Does anyone here meditate?

[Lioness~]

From anyone’s perspective do you prefer, silence or guided meditation?

The 1 Giant Mind app has a 12 step intro and besides verbally prepping at the beginning of a session, it moves onto silence other than your mantra. As I mentioned, I don’t do mantra, but use my breathing as a center of focus, that and watching the light show on the back of my eye lids. 🙂

The Zen meditation that as offered in the game I mentioned, was guided, constant talking. Actually I like both, and there is room for both, but tend to believe that silence and being focused on self without thought (ideally) has benefit as far as calming and self awareness.

Insight Timer offers a bunch of guided sessions.

I prefer a combination of different things and teachers….
First of all, there's not a path that suits everyone - we have to learn to know and follow what is good and challenge ourselves. I don't think totally silent meditation is better than guided.
It also depends a lot on the awareness on the teacher and the student.

Insight Timer is good, I had it a long time and even with subscription in a period. Then I deleted the app, and meditated without a timer even. But I missed to have a timer after some time. So now I have the app again but only use it as a timer, to keep track on my meditation and yoga practice, nothing else.

I got Waking Up app free for a whole year, as the app was new at the time.
The best on the app for me was Adyashanti's stuff. But sure Sam Harris has made a great app with a large variety of styles and knowledge. Nothing I would pay for though today - way too expensive - but each to their own.
I payed to meditate with Adyashanti when he had his Sunday Community Practice, which was awesome with plenty of people meditated together every other Sunday over the world. His wife is doing that practice now, and I'm sure she's good but I moved on at that point and meditated solo instead.

Everybody has to follow their own path, and understand their own consciousness.
Most of us have a free will, or some aspect and degree of it, at least.
Then it's up to us to make choices.

Finally, I've heard people telling stories how people sits and sleep at retreats where only silent meditations occur. It might be good for them, what do I know of their path?
Personally, I prefer staying awake and becoming more aware of the consciousness that I am.

 

[martint235]

I try. A few years ago I bought a Shakti mat and I was quite good with that, the sensation focuses the mind. However then I got a dog and a shakti mat with a 25kg dog on your chest isn’t quite as relaxing. I now use the Calm app and listen to Jay Shetty and also the daily meditation.

 

[Lioness~]

Adyashanti and Mukti offer a free Meditation, as below. If anyone are curious and haven't meditated with any of them, it's a great opportunity to check it out.
But note that I have no idea how it will work on YouTube for people who don't have a YouTube subscription regarding ads on this. Not sure Adya can chose or have an impact on YouTube ads either, but I have absolutly no idea about it, as I myself are a YT subscriber.
I guess it shows up in your timezone, on YT.

 

[Huntn]

I prefer a combination of different things and teachers….
First of all, there's not a path that suits everyone - we have to learn to know and follow what is good and challenge ourselves. I don't think totally silent meditation is better than guided.
It also depends a lot on the awareness on the teacher and the student.

Insight Timer is good, I had it a long time and even with subscription in a period. Then I deleted the app, and meditated without a timer even. But I missed to have a timer after some time. So now I have the app again but only use it as a timer, to keep track on my meditation and yoga practice, nothing else.

I got Waking Up app free for a whole year, as the app was new at the time.
The best on the app for me was Adyashanti's stuff. But sure Sam Harris has made a great app with a large variety of styles and knowledge. Nothing I would pay for though today - way too expensive - but each to their own.
I payed to meditate with Adyashanti when he had his Sunday Community Practice, which was awesome with plenty of people meditated together every other Sunday over the world. His wife is doing that practice now, and I'm sure she's good but I moved on at that point and meditated solo instead.

Everybody has to follow their own path, and understand their own consciousness.
Most of us have a free will, or some aspect and degree of it, at least.
Then it's up to us to make choices.

Finally, I've heard people telling stories how people sits and sleep at retreats where only silent meditations occur. It might be good for them, what do I know of their path?
Personally, I prefer staying awake and becoming more aware of the consciousness that I am.

I guess sleeping could be a goal, but it undermines the idea behind meditation…I think. 🤔 The Zen Mediations prayers to Earth, Water, Fire, Air found in the Cyberpunk 2077 game were led, short, but cool and relaxing. 🙂

 

[splifingate]

it's up to us to make choices

When I am Here, Now--
And I ruminate on such--
It only makes sense.

