An Invitation Try this Near Impossible but very simple Meditation Challenge which even The Experts Fail at + Philosophy/Spirituality Discusssion

in #buddhism7 years ago

First of all you don't have to be experienced in meditation to try this challenge. You might even discover yourself to be more capable than the "experts". Why? This is going to be a very different kind of meditation. It doesn't rely on any previous forms of knowledge or practice. It barely has any ritual to it. Like a game of Go, it's super simple to learn, extremely difficult to master. You might be wondering what this mysterious ultra difficult meditation is. I'd say stop thinking for 30 seconds. You might not even know it if it hits you in the face.

That's a lot to take in for some people. Steemit is a great community with relatively high amount of open minded people. So I think most people would give some real thought to the content of the video. Things they describe may seem almost impossible to achieve. But there are people who have reached that point. Western-Mainstream medicine is merely technologically hyper-specialized. I'm talking about the honest and good medicine here and I'll leave out the entire medical industrial complex, autism, antidepressants and other psychology related medicine which seems to have spread like a cancer. I grew up in a community where any form of psychology related medicine was rarer than heart surgeries. I grew up as a Theravada Buddhist and later found some great connection with Zen teachings too. Personally I consider Zen to be a specialized branch of Buddhism.

Now why am I going through all of this? I'm doing this to help you realize the depth of the meditation I taught you. 

 One zen student said, "My teacher is the best. He can go days without eating."
The second said, "My teacher has so much self-control, he can go days without sleep."
The third said, "My teacher is so wise that he eats when he's hungry and sleeps when he's tired." 

Again, what's the relevance? Well have you heard about Chakra? Here is the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra#Description_of_each_chakra

You probably know a thing or two about this. You shoudl definitely know about Yoga. With all the great Yoga pants around, Yoga is hard to miss. All these meditation/spiritual techniques promise your various things. Lots of people claims to have greatly benefited from these meditations. Some people even achieve psychic powers. I invite you to read this steemit article which included some really fascinating information: https://steemit.com/life/@neilstrauss/i-was-a-psychic-spy-for-the-cia-and-i-found-god-a-true-story

Now have you guys ever heard or even attempted a Technology Detox or living Untethered? It's all about dumping the mobile phone, internet, laptop and practically every piece of tech. Lots of people heavily involved in the IT field does this. When Wavecrest canceled issuing cards for cryptos (An incident which Monaco survived and Monaco is my #1 crypto card. It's easily the one I'm most bullish about. TenX is #2) and a whole mess happened, Julian Hosp was just out of a Tech Detox. Here is proof:

So this whole Detox/Untethered thing is very important to the people who are working closest with the tech. Why? All the dumb sheep run after the next flashy thing and more stuff to do with cool gadget and mobile games and Congestion Kitties (Shame on you Ethereum scaling) people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs weren't too big on letting the kids live with their own tech. These people should have been learning and teaching new tips & tricks and find new things/ideas related to the field. So why???

Just like the meditation I taught you, all these detox things doesn't really seem to add anything. So what's the big deal. Or yes, I taught you one. It was practically a challenge that even I can't complete after 15+ years of practice in meditation.

 Breathe in. Breathe out.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems. 

wikiHow has a step by step guide to open up your Chakras. You can take a look at it here: https://www.wikihow.com/Open-Your-Spiritual-Chakras Now did I teach you anything similar? Am I trolling or being too meta? Nope. Not at all.

I just need you to really calm down for a moment and stop thinking for 30 seconds.

That's it. That's all of it. Go find me some great new age guru or 90 year old Yoga master and I'll show you how you random person could be half as good as that great teacher. These people may have vast knowledge and almost boundless self-discipline. But they won't be able to shut their damn minds for half a minute. Just give it a try yourself. Good luck trying.

  A Zen student went to a temple and asked how long it would take him to gain enlightenment if he joined the temple. "Ten years," said the Zen master. "Well, how about if I really work hard and double my effort?""Twenty years." 

