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Comment by kamac | Hacker News Reader

> If you just let me be and let me listen to some music without being disturbed, I'll be perfectly calm and relaxed, no mysticism needed.

Meditation is more than just relaxation. It's about a state of mind. About being in the present moment, letting go, looking inward and reflecting about oneself. I don't think you do any of those things when just relaxing while listening to music.

Also,

> I am perfectly capable of relaxing and unburdening my mind, but it just ain't happening during a normal workday with deadlines and badly defined business processes.

That means you are not perfectly capable of relaxing your mind.

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> Meditation is more than just relaxation. It's about a state of mind. About being in the present moment, letting go, looking inward and reflecting about oneself. I don't think you do any of those things when just relaxing while listening to music.

Well, it's obviously that you don't know me. I am in fact in the moment and I do in fact let go and reflect when I listen to music. Or when I go for a walk or any of a multitude of other non-stressful activities that let me ignore the annoyances of daily life and other people, for a little while.

> That means you are not perfectly capable of relaxing your mind.

Like I said, it's obvious that you don't know me at all.

I don't understand why this is being downvoted. Kamac's comment comes across as patronizing.

Phrases like "state of mind", "letting go" and "looking inward" don't actually mean a whole lot. Even "meditation" can be ambiguous. Unclear terminology is IMO always a symptom of snake-oil mumbo jumbo.

Funny that the SV tech elite seems to just suck that quackery up and plays along.

It's a topic that's difficult to put into words, true. I don't agree that "letting go" or "looking inward" are meaningless. In fact, letting go has a very literal meaning. You're supposed to not think about something on purpose, and when thoughts come, you don't follow them.

Looking inward is basically not focusing on the outside world. You're not supposed to sit and stare at a chair, but focus on something that is "inward", which could be for example your presence or your breathing.

Unclear terminology sometimes comes from either not having a deep enough grasp of the topic at hand. Sometimes on the other hand, the thing you're trying to explain is just hard to put into words.

The idea of the parent is that you should be able to relax despite the "annoyances of daily life and other people" -- in other words, in any environment.

Else, baring some physiological/psychological condition, everybody can relax when in a relaxed environment...

Maybe we have different definitions of "relaxing".

Maybe not all of them are valid when discussing "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction".

If you really get the same benefits from listening to music as somebody who does correct mindfulness meditation, then good for you.

It's most likely not true though.

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