Is Meditation BS?

[Davino]

2 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

I meditated 20hrs this weekend.

Only?

Those are rookie numbers

[Leo Gura]

21 minutes ago, Clarence said:

Wow. That's really serious.

What kind of results do you get from this amount of meditation? Does your state of consciousness significantly shift while you meditate, or is 20 hrs not long enough for that (compared to the 200-hour retreats you mentioned before)?

20hrs changes very little.

15 minutes ago, Vibes said:

@Leo Gura What kind do you practiced?

I do the Shinzen labeling kind.

Edited 18 hours ago by Leo Gura

[shree]

2 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

I do the Shinzen labeling mind.

Sounds interesting, will definitely look into it...

Is this a good introduction into this practice?

Edited 18 hours ago by shree

[Leo Gura]

5 minutes ago, shree said:

Sounds interesting, will definitely look into it...

Is this a good introduction into this practice?

Yeah. 

I got an old video explaining it: Mindfulness Meditation

See, hear, feel. Very simple.

Edited 18 hours ago by Leo Gura

[Vibes]

@Leo Gura What about doing nothing and just staring at now, slowly dying of boredom? I know you have an old video on it, but do you still see value in it?

[EternalForest]

Yes and no.

Most of the info I know about meditation is from Leo, so if you asked me this back in 2018 I would've said it's not BS because it seemed like he believed meditation could easily lead to Awakening back then. Over the years though, Leo's opinion has shifted to the point where normal meditation alone doesn't seem like it'll ever be enough to make a dent. Not to say you shouldn't do it at all, some is better than nothing but now it seems like unless you do regular meditation retreats or at least multiple hours a day minimum in combination with other methods it won't make enough of an impact.

@Leo Gura Is this accurate?

[AION]

Doing no meditation is like not going to the shower for a while. In the same way your body is getting dirty, your mind’s eye gets dirty too. This is why I always meditate in the morning. For my own hygiene and to be presentable. 

[Leo Gura]

28 minutes ago, Vibes said:

@Leo Gura What about doing nothing and just staring at now, slowly dying of boredom? I know you have an old video on it, but do you still see value in it?

There are many valid techniques.

Noting is better for keeping the mind on track. Just focusing on nothing is really hard without getting lost in thoughts. Noting helps avoid getting lost in thoughts.

[LambdaDelta]

Classic variants of meditation become weak sauce after a certain point. Never really worked for me to begin with due to an overly inquisitive mind, but that can be turned into a strength. 
You could start doing God Mind meditation. As I'm riding on a train, I close my eyes, and through deconstructing the concept of motion in my mind I reach consciousness of Absolute Stillness, similarly you could do No Self and such classic awakening experiences. And this is richer because it's like having both eyes open, with No Self you have just the one. It can be done anywhere, at any time, the concept of distractions no longer applies, all of it is direct experience. Do this for a while and boredom will cease to exist. 

It's no longer about silencing the monkey mind, or something like a Meister Eckhart style, the emptying will happen naturally as you go beyond the imagined limits of your human mind.
The reason you no longer need to quiet the monkey mind is your baseline has evolved to a relatively purified human mind, which has the capacity to earnestly and patiently deconstruct itself until reaching God consciousness, whereas the monkey mind had to be silenced, splashed awake with water, or dissolved. There's still value for those occasionally, but they're no longer mandatory. 

One could argue technicalities how this is not really meditation, that's up to individual interpretation. 
 

[Leo Gura]

13 minutes ago, EternalForest said:

but now it seems like unless you do regular meditation retreats or at least multiple hours a day minimum in combination with other methods it won't make enough of an impact.

@Leo Gura Is this accurate?

I've said for a long time that hardcore retreats are necessary. This is not a new position for me. I documented some of my retreats years ago now.

Edited 18 hours ago by Leo Gura

[OBEler]

@Leo Gura wow thats insane amount 20 hours. You documented your journey all along on your blog, would be nice to hear in a more detailed blog video where you on your journey are working at. 

[Leo Gura]

I will soon do a 2-4 week nonstop retreat.

[Nemra]

@Leo Gura, how many hours per day?

[Leo Gura]

1 minute ago, Nemra said:

@Leo Gura, how many hours per day?

Nonstop

[shree]

1 minute ago, Leo Gura said:

I will soon do a 2-4 week nonstop retreat.

I am planning to do the same, but for a bit shorter period.

What kind of retreat would you recommend? Any advice?

[Clarence]

4 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

I will soon do a 2-4 week nonstop retreat.

Will you be doing this retreat alone or at a retreat center? Which do you like more?

[Leo Gura]

11 minutes ago, Clarence said:

Will you be doing this retreat alone or at a retreat center? Which do you like more?

Always alone.

[nistake]

Not that it's important, but I'm just curious. Do you sit in a meditation posture or simply on your couch?

[OBEler]

41 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

I will soon do a 2-4 week nonstop retreat.

Whats the motivation? Must be extremely frustrating to do such alternative instead of psychedelics which get you into deep consciousness instantly without sitting for hours.

[Nemra]

@Leo Gura, are you talking about hardcore meditation in some fixed position without moving?

If so, wouldn't you want to sleep, eat, drink something or relax? Can you do it for 24 hours?