Meditation thread

Meditation thread
Have you noticed any changes in your mood since you started meditating?

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Yes. More calm. anxiety reduced by 50%. I think much clearer. That fucking voice on my head is starting to shut up. monks are based

Definitely helps with stress. Would recommend.

I haven't noticed mood changes yet, but I have noticed it's getting a lot easier to quiet my mind. I usually aim for 15 minutes a day, but today I did 30 minutes without realizing that much time had passed.

I don’t meditate that way but praying the rosary and going to Adoration has massively improved my life, also the Jesus prayer (which is more or an orthodox thing but a very useful devotional)

>tfw I dont get pissed off and worked up in traffic when I've been focused on breathing and self control

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Much less stressed.
Much less tense.
Much less angry out of the blue.
Lot "better" result at big 5 personality tests. I strongly recomment those if you have doubts. All they test is your self-perception.
Also much more empathy for others.
Also much more disciplined... it's feels like just knowing what is right - and if you know it you just do it. No more skipping Training etc. and much less judgemental.

protip: if you are taking videos of yourself meditation to post on instagram you aren't meditation

What's the most effective method? Focus on breathing or on a spot on the wall?

In theory, either works as best as each other. the benefit comes from just focusing on something.

Breath is used just because its always there, its convenient and it's a clear feeling. On a 10 day meditation retreat, the first three days are spent just feeling the feelings at the nostrils

I have a hard time meditating, longest I've kept at it is a week, and that's with 5 or 10 minute sessions. I'd rather just stare at my phone before bed. How do I into mediation

It's surprisingly easier when you do it on a group

To me, the pauses between breaths are too long for me to keep being focused

Don't worry, this is where every one starts. People don't realise how distracted they really are until they try and just focus on the breath for more than 10 seconds. Eventually you will build up enough concentration to where you can focus for longer, but a key point of meditation is just acknowledging the distraction of thinking and returning to the breath, over and over and over.
Just bare in mind too that people always associate meditation with 'clearing the mind' which really is just wrong (at least for most things in Buddhism). The mind is always wandering. You must tame it by bringing it back to the breath like taming a restless elephant.

Just keep doing what you're doing, even if you feel like you're not getting anywhere. After a few weeks you should notice it getting easier

sitting with a straight back is uncomfortable as fuck for me and is basically why I quit. I asked around if it would be alright with a slightly arched back and everyone I talked to kept going on about my chakras not being lined up or some Newark,e shit like that.
I just wanna be able to lie down and meditate desu

>feeling the feelings at the nostrils
elliott pls go

The problem with lying down is it's triggers a comfy response and your brain wants to go into rest mode.

The most important think is you should be sitting in a comfortable position, sitting up straight just helps you stay more alert and over time it becomes comfortable. But it's also totally ok to sit in a reclining chair for example.

>tfw too lazy to meditate

Its the same thing, but for different beliefs. Praying with rosary, meditating with those meditation beads, etc. Similar concept, with pretty much identical results.

this, when ive got my music playing, traffic is the best because it means more songs to listen to

Except is based off faith of what others tell you and the other is backed by peer reviewed studies

studies show that spiritual practice is generally correlated with less stress and general markers of well-being. East or west, whatever your faith it is worth looking into and finding the good in it.

Or ya know, sperg out on an anime forum because someone enjoys praying