Best meditation resources for a non-believer.

Thanks for the question, Bman. I don't have an answer, but if you don't mind, I'll watch this thread as I'm interested in the same.

Like you (assuming I read you right), I'm also keen to improve myself on several fronts, now that I'm finally resurfacing from under the PM deluge. A new discovery (for me) is Mark Manson, I'm really liking his writing.

 

Meditation is super simple. Basically you just sit and observe your thoughts without indulging in them. There is a good guide video of a guy explaining this. 95% of the video is not the actual technique, so just skip to 13:08 for method. Or watch all of it if you wanna hear him explain the benefits and all.



I would recommend not just to observe thoughts (stories in your head) like he recommends but also feelings (anxiety, boredom, urges, etc), body sensations (itching, heart beat, movement of your body [if you happen to move something]), sounds (like clock ticking or birds outside the window) without indulging in these things or resisting them with force (because resisting is indulging, letting them take you away). Just observe everything that comes into your field of awareness. So if something itches instead of scratching it just observe it and let is pass "like the clouds" or if you feel desire to change position of posture just observe the urge without doing anything. Like that it's more complete than just observing thoughts alone. But if it's too much for you at first it's fine to just observe thoughts alone until you are ready for more.

There are couple more good videos on science of meditation. Both men approach this from scientific perspective. Dr. David Vago is a cognitive neuroscientist and Jonathan Bricker is a psychologist. First video somewhat explains how mindfulness training (meditation) works from scientific perspective. And second one is more about how to practically use that concept of "letting things come and pass like clouds" that we train our brain while doing sitting meditation on a more practical level in daily life.

 

Hej fellow Fapstronauts!
I'm not a strong believer of the "spiritual" side of meditation. But I do believe in the psychological/physiological effects that I've experienced myself.
I can recommend:

• the app "calm". It has guided and free meditations with several nature sounds to choose from. They also have a 7 days mindfullness meditation programm (free)
• guided meditations on youtube, as for example:
• Short and good video:
  
• the practice that I describe below.

There are several methods to meditation. Most of them have one thing in common:

The focus on the breath.
Focusing on the breath comes with mindfulness. One concentrates on a point where the breath can be felt the most. (Say the nose for example.)
How does it feel, when you breath in and out? Feel into your body!
Focusing on the breath while counting the seconds of breathing in, holding, breathing out, (holding) helps
to quiet the mind as well. Why? Well, ever tried to count from 1 to 10 and think of something different inbetween?
And many other variations.

I'd recommend the following practice for the beginning:

1. Sit comfortable with a straight back.
2. Close your eyes (after fully reading the text! )
3. Breath in slowly and count to any number you are comfortable with.
4. Optional: Hold the breath for a count.
5. Breath out slowly and count the seconds.
   
6. Optional: Hold the breath for a few seconds
7. Repeat 3-6 until you're done.

Example times:

• Breathing in 4 seconds.
• Holding the breath for 2 seconds.
• Breathing out for 6 seconds.
• Holding the breath for 2 seconds.

While doing this, focus on the senstations in your body. Or just on the sensation of breathing.
Do it as long as you want. I'd recommend 5 minutes to start with. It'll be tough enough.
When a tought comes:
Acknowledge it. Ignore it. You don't want to engage with the tought. Let it go.
You have a mission! Concentrate on your breathing and the counting.

I hope it helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Stay strong guys/girls!
/Baldur

 

Headspace is a pretty cool app for a beginner. Not spiritual at all and it explains everything really simple with easy to understand animations. Free for the first 7 days.

 

Simply it bro. Download the Headspace app on your smart phone. Do day 1, its 10 mins a day. Game charger, you must do it 10 mins a day tho. Check it out

 

Good question ! @Bman27 I'm also interested in this topic, have been practising meditation some time ago .It'll help you beat stress, anxiety and depression so its good to try

 

smart guy, worth to check out generally

 

The benefits of meditation are very well scientifically documented. Read Dan Harris's book 10% Happier and watch his Big Think videos. He was also a natural sceptic so you would appreciate his perspective. He also has a podcast. I highly recommend the Headspace app. After a certain point you have to pay but it is so good at explaining the theory behind what you're doing to a beginner.

 

There's an app called Meditation, it has a 7 day free program and 7 singles for body scan, forgiveness, self love, sleeping, focusing and some more, these for free. Hope it helps

 

By the way, there are few types of meditations. One type is mindfulness meditation which trains your brain and has many benefits, such as better focus, increased mindfulness, ability to control urges better, less anxiety and so on. And another type is "feel good" meditations. Usually these are guided ones. They might be called "meditations" but often they are more like hypnotic audio that puts you in a relaxed trans-like state. These do not have any, or very little, benefits. They just make you feel good but does nothing for training your brain. Waste of time. Not to say that all guided meditations are bad, but there are a lot of useless garbage out there.

Personally I think paying for a meditation is a scam. Techniques have been around for thousands of years and are very simple, and can be learned from Youtube videos for free. If you are paying for those you are wasting your money. It's like paying for apples from a grocery store where you have your own garden of apple trees. Yet people still do that. I don't get it. Why people feel the need to spend money for something that they can get just as good quality for free? Weird.

Guided meditations, if they are decent ones, can be good to memorize steps and techniques as well as learn as you go, if one prefers that. But ultimately they are like a crutches or training wheels. You should be over them after couple sessions, once you understand how the method goes. And if it's too complicated or hard to memorize or understand then it is probably by design to keep you paying for it. We should aim to meditate on our own. Because if we need a tape to get into meditative state, even if it does train brain for mindfulness, we are limiting ourselves tremendously. Advanced meditator can put themselves in a state in seconds without any help but the skill. And that's very powerful skill to have in many situations in life where control of your emotions or mind might be crucial. Your audio file won't always be there for you.

 

it happens. I feel like wearing high-heels every time...

 

Also check out "Mindfulness In Plain English" on amazon. You could get a used copy cheap. That's how I got my start.