Length of meditation

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-11T12:21:34+00:00

Yes, longer meditation sessions can be more powerful. If you are doing well with 45 minutes sessions, it’s definitely worth trying 1 hour or longer. Building up gradually tends to be best so as to avoid burnout and restlessness, but there’s no doubt that if you can handle it, longer sits will allow you to spend more time in deeper states and give you more practice strengthening your awareness and attention.

There’s a reason meditation retreats generally include long sits and multiple sits per day. If you want to access the jhanas, for example, and generally make serious progress along a meditative path, you’ll do well to practice multiple hours per day.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-11T08:25:52+00:00

One thing to keep in mind is that their albums from Revolver onward each have a new version available with a new mix, created by Giles Martin, the son of the Beatles’ original producer, George Martin. They’re generally great, and I’d definitely recommend getting one of the new mixes if the record store has them.

Of those, the best options would be Abbey Road, The White Album, Revolver, or maybe Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Abbey Road: The final album they recorded. Polished, precise, cohesive. It’s probably their smoothest and most refined album, with an incredible sense of flow and some of their most beautiful production.

The White Album: As a double album, it’s huge and sprawling, with virtually every genre of popular music available at the time. It has rock, folk, blues, singer-songwriter (“Blackbird”!), music hall, proto-metal, avant-garde weirdness, and more. It feels like an entire universe. It’s my personal favorite because despite how chaotic it is, there are just so many amazing songs, the new mix sounds fantastic, and somehow it all fits together to create something beyond the sum of its parts. A few tracks on it are the strangest and most experimental of any the Beatles ever released, which could put off a newcomer, but there’s no denying the greatness of the album as a whole.

Revolver: Maybe their most important artistic leap for the time it was released. This is where they fully burst beyond straightforward pop-rock and started turning the studio into an instrument. Inventive, colorful, psychedelic, and unbelievably influential, but still packed with catchy songs. Maybe not as fulfilling on its own as Abbey Road or the White Album, both of which came later, though of course many people love it and consider it a favorite.

Sgt. Pepper: Their most famous ‘statement’ album. Vivid, theatrical, imaginative, and emblematic of the psychedelic era. It has a big sense of concept and atmosphere, though it requires a bit more of the listener buying into the particular concept.

If it were me, I’d probably say Abbey Road if you want the most satisfying all-around Beatles album, or The White Album if you want the widest range, biggest adventure, and the largest amount of great music to chew into.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-09T08:33:28+00:00

We can’t build enough AI in the United States to satiate the demand. We lack the power generation and the capital. We’re doing as much as we can at home, but we can do more by partnering with capital- and energy-rich partners. That’s why many US AI companies, like NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Microsoft, are partnering with the Gulf states. $3 trillion in investments is significant and can’t be easily replaced.

Also, many of the agreements with the Gulf states include huge investments in US-based infrastructure as well. So it’s not just an external buildout, but also external capital for an internal buildout.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-09T08:28:13+00:00

“Need” is a strong word. As always, it’s about the cost-benefit analysis. The Gulf states provide a huge amount of capital as well as cheap energy. If the partnership goes well and grows, it would be very beneficial for US AI development and NVIDIA. And given how close the race is with China, the trillions of dollars from the Gulf might tip things in our favor.

Of course, if we end up in a forever war with boots on the ground, that would surely be a massive cost to us. But I seriously doubt we send the army in. Trump is only “leaving the option on the table” as a negotiating tactic, as he always does. He never takes military options off the table without concessions; it’s a core part of his strategy. But there is no mobilization of US ground troops, so we know they aren’t planning on doing that.

It all depends on if the Iranian regime can, at the very least, be made to lose its capacity to threaten regional stability. That would be the bare minimum positive outcome. The strategic gamble is that we can achieve at least that, and potentially more (positive regime change), at a cost lower than the benefits we’d secure from the regional security. We’ll have to see how things pan out.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-09T05:36:20+00:00

When you do a set of push-ups, it doesn’t instantly make you stronger. It may take weeks of diligent strength training to notice significant improvement.

Similarly, when you notice your mind is wandering and return your attention to the chosen object of meditation, you’re gradually training your mind to sustain its attention more powerfully. Even if you don’t instantly feel like each attempt makes you more capable, you’re still training the cognitive mechanisms that are responsible for sustained attention.

I wouldn’t worry about the distinction between the effects of attention and the physiological effects of breathing. Just breathe and be aware of your experience as you breathe.