 

[Huntn]

From anyone’s perspective do you prefer, silence or guided meditation?

The 1 Giant Mind app has a 12 step intro and besides verbally prepping at the beginning of a session, it moves onto silence other than your mantra. As I mentioned, I don’t do mantra, but use my breathing as a center of focus, that and watching the light show on the back of my eye lids. 🙂

The Zen meditation that as offered in the game I mentioned, was guided, constant talking. Actually I like both, and there is room for both, but tend to believe that silence and being focused on self without thought (ideally) has benefit as far as calming and self awareness.

Ensight Timer offers a bunch of guided sessions.

Lost 40lb fasting, breaking out the Meditation Apps! 😊
Will refamiliarize myself with 1Giant Mind and Insight Timer.

 

[M4th]

@Lioness~ thanks for mentioning Adyashanti, although my only experience was attending a retreat he gave at Kanuga in NC back in 2012. Soon thereafter I guess I lost track of his sangha so it was interesting to see you mention in this thread about Mukti having more of a role, although this arrangement like all things may be temporary?

Previous to that experience, I had been attending weekly gatherings at a couple different zen and mindfulness groups that were local to me for a few years... one of those gatherings back then was half day retreat with Thanissara who apparently is still active in her own amazing way.

And even though I still have the same zafu and zabuton from back then, it's been quite awhile since I actually used them. But that's OK. Maybe for some, meditation is a kind of training of how experiencing equanimity actually happens? The energy that awareness seems to both require and release?

And maybe after awhile it's kind of an on-going presencing? A lived, felt, experience how things are, yet not either? So, while it's great that the tools of learning are always available, at some point they may not seem so necessary? Or, it could just be laziness on my part. Apologies for the all the ?'s!!! Some experiences defy easy (if any) description.

tl;dr for the OP's question - yeah for awhile, but not in awhile.

 

[Lioness~]

@Lioness~ thanks for mentioning Adyashanti, although my only experience was attending a retreat he gave at Kanuga in NC back in 2012. Soon thereafter I guess I lost track of his sangha so it was interesting to see you mention in this thread about Mukti having more of a role, although this arrangement like all things may be temporary?

Previous to that experience, I had been attending weekly gatherings at a couple different zen and mindfulness groups that were local to me for a few years... one of those gatherings back then was half day retreat with Thanissara who apparently is still active in her own amazing way.

And even though I still have the same zafu and zabuton from back then, it's been quite awhile since I actually used them. But that's OK. Maybe for some, meditation is a kind of training of how experiencing equanimity actually happens? The energy that awareness seems to both require and release?

And maybe after awhile it's kind of an on-going presencing? A lived, felt, experience how things are, yet not either? So, while it's great that the tools of learning are always available, at some point they may not seem so necessary? Or, it could just be laziness on my part. Apologies for the all the ?'s!!! Some experiences defy easy (if any) description.

tl;dr for the OP's question - yeah for awhile, but not in awhile.

Nice, that you've met him - I have followed his teaching from way back, but only online.
Still uses and subscribes to his channel on Youtube, with breaks, as his teachings still is what resonates best for me when it comes to meditation, and he gives me still the best new perspectives all the time when I need it.

Located in Europe I did travel to US for awhile, but that was not for Meditation gatherings, but rather Shamanic training way back. It's somehow connected in some ways in how energies moves.
Yet, very different stuff.

 

[M4th]

Nice, that you've met him - I have followed his teaching from way back, but only online.
Still uses and subscribes to his channel on Youtube, with breaks, as his teachings still is what resonates best for me when it comes to meditation, and he gives me still the best new perspectives all the time when I need it.

Located in Europe I did travel to US for awhile, but that was not for Meditation gatherings, but rather Shamanic training way back. It's somehow connected in some ways in how energies moves.
Yet, very different stuff.

I'm slightly surprised Adya never held any retreats in Europe, or maybe there were but you somehow weren't able to attend. It is a commitment of time, effort, and resources to do, but at least the online channel can be an access to insight.

I would recommend for anyone reading this to attend a gathering related to meditation if possible. Maybe it has something to do with the primal energy like you mentioned for whatever that Shamanic training was. People learning in a shared environment goes back to when time was measured in breaths, heartbeats, and how the sun and moon trace paths, so maybe some of that gritty gut sense is still a part of how it's done now.

