What does 'Meditation' actually mean?

yellowmonkeyzx93 · 2016-08-26T12:59:33+00:00

It's a fancy word that means to reflect or introspect in our lives. By reflecting.. it creates the self-awareness necessary for an individual to evaluate his life and thus take steps towards the right direction.

If a person does not know what is wrong with one's life, how can one actually take the steps towards the right direction?

Edit: Alternatively, you can do the actual act of mediation. It's good too. Take a few minutes to clear your mind. Kinda like you shutdown your laptop and restart. Hahaha

fuckMeRedFuckYouBlue · 2016-08-26T14:06:37+00:00

/r/RationalMeditation and /r/meditation are good places to start. Meditation comes in many flavors but in straightening out the mind I have found two things work for me. Stoicism: (A Guide to the Good Life, Marcus' Meditations or the Emporor's Handbook: a new translation of the meditation, and the stoic six pack). And mindfulness meditation: vipasana, or breath meditation. Here is a video I like to link but if you don't have an hour the /r/RationalMeditation sub has a link to a short txt document.

alltrueism · 2016-08-26T16:00:35+00:00

Ever drive home from work and not recall the drive because you were so lost in thought? Chances are, you won't even remember what you were contemplating. This is essentially the brain on auto-pilot, or "thinking without thinking."

Meditation is a conscious effort to take the brain off auto-pilot, to let thoughts come and go, and to be more present in the moment. In method of practice, this could be just taking 15 minutes a day to sit comfortably and focus on your breathing.

As for benefits, there's lots of research out there. But in summary, it's exercise for the brain to be mindful. Repeated practice brings a higher level of clarity by being in tune with the mind and body.

Just one example, so many people will go through thier day in a bad mood and not even question it. Meditation could not only bring recognition to the source of said mood, but also alleviate it by letting go of underlying thoughts that were causing the shitty mood to begin with.

SetConsumes · 2016-08-26T18:31:47+00:00

Meditation in the simplest description is to focus on something. If you're meditating on something you're focusing on that something.

The purpose is many fold, but for starters it will help you reconnect with yourself and find yourself.

We have many 'layers' to our consciousness, when we're active and alert and dealing with normal things, our outer layers are at play and taking care of things.

By meditating where you are still and focusing on one thing like your breath or body sensations, your outer layers start to melt away letting you access your inner layers that are always present, but typically not much noticed or paid attention to.

Sometimes for example I feel off, like something is bothering me but I don't know exactly what. By meditating, I'm able to access my mind past those layers meant for dealing with the world, and what is bothering me may come to surface in my consciousness. I can then focus on that thing that's bothering me to figure out why it bothers me and listen to what my mind is telling me it wants.

There are many ways and reasons to meditate. I like walking and meditating in nature for example, but this is markedly different than meditating sitting still. Different purposes and affects, I recommend starting with mindfulness meditation where you focus on your breath and simply observe your thoughts while remaining still, breath is a key part of life and existence and ourselves, for control over ourselves, the breath affects your mind and body immensely.

vorverk · 2016-08-26T14:17:03+00:00

Never could learn meditation. It was too hard for me to just sit and do nothing.
I do love walks though. Thoughts clear up, mind takes a rest, I get away from work, instant gratification of TV and internet, people, parties, I think about my life etc... Light hikes are my meditation.

JamesSkepp · 2016-08-26T14:24:58+00:00

The general idea IMO is to become aware of the input from your senses and how your body reacts to the input.

This in turn allows you to be less driven by impulses from outside world and more by conscious choice.

jm51 · 2016-08-26T14:25:53+00:00

Put simply, it is giving your full attention to something that could be considered tedious or boring.

Your mind will wander at first. The aim is to learn how to prevent that. Some look at it like taking a small child for a walk. They keep wandering onto the road and you gently and repeatedly guide them back onto the path.

Frigzy · 2016-08-26T15:14:36+00:00

I know that, at its core, its just thinking to yourself without any distraction from the outside world and just thinking about life I guess, and I've tried that, but I'm struggling to see what there is to gain.

This isn't actual meditation. It's self reflection.

This book goes into a lot of detail if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-Integrating/dp/0990847705/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1472224345&sr=8-19&keywords=meditation

FiveDelta · 2016-08-26T18:19:16+00:00

the best resource our there for meditation in 2017: http://www.meditate.io/#concentration.

This couple has basically translated meditation into the modern age & made it hella easy to follow and understand and try it.

idgaf- · 2016-08-26T19:13:13+00:00

Meditation is not "thinking to yourself" or "thinking about life". That is contemplation.

Meditation is the cessation of extra thoughts. We do this by focusing on our breathing or some other meditation object, noting when our mind wanders, and gently bringing our attention back to the breath.

The benefits are inner peace, mental clarity, awareness. You may be less affected by unproductive, spurious thoughts and feelings. For example, road rage, anger, impatience, approach anxiety. You do not get "carried away" by these feelings. You cultivate a stoic, calm, awareness that is characteristic of "strong" or "alpha" men.

the_red_monk · 2016-08-26T19:22:08+00:00

To the beginner it really is just a practice of focusing the mind and in doing so reducing anxiety. This by itself if practiced daily is like having a force multiplier to apply to everything you do.

Once you've mastered focus you can apply this new skill to things like contemplating the self, compassion, reality, emotion, or anything really. In eastern mysticism it's used as a tool to reach "enlightenment" which is by its very nature indefinable.

As for what you gain it really is like having a super power to go about your daily life with. When shit hits the fan and you need to be able to calm the fuck down and take decisive action. This is the thing you want to have in your holster.

If you've seen karate kid, do you remember the scene where he focuses on the barrel of a gun to such a degree that he is able to throw a pebble perfectly inside it? Meditation can give you that. It's focus, clarity, the ability to slow things down and have perfect aim in anything you do.

turnipinurt · 2016-08-26T17:13:53+00:00

I'm not going to say it's devoid of all use, but all you have to do is look at how many middle aged women are way into it to understand that it might just be serving a shallow image purpose solely.

A lot of times "I meditate" just means "I get to tell people I meditate."

Title	What does 'Meditation' actually mean?
Author	TRPAlternative
Upvotes	12
Comments	17
Date	August 26, 2016 12:56 PM UTC (9 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/4zog6s/what_does_meditation_actually_mean/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/what-does-meditation-actually-mean.110319 https://theredarchive.com/post/110319

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