meditation is not that useful

[vizual]

All paths and techniques are ultimately bullshit to realize truth. It’s like following a certain technique for success and riches, it may work for some people. But the success of the formula is not in the formula itself. It’s more that the technique motivates the person and gives something to hold on. A goal, a method etc. There’s just no one size fits all. 
 

You can try different things. But if you  gave mediation an honest try, and it gives you nothing in return. Well then you are heading towards the definition of insanity. 
 

i feel there’s also a lot of parroting within the spiritual community. If someone doesn’t have an answer to a hard question they will just say; well you just need to meditate more. It’s a weak appeal to tradition and authority.

[Jakuchu]

Your life didn't change because you didn't change

Saying Meditation doesn't work is like saying Being doesn't work. If Being doesn't work, then nothing works 

Meditation can't help you, because you are Meditation. You are trying to use yourself to help yourself. You thinking that you need help is exactly why it doesn't work. You are not seeking help, you are seeking yourself. You won't get yourself, if you are seeking help. Because help is a duality. Drop this "I need help" attitude and try it again 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Jakuchu

[Nahm]

42 minutes ago, Pacific Sage said:

@Nahm What do you mean? It has been a solution to a few problems for me at the least.

No it hasn’t. 

[Pacific Sage]

Few of my problems, it has.

[Consilience]

Meditation is very effective. 1 hour per day isn’t going to provide dramatic results though.

[The0Self]

While I’d be tempted to say nothing is useful, I’ll talk on a different level: It’s ridiculously effective, but it can take either luck or finding the right techniques. With meditation skill alone, you can manifest as much bliss as you want, any time you want it, maybe not instantaneously, but in short order.

[tlowedajuicemayne]

So, a few things here- 

Firstly,

Not all practices work for everyone. There isn't a 'one size fits all' meditation practice. Some practitioners have an affinity for koan practice, some others may have an affinity for mindfulness practices, etc. Give someone who has an affinity for koan practice a breath practice and they may stop meditating all together, the opposite is also true. This is why its SUPER important that you seek out a Teacher (preferably one who has a lineage, exz- Rinzai, Soto Zen schools). This is critical to your practice if you're serious about awakening.

The role of a Teacher is to firstly assess where you are in your practice and to make sure that you're working on a practice that harmonizes with you. This takes some experimenting. My teacher and I spent a few years working on various breath practices, before I finally landed on koan practice. Beyond that the Teachers role is to provide you with encouragement and insight so that you don't wind up deluding yourself and spending years lost in thought, or going in circles. This is done through a one on one meeting with a teacher called 'Dokusan'. This is essential to a quality vertical practice. 

Secondly, 

Stop listening to Leo for spiritual advice and spiritual practices. You do not know Leo, you also can not contact Leo and get one on one (face to face) practice instruction on a regular basis, on top of that Leo is not a spiritual teacher. Leo is not going to sit down with you on a regular basis and see where you are stuck and help you get unstuck. It is critical that you stop filling your mind with endless chatter from spiritual channels on YouTube and focus on the simplicity of practice itself. These 'spiritual teachers' on YouTube are not going to take the time to meet with you in person and give you practice instruction, therefore they are not helpful to you at all. I recommend stop listening to any spiritual information online that does not come directly from a proven master who is CURRENTLY meeting with students face to face and giving practice instruction regularly and who is open to meeting with you face to face, not online. If someone is talking about spiritual teachings and is not actively helping students awaken that person is not a teacher- he is a preacher. They are not the same. Leo is a preacher, not a teacher. 

Thirdly, 

Assuming you are over the age of 20. You have spent the vast majority of your life (at least 15 years) being deceived and deeply deluded by your parents, the adults in your life, your society and by your culture. You have only been working to remove that delusion an hour a day for 2 years. That tally's up to about 30 days of practice if you add up all the hours.

Do you really expect to dent the mountain of delusion in only 30 days when it took you 15+ years to put the mountain there?

Your expectations seem exaggerated. At the risk of sounding like a broken record- You need a teacher to point these kinds of things out to you. 

As far as quitting the practice and giving up. This is happening for a variety of reasons I imagine, but one of the main reasons people leave the path is because they do not have community (sangha). 

