in those areas, because I could never quiet my mind enough. @RawJudah could you tell me in your words how you were daydreaming and not doing this correctly? @molosku thank you, this is very good non-advice

@Faceless I see what you are saying, though I meant hope in finding an actual meditation, not in the effects and benefits. I can see how I framed the sentence wrong, though. Fundamentaly I understand that there should be no trying, but oh well, I'm still a baby at all this

An update: wow I don't know how long I practiced this morning, no more than 10-15 minutes. At the very end, thoughts took on a different form, almost like commands. I should do this, and I should do that. Random things that weren't in my thouht stream at the time. Also got a couple images... One of a few cars going down the highway, and one of a sparkling puddle of water. Did my best not to engage in the images, or be distracted. Still no silence or peace, but feeling very hopeful with this meditation. It's one that I can sustain for longer periods of time and not get aggravated when I mess up.

@Heart of Space that was pretty funny... Did you write this or find it?

@Stardog thanks, that's pretty helpful. I will look up the Shinay videos when I have a chance. I have tried variations with eyes open/closed, but I see what you are saying about engaging with thoughts, and it makes sense. I like how this meditation can be done anywhere, any time, and for any length of time. I have tried it in the bathtub, in a chair, and this morning when my alarm went off, I snoozed it for 5 minutes at a time and tried to practice in between each snooze, for a total of 15 minutes. That was more or less successful because I often slip into a short dream or start seeing images almost immediately when doing it that early. That being said, it's also kind of fun to explore the hypnagogic state, although distracting for the purposes of meditation.

@Monkey-man I own a business in the service industry and therefore encounter hundreds of people per week. A few of them do seem so incredibly happy every time they come in. Some so happy and cheerful that my depressed ego (now in recovery) would do anything it could to shy away from them. At first I thought it was because the happiness annoyed me, but later realized it was because I was simply jealous. It was that realization that helped spark my recovery. Of course I have no idea how they act the other 99% of their lives, but the ones I am referring to, you can definitely tell there's something going on up in their heads, chemical-wise. Then again, they could be on some good drugs, so who knows?

dreams are hella fun though... especially if you can gain some bit of control

have you seen Westworld? It's an amazing show which touches on this subject

If you were permanently in high-consciousness, how would you know it? Eventually you may forget what it feels like to be anything but high-consciousness, and it will become baseline. Would you then get depressed and wish for even higher-consciousness?

I can feel and direct energy throughout my body with even a tiny bit of pot. I'm working on doing it sober with varying degrees of success. It helps to be very relaxed, like in a hot bath or directly after. If you are feeling something in your stomach area, that is what they call the third chakra, the solar plexus. The root chakra (first chakra) is located between your genitals. The second chakra is right around where your pubic hair is. In my opinion, the whole chakra system is a self-improvement program, whether or not they exist. If you go through the steps of "healing" or "opening" the chakras, you find that it has a lot to do with emotional healing and thought patterns, except you don't have to have a therapist. You let your body be your therapist. As long as you feel better in the end, it doesn't really matter if it was placebo or not, IMO. However, for people that have experienced what it feels like to send energy around the body and to the different chakra points, (which also exist (?) in the hands and feet), it would be very hard for them to tell you that it doesn't exist, because they have experienced it. The warm, fuzzy, relaxing feeling that comes with moving energy around the body, and the pin prick, tightening feeling when you send it to a chakra. The electricity feeling of kundalini (I haven't experienced that myself yet..)

well marijuana is a Hallucinogen, and can really pull some deep stuff out of your subconscious. A different strand may have a stronger effect on that. It is possible that since you visit these forums and the subject of enlightenment is on your mind, the marijuana effect caused you to try and replicate what the feeling might be. However it also can increase anxiety while high, and I'm sure that was not a good combination. Then again, it's also possible it caused you to have a real experience that wasn't a hallucination. Who knows? I never count out hallucinations though. People tend to say "oh it was the drug"... but no, the drug only unlocked what was already in your mind.

I don't think there is any need to apologize for our ego's behavior. It's just a part of the life experience, just as overcoming it is (*should be).