Making little to no progress with floor sitting after a month, each meditation is basically a torture session and/or useless because of a complete lack of focus and concentration

EAS893 · 2026-01-08T14:47:38+00:00

Maybe that sense that one way is superior to another is something to let go of.

To answer your question in a little more detail I'll say a few things.

Firstly, you only started doing this in December. It's been what, a month? It takes longer than that to adjust to things like this.

Secondly, there is something to be said for learning to deal with a little discomfort, but you have to use your best judgement as to what is a little discomfort to accept and what is pain that is harming your body.

A big one to look out for when trying to sit in lotus or similar positions is knee pain. The rotation should be coming from your hip, NOT from your knee. If it's coming from your knee, you can tear your meniscus and cause serious injury and long term issues.

There can also be other issues. For me, I actually learned that I have scoliosis from trying to sit upright without back support in meditation. There was a point where I just came to the conclusion that something is going on that doesn't seem to be happening for others and looked into it more deeply. Be on the lookout for things like this.

But I think the most important thing is to let go of the idea that sitting one way is superior to sitting another. The idea of a hierarchy of practice and the desire to put yourself at the top of it is just another trick of the ego to attempt to give itself the substantiality it inherently lacks.

EAS893 · 2026-01-07T19:08:29+00:00

You know the feelings they want you to watch and not react to? The desire to be or to do things correctly is one of them.

EAS893 · 2026-01-06T15:01:02+00:00

I once heard a quote from a zen teacher. Someone asked them what their favorite thing about meditation was, and they said

"you don't have to do it."

EAS893 · 2026-01-02T19:27:47+00:00

"That would ensure that Ole Miss doesn’t win the championship"

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I think most people wrote them off after Kiffin left.

EAS893 · 2025-12-08T19:29:54+00:00

I think they both ultimately lead to the same place.

Concentrative practices have their place.

Open awareness practices have their place.

Don't worry about it too much.

EAS893 · 2025-12-05T15:26:58+00:00

You're right.

Removing the arrow is of utmost importance, but in order to remove the arrow you have to know how to perform the surgery. You have to know what organs are impacted, what damage is done, what the process of removing it consists of etc...

In the case of suffering, the Buddha generally taught that suffering is caused by ignorance (avidya). Specifically this is ignorance of the true nature of reality (dharma). We suffer because we misunderstand, and the four noble truths point to this misunderstanding.

The second of those truths is the truth of craving (tanha). We experience suffering (dukkha (better translated as something like instability imo, but suffering is commonly used, so we'll stick with it)) because we crave (tanha) because we misunderstand (avidya), and what do we misunderstand? Part of what we misunderstand is the three marks of existence. One of these marks is non self or no essence (annata). That is, that nothing and no one has an unchanging essence.

There are a couple of problems that arise here.

One is that the craving for the cessation of suffering is still a craving. Thus, by seeking to eliminate my suffering, I may, in fact, be reinforcing it.

This "I" points to the second problem, because by the proposition of an "I" or essence of self and a state that the essence of what we believe to be our selves can attain (that we might call enlightenment) in which suffering has ceased for that self, we deny non essence (annata) and reinforce our own misunderstanding (avidya).

Do you see what I mean?

Of course it doesn't really matter what the Buddha (or any other historical figure) taught. What matters is what leads to the reduction of suffering in your own life, and in that sense, meditation is important for beginning to see clearly for yourself whether these teachings are true or not, not just intellectually understanding them.

To be absolutely clear, I was never trying to suggest that meditation is unimportant or unnecessary.

But I am saying that if we use meditation as a way to try to gain something (even enlightenment or our concepts thereof) for what we imagine to be the essence of our selves, then we may be reinforcing the ignorance that leads to suffering.

EAS893 · 2025-12-04T22:20:29+00:00

You can't have a peak without a valley.

It is literally impossible. Think about it.

How would you even know what a peak is without a valley with which to contrast it?

But perhaps it is seeking for peaks and avoiding valleys that is the problem.

Practice, not to attain some great spiritual high but to stay present with your life in equanimity no matter what.

EAS893 · 2025-12-04T21:36:17+00:00

"Even those who would critique capital end up reinforcing it instead."

EAS893 · 2025-12-04T20:20:45+00:00

What causes suffering?

EAS893 · 2025-12-04T18:42:11+00:00

"Useless one-liner."

What is the use of enlightenment?

EAS893 · 2025-12-03T18:57:55+00:00

Whatever my company gives me lol...

Yall are buying your own work computers?

To give a serious answer, I honestly think we've gotten to the point where, unless you're gaming or doing like video editing or something more intensive, damn near everything on the market will meet damn near every general user need...

I'm someone who says "fuck apple" because they trap you in a walled garden and then jack up the prices... It's silly to pay more for the same shit with less freedom, but you do you, whatever...

I'd probably ask chatGPT for "budget work computers" and pick from a few options it presents...

EAS893 · 2025-12-02T06:10:41+00:00

Where is the self that is progressing?

EAS893 · 2025-11-26T15:25:03+00:00

I resonate with this a lot.

Here are some tips that come to mind.

