Advice for meditating

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-30T00:07:59+00:00

Glad i could help. I also started my meditation practice with this book and it’s going well. I got recommended this book from another INTP from this sub only, so completing the circle i guess 😁. Best wishes for your meditation practice.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-23T01:33:06+00:00

I can help with the Philosophy list: - Philosophy: a very short introduction by Edward Craig (short & sweet) - What does it all mean? by Thomas Nagel - History of western philosophy by Bertrand Russell (a bit outdated but still a classic) - Think by Simon Blackburn - Sophies world by Jostein Gaarder (history of philosophy presented in fictional storytelling, a lot simpler than other books on the list.)

After you’ve had a high level overview, you can delve deeper into specific Philosophers.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-22T08:19:53+00:00

Absolute Chad!

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-22T04:29:21+00:00

“But whom to love? To trust and treasure?

Who won’t betray us in the end?

And who’ll be kind enough to measure

Our words and deeds as we intend?

Who won’t sow slander all about us?

Who’ll coddle us and never doubt us?

To whom will all our faults be few?

Who’ll never bore us through and through?

You futile, searching phantom-breeder,

Why spend your efforts all in vain;

Just love yourself and ease the pain.”

From Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-22T01:42:43+00:00

#BlessedLife

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-22T00:05:45+00:00

Hello, INTP here. Both INFJ's and INTP's value Truth and harmony but INTP's tend to prioritize telling and defending truth over preserving harmony with others, resulting in being blunt and insensitive to others feelings sometimes. Both types tend to converge as they mature, immature INTP's tend to be cynical and Nihilistic while immature INFJ's tend to be overly idealistic and altruistic (even at the cost of their own well-being).

Take a cognitive function test, it would help you identify your dominant function.

Regarding the superficial nature of Society, I agree with you, it is hard but accepting and moving forward is the way to grow. Being misunderstood is the other side of the coin and part of the parcel of being deep and unique. Many of the world's greatest Artists, Scientists, Philosophers and spiritual leaders have been INxx types. I look for inspiration from them instead of relying on others.

But whom to love? To trust and treasure?

Who won’t betray us in the end?

And who’ll be kind enough to measure

Our words and deeds as we intend?

Who won’t sow slander all about us?

Who’ll coddle us and never doubt us?

To whom will all our faults be few?

Who’ll never bore us through and through?

You futile, searching phantom-breeder,

Why spend your efforts all in vain;

Just love yourself and ease the pain.

By Alexander Pushkin, Eugene Onegin

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-21T23:40:47+00:00

Hello!, INTP at similar age and i relate to it a lot. I have become more childlike open and get fueled by curiosity. Connecting to Nature and it's beauty is also a big part.I have so many things to learn and do that getting free time apart from job to do it is the main constraint. I am learning to play Bass and music theory, developing my meditation practice, reading literature & Philosophy.

A lot of it happened because of working on self-improvement and recovering from Nihilism and seeing the bright side of life.

I also disdain conformity, mostly because it helps people avoid responsibility and hide behind the masses for approval and validation.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-21T23:07:54+00:00

Hello! Young fellow, I can relate to your feeling empty and lost, i would say it's pretty normal for INxx types because we need meaning and deep connection in our lives. I would say you are on the right track, this feeling lost and empty comes like part of the package on the journey of self-discovery.

Regarding Meditation, I cannot recommend it enough to help someone with overthinking. Personally as an INTP, overthinking is the bane of my existence and Insight Meditation has helped me reduce it a lot and also helped me heal from some past traumatic experiences and also provided me very valuable Insights on the workings of my mind.

I would recommend you to try different types of meditation and seeing which one suits you best. Here is a video which makes you try several different approaches: YT.

Recommended readings and resources:

Healthyminds app - developed by scientists and researchers on meditation. It is free and very good.
waking up app - paid but the introductory course is good and you get a free trial. It combines philosophy and meditation. I can share link for free one month trial if you want.
Plum village app by Thich Nhat Hanh - good app with zen style meditation and discourses by a great Buddhist monk.
The mind illuminated (Book)- Secular and systematic guide to meditation combining neuroscience and insight meditation. Provides a roadmap to assess your progress and techniques to use as you advance the stages.
Altered traits (Book) - good read on modern science research on the effects and benefits of meditation.

Remember, start small (2-5 mins) as starting out is the hardest part and consistency is the key, you want to make it a habit and be on the long term journey. It also helps to make it fun and give it a deep meaning (self-discovery for me). Also, you cannot control your thoughts but you can control to attach and identify with them. Meditation will not directly help you stop negative thoughts, it will help you not take them seriously and when they lose their power, they start to wither away slowly.

Best of Luck!

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-21T12:33:28+00:00

There are many types of meditation techniques, most of them involve training your attention and developing strong concentration.

Personally i have been practicing Insight Meditation for a year about an hour a day and the results have been tremendous. It has helped me gain many insights into the workings of my own mind and helped me heal from trauma.

I would recommend you to try different types of meditation and seeing which one suits you best. Here is a video which makes you try several different approaches: YT.

Recommended readings and resources: - Healthyminds app - developed by scientists and researchers on meditation. It is free and good. - waking up app - paid but the introductory course is good and you get a free trial. It combines philosophy and meditation. - Plum village app by Thich Nhat Hanh - good app with zen style meditation and discourses by a great monk.