All your existence is built around your mind. All your physical actions are preceded by mental actions. A large portion of your mental actions are not even very consciously done. No matter how many tips & tricks you learn you will never reach a paradigm shift. Psychic powers and spiritual experiences are cool and everything. But are you happy? The most defining aspect of happiness is that there is no need for happiness among those who are happy. 

Thinking that you'd grow wise and spiritual with self control where you don't eat/sleep properly or reach a meditative state that is a house of cards is like expecting STEEM or YOYOW or GOLOS or Bitshares to be built on top of Proof of Work mining. It just doesn't make any sense. I'm not saying an attempt is bad or evil or anything. It's just it doesn't make any sense to build on top of a weak foundation that is incapable of having a good grip and control of its own existence. Why can't you stop thinking for more than a few seconds?

If you think this is challenging, allow me to blow off your minds. In Buddhist meditation, it's said that a person who has attained the status of Anāgāmi (which is the 3rd stage of enlightenment) or a higher status can practice a meditation to a point called Nirodha-Samapatti which is described as the 9th Jhāna which unlike the previous 8, unattainable through other spiritual practices. 

A simple way to explain Nirodha-Samapatti  would be to call it shutting down one's mind. Yes you heard that right. Not just stop thinking for 30 seconds but entirely shutting down the mind for a whole week. The limit of 7 days comes into play because the human body cannot self-sustain itself for more than 7 days. If you trap someone like Sadako Yamamura (or Samara Morgan) in a well and check back after 7 days, that little girl would have become dead. Basically my point is that with a cyborg body, even this 7 day limit might get stretched. I'm still trying to reach that non-thinking 30 seconds. So I can't speak for a cyborg monk reaching Nirodha-Samapatti. But I thought I'd leave it for your pondering :-)

So that was a challenge of a life time. Stop thinking for 30 seconds. If you try harder, you'll fail harder. No special techniques or teachings or esoteric jargon. No step by step guides. Just stop what you are doing. Stop thinking!

As for a parting joke:

 A novice was loading the larder with flour and oil and, spotting one of the monks under a banyan tree, asked him for help. "Sorry," said the monk, "I'm busy". "But your eyes are shut!" replied the student. "Yes, I'm busy doing nothing. It's much harder than what you're doing. It's what the food is for, it's what the kitchen is for, it's what the temple is for. Don't interrupt me again with your lardering." Hours later, with his task complete, the novice spotted the monk slouching on a bench and said, "Can we talk now?" "No," came the reply, "I haven't finished yet." 
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Thank you for this @vimukthi I love Gregg Braden as one that tells it simply. Even the smallest amount of time in just BE'ing is so worth it. United We Light invites any and all that want to participate in One Minute of simply BE'ing with pure intention and love at 6pm YOUR time zone. Let peace BE the journey!

I don't plan my meditation times. I engage in it several times a day. It's a spontaneous thing. I do meditate a bit before I get up. But that's somewhere around 6-9 AM. I'll try to do at the exact time but it works best for me when it's spontaneous.

Enjoyed your post.

I could spend all day replying to it!

Bookmarked and added Gregg Braden's video to my home screen.

RE: Your Post

Just a couple shorties:

Maktub: Everything is one (Paolo Cuello - The Alchemist).

Think and Grow Rich - Nepolean Hill

A Happy Pocket Trilogy - James Cameron Gikandi

Your post reaffirms that I'm not as looney as people said I was throughout my life!

Thanks.

(Usual props for your post done)

Namaste, my friend.

JaiChai

Thanks. I started reading Think and Grow Rich - Nepolean Hill few years ago and after ~70 pages everything seemed too obvious and I closed the book. I could have made the whole book into 70 pages. I process things too fast. Paolo Cuello - The Alchemist is something I've been interested in but never really read it. I like the story behind how the book came to be a massive hit.

A Happy Pocket Trilogy - James Cameron Gikandi is something I heard of for the first time. Thanks for that.

Namaste!

