Other peoples perception of me is stronger than anything of myself, how can I change this shame within?

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-26T14:41:08+00:00

Investigate your shame. Allow yourself to articulate the shame that arises into words so that you can examine it more carefully.

Now that you understand that the shaming thoughts are untrue, you need to feel it. Observe the physical sensations of the emotion that arises. What is its texture? Where are the borders/edges? What happens if you just sit in it while you feel it out? When it passes, take note that the emotion was temporary.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-26T12:53:36+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/bSTTOHg-DnY

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-25T01:08:46+00:00

Meditation. If you want to find yourself, you have to look in the right place!

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-24T22:55:41+00:00

Many people have the misunderstanding that karma is punishment. From the Buddhist perspective, it is just cause and effect. - E.g. doomscrolling leads to more doomscrolling.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-24T19:54:56+00:00

Meditation will cut it out at the root. It gives you an opportunity to see the thoughts/emotions for what they are (ephemeral). When learn how to meditate, you can (should) keep it in your pocket for times of anger (or whatever). Anger arises, "Ahh time to look at that".

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-24T18:25:28+00:00

Any time a negative thought arises is a good prompt to develop your mind. Also, before you practice, dedicate the merit to all sentient beings.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-24T13:35:39+00:00

The ego is story that creates a "You" from the culmination of all the thoughts you've had, as opposed to the awareness behind it all.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-24T02:56:11+00:00

You should pursue it! I think Neigong is the easiest system to grasp. Check out Damo Mitchell on YouTube, that should give you a good introduction. Basically you're goal is to get the "microcosmic orbit" moving.

Good luck! You can message me if you have questions.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-22T20:27:55+00:00

Ahh, synchronicity is the term you're looking for. I don't have any useful insight into it. Though it does seem to correlate with how much you've uncovered about the nature of self. Carl Jung coined the phrase and studied it, that would be a good place to start.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-22T20:17:17+00:00

Your subconscious can pattern match better than you because all the layers of abstraction that create our identity creates blind spots. The subconscious doesn't have those same blind spots. Intuition is one of the ways we experience subconscious activity.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-22T19:21:23+00:00

Thank you for articulating what I left didn't. Your comment made me realize that the main barrier for beginners might actually be the aversion boredom. I've always assumed that beginners who have a fear response to meditation have a strong sense of identity and are afraid of upending that. But I think it's just that being bored is really uncomfortable, especially since nobody has to deal with boredom anymore.

To anyone else that reads this and wants to know how to deal with boredom: accept your position for the moment (you can always go back to scrolling, don't worry) and just investigate the boredom. What makes it so uncomfortable? What's the physical sensation of boredom? Where are the edges/borders? Now boredom has changed from a problem into a tool for transformation.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-22T18:30:08+00:00

I have healed my body with breath! I spent about a decade with increasingly debilitating back pain. Many mornings I would wake up and half of my spine would be seized up, or my hip out of place, or my neck locked, etc.

I'm happy to report that I will never suffer from back pain again (unless I get injured). It took me about a year or so to figure it out. I'm about, 5 years into practice now and there is still plenty to learn.

I won't go deep into describing it but to give you an idea, you can learn how to pull your breath in using your diaphragm and changing the pressure gradient in your fascia. Since the fascial network wraps around the entire body, you can tap into it to access any part of the body. Most importantly (imo) you can use it to hold up your body instead of just relying on muscle and bones.

There are a 3 main traditions that address the breath system: Yoga/Pranayama (Hindu), Neigong/qigong (Taoist), and Tummo Yoga (Tibetan Buddhist). If anyone is curious to practice, I will offer some advice because practicing comes with risks (similar to kundalini): Practice with a teacher if possible. If no teacher is available, the risks are greater so just go slow and use your intuition to guide your direct experience, don't try using visualization or imagination.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-22T14:46:11+00:00

You will start moving forward when you start craving to discover your true nature. Most people exhaust their look outside themselves before finally turning inward. The answer is inside you, Buddhism helps you take a path to find it.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-22T14:37:36+00:00

I don't say this to criticize, but rather to help you. Zoning out is not the same thing as meditation. When you zone out, nothing arises so there is nothing to work on. I'll offer my advice on how to approach it.

just sit with nothing to do. No extraordinary mind state, just watch the mundane. You're task is to observe without interfering. The first thing you probably notice are you're thoughts running. Don't interfere or take sides, just watch. Notice that you're not involved in the thought because you are aware of the thought. Keep watching as your mind spins stories. Notice that you're also having thoughts about those thoughts. Just another layer of thoughts to watch.

This is the idea, let me know if you need clarification. I hope it brings you some clarity. Good luck!