Trying to lone wolf your way to awakening or insight is nearly impossible. Community (sangha) is one of the pillars of quality long term practice. Without community, your practice will become stale and lifeless. Practicing in community with other practitioners who you meet with face to face, is essential to a good practice. Online forums, video chats and YouTube videos won't cut it. You need direct experience. Try seeking out a zen center or other meditation community near you and attending weekly and daily sitting in community with other people. Meditation can be really dry sometimes and having a community of people around you for support, will help you push through those dry days and into the deeper parts of practice. 

EDIT- One final note- no drugs or psychedelics. Don't bother with that stuff until you have a fully grounded practice. A lot of the people on this forum will recommend these things to you but they don't realize the damage they are doing by recklessly recommending psychedelic's and drugs to people. While psychedelics are great for insights, they often deeply delude you and you have to spend the next year or so prying off the deep layers of delusion you incurred in these experiences which can't really be done without a deep spiritual practice to begin with. Don't listen to anyone suggesting you should try drugs as a part of your practice. It did not take drugs to incur the delusion, it will not take drugs to remove the delusion. You are whole and complete, and fully capable all on your own. 

I hope this helps you in some way. 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by tlowedajuicemayne
forgot a critical part

[Jakuchu]

@tlowedajuicemayne We need a character limit on this forum. Don't want to sound like an a**hole, but please keep it concise 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Jakuchu

[Pacific Sage]

@Jakuchu

I don't see a reason why there should be a cap limit on the characters, you can always skip reading the post.

[gettoefl]

 

all the time you're engaged in either mentation or meditation

sorry to tell you, you don't have a choice in the matter

[Scholar]

Watch this.

 

[itachi uchiha]

17 hours ago, RedLine said:

What vipassana? I have been doing vipassana noting (seeing, hearing, feeling, thinking, smelling) for a while and 0 kudalini

 

yeah what i described above is my friends result . he is doing it for 7 years.i did vipasana for only 1.5 years and then moved to yoga.

the system followed is oshos system.in it for first 1-1.5 years i focused on the breath. i witness the breath. after 1.5 years i strated witnessing on thoughts directly. because at that time i will have developed sufficient awareness to witness the breath. but if i started  using the breath then it would be difficult to witness the breath

[Moksha]

Keep an open mind. Let it go if it doesn't help you right now, but realize that could change down the road. There's a reason meditation has been the mainstay for mystics over thousands of years.

I had no interest in meditating when I was younger, but it is now my primary spiritual practice. There is no universal path to spirituality; you have to find what works for you, and stay adaptable during the journey.

[RMQualtrough]

I feel like it's literally useless. My mental state never shifts from normality until I take something... I've never had any kind of insight via meditation without doing something like smoking small amounts of DMT midway.

[Javfly33]

Yeah, meditation is powerful but only when you are already stable and spiritually developed enough. Until then imo is kind of a waste of time, but at least if your life is on fire, you have 20 minutes of peace a day. Which is always nice  

[Max8]

5 hours ago, The0Self said:

It’s ridiculously effective, but it can take either luck or finding the right techniques. With meditation skill alone, you can manifest as much bliss as you want, any time you want it, maybe not instantaneously, but in short order.

30 months is long enough 

what is that technique? 

i thought leo already knows those which is where i learned to meditate from 

[Sempiternity]

I like how Leo defined meditation in this video, which is very different to how it's usually used. Instead of viewing Ego or thoughts as something other that one may be trying to supervene, here he defines it as you putting your focus and awareness on the fact that this bubble of reality is all that there is, and you are all of that bubble. He defines mediation as basking in the fact that you are the whole of the universe Now, nothing more, nothing less. I personally like that definition.

 

 

[Jakuchu]

30 minutes ago, Max8 said:

what is that technique? 

There is no technique, you are the technique 

[Max8]

1 minute ago, Jakuchu said:

There is no technique, you are the technique 

lol 

this goes deeeeep 

[SQAAD]

2 years is nothing in the big picture. The benefits of meditation are seen many years ahead. If it doesn't work for you then ok. But for me , it clicks. I am doing it more because i enjoy it and less because of utilitarian purposes.

Find something you enjoy doing.