(and not to get too off-topic but back in the mid 90's for a couple years or so I was able to attend a monthly sweat lodge ceremony with a few folks that was arranged by a woman who was taught by this guy. That's about all I can share since even though the how, why, and what we did was extremely earnest and intense and quite important to my well being at that time, it is or was a very controversial thing for non-natives to be involved in... whether those ceremonies could be referred to as Shamanic I can't say but just for the record that word really sort of creeps me out)

Back on topic. Ceremony in itself can be important, if it points to that in which beliefs are unnecessary. Sitting stably (like a tripod) with even breaths, hands in lap with thumb tips barely touching, facing the wall is fine when attention is in all directions anyway... then the gong sounds. None of this hinges on any sort of myth beyond what is. That was the appeal of meditation for me.

(another word I'm leery to throw out here is faith, if it applies to meditation or not. A sense that can arise after awhile may seem like a sort of fresh, new, brightness. Then it possibly may sort of seem to settle in a recognizable abiding manner. Something I seem to recall in the gatherings, maybe not)

Sorry for the ramble!

 

[Huntn]

Since I’ve restarted meditating, I’ve reverted to driving with the radio off, in the ‘here and now’ experiencing my environment. The radio has become annoying noise.

 

[Lioness~]

I'm slightly surprised Adya never held any retreats in Europe, or maybe there were but you somehow weren't able to attend. It is a commitment of time, effort, and resources to do, but at least the online channel can be an access to insight.

I would recommend for anyone reading this to attend a gathering related to meditation if possible. Maybe it has something to do with the primal energy like you mentioned for whatever that Shamanic training was. People learning in a shared environment goes back to when time was measured in breaths, heartbeats, and how the sun and moon trace paths, so maybe some of that gritty gut sense is still a part of how it's done now.

(and not to get too off-topic but back in the mid 90's for a couple years or so I was able to attend a monthly sweat lodge ceremony with a few folks that was arranged by a woman who was taught by this guy. That's about all I can share since even though the how, why, and what we did was extremely earnest and intense and quite important to my well being at that time, it is or was a very controversial thing for non-natives to be involved in... whether those ceremonies could be referred to as Shamanic I can't say but just for the record that word really sort of creeps me out)

Back on topic. Ceremony in itself can be important, if it points to that in which beliefs are unnecessary. Sitting stably (like a tripod) with even breaths, hands in lap with thumb tips barely touching, facing the wall is fine when attention is in all directions anyway... then the gong sounds. None of this hinges on any sort of myth beyond what is. That was the appeal of meditation for me.

(another word I'm leery to throw out here is faith, if it applies to meditation or not. A sense that can arise after awhile may seem like a sort of fresh, new, brightness. Then it possibly may sort of seem to settle in a recognizable abiding manner. Something I seem to recall in the gatherings, maybe not)

Sorry for the ramble!

Well, his Sunday-Community Practice were held in real time with a LOT of people all over the world, sitting together IRT is really powerful. It was the absolutely the best from both worlds IMO.
Mukti hold those gatherings today, but I suppose the retired Adya are participating.

I wouldn’t say that it lacked anything of what’s great of sitting in a room with people meditating: I have certainly done that as well - even held meditation groups myself for that matter.
I do like the privacy of my own home best today, without the disturbance of other people’s processes -
To really go deeper requires a different setting.

The Sweat Lodges are absolutely wonderful - we were a group who had them periodically here around.
Making the lodge ourselves, running around wild and naked, and entering the sitting in the sweat-lodge with its very special atmosphere and various ceremonies inside of it.
Ah well, everything has its time's - glad I’ve done it. That was as primal as its gets.

Now is a different time and place.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

All the time.

My middle kiddo has started as well. He has really big, intense 5y/o emotions so when those elephants are loose in the room, he has taken to isolating himself and effectively emulate Grogu when he is sitting on the seeing stone. Y

The first time he did this, he had played with my shaver so had a bald head as he put a big strip down the middle of his head, so picture a skinny at the time 4.25 y/o bald kiddo looking like a Buddhist monk sitting on the edge of the lake we were fishing completely focused internally on those waves of feelings (he was upset because he couldn’t cast-was learning).

I was both impressed and amused all at the same time.