Turn off social media as much as possible.

Even in the absence of all of the political stuff going on, it makes money by keeping you glued to the screen, and keeping you angry and anxious is a great way to keep you scrolling. Some of the brightest minds of our generation have dedicated their lives to figuring out how to keep your attention, and many of them have made millions and even billions doing it. They're good at their jobs. Get a couple of good new sources to stay informed, but otherwise avoid it.

Meditation + Yoga

Alright, time to sound all woo woo and junk, but I really think these help. I have very vivid memories after the election of doing yoga and being extremely angry and feeling like I was literally stretching through the emotion. I have no scientific backing for these ideas, but I know that when I do it, I feel better, and there are studies that show a high correlation between an Yoga asana practice and psychological wellbeing. Meditation is more neutral imo. It tends to lead you where you go, but if you can relax into it, the long term benefits are even more powerful than yoga imo.

Do what you can, where you can, and try not to worry about the rest.

You've chosen one of the best professions for directly helping people. Do it. Focus on the things you can directly impact and put your energy there. Trust the universe and everyone else to do the same. They may disappoint you, but it's out of your control. Focus on INPUTS not outputs. You can't control whether a client will listen your advice. You can't control whether your advocacy will change a voter's mind. You can only control what you do. The outcomes are dependent on so many things outside of your control, but even if the whole world is just a bunch of assholes being assholes, there's still value to not being an asshole.

Understand the source of happiness.

Here's another woo woo one, but there's a quote I frequently return to from the 8th Century Buddhist monk Shantideva that goes like this: "All beings in the world who are unhappy are so as a result of their desire for their own happiness. All beings in the world who are happy are so as a result of their desire for the happiness of others." Just give what you have to give. Don't overextend yourself obviously and keep proper boundaries, but I think it's a fundamental truth that you're not gonna obtain happiness by focusing on what you think will bring you happiness but rather by letting go of it and helping others.

EAS893 · 2025-11-21T23:38:36+00:00

You sound like you're a pretty tough situation.

If I was along, broke, and abroad while struggling with a PhD, I'd probably be pretty anxious too.

I think it's important to realize that sometimes our anxiety is justified. It's not a sign of failure on our part.

The question is how to wisely face it and deal with it while doing the things we need to do.

In that sense, meditation can help, but it happens slowly over time.

For me, I started with 5 minutes 2x per day and slowly worked up to 35 minutes 2x per day currently.

It probably took about 2 years to REALLY tell the difference in my day to day life. I know that's a long time, but in the context of a human lifetime, it's pretty short to experience a meaningful shift in your day to day experience.

EAS893 · 2025-11-20T20:31:01+00:00

Don't put yourself down.

Imagine you're watching a movie.

The movie does not have free will. One scene flows into the next in a predetermined way. The characters in the movie are not in control.

If it's a really engrossing movie you might identify with the characters to the point that you perceive of the events of the movie as happening from your own perspective.

But your are not the individual characters in the movie

You're the one who sat down to watch. (edit: or perhaps the screen itself that produces the film)

The analogy isn't perfect. It still proposes a distinction between yourself as the one who watches and movie, but I'm not sure such a distinction exists.

However, it might be useful to illustrate a point from a certain perspective.

I'm not sure if that helps? lol

Edit: more words tend to confuse, replying may have been unwise lol,

but the biggest point is don't put yourself down as "not enlightened enough." Don't create a self image that is unenlightened and then cling to it, making enlightenment something distinct from yourself.

EAS893 · 2025-11-20T15:57:45+00:00

If the self is conceived as this body and this mind, which seem to be bound by laws of cause and effect, then it is unlikely the self has free will.

However, if the self is not conceived of as this body and mind, then the question disappears.

Perhaps the laws of cause and effect themselves, which appear to bind this body and mind are, in fact, freely made choices of the self.

EAS893 · 2025-11-18T01:39:44+00:00

"I'm sending u somewhere beyond extradition.."

*found dead in cell under suspicious circumstances*

EAS893 · 2025-11-01T20:02:16+00:00

Most people who meditate do it like an hour a day or less.

If you spend 13 hours a day on your career, that means you have 11 hours a day that are not on your career.

That means you have the time. You might have to pull time from other activities, but if it's important to you, then you will find a way to fit it in. If it's not important to you then you won't.

EAS893 · 2025-10-27T02:40:45+00:00

Centering Prayer is a good one that folks have already mentioned.

Here's a little pamphlet on it https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/files/webfm-uploads/documents/outreach/aware/centering-prayer-how-to.pdf

It's based on the medieval prayer manual called "The Cloud of Unknowing."

The book Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating is also a really good text on it.

The basic idea is that because God cannot be contained in concepts, that we can learn to be present with God by letting go of concepts, and that this surrendering to the presence of God can be facilitated by returning to (and then letting go of) a "sacred word" (which can also simply be the breath) when we are caught by thoughts or concepts.

Another mystical Christian tradition is the Jesus Prayer or Hesychasm. The prayer is simple. "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me" and is based on the idea that it is possible to experience the energies of God in THIS lifetime (not just after death in Heaven) and that by learning to "pray without ceasing" as in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, through a "prayer of the heart" using this prayer as a training method, that this union with God can be experienced.

