Tfw spending more time reading about reading on Veeky Forums rather than reading books

It was a dark and stormy night

better than sitting on Veeky Forums.

I used to enjoy it a lot, but I can't get into it anymore, or anything, for that matter.

I'll try
This is true
I came up with that when I was a preteen writing Harry Potter fan fiction pls don't steal it

I'd argue it is. I'd say somebody should force themselves to read the same way they should force themselves to work out. Reading requires focus, and so reading cultivates your attention span, grounding you intellectually and emotionally. It makes you a more thoughtful person, which helps you in life generally, whether it comes to making decisions about anything or being social with other people. It can help you talk to other people because reading a lot means you know more which means you have more to talk about. I think reading makes you a less dull person.

Welcome to the postmodern age. In this age it is man versus machine. The machine has defeated you. Welcome to the machine.

You're assuming most people want to hear what you've learned in books when really they care more about who Jack and Jill are cheating on each other with, the score of the latest football game, or what happened in the latest Walking Dead/Big Bang Theory episode/Marvel movie.

First, I think a lot of people are that shallow, but not everyone is. Second, the news. People talk about what's going on in the news all the time. And if you can't sit down and read a newspaper, you don't know what's going on. Third, I'd say that while reading won't make you smarter in the sense of IQ, won't make your brain run faster, but reading does make you smarter in the sense of providing you information about life and a greater context in which to exist and different perspectives, and this will help you not only with your own life but with interacting with other people.

How so?

realize that you have made a spook out of reading/being considered well read.

Read what and when you want rather than what you think you "should" be reading

Does meditation really improve discipline and focus or is it just a new age meme.

Thanks for the advice le spooker man.

>realize that you have made a spook
what does this mean

Practicing sitting with your eyes closed doing nothing for 30 minutes naturally improves your ability to focus. Personally speaking, my reading is noticeably deeper and my focus is noticeably stronger after a meditation session.

How much stronger? 2x? 5x?

Lol no. Maybe after weeks/months of consistent practice you'll have that much improvement above baseline. It's like working out rather than popping pills. Small effects that accumulate over time into significance.

I don't know, maybe twice as strong, nothing supernatural, just better.

Okay, thanks guys. I'll try to take up meditation and see if I can stick with it. Can I start out small like just 10min or is that basically pointless?

Turned reading into a terminal value to be pursued.

Baby steps are fine, just don't stop your walk

Thanks, sir/mam. I'll try tomorrow for ten minutes before I start on Metamorphoses

Yeah, you can definitely do just ten minutes. If I'm meditating regularly, I experience an improvement not only in focus but in mood and outlook. Then when I'm not meditating and I go back to being a slob browsing Veeky Forums, my mood drops again and I can't concentrate. But there's really nothing to meditating. You don't need a mantra or anything. You just sit down, close your eyes, and you try to treat thoughts and emotions like they're the wind, you just feel them without judgment. Focus on the breath as it goes in and out (practicing focusing improves your focus, it's all very logical and non-supernatural). You might want to check out a podcast or something on YouTube to guide you through it, which can help a lot, especially if you're a beginner. I use a podcast called Meditation Oasis sometimes, it's pretty good. Good luck.

You are a nice person. Thanks.

It does

Adderall

*you end up knowing a lot about surface level details of literature without having read very much

It's a lot like taking a class where the professor spoon feeds you excerpts from the works of famous writers/philosophers, you get some of the broad points but lose so much in the finer details that you tend to come off like a cretin when talking to people who actually read what you're talking about.

hmmm this is where we start the big "how2meditate" debate.

A key concept is that when you're meditating you're not "doing nothing"

keep your attention fully welded to your breath. close your eyes to eliminate distractions from the breath
sit in a still, comfortable position on the ground, so as to eliminate distraction from the breath.

when your attention strays from the object of contemplation (the breath), notice and correct by returning your attention to the breath. Don't get anxious about how much this happens, in the beginning you will have almost no control over your attention. This is normal, just notice and correct. 45 seconds of complete uninterrupted attention is unreachable for most beginners.

You want a deep, regular breathing rhythm above all. Use the whole abdomen, from the gut to your chest, through your back and sides and up your throat and nose. Aim for 15 second inhale followed by an 8 second pause at full inhale, 15 second exhale followed by an 8 second pause at full exhale; repeat.

Things really start to pick up after you have this rhythm established in your practice to the point of muscle memory.

There are lots of ways to meditate.

yeah, and but so for the purpose of training your attention and willpower some methods of meditation will be more effective than others.

In that respect I think he's probably best off pursuing asana and pranayama rather than some new agey "just imagine ur thoughts r the wind, bro"

You sound pleasant.

In the case of the OP it means they have elevated a concept above themselves to the point that it controls them - in this case making him feel bad/inadequate

Thanks. How does one fix it?

>taking advice from a high-strung retard
Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass.

what kind of person would you be if you lived in a cave and did nothing but read books

you need some kind of context in your interactions with literature

reading isn't just consumption. it's good to research, ponder, procrastinate, discuss, etc

There is no point about knowing much about literature, though. You read to form your mind and learn another point of view about the world.

Start with and read what and when you want rather than what you think you should be reading. Whether its fantasy, fanfic or german idealists.

Though I will say that identifying spooks is the easiest part, actually dealing with them is a whole different kettle of fish

I managed to get 15 minutes of Metamorphoses in :3