Meditation

Shhhhh, stop that. He's going to distract himself until he realizes what he's doing.

Some people thought that meditation is a road to be taken to get somewhere, but it isn't.
Then, some people thought meditation is somewhere to be in itself, but it isn't.
Meditation is a road, amongst many roads.

Visit some temple. Talk to people about it in real life. I tried to meditate multiple times and then I would just stop and had mixed views about it. It was totally different when I meditated along with other people, followed simple practical guidelines and so on. It's something that, although you may scratch from reading, it is not the same as actually learning from someone. I wouldn't be able to explain to you here what is the exact difference, because when I read the books I've read before again, they not only still make sense to me as good instruction, but I can now see what they meant, whereas before I just thought I got them.

Because there are different ways of doing it, there is no clear cut beginners way of doing it.

So i would like some recommendations into different teachings.

meditation is the same regardless
you can meditate while walking
good for the philosophy, but not really for learning how to meditate

really OP the only way to get good is practice, find some guided meditation vids on Youtube and just practice several times a week

I've tried meditating a couple of times, just get an ache in my back from sitting straight.

you need to practice proper posture
you'd be amazed how much your perspective can change just by improving your posture

the absolute core of meditation is breathing and posture regardless of religion.

Yeah, since I started to want to meditate I've been trying to better my posture. I'll just have to keep at it.

you need to be conscious of it at all times
a good thing to think of is imagine a string pulling the upper-back part of your head towards the sky and keeping your diaphram tight and shoulders relaxed/back

just recommending from my own experience. I found meditation impossible no matter how much instruction on breathing and detachment etc. I received until I read the upanishads and some commentary.

That's pretty much what I've been doing, trying to always be conscious of it, guess I'll just have to pound it into my head until it's second nature.

I'm just saying because it may not be for everyone, but I agree that those works do help a lot with regards to contemplation

Western meditation is good but the mode of thought is just so different it does not facilitate the same sort of mental state.

I've wondered what this guy was doing since I first saw the image. He has a pen and paper and I can't tell what he's looking at on the screen. BIOS, maybe?

I don't know if it is your case, but in my case, for a while I had some pains until I began sitting on a small pillow. Your butt must be higher than your knees otherwise it will really hurt.

That being said, a small discomfort is good to keep you alert.

Going to a retreat or class or whatever is the best way, but if you're lazy or cant do that, try an app or website or youtube and look up guided meditations. Those can be really helpful in learning how to do it properly, staying focused and making it a habit. I'd say that would be better, at least for a start, then reading about it.

Also meditation can easily be divorced from any traditions like Buddhism, so there's really no need to look into that unless it interests you in a broader sense. You can think and read about meditation and similar practices within the framework of many spiritual traditions, as long as you focus on the actual practice of it it doesn't matter.

As far as Christianity goes, this is a great reading list, Eckhart in particular. I'd add "the cloud of unknowing" also.

that's Temple OS you plebe
the original is just a MacOS desktop

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

ROFL

Fuck, I see it now. I thought it was the original. I guess I haven't been on /g/ in a while.

>Keep your diaphragm tight
This isn't anatomically possible