Thanks for the post!
Good points about 'trying' and 'effort' getting you nowhere. I heard Alan Watts (on YouTube) say that if you try to do something, then you don't know how to do it, else you'd be doing it and not 'trying' to do it.....the effort of trying to do something (especially if it is a 'task' like emptying the mind) will usually involve thought. This just spins around conceptually and can actually speed the mind up no?
The wise and experienced seem to say (as per my readings and understanding and my own experience of the phenomenon of 'mind emptying') that the mode of mental non-engagement is that of slipping into the role of observer. The observer just observes - without judgement and without engagement. The observer observes the mental activity and the moment of observation is itself the cessation of that particular bit of activity......
And alongside this arises an interesting question. Who is the observer?
Namaste

Another way to describe it would be non-interaction or equanimity. Things are as they are. Let them be. When it's necessary: act. When it's necessary: decide. But don't carry preconceived notions. I haven't exalted myself in this practice. But it's a path that has brought me great results.
__In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen.
In reference to the heard, only the heard.
In reference to the sensed, only the sensed.
In reference to the cognized, only the cognized.

That is how you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then, Bāhiya, there is no you in connection with that. When there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is the end of stress.__

Source: https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.1.10.than.html

Also the greatest text I've every found in my lifetime: http://diamond-sutra.com/
Hope I added something to your life :-)

Happy steeming!

You have indeed Bhai :), that goes without saying since we're all connected, and, at the deepest of depths, all is one.
I wish no more for myself (and for you, and everyone and anyone this may resonate with) than to remove the barriers to going with the flow - the harmonious current of life, in all its beautiful forms, revealed and concealed in equal measure. In that space there is no you, no me.....just......

Peace and thanks!

Thanks for posting the first video. So interesting. Our external reality is merely a reflection of our inner state.

I dont know if ive ever been able to stop thinking during meditation, if i go deep enough i usually just fall asleep ;D But i'll give it a try

There are different kinds of meditation. You can try something where you don't sit in the same place closing your eyes. As for a start live your life normally but while paying attention to your breath. Just keep a little bit of focus at the edge of your nose and be conscious of your own breathing. That alone can take you a long way.

Your call seems to have been created for me. With 5 attempts I have never failed. But I will not give up ... In spite of the fact that I did not manage to think about anything, every time I rest. And now after 5 attempts I feel a little rested. Once again, this is a wonderful technique. Good luck to you and good.

Ваш вызов как будто создан для меня. С 5 попыток у меня ни разу не получилось. Но я не сдамся… Несмотря на то, что у меня не получилось ни про что не думать, каждый раз я отдыхам. И сей час после 5 попыток чувствую себя немного отдохнувшим. Еще раз, это замечательная техника. Удачи Вам и добра.

Glad you tried it. I haven't experienced any psychic powers or anything. But I've certainly gotten rid of many problems using this meditation. In fact this is the best kind of meditation I know.

breathing system is most important thing of our life.
When we manipulate our breath, we will become more than other.
In 100% of our potential power, there are only 2,75% we have used to our daily activity, so imagine if we can increase our inner power just 0.1% or become 2.8% you can kill a horse in one punch.

here you can see how our body has a big hidden power.
https://steemit.com/life/@azmielbanjary/when-i-was-young-i-could-break-the-brick-easyly

regards
@azmielbanjary

And it's also something we do all our lives and never really notice much. Your physical awareness actually improves your mental awareness. For me it was the mental awareness that grew first. I've been practicing Ānāpānasati since very young age and it really helps to understand yourself and explore existential questions.

correct, i was hard and easy to get angry, since i practice breathing system, I can control my anger, more patient,
And healthly and look like still young.. cara
Was I use to help other to heal the sick too.

Thanks for your post and sharing the importance of meditation! People don't know where to start but it's the simplest thing in the world =]

People always tend to miss the simpler things. I mean I revealed everything in the very first paragraph and I'm sure most people didn't even took notice until I said the same thing in big bold letters after some buildup.

what is the future of Tenx Pay , is it worth to buy now ?

It might fall even more. keep an eye on the charts. Personally I think MCO will be a better investment. Do your research and you'll see why. I'm not a TA. I look at the fundamentals and chart patterns.

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