# A 10 day course of pure meditation with no distractions. What Would You Think About? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702 "2003-12-13T01:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702/22 "2003-12-15T12:58:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uvula Donor \* > \*\*I’d be thinking about how frickin’ _bored_ I was. > > Good luck! \*\* Same here. I’m a doer. I have to be always doing something, whether it’s reading, playing a game, or even just lying on the bed talking to my husband. But it’s doing something. Doing nothing is like being unalive. I don’t even buy things unless they do something. Just me, of course. Have an enriching trip (I was going to say have a great time, but enrichment seems to be more what the trip is about). ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702/23 "2003-12-15T13:12:33Z")
“100 bottles of beer on the wall” over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702/24 "2003-12-15T13:25:30Z")
Paying money to do absolutely nothing for ten days 😕 Can’t you do that at home? Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702/25 "2003-12-15T15:18:19Z")
I would also expect to concentrate on one focal point (often your breath) in order to clear your mind. I do yoga, and I’ve found that sometimes I can get into a state which is almost like being half-asleep. I’m conscious, but my brain is auto-piloting. The interesting part of all this is that time never seems as long, just as when you’re half asleep. So maybe you won’t be so bored for long stretches of time, after all. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702/26 "2003-12-15T20:33:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*The only person here who sounds like they’ve actually done any meditating is **jjimm**. \*\* I have done some. But I only took a series of one-night-a-week-for-four-weeks “lessons.” I attempt to continue what I learned on my own, and will probably get more instruction at some point, but I don’t feel expert enough to give any advice beyond “listen to your teachers.” Your advice about getting accustomed beforehand is good. Having tried meditation both before and after practicing several years of yoga, I will add that getting comfortable in any sitting posture and being able to maintain it, as well as having the ability to keep going back to concentrate on breath, would have been impossible for me without the discipline I learned in asana. The challenge I found was not “thinking of nothing” but trying not to think how much I hurt. Now I don’t hurt so much. On preview, I see **LaurAnge** makes the yoga connection as well. Yoga was developed specifically to aid meditation. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702/27 "2003-12-15T21:20:00Z")
While going through my divorce I took a week’s sabbatical at the recommendation of my therapist. A cabin in the woods, no books, no TV, no radio, no note paper and pens - nothing but me, the cabin, the woods, and the groceries I needed for the week. Suprisingly, I wasn’t bored at all and got a tremendous amount of thinking done (which was exactly what I needed at the time) and came away with alot more self awareness. I’d recommend it for everyone every couple of years. Just you, by yourself with yourself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-day-course-of-pure-meditation-with-no-distractions-what-would-you-think-about/218702.md?page=1)