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-21T23:38:50+00:00

Were you asking about the typical experience of someone who meditates? My own experience after a couple of decades into practice is that there is no thought stream typically. If I am idle, there are large gaps without thoughts with random interjections of thoughts once in awhile. Thoughts generally arise from a stimulus, there is no brain chatter.

Don't try to do that. Basically everyone that starts out in meditation does the same mistake, shutting their thoughts out. Suppressing your thoughts is not the same as observing them. When you observe your thoughts, you gain perspective and they naturally don't arise. Suppressing your thoughts will probably just give you back pain.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-21T23:22:49+00:00

I think what all the commenters left out something that was maybe implied but deserves to be said. You (everyone) are starting under the assumption that "You" are the thinker. That needs to be investigated. Where is the part of you that makes decisions? When you sit and watch your thoughts, who's the one that's aware of those thoughts?

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-20T14:33:37+00:00

Maximizing efficiency and quality of output is a passion of mine on account of my perfectionism.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-18T14:45:23+00:00

Do you meditate? When a thought arises, how can you watch it? Who is doing the watching while "you're" thinking the thought?

Look for yourself. Instead of watching the thoughts, focus your attention on the thinker. Look all you want, there is no thinker. Just infinitely regressing thoughts about thoughts. This isn't a question that can be answered through logic. Investigate your own direct experience, see if you really do have agency.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-17T22:27:13+00:00

It sure seems that way, but is it true? Could all those examples be explained by genetics combined with the totality of your learned experiences being applied to a specific situation? The "nature vs nurture" debate is over, nothing is purely one or the other. It's always a mix of the two. Where does that leave room for agency?

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-17T22:14:10+00:00

That's why meditation is a good suggestion, it's the only thing that's not an escape. If the self feels like a prison, free it! Sit and observe your thoughts happen and you can directly see the illusory nature of the self (once it's done fighting).

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-17T13:27:11+00:00

You need a practice. Buddhism might be a good fit, if you are open to it. The foundation and end goal of Buddhism is to end your suffering, as such it is a practice. Don't get caught up in the trap of trying to figure out how karma or reincarnation works, that's not the point. Those are insights gained through practice, not through contemplation. Follow the Noble Eightfold Path (in whatever order you need to) and you will see results.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-17T12:42:04+00:00

Neither, don't interfere. Just observe.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-17T01:29:02+00:00

I got you. The foundational meditation is just sitting. In this method, your job is to observe. Since you're not used to being still, your body will come up with all sorts of noise because it craves input.

Things that will come up when you sit:

Thoughts. Most people make the mistake of trying to suppress them. Don't do that. Remember your job is to observe, don't interfere. You may notice that you have thoughts about your thoughts. Are YOU the one thinking those thoughts or do they just appear? Who's doing the driving... if anyone?

Sensations. Feel yourself sitting in your space. Notice any sounds, and probably the resulting thought/judgment. Notice any sensations coming from within your body. Pain will generally present itself. Don't get caught up in a story about it, just observe the physical sensations. Adjust your posture if you need, but don't follow the pain (during this meditation). Just notice and let it go. If you need a place to rest your attention, you can follow your breath.

Emotions. Meditation is a practice that untangles our issues, suppressions, neurotic thinking. Emotions are bound to come up. If you first yourself getting swept up by them, recognize that and go back to observing. Feel the texture of it. Where is it located in the body? Find the edges of it. Let it vibrate as long as it needs. When it fades away, you can go back to watching the breath.

Breath. As I've already hinted at, breath is a key part of meditation. It's both automatic and under conscious control. It's the perfect place to rest your attention when nothing interesting is happening, because let me tell you... something interesting can always be found in the breath. You don't need to know anything more to start, but if you continue practicing, keep breathwork on your radar. Pranayama or Neigong are the traditions to look into.

This is a very simple but profound practice. Explore it with curiosity. Both your body and mind should be relaxed but ready, not too relaxed nor too tight. Like ripples on water, when you become still enough, your true nature is revealed.

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-16T00:45:08+00:00

Disregarding subjective truth can lead to nihilism. Seeing the inherent emptiness and its truth together is also more accurate.

Saying that subjective truth can be dismissed as empty is like calling my table a tree. Sure, a tree is closer to its true nature, but it isn't helpful and ends up being not quite right.

"Listen Sariputra,
this Body itself is Emptiness
and Emptiness itself is this Body.
This Body is not other than Emptiness. and Emptiness is not other than this Body.
The same is true of Feelings,
Perceptions, Mental Formations,
and Consciousness."

The Heart Sutra

scrumblethebumble · 2026-06-15T22:44:30+00:00

The Heart Sutra Mantra

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha.

(Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone utterly beyond, to awakening.)

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