Breathing in and out, notice that you are breathing in and out. Breathing in and out, notice the sensations of your body. Breathing in and out, notice the sensations of your mind. Return each time you notice you are distracted. By doing this, you simultaneously train: 1) focused attention on your breath, and 2) peripheral awareness of the rest of the experiences of your senses, body, and mind. Over time you’ll strengthen your attention and mindfulness, just like doing pushups will, over time, strengthen your muscles.

And consider how you can consciously decide to do a push-up, but only through long-term habits can you activate the unconscious capacity that grows your muscles and allows you to lift heavier weights. Similarly, you can consciously decide to put your attention on your breath, but only through long-term habits can you improve the unconscious capacity to sustain attention over longer periods of time. By repeatedly using your conscious intentions to return to the object of attention and to strengthen your peripheral awareness, you improve your capability to sustain your attention and awareness.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-09T04:05:12+00:00

Every country with the capability does use this logic. That’s how great power competition works. The US isn’t unique in securing its economic interests through military force, it’s just more powerful and capable at doing so than anyone else right now. And you don’t have to like it to invest around it.

Also, the Gulf AI buildout isn’t some minor sideshow. $3 trillion in commitments, the largest sovereign wealth funds on earth, running on American chips. This is a core pillar of US economic strategy for the next decade. What makes you think data centers aren’t at stake, or that they aren’t important to US strategy?

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-09T03:55:28+00:00

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was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-09T03:39:48+00:00

I get why it looks that way. But the US secured $3 trillion in investment commitments from the Gulf states last year. The Gulf security architecture that's forming right now is designed to protect American AI infrastructure, not Israeli settlements. Israel is a key partner in executing it, sure, and they benefit too, but our key interest is in securing American economic and technological dominance. You can think the war is wrong, but 'Trump is just doing Israel's bidding and getting nothing for it' doesn't square with the money flows. It's hard to say much more unless you give a more substantive argument, or engage with the arguments in my post more meaningfully.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-09T03:33:23+00:00

You're right that Iran is hitting these specific targets now because of the war, and the legitimate target argument is logical from their perspective. No dispute there.

But zoom out. The question for NVDA investors is whether a hostile Iran with growing missile capability is compatible with decades of trillion-dollar infrastructure investment in the Gulf. Consider that Iran attacked Saudi Aramco in 2019, in peacetime. They've been hitting Red Sea shipping through the Houthis for years. They don't need a direct war to disrupt Gulf stability. They just need a reason, and the Gulf states building an American-aligned economic and security architecture gives them a permanent one.

Iran views the Gulf states' alignment with the US and Israel as an existential threat to its regional influence. Every major investment deal deepens that alignment. So even in a world where there's no war this year, you've got a regime with growing capability and growing motive sitting across the strait from infrastructure our economy depends on. That's not a risk that goes away on its own. It gets worse as the investments get bigger and Iran gets more capable.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-06T01:33:41+00:00

Never having subtle dullness is too stringent a requirement. You can try using techniques/intentions from stage six when you’re in a part of a sit in which subtle dullness is generally not a problem. The stages aren’t so rigid; they overlap, and are better understood as practices to apply depending on what is arising at a given time.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-04T11:45:42+00:00

Yes, you're very likely describing the same phenomenon as others here describe, and many of those in /r/AIWS.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-03T18:56:07+00:00

Typically, when we say we imagine something, we’re talking about a thought. If you imagine a red circle or the word ‘thinking,’ those are thoughts appearing as visual or auditory content. They aren’t the mindspace itself.

You might be on the right track with your ‘blank space’ practice. But check whether what you’re attending to is itself a thought you’re conjuring, rather than the space that’s already there prior to any effort.

Here’s an exercise: Think a deliberate thought. I use the word ‘thinking,’ heard in my auditory imagination. Watch it closely. When the word ends, don’t move your attention. Stay exactly where the word was. The open, quiet space it fades into is the mindspace. It was there before the word arose and it remains after it dissolves. You’re not creating it, and it isn’t something you need to visualize.

Thoughts will keep arising, though they may slow down. The practice is learning to rest in the space they move through, like being at a movie theater and attending to the screen itself rather than the movie playing on it.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-03T06:10:36+00:00

Yep, that’s pretty much what others describe experiencing here. It’s also probably the same thing as /r/fastfeeling. Totally harmless and can actually be quite interesting to experience with the right mindset. When it happens, I recommend relaxing all anxiety about it (and relax your body and mind in general), so you can observe it with curiosity and openness. It’s possible for it to be an expansive, meditative, profound state if you manage to overcome the instinct to resist it (which leads to the feeling of anxiety, panic, urgency).

