I've spent the last few days really attempting to remain in the present and I've noticed a few small changes already. I have been making a full conscious effort to remain mindful and present every minute of the day with blocks of time to meditate (I can kill an hour without thinking with meditation as opposed to a few months ago where 15 minutes would feel like eternity).
I noted down my experiences yesterday:
I find myself within a deeper state of experience, as if I've been missing something huge.
I find myself as a new person; I have my past but it does not feel as though it's my own, as if I can inspect it and observe it in an objective way without the burden of my own interpretation; my past no longer defines me. I feel transformed.
I find myself able to communicate with others in a more effective way; I can place my full attention on individuals and the conversation benefits as a result. I especially feel more connection to others.
I find my cognitive faculties sharpened since I am not in constant use of them; I feel as though they are well rested and are now under my control.
I find myself enjoying taste more; if I eat too fast, I must slow down so that I don't miss the experience.
I find tears of joy in my eyes when I listen to beautiful music; how could I have not noticed such beauty before?
Most importantly, I find myself able to simply feel; I have never been able to feel like I can feel now.
I can't help but feel that the recent mindfulness fad, and some of this blog, misses the point. While meditation, and mindfulness in general, does have plenty of wonderful side effects, to meditate for any reason other than because it's the truth will eventually be self-defeating. The only thing that any of us are truly capable of losing is the present moment. Meditation is simply a pure expression of that fact. When you meditate for any of its myriad benefits, without framing it in the context of an expression of ultimate reality, it becomes just another form of grasping.
This is not to say that you should never use meditation as a tool. Samatha meditation is practiced explicitly to improve concentration, and Vipassana to improve insight. That being said, be mindful of your grasping and try to avoid meditating into your preconceptions. Ultimately meditation is a pure surrender to what is; not striving towards what you believe should be.
"Those who have great realization of delusion are buddhas; those who are greatly deluded about realization are sentient beings."
-Zen master Eihei Dogen
This is so true, yet was modded down.. while posts like "You could really gamify meditation" are so ironic I still haven't accepted they're meant seriously :/
Though to be fair, I think the "fad" is as much as encouraging people to give it a shot. "Give the person what they want in the guise of what they need." That method of transmission has been around for centuries. It's hoped that eventually, you start examining your own grasping, and the kind of Jungian shadows lurking there. On the other hand, for this crowd, it also means deliberately examining things like -- well, why are you trying to build a startup? Why are you trying to launch a new product? Is your hot new social network really going to change the world the way you think? Do you really need to change the world?
If those feel uncomfortable, then the mindfulness practice is paying off ...
"to meditate for any reason other than because it's the truth will eventually be self-defeating"
Not sure I agree. You quote a zen master. The book I am currently reading "The Three pillars of zen" gives much less judgmental advice.
I'm not gonna type the whole thing up, but it basically states that there is no problem with people just going after the goal of increased concentration, a state they describe as:
"this is more than the ability to concentrate in the usual sense of the word. It is a dynamic power which, once mobilized, enables us even in the most sudden and unexpected situations to act instantly. Those who have developed 'it' are no longer slaves to their passions."
It does say that this "quality" recedes without practice, it's something you have to maintain by meditating every day, as opposed to the actual deep changes that come from seeking enlightenment.
But it is perfectly fine for people to pursue meditation for benefits completely unrelated to spirituality or enlightenment.
The quote and paraphrasing are all from the book and come from zen master Yasutani-roshu.
I'm not trying to be judgmental. I don't mean that it's "wrong" to meditate for concrete reasons. Just that to do so is in a fundamental sense missing the point. Of course, reality transcends my notions of it.
Respectfully, I must also disagree with Yasutani Roshi. The dynamic power he refers to is the energy of mindfulness. While meditation is certainly a powerful way to cultivate it, if your ability to remain mindful recedes without it, you have a problem with leaky insight, not with inadequate sitting time. With the right insight, everything becomes meditation and mindfulness a way of life. The ability to be in doing is a pretty important step along the path. I am of course not encouraging not practicing sitting. By all means, practice diligently.
All the same, I have nothing against anyone practicing meditation for any reason.
