Author of ‘Sapiens’ on how meditation made him a better historian

Re:Author of ‘Sapiens’ on how meditation made him a better h... by tombh on Sunday March 19, 2017 @10:02PM (#13911172)

I've been doing regular week-long retreats for 15 years and recently did a 30 day retreat. Personally I just think there's way too much variation amongst my experiences, let alone if you include the gamut of others', to come to any solid conclusions. For example I've met people that meditate more than me that I consider a social liability. Correlation does not imply causation and all that. Are coffee drinkers more productive or are possessors of palettes predisposed to coffee's chemicals/culture more productive?

What is the magic ingredient in meditation that the mainstream seem to be missing out on!? I'm sticking my head out and firmly stating: nothing. All the scientific and anecdotal evidence derives purely from the sober and unromantic intention to pay attention to something -- how you pay attention, the sincerity with which you pay attention, the subconscious emotions and intellectual knots illuminated from such attention, these are the factors that determine the various reports we find concerning the 'magic' of meditation.

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Re:Author of ‘Sapiens’ on how meditation made him a better h... by retreatguru on Sunday March 19, 2017 @11:43PM (#13911508)

I think attention alone is enough. Pure attention leads to 'magic'.

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Re:Author of ‘Sapiens’ on how meditation made him a better h... by amazingman on Monday March 20, 2017 @12:38AM (#13911737)

I think this phrasing works for certain kinds of people, but turns off other kinds of people, and worse even misleads another category of personality.

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Re:Author of ‘Sapiens’ on how meditation made him a better h... by Leigho on Monday March 20, 2017 @03:15PM (#13916854)

I agree with you if the attention you are implying is focus. I think we draw to us things we focus on, good or bad. I have been meditating off and on for over 15 years and perhaps many of us have been daydreaming far longer. Daydreaming is similar to visual mediation. I find value in silent-non- visual and visual meditation. I find value and get results with 10 minutes or hour long meditation. Some of the results I have gotten are good physical health, sound mental health and goal attainment. Any more than an hour and I run the risk of taking a nap or sleeping.

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