Post by L3010 on Feb 5, 2023 1:13:53 GMT
There are different techniques and purposes for meditation. It can be a hard task. When meditating, you can experience what can be described as different states of conciousness. Resistance to certain sensations of pain can arise. A single person or a group of people can undertake an event where meditation is performed for several days, which can have several beneficial consequences.
Meditation can have different definitions. One definition is to sit still in one position for a long period of time without having your thoughts wander away. One can try to empty their mind of thoughts and just percieve what's around them, with or without their eyes open. There are many different ways and techniques to meditate. One minght for example sit in the lotus position with their thumb and another figer together and listen for the pulse of bloodflow that can be felt where the fingers meet. Concentrating on the pulse and on breathing in a slow tempo can help to clear the mind of thoughts.
The reason why someone meditates can differ. Someone minght meditate for the purpose of aquiring a more clear-minded state of conciousness, that is, a state where useless thoughts are less present and one can focus on what they feel like they need to think about. Another person minght meditate in order to calm down and relieve enxiety. Some people that preach meditation mean that you need to meditate every day for it to have a positive effect, while others mean that meditating once for a long time can have positive consequences.
Meditation can be hard. You minght find yourself sitting with a strong urge to move your body, and hundreds of thoughts about what you'll eat for dinner, about how you've acted akward towards sombody or about the fact that you're bad at meditation. If you want to meditate, you have to be ready for being pacient, and for a painful time. But if you give it time, you can find yourself sitting still without any conversations in your head. This state can feel good. Meditation can be thought of as "workout" for the mind.
When meditating for a long time one can enter what can be described as different states of conciousness. The first hour of a three hour meditation sesion is often the hardest hour; Many thoughts may appear and the question of how much time has passed minght arise. While in the second hour of the session, one minght enter a state where not many thoughts about time are present. In this state the meditator is not concerned with how much time is left of the session, but rather with the fact that there is still time left of the session. This state can be described as "a clear perception with not many thoughts". Before entering this state, one minght find themselves in another state, a state where the meditator is breathing rapidly, and simultaniously letting go of their mind as if falling asleep. This second described state can last for around 30 minutes before the first described state is reached.
In the first described state, one can seamingly loose inpulses to relieve pain, for pain that usually arises as a trigger for action is no longer felt – this has to do with minor iritations such as the thought of how much time is left of the session, an uncomfortable sitting position, or coldness. While in the state small iritations are no longer present. It can be compared to being asleep. For example, a person minght sit in the lotus position with their hands on their knees and not wearing gloves in 4°C. At first they minght think about the fact that it is a bit cold and feel the impulse to cover their hands with something, but after letting go of the urge, not feel any coldness. If hands are exposed to cold air for a long time, probably no matter the state, one will experience their hands going numb accompanied with panic, telling the meditator that it minght be a good idea to cover their hands with something.
A group of people or a single person can meditate. There exist groups that organize meditation "retreats", events the lenght of several days where people meditate for most of their waking time. At these organized events food minght be given to the perticipants, so that the task of cooking doesn't break the chain of continious meditation. But one could as well undertake such a "retreat" as a single person. After attending a week long meditation retreat one can enter a very different state compared to ordinary conciousness. Powerful and valuable insights minght arise. The states of awareness that can be reached after meditating for days have been described as "psychedelic" and "life changing".
A meditation session can be as short as 10 minutes but is most commonly 20 min - 1 hour.