@ramblerman, the more you practice, the more your practice and experience informs the advice. Written works like that take on much less meaning, as does the notion of pulling them out to support your reasoning.
Based on my experience, "to meditate for any reason other than because its the truth" and "It is a dynamic power which, once mobilized, enables us even the most sudden and unexpected situations to act instantly" do not contradict each other and are one and the same. You become less and less a slave of your own impulses and reactions. You perceive the truth of those impulses. You cut your way free and can act like a child, spontaneously correct in the moment without spinning in your mind.
But my experience doesn't mean anything to you. Leaning on it takes you away from your own experience of the present moment.
The present, which meditation allows you to experience, is truth because it's about experiencing what currently is without any subjective interpretation or judgement. It is what is, nothing more, nothing less - quite honestly the truth!
To meditate for any other reason would mean ignorance, partial or full, of the present. The title of this post is a hood example: you shouldn't meditate to get shit done because that is a goal, a fabrication of the mind and is based firmly in the future which means its most definitely not about experiencing the present.
"I want to get this shit done." <-- This is an artifact of the mind, though it feels real. In Noting practice, you attempt to "note" the arising and passing of artifacts. So, what is this?
"I feel an impulse to get shit done." <-- Letting go of "getting shit done" and staying more to the present. In the present, you feel the impulse, you are not spraying your mind out into the imagined future/past where the shit has to be done.
"I feel an impulse to finish." <-- Letting go on what you specifically needs to get done.
"I feel an impulse." <-- Letting go of the notion of "finishing" something.
"I feel." <-- Letting go of the notion of automatically reacting to impulses.
"Feel." <-- Letting go of the notion of "self".
"..." <-- Mu.
"" <--
<--
"Oh shit, what hell was that?!?" <-- Everything that lives, will die, and eventually, new things are born. Just as "these things will pass", there new thoughts and emotions will arise. And so it goes.
Meditation produces all of these wonderful side effects, but it's hard, what if I never get good at it? Well, it turns out that trying to meditate is just as effective as meditating! The reason for this is that every time you fail at meditating (when your mind wanders to something for a bit before you realize it and bring it back in line) you are just practicing refocusing your attention. That practice of deliberately focusing your attention is the key bit that brings all of the benefits! Whether you finally manage to focus for a large chunk of time is almost as immaterial as how long you hold up a bar bell at the top of a curl.
Thank you for this - I kept feeling I had hit a wall in my mindfulness meditation, and it's good to be reminded that it's the effort that's the goal, not the end result. :)
This is really interesting. We're making products for helping people be more mindful, including some with biosensor integration (brainwaves via EEG, heartrate via optical sensors.) We're programmers ourselves and would love people's insights into what they'd pay for in terms of a tool to help them "be more mindful" while at work or at play. You can email me directly at rohan (at) brainbot.me to get in touch! Thank you.
Have you thought about creating high-tech mala (prayer/meditation beads)? They're used to count the breath or repetition of mantras without thinking about it. Making it one full way around (often 108 beads) is supposed to be a good amount of time to meditate. A high-tech version could gather all kinds of data during meditations and gamify the whole process. Of course, that might defeat the purpose for some people.
Of course, that might defeat the purpose for some people.
For me it would. Mindfulness meditation is accepting things as they are. When you are tired, you are tired. When you fall asleep, you fall asleep. I find peace in meditation exactly because there's nothing to attain.
Of course, gamification might help newcomers, so it's a worthwhile experiment.
this is a great idea. I personally have found using a mala to be really rewarding. We've played with various timing methodologies but maybe there's a physical hardware device that combines a biosensor and mala we haven't considered yet. Thank you. :) Happy new year.
You could really gamify meditation by recording things like heart rate, perspiration, time between beads, frequency of practice, etc. Like a Buddhist Nike+.
That could work for concentration meditation, but I think this could create pitfalls in mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is seeing things as they are. If there is angriness, there is angriness. If angriness leads to a higher heart rate, there is a higher heart rate. Such gamification could have the effect that people who practice meditations start pushing away and block negative emotions, etc.
The goals is not to not think about anything. The goal is to be aware of things as they are without judgment.
> The goal is to be aware of things as they are without judgment.
As long as it's being done your way, right? People get dogmatic and judgmental about everything, your post is evidence that meditation is no different.