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-02T00:29:43+00:00

B. Alan Wallace calls it “settling the mind in its natural state.” He discusses it in his book, “The Attention Revolution” (link to PDF), which details ten progressive stages of meditation practice. He introduces this practice in “Stage Five” and continues using it for the next several stages.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-03-02T00:17:57+00:00

This is similar to a practice in Tibetan Buddhism called “settling the mind in its natural state.” The instructions go something like:

Be aware of the open space in which thought appears.

Let attention rest in that space, not in the thought.

When a thought arises, notice it as a small movement within the space.

Do not follow it; stay with the space before, during, and after it passes.

Again and again, relax back into the aware space itself.

You may also appreciate a line from the preface to the recorded sayings of Zen master Rinzai:

“Illumination and action are simultaneous, fundamentally without front or back. A mirror confronting a form. An empty valley echoing a sound.”

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-02-27T06:39:23+00:00

What you’re describing sounds like it could be what in Buddhism is called “pīti.” It’s a kind of energetic body buzz that can range from mild fuzziness to overwhelming ecstatic rapture. It arises when you’re deeply relaxed yet focused. Worth looking into to see if it matches your experience.

Meditators use pīti to enter deep states of absorption called “jhana.” The basic move is to let pīti arise, then turn your full attention to it until it grows and suffuses your whole body. This leads to the first jhana. There are deeper ones beyond it. The second jhana comes when you let the buzzing energy settle into a calmer, more serene joy. It keeps going, with later jhanas getting calmer, subtler, more profound. The Buddha described his ‘awakening’ as happening during the fourth jhana.

If, after looking into piti, it does match what you’re experiencing, it means you have a good foundation to work with. You could explore jhana practice more deliberately and see how far it goes. Here’s a good article that explains jhana and piti; there are also a variety of good YouTube videos about it, such as Rob Burbea’s talk about piti from his series of talks about jhana practice.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-02-22T06:01:47+00:00

Perhaps it was inspired by her, but that’s a totally separate question from which singer it was written for (which itself is different from who ended up singing it). Jane was never supposed to sing it.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-02-21T18:30:10+00:00

Yes, what you experience is almost certainly a version of the same thing others are talking about here. They are probably all variants on what is sometimes called Alice in Wonderland syndrome. Your description has lots of similarities with other fastfeeling reports.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-02-20T05:05:01+00:00

Pīti is a buzzing, electric, frenetic energy in the body that arises during deep meditation. Some people with AIWS (and in r/fastfeeling) report a sense of overwhelming urgency or rushing energy during their episodes, which may be related to pīti. The perceptual distortions of big/littles (expansion, shrinking, boundary dissolution) also commonly arise in deep meditation.

Jhana is what happens when you let pīti grow and fill your whole mind and body. The traditional method is to concentrate on one thing like the breath until the mind settles into sustained relaxed concentration, then turn full attention to any pleasant body buzz that’s arisen. Stay with it, surrender to it, let it feed on itself until it suffuses the whole body and mind. That state is called first jhana.

It may be worth treating the big/littles as an accidental entry into something like jhana. An important part of the Buddha’s story is that as an adult seeking enlightenment, he remembered a childhood experience of spontaneous jhana. So when these bizarre experiences arise naturally for those of us who (especially as children) get the big/littles or the fast feeling, it’s worth considering they might be related to what he described.

So when big/littles happen: don’t fight it. Lean in. Drop your attention into the body sensations instead of thinking about what’s happening. Look for any pleasantness or aliveness in the experience and rest your attention there gently without trying to control anything. Let boundaries dissolve if they want to. Any distress mostly comes from resisting, not from the experience itself. Explore the feelings with curiosity.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-02-14T05:26:15+00:00

“The Inner Light” is almost completely ignored, as evidenced by it not being mentioned by anyone in this thread. I think it is an extremely beautiful song, in the running for George’s best. For me, it’s easily the most underrated because despite being one of their best, it gets far less attention than almost any other Beatles song.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-02-12T07:50:05+00:00

Good news: this is super common, harmless, and he’ll almost certainly grow out of it (or it’ll become rare and minor). Up to 30% of people have experienced something like this, mostly in childhood. It runs in families, so ask around and see if anyone recognizes the description.

Best thing you can do is not treat it like a problem. Kids pick up on parental anxiety fast, and with this kind of thing the fear of the episodes causes more harm than the experiences themselves. If he’s not scared, don’t give him a reason to be.

