Is Meditation BS?

[shree]

  On 3/25/2025 at 11:52 AM, 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 Tuesday at 11:56 AM by shree

[Leo Gura]

  On 3/25/2025 at 11:54 AM, 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 Tuesday at 12:00 PM 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]

  On 3/25/2025 at 0:06 PM, 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]

  On 3/25/2025 at 0:27 PM, 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 Tuesday at 12:41 PM 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]

  On 3/25/2025 at 0:56 PM, Nemra said:

@Leo Gura, how many hours per day?

Nonstop

[shree]

  On 3/25/2025 at 0:55 PM, 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]

  On 3/25/2025 at 0:55 PM, 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]

  On 3/25/2025 at 1:06 PM, 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]

  On 3/25/2025 at 0:55 PM, 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.

[AION]

How one can do nonstop meditation? You have to drink and eat

[r0ckyreed]

In my experience, I get more out of contemplation vs meditation. I meditated and contemplated for 5 hours straight. Meditating for 5 hours of just me watching my breath didn’t really add any noticeable benefit than from if I do 5 minutes of meditation. Whereas contemplating for 5 hours straight gave me more insight. 

I have too much of an active mind and I don’t really want to shut it off because I love thinking deeply. I would hate having some insight or deep thought come up and then I would have to let it go and return to the breath.

Meditation to me is BS. I do meditate for 5-10 minutes daily, but anything longer than that seems like a waste of time. I love being active. I don’t want to give up my active lifestyle and confine myself and my mind to doing nothing. Shutting off the mind has long-term consequences that aren’t always taken seriously. I only do meditation for the purposes of intrinsic happiness and incubating insight. But survival and thriving in life demands that you get off your ass and engage in the world. 
 

So in short, brief meditation is helpful but long-term stunts your capacity for insight. You need to use your mind and expose your mind to high quality stimuli if you are gonna have any insight, and give yourself time to incubate it whether that is playing guitar or meditating. I don’t get why you would confine yourself to watching your breath when you could get more benefits playing music. How is meditation and playing music any different?

[Salvijus]

  On 3/25/2025 at 0:55 PM, Leo Gura said:

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

Godspeed