Getting dogmatic and judgmental has less to do with human nature, and more to do with human habit. We have a habit of avoidance and attachment. I don't think he is accusing you of being judemental so much as pointing out, it is possible to be aware of things without judgement.
I was looking deep into the gamification two years ago when it was first getting popular. I even tried to gamify my meditation practice at that point. It did not work. It did not work because I was using the gamification to avoid experiencing what arises during practice.
People who do not practice have an extremely difficult time starting a practice. I know this because I had trouble, and so do my buddies who practice.
When you decide to start, some part of you knows you will be sitting there. In a room. In the quiet. With. No. Escape. With no escape from yourself. Never mind that you "volunteered." There are lots and lots of issues that arises -- most people don't really like themselves, or like their life. People consume entertainment product precisely to avoid experiencing what is going on in the present -- and gamification is at its heart, an entertainment product used for avoiding suffering. People are chasing after ... something. The irony being that, if you were to look at what it is you are chasing after, it can only be found in the present moment.
I have been practicing daily for a year ... and I still have those pings I get whispering, "no... it is OK if you skip your practice today." It's really funny to see how my emotions start thrashing more as I approach the designated practice time. Or the kind of thoughts that arise to distract me from it.
I still use the Streak app to track my meditation practice. When I first started, I was so hung up on it. If I broke a streak, I'd flog myself for having failed, spiraling into loops of feeling inadequate, being a loser, "Why can't I ever sustain a practice!?" kind of stuff.
These days, I still use the app ... when I remember. Instead of having it on my home screen on my iphone, I keep it in the back. Even feelings of having accomplished an unbroken streak have attenuated. They vaguely arise like sleepy guests at a bed & breakfast; I feed them a bit of attention and let them go on their way.
It doesn't matter, all ways lead to the center. To borrow an analogy: objecting to one way of meditation in favor of another is like a ferry boat captain complaining to the government that someone else has opened up another ferry business down-stream. "Let all operate ferry boats who will, and if you don't have the sense to stay off one that sinks, that's your problem." -Alan Watts
I love "Buddhist Nike+"! We are staying away from language that might turn people off but it's a pretty compact way to describe this whole set of devices. :)
But careful, Mr. Mindful Programmer - if you are becoming more and more mindful and still do bad karma work e.g. for banksters, military or the big brother police state, you will suffer from shizophrenia and become seriously ill very young - you must decide, if you want to do some ill work or have a healthy brain + body.
Though to be fair, there is also a long, more obscure tradition of practice where you dive straight into the shadows, trauma, and these horrible things that we humans can do to each other and to the world. These illnesses comes from attempting to integrate some of this deep stuff ... and then rejecting it ... and you're too far along in your practice to fool yourself for long.
But yeah, practice on the cushion is nice. It is also about integrating the insights you've attained with your life when you're not on the cushion. And to have the courage to change your career if you've decided this is no longer the life you want to live.
I love how the article reads with phrases like "proof" and the pressrelease uses terms like "appears" and acknowledges that it has undergone essentially zero peer review.
It's interesting for sure, but the post reaks of zealotry.
Peer review does not really matter. Articles like this are more along the lines of, "This is a DYI method for tinkering with your life ... because you will never be happy with a retail version of what you think the world should be."
You're never going to prove anything about mindfulness, not from the outside. No one can ever force you to be mindful, so I'm not sure where zealotry comes in.
I noted down my experiences yesterday:
I find myself within a deeper state of experience, as if I've been missing something huge.
I find myself as a new person; I have my past but it does not feel as though it's my own, as if I can inspect it and observe it in an objective way without the burden of my own interpretation; my past no longer defines me. I feel transformed.
I find myself able to communicate with others in a more effective way; I can place my full attention on individuals and the conversation benefits as a result. I especially feel more connection to others.
I find my cognitive faculties sharpened since I am not in constant use of them; I feel as though they are well rested and are now under my control.
I find myself enjoying taste more; if I eat too fast, I must slow down so that I don't miss the experience.
I find tears of joy in my eyes when I listen to beautiful music; how could I have not noticed such beauty before?
Most importantly, I find myself able to simply feel; I have never been able to feel like I can feel now.