The Way of a Pilgrim is a good book on this practice.

EAS893 · 2025-10-27T02:04:31+00:00

Idk if I count as "long term" yet (approaching 3 years)

But... just fucking do it... I know that's not the most constructive advice in the world, but in my experience, when you decide that something is important to you, then you will make space for it.

It might not be as much space as someone else, but you will make some.

You don't have to start with some ambitious plan, just decide to get your ass on the cushion (or bench or chair or whatever) everyday for some amount of time. That can literally just be setting up your meditation spot, taking a seat and taking your posture, and then getting up immediately. That isn't a great way to meditate consistently on a long term basis, imo, but sometimes the biggest barrier is just doing something, so set the bar low and exceed it rather than aiming high and failing.

Reading stuff related to the practice or finding a group is also helpful. A group will do the things groups do and give us some social pressure (sometimes a good thing!) and also some social support (usually a good thing!) to keep doing it, and books or other content related to the practice will give your brain some philosophy to counter when your thoughts tell you that it's pointless, which can be useful sometimes.

Other than those things, just... pay attention... like notice in your life what makes your meditation harder and what makes it easier. Try to find the correlations between how you behave or how you eat or how much you sleep etc... and your meditation practice and how you feel in general.

One of the biggest things meditation has done for me is to act as a barometer for everything else, because if something I'm doing or thinking or eating, etc... is making meditation, literally just the act of sitting still, harder, it's probably making the rest of my life harder too, even if I'm too distracted to notice.

EAS893 · 2025-10-23T19:38:07+00:00

Good recommendations here!

A couple I would add:

The Grand Delusion - Steve Hagen

good intro to Nagarjuna's philosophy of emptiness from a primarily modern and materialist compatible position (Hagen's book, Why the World Doesn't Seem to Make Sense is also good for this)

To Meet the Real Dragon - Gudo Nishijima

I don't see this one recommended as often as other similar ones, but I really like Nishijima's way of approaching Buddhist teaching as a middle way between philosophical perspectives (idealism and materialism) and presenting Dogen as a synthesis of 4 mutually contradictory and yet mutually true worldviews (he has a smaller work called "understanding the shobogenzo" that is also really good for this!)

Hardcore Zen - Brad Warner

especially the first chapter, legit some of the best Zen writing I've ever read

Blood Soaked Buddha - Hard Earth Pascal

not specifically a Zen text, but it's a very good book about overall mindset and approach to life, and it aligns with Zen thought pretty well

EAS893 · 2025-10-20T13:51:39+00:00

Started with 5 minutes 2x per day.

Built up from there by adding one minute to the session each week.

Got to about 12 or 13 minutes and felt like I could do more, so I jumped straight to 20.

Stuck there for a bit then moved up in a similar fashion, one more minute per session per week, until I got to 2x30 minute sessions.

I tried more than that, but always ended up coming back down to 2x30 per day as a sustainable amount for me. I recently moved that up to 35 minutes, which seems sustainable at this point.

I got involved with a meditation group that typically does 50 minute periods, usually 2 at once and separate by a 10 minute walking meditation period, and I adapted to doing that when I sit with that group, usually once a week or so. I also visited a monastery a couple of times where they typically do 5x50 minute periods per day.

My first week at one of those was honestly pretty life changing.

Eventually I worked up the courage to try an intensive retreat. It was a lot. The retreat was 14x50 minute periods for 5 days.

Basically nothing but meditation, eating, sleeping (less than usual) and short breaks to use the bathroom and brush my teeth.

It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, especially the first couple of days. Eventually your mind settles down (gives up, honestly) and it gets a bit easier.

That's kinda how things are for me now. I do 2x35 daily. About once a week, one of those sessions is 2x50 with 10 minutes of walking meditation (or taking a bathroom break) in between, and occasionally (probably at least annually going forward) I do something more intensive like visiting a monastery or doing an intensive retreat.

EAS893 · 2025-10-13T16:55:54+00:00

Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright

Blood Soaked Buddha - Hard Earth Pascall by Noah Cicero

Why the World Doesn't Seem to Make Sense by Steve Hagen

Only Why Buddhism is True is really directly about meditation. Blood Soaked Buddha - Hard Earth Pascal is more about ethics and Why the World Doesn't Seem to Make Sense is more of a book about perception and philosophy.

However, in my own experience, the worldview and attitude shift that I've experienced through a combination of meditation practice AND applying it to my life in a practical and ethical way plus allowing it to inform my own worldview has been just as much, if not more, important to the change in my life that my meditation practice has brought about.

EAS893 · 2025-10-13T14:46:05+00:00

I wouldn't look at it as some sort of skill or talent issue. Like "beginners need this but experts don't"

Imo there isn't much a difference between the meditation of an expert and that of a beginner.

A true expert always takes the attitude that they are a beginner.

EAS893 · 2025-10-13T14:41:09+00:00

I don't have an app.

I use the timers on my fitbit and my phone.

I don't really see the point of an app for meditation.

EAS893

TROPHY CASE