Meditation
The quality of your mind determines the quality of your life. Meditation is exercise for the mind. But more than that, it’s a purification of the mind. As socrates once said, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Introspection, and Meditation, these are of upmost importance.
This is what I experienced during my 10-day meditation retreat.
Enables the detachment of the Self.
Daily Reminder
Trying to meditate every single day, first thing in the morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_3p81GmHEg&ab_channel=BryanJohnson starting from 35:49 really sold me.
Concepts
2024-04-14: There’s that book Surrender Experiment, and how he talks about there was that single day that changed his life. Today, I went on a meditation at the Waterloo park, and looked at the water. And I felt a profound shift. A profound awareness of everything around me. How did I get into that flow? Just looking at the water for long enough, and not putting so much pressure on myself. Just doing it.
- How did he enter that state? He also meditated (section 1.4 of book), but then it was the most profound awareness that he’d ever been in
- 2024-05-10: I’m so angry at myself for not writing down the particular meditation that made me get into that state. I want to re-experience that moment. Because I sincerely felt the most profound awareness. I cannot replicate this. I don’t know which meditation it was
- 2026-11-01: From my experience at the 10-day meditation retreat, I now know that this is a craving. This is a source of my suffering. Accept the reality of the world, with Equanimity
Reminders to myself from waking up course (most helpful things):
- Pay attention to where thought arises from. Every time you have a thought, observe that thought. It’s very fun
Terms: vaposhna → what we’ve been doing meta → concentration practice of love
Insights
From Saeejith: The flame is like a magnifying glass, you can move the flame through your body.
- and then you can simulate everything. That is cool
You become what you pay attention to.
Progress of meditation?
Some signals:
- Regular practice
- Antidote to psychological suffering (when you pay attention, it actually helps)
- Understand meditation is not about being calm, consciousness is already free of the feeling of self. Glimpse the freedom of consciousness.
- Examine the intrinsic freedom
Your suffering doesn’t come from the outside, you take responsibility for it.