That doesn’t sound nutty at all. The way I heard it is like walking a razor’s edge. On one side is collapsing into emotion, on the other is posturing. Right in the middle is owning it. I love that concept.
I don’t know how long I meditate for (I think it’s 15 to 20 minutes at a time), and I don’t really follow the “just focus on your breathing” style of doing it. I sit (or lie down, or stand if all else fails), close my eyes, and go through a process, slowly talking myself (with my internal voice) through the steps (“breathe in, breathe out, feel your breath, slip deeper into a state of trance, open your mind”). It might be more of a self-hypnosis. I dunno. But whatever, after I do it I feel super calm, I become acutely aware of things visually (like I notice stuff I never noticed before) and sound-wise, too (I become more aware of the sound of my footsteps). Sometimes I feel warm. When I get really deep into it (about as deep as I’m able to go this point), it looks like there are lights under my eyelids. It’s hard to explain.
Sometimes I do my thought process while I’m walking. That’s an interesting sensation because when I take that big deep breath and pull myself out of it, my footsteps literally feel heavier, like I can feel the weight of my legs more.
I theorize the explanation for meditation and why it makes us feel funny is this: When we meditate, we basically force our breathing to be suppressed. Suppressed breathing == self-induced oxygen deprivation. Self-induced oxygen deprivation: Funny feelings.
If you meet the Zombie Buddha in the middle of the road, should you eat his brains?
That’s not a good theory. Many types of meditation don’t focus on breathing. Many that do focus on breathing do not ask you to control it - let alone supress it. Yet you can still getting “funny feelings” doing them.
I was focused on the zombie aspect of the post, but yeah, holding your breath to the point of dizziness <> meditation. Dude.
The meditation sessions I’ve gone to do focus on breathing. It’s a way of envisioning good stuff entering your body (white light) and expelling the negativity (black smoke). Breathing cycles are an important part of meditation. You don’t have to use woo or think of pink unicorns or anything.
Meditation takes you out of the hectic part of your life for a few minutes, and leaves you with a feeling of letting things proceed at their own pace. It helps you become more aware of life’s cycles. It doesn’t fundamentally change you. It just keeps you grounded for a while.
While you are free to believe that, as I mentioned many meditation traditions do not teach that.
Meditation technique is to observe the breath or follow the breath not suppress it.
I meditate because I suffer from monkey mind. Plus it’s prescribed if your a Buddhist. For me it’s about ruling my mind and emotion so they don’t rule me.
There’s a Buddhist saying, " Meditate 30 mins a day, unless you’re very busy, then meditate 60 minutes a day!"
I learned from a Buddhist temple. Which methods don’t teach breathing cycles?
It’s a better theory than your chis and chakras and ooga booga hindu self are being centered. Or other pseudo-scientific BS.
I’m quite certain breathing suppresses no matter how you meditate, no matter if you are focusing on your breathing or not.
Meditation: It’s not what you think.
Well frankly, Buddhist meditation for one. Vipassana uses the breath merely as a focus of attention, you aren’t learning “breathing cycles”. While some versions stick with attention to breath, some use it as only an initial training tool before moving on to observing and paying attention to the body as a whole.
Christian meditation in the form of “contemplation” or “contemplative prayer” is purely focus on a concept.
Mandala meditation is the method of focusing on the pattern.
While teachers of these various methods may intruct you then breath naturally or relax your breathing they can’t be described as methods that “teach breathing cycles”.
Seems like everyone wants to listen to their breathing, but nobody wants to stare at the 10 different kinds of rotting corpses anymore. Kids these days!
FWIW, there’s more than one type of meditation physiologically speaking.
Yoga result in different effects than Zen at least in re habituation and attention as measured by brain waves.
I suspect that other meditation techniques may produce other, varied effects on the human.
I don’t know that there’s a certain discipline name for what I learned, other than “9-step breathing.” I got the impression breathing is representative of the cycle of life, which is a central philosophic core to Buddhism.
I understand the more advanced practitioners are truly able to slow the process of the body almost to the point of being insensate, but it’s done by eliminating outside interference and other mitigating factors. It’s not a goal to suppress breathing, but an effect. This is something far more advanced than the OP was asking for, and would probably be regarded as “woo” to the cynical.
Aah. I just looked up 9 step breathing and am not surprised to see it is Tibetan Buddhist in origin. Tibetan Buddhism has a lot of beliefs that are quite outside the mainstream. It never really appealed to me so I didn’t really read up on it much. “Breath in the good, exhale the bad” is definitely not mainstream. It’s more “when the breath is long, observe; when it is short, observe”. Controlling the breath is kind of against the point.
Wanted to add: to be clear, I am not criticizing it. Just pointing out there’s some big differences. When Tibetan Buddhism was first brought back into the outside world, after developing in isolation for so long, many of their thoughts were/are considered quite heretical to mainstream Buddhism.
I tend to lack self awareness, I simply never focus on myself. I use my bow making hobby as a form of meditation. I spend a few hours each morning alone, quiet and hard at work making bows. I reflect on nearly every aspect of my life during these sessions. The physical motions I go through are somewhat repetitive yet physically taxing so it tends to leave me in a state of being tired, yet open and satisfied. I can go for hours at a time at a pace that any other man I have worked with simply would collapse. It seems to keep my ego in check, and leaves me much more accepting of my current place in life. At 67 years old I stay in a high state of calm but creatively motivated. I rarely experience anger and frustration and when I do it is short lied. I spend like zero time dwelling in the past and find my self happily taking on the future as it becomes the present.
Keeping myself caught up on business matters and personal commitments is a condition of my peace of mind I can't compromise on.I don’t get what you mean by “outside the mainstream.” Tibetan Buddhism started in the 8th century, and stems from the Vajrayāna, which is considered skillful means of teaching, over the Mahayana, considered general means. Tibetan believes the same principles. It just has its own method of teaching, just like any other school of Buddhism would.
The “incarnate lama” thing is pretty out there. They have a lot of animism and shamanism woven into their practices. That Tibetan Buddhism has some extremely diverged practices is basically a well accepted idea. Again, not criticizing Tibetan Buddhism 's usefulness or truthfulness but I’m surprised you are arguing against it being out of the mainstream in many ways.