Thread by @bayeslord

Here’s a thread of meditation takes that could be useful. Largely things I’ve learned firsthand. Reminder that I’m just a guy who meditates regularly

Meditation done properly is the best method currently on offer for producing durably happier people. Period. The upper bound of that happiness is likely above what almost all people in history ever experienced

Trying to skeptically reason or understand any type of meditation with zero experience is not as useful as it may feel. Many characterizations of diff practices are so counterintuitive that it’s often best to simply trial run if smth sounds interesting/you think a claim is false

This doesn’t mean you should go blindly into practice. On the contrary, you can try to understand exactly what a wide range of experts say it’s about, what it will lead to, etc. If you don’t like the sound of it then you don’t have to do it. All up to your comfort level

If you aren’t using post-jhanas clarity and focus to improve the rest of your practice then you are leaving a powerful tool on the table

If you haven’t done a bunch of work to smooth negative mental habits and trauma type shit out of your mind prior to getting going on meditation, you might be slowing yourself down. Worth trying some kind of therapy if you have any reason at all to suspect it might help

If you aren’t letting yourself explore the space of meditative states in ways that are fun to you, instead rigidly following a path map or something like that … then you are pointlessly leaving good times on the table. Such maps are actually compasses, and they don’t always work

If you think Ingram and Culadasa are the only worthwhile guides,
reengage your curiosity

If you only do dry insight and you’re not spicing it up with something that feels really absurdly good in some way (love, ecstatic pleasure, joy, etc) your practice has many less good vibes than it could otherwise have

If you aren’t using yoga to simultaneously deepen and ground your practice (or to get unstuck) you are missing out in a big way. So good

If you never meditate in noisy/distracting places, try it sometime. It can serve to bolster your equanimity and concentration by a lot

Learning to not push or pull when you’re trying to attain a state (like jhanas) is important. You must not care at all about the goal, but then also attain the desired state! Tricky, but once you get it you’ll find it’s quite generally useful. Part of a bigger lesson abt clinging

If you aren’t feeling it today, you aren’t feeling it today. Why force things? Go on a walk or something. If it’s a moment mid-session, just ignore it and move your mind away for a minute. Making space for truly not caring about outcomes can bring about strong experiences

Elaborating on that… as w many endeavors, giving your brain shower time to calculate stuff without your dumb conscious interference will often lead to it subconsciously interpolating and following a path towards a state like the one you were aiming at. Exploit this

Opinion: Don’t get caught up in dharma overground. It’s basically an extension of reddit (ppl are cranky, overly authoritative). Was never a big user myself, but it’s just kind of this goofy place where ppl are neurotically obsessed w attainments (imo)

If you feel really bad in life as a result of meditating there is a good chance you can fix it by changing or stopping practice. If you disagree w this statement and *clearly* know why you feel bad/are working through a difficult practice intentionally, then you’re probably fine

If you’re going to use an app, there are many worse choices than Brightmind. Not a perfect UI, but very solid instruction imo. The best part is that no decision making abt what to study is required.The whole thing is already planned for you, just pick your session length each day

Meditation can be a powerful, powerful, powerful amplifier of your sensory experience. Don’t let it go too far beyond your skill with other mindfulness components. Ask for help if you’re uncomfortably imbalanced and without a plan

Your brain is capable of producing what most ppl would consider to be very odd experiences. Weird imaginings/visions, perception changes, attention changes, etc. Try not to worry too much if you have an odd experience. Homeostasis and regression to the mean are real

However, if meditation isn’t working for you, consider a break. Just stop. Nope. Just don’t do it for a bit. The effects of meditation, both good and not good, are generally dose dependent. Cool it for a while and come back later, it’s not going anywhere

Get a teacher, join a group of practitioners, or talk to a psychologist about it. Support while rewiring your brain is invaluable. Many ppl can lose objectivity, and it’s good to have ppl there for you

That’s all for now, may add more later!