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Comment by kingsidharth | Hacker News Reader

I love meditating! Been doing it since age of 6 (I was born in India & my Grandmother is an awesome teacher). Why? It's like bathing for mind & soul.

I even started a blog about it: http://www.meditationrocks.us/blog

You can find my experiences and learnings there.

  Summing-up:

How to Meditate (Easiest Way):

Sit in comfortable place.

With back straight (or you will fall asleep).

Close your eyes & focus on your breathing.

Count in as 1 and out as 2 till 15. Start back at 1 after 15

If you find your mind wandering, and it will, just start back at 15.

FAQ

Do I put on music?

Light music, optional.

Do I need special equipment or place?

Nada, anywhere you can sit with back straight is fine.

I've too much energy for meditation

Cool! Then enjoy, meditate when you are feeling low.

PS: Will be eager to answer any questions, or help someone find their way... or maybe do some HN Meditation Group :P Just thinking out loud.

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I am curious what I should do to meditate:

- should I try not to think about anything

- let my thoughts go free

- think about _nice_ things

- make some construction (like visualizing a tree, visualize all element of a clock, visualize a mathematic object)

It's not possible to think nothing, so you think a thought that doesn't expand into something big.

Like focus on breathing... occupy ur mind with it.

Focus on birds chirping around.. Now your mind might wander off to ANGRY BIRDS but pull it back softly. And focus on just sound or sensation.

Idea is to not think about something that expands into an essay. Helpful?

Is there a fundamental difference between this "relaxed" state and some form of exercise involving longer streaks of monotonous movement (say swimming) while focusing on the repetitive motions (and sensations) themselves?

Interesting! I don't think there is much difference. Let's see:

- Both are focusing moments

- Both require full attention to make any sense

- Both call for the best of you.

- Both are delicious (focusing on stuff is the fun of life, innit? )

But one calls for focus naturally (swimming) and the other needs deliberate focus against 'habit of thoughts'.

Hope that answers it.

Can you sit against a wall? How long should one persevere before giving up if nothing interesting happens?

You say "Nothing interesting happens" like it's a bad thing. You're unclenching your mind, not being sprinkled with pixie dust. :) Expect to feel bored, then continually noticing how much you distract yourself (a song popped in my head...do I have e-mail?...what time is it?), then wondering if your knees will forgive you, then (maybe eventually, if you quit shifting), calm.

If you want to think about it as some sort of "deliberate sensory deprivation to stop the signals that would normally reinforce habitual fight or flight stimuli" thing, ok. It doesn't need to be a religious thing. Either way: You sit. It's boring. Deep breath. It just is.

I'm not the author of the parent comment, but in my experience, sitting for 15-20 minutes seems about right. Rather than trying to be all hardcore and meditating for 2+ hours a day, just try sticking with it a couple days a week. Doing it for shorter periods regularly adds up. It's not magic, though - it's more like consistently getting enough sleep. But it really does help, like emptying the lint trap in your mind.

Also, sitting against a wall is ok (if you get used to seiza (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiza)), but you'll probably be happier with a "zafu" (small sitting cushion) so your back and knees are at an angle >90 degrees. You can also use a couch cushion, tree trunk programming book, or whatever.

Don't think you are participating in anything special. How long do you give up bathing before nothing special happens? Well... it's really that sort of question.

If you do it with 'easy' going attitude... you might feel sensations in your body. Or else.. just a relaxed mood and balanced body. Just be easy about it.

I don't recommend sitting against a wall. If you plan on meditating, I recommend investing in a zafu and zabuton. They'll provide much better back support than a wall or just the floor.

Wall is fine! But it is better if you can sit with back straight without any support at back. It keeps you alert.

Please explain: if it keeps you alert, you also have to concentrate your thoughts on this. Isn't this in contradiction to let all thoghts go? Thanks for an answer...

You make me want to go into Zen teachings now. So I will summarize them as much as I can:

What I meant:

Thoughts: Things going on.

Alert: Being aware of something. Observing something (can be thoughts)

Not being alert: You will drift off to sleep.

Meditation: Focusing (as in deliberative) and/ or Observing something that doesn't go on into endless thinking tank.

Let go of thoughts: that become an essay. Start thinking about Python and you can write an essay right now. Start listening to your breathing. And release any other thought that comes in. Yes you can keep repeating word Python and try to release thoughts that follow but it's easier with things like sound and mantras.

Sure there is much more to it than what I've written but hope you get the idea.

Thank you for the kind answer. It's a beginning...

i don't think anything is supposed to happen... (someone please, correct me if i'm wrong.)

Profound things are bound to happen with the right technique of meditation.

Try meditating for 24 hours in a row. Something "interesting" is bound to happen - most likely severe pain somewhere in the body.

If you were able to observe that pain objectively with equanimity, meaning a) not averting from an experience you don't like or b) craving to have an experience you do like, wisdom about the nature of reality arises spontaneously.

More specifically, pain is not really what you think it is - some experience to shun worth avoiding at all costs. Watching the mind react to such an experience, and there are so many experiences that the mind is nearly hardwired to avert from or cling to, speak volumes. You will see how desperate it wants to stay in control of your experience and you should also note that because you can observe your mind, YOU ARE NOT YOUR MIND. Now you are starting to inquire into the nature of reality as-it-is, not as you want it to be.

Yes, you can sit against a wall.

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