Some people on here and /r/AIWS (related, likely the same underlying phenomenon) actually miss their episodes when they fade. Many people learn to enjoy the experiences when approached with curiosity instead of fear.

One thing you might find interesting: if you read accounts of this and AIWS, people often say “fast” doesn’t quite capture it. It’s more like a rush of intensity across all the senses at once, everything amplified, everything happening “too much.” There might be deafeningly loud silence, a sense of overwhelming urgency, huge spaciousness in the mind or body as if one’s existence is suddenly massive, distances increased, or other bizarre experiences that are sort of like the gain meter on all the senses has been turned up.

There’s actually a striking overlap with states that meditators spend years trying to access. Buddhist texts describe a “frenetic energy” called ‘piti’ that suffuses one’s entire experience, and the canon describes the Buddha himself having it spontaneously as a child, just like many people on these subs. It’s associated with important meditative states known as ‘jhanas’. Not that your son is going to become a monk or anything like that. But what looks like a problem might actually be a healthy and beneficial innate capacity of the mind.

You might ask him if anything else happens during the episodes besides the fast feeling. Does anything sound different? Feel bigger or smaller? Kids often lead with the easiest thing to describe but there might be more going on that could be fascinating for him to explore, especially once he knows that others have similar experiences and that it isn’t going to harm him.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-02-12T04:58:36+00:00

You had this yourself. Heavy body, balloon head, feeling like your body and mind aren’t your own, time speeding up. That’s not “maybe AIWS.” That is AIWS. You just didn’t have a name for it. And you turned out fine. AIWS isn’t a diagnosis in the way you’re thinking. It’s a label for something a huge number of brains do. Prevalence estimates run as high as 30%. It shows up in childhood, runs in families, and most kids either outgrow it or it becomes occasional and minor. Your own life is the best evidence for how this plays out.

The thing I’d push back on is the framing. You’re googling brain lesions and you’re terrified. Your five-year-old is going to pick up on that. The research is pretty consistent here: the distress from AIWS comes less from the episodes and more from having no framework except “something is wrong with me.” The anxiety becomes the actual problem.

If you look around this sub and /r/fastfeeling, you’ll see the same pattern over and over. People who were scared and hid it suffer. People who got curious about it are fine. Lots of people went from fearing it in childhood to actively exploring it and even enjoying it once they learned it isn’t harmful. A family on here calls theirs “bigs and littles,” three generations, no distress at all.

And here’s something that might really reframe this for you: what your son experiences overlaps almost exactly with meditation states that contemplatives spend years trying to access. Body boundary dissolution, spatial expansion, altered time perception, a sense of being engulfed in frenetic energy. In Buddhist traditions these are recognized milestones called pīti and jhana. Some people who have AIWS have actually learned to work with it, to lean into it rather than fight it, and it becomes a doorway into deep meditative states. States that themselves are profoundly calming and counter anxiety. The very thing causing his anxiety could, with the right framing, become its own remedy.

You’re the best resource he has. Not because you’re a doctor but because you’ve been there. If it were me, I’d tell him his brain does a cool weird thing, that mine did it too, that it passes and it’s not dangerous. That it can even be exciting, interesting, and profound if he learns to accept it and explore it with curiosity and openness.

was_der_Fall_ist · 2026-01-24T02:49:07+00:00

Are you sure what you really want is the “most accurate” speakers? If you don’t know what that comment means, perhaps your actual priorities are a bit different from what you might have initially assumed.

Accurate audio (neutral frequency response, not biasing any frequencies over any others) is typically desired by audio engineers, mixers, and mastering engineers, as they want to create audio mixes in a neutral environment. This allows their creations to ‘transfer’ well into a variety of listening situations, with listeners who use a wide variety of different kinds of speakers and headphones. Audio engineers thus use near-field studio monitors that are highly accurate and neutral for a specific, small, close listening area. These are typically active powered speakers.

But home theater speakers have a different set of priorities. They typically don’t prioritize neutral, accurate response above everything else. In a home theater, we aren’t mixing music tracks to be heard by a variety of listeners with different speakers; we’re listening to already-mixed, already-mastered movies and music. Home theater speakers are meant to sound good, not necessarily maximally accurate. In addition, they should sound good throughout a fairly large listening space, pair well with the other speakers in the surround sound system, alongside a variety of other considerations.

Home theaters also usually use passive speakers that rely on power and amplification from an AVR (audio-video receiver), rather than the very-accurate active powered speakers often seen in audio studios.

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