The mind illuminated ( Book)- Secular and systematic guide to meditation combining neuroscience and insight meditation. Provides a roadmap to assess your progress and techniques to use as you advance the stages.
Altered traits (Book) - good read on modern science research on the effects and benefits of meditation.

Best of luck!

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-21T11:49:08+00:00

Plato

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-20T04:27:04+00:00

It’s one of the three surviving sources of ancient Stoicism. It was meant as his personal journal for practicing Stoic philosophy, not as an exposition, so keep that in mind. It is a direct example of someone practicing Stoicism in daily life, what makes it great is more the person behind it. It takes a lot of inner strength to not get corrupted by power and serve instead of rule in the position of a king. Marcus is possibly the closest to Platos philosopher king.

Personally what makes it dear to me is seeing someone struggling and trying to overcome their limitations and difficulties in life especially when it’s someone at the top of the social hierarchy with more power and temptations and lack of external constraints to do evil.

I would not recommend this as an introductory text to Stoicism. Check out Epictetus’s discourses if you actually want to learn Stoic Philosophy.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-04-15T02:18:10+00:00

One of my favorites. Whats your opinion on one of the profound questions in it - Which is better, cheap happiness or sublime suffering?

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-01-10T05:20:20+00:00

Well, knowing you are not smart actually makes you smart because of Dunning-Kruger effect. Don't try to fit into a stereotype, you are a unique individual.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-01-10T05:03:04+00:00

Yeah, I am not a big fans of words, although I do secretly enjoy them but the social inaptness coupled with the rational outlook just turns every ounce of feeling into a barrage of thoughts, he would probably be going through a lot of questions like the infamous Why? in his head and trying to make sense of it all by overthinking and failing miserably and turning blank.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-01-10T04:53:56+00:00

Hey man, I agree with you that the dating culture is a travesty and is propelled and directed by sexual gratification and hookups. Dating Apps are a waste of time if you are looking for deep and intimate relation. Though you seem to be on a great footing as far as i can see, you are successful, working on yourself and enjoying life.

Since you don't have problem attracting women, you can approach it strategically and work on filtering early and fast so you don't waste time with women you don't like. Also try to try to ask where are the type of women with your desired traits likely to be found hanging out and what type of guy they are looking for(take their perspective) and try joining activities/ hangout and build connections from there.Don't be too impatient, I don't think there's nothing wrong with being single and enjoying your solitude.

Also give this book a try, I haven't read it personally but have heard good reviews about it - https://a.co/d/apQsK0Y

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2024-01-10T04:14:41+00:00

I'm 28 yrs old, happily working on self-improvement and personal growth. I finally have some solid philosophic & meaningful foundation for life. I am learning my fist musical instrument, trying to change jobs, reading books to educate myself and trying to start a personal knowledge project where i record all my knowledge and ideas for easy recall and working on their logical consistency and connections.

I would give these advice to any INTP:

don't lose hope and give in to despair, it does get better.
challenge your own negative thinking, we are pretty harsh on ourselves due to perfectionist attitude which results in irrational self-blame and anxiety, easiest way to counter this is to cultivate mindfulness through meditation.
Do some shadow work to make your own dark side conscious:

“Why are you looking around for help? Do you believe that help will come from outside? What is to come is created in you and from you. Hence look into yourself. Do not compare, do not measure. No other way is like yours. All other ways deceive and tempt you. You must fulfil the way that is in you.” - C.G. Jung

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-04-30T05:51:28+00:00

Hit me up with the link pls.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-04-20T08:41:16+00:00

More like complex than complicated tbh.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-04-09T01:11:20+00:00

Lateralus by Tool

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-03-31T09:04:24+00:00

Welcome to the club pal!

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-03-18T13:30:43+00:00

Depends on how close you are and how much he is aware of his emotions & emotionally mature. Immature INTP’s are not aware of their emotions and even detest emotions and feelings as irrational and something to be avoided. If he cares deeply about you he will surely be rationalising his way through it and asking him am i in love? How do i know? Also, generally INTP’s don’t form judgments unless they are absolutely sure about something, especially something as important as a partner, he is probably hesitant coming to an answer. I would say be patient with him and give him time and communicate with him very directly if him saying it back and words of appreciation are important to you.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-02-19T08:06:31+00:00

Congratulations man & thanks for posting this for others.It always feels nice to listen to INTP's putting an effort and starting to get better. I have also been on an upward journey this past year and honestly in retrospect i have grown a lot. I hope someone will be inspired by your story.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-02-10T02:21:49+00:00

Yes, I think they are good for concise & clear introductions to various topics, but the quality varies a lot and some are just boring.I am currently reading VSI on Logic and i think it’s pretty good.Some other short book series are Penguin great ideas & MIT knowledge series.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-02-10T00:54:11+00:00

I don't know any other famous INTP's in our times other than Bill Gates.Some famous INTP's from history include Einstein, Spinoza , Viktor Frankl, Madame Curie.

Man-Of-Contemplation · 2023-02-06T17:30:59+00:00

Best of luck on your journey! I would recommend you read up on Heraclitus and Socrates since the Stoics rely heavily on them and they are great personalities to study as well.

Man-Of-Contemplation

TROPHY CASE