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Originally Posted by alex_d
just wondering... what is "real" meditation? is that where you just stop thinking? yeah, that's very hard because now you're thinking about not thinking... you go nowhere. I guess maybe some people learn to just let go and succeed? Are there advantages of "pure" meditation compared to this distraction approach? I have to say, the ideal of sitting without thinking or seeing or anything is a bit defeating... just die already, or take a nap.
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Once I had the job from hell. The only thing that got me through two years of it was my 30 minute meditation at lunchtime. A good operational definition of consciousness is
how it feels to be you right now. I refer specifically to feeling and sensation as opposed to ideation and belief. Sometimes it is beneficial to alter the feeling quality of your consciousness. That changes
how it feels to be you. The technic gives you control over the quality of your consciousness. So in practicing the technic you deliberately alter how you feel. There is profound pleasure to be found in this practice. It gives you power over your life because it can become a way to restore your sense of well-being when the rest of your life is unpleasant. Many people approach this state when they become totally involved in something like listening to music. This quality of involvement is called "flow" and it is essential to happiness. Flow occurs whenever you are creatively engaged such that you are aware of your physical process. Imagine skiing, dancing, making love, reading a really good book, or better yet, writing one.
Because this meditative practice involves simply focusing on the sensations of your body, it gently pulls you away from ideation that can be harmful to the quality of your consciousness, like rehearsal of anxious thoughts or ruminations over unfortunate past situations. Standard meditation asks you to still your thoughts, to stop thinking. That is difficult to do. This technic is different because it give you a place to go, a goal of sorts, within the somatosensory complex of your own body. It does not take long, once you have found the feelings and sensation within you that you value, to learn to return there as if you are walking down a familiar path. My personal "key" to this path is to take a deep breath and to simple "fall" into the desired state. Your first step is to tune into the sensations that are already present in your body and allow them to build in intensity. You will be pleasantly surprised.
As to what is "real". Good question alex_d. Perhaps one's own experience is the only reality to which we have access. Do you remember the lesson of the velveteen rabbit?
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"Real isn't how you are made . . . It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real. It takes a long time. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." -- Margery Williams
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