There is a lot I want to say about meditation. It has changed my life in profound and beautiful ways. I have been practicing seriously for about 6 years and I still feel way out of my depth talking about it or giving advice. But i’ll give some opinions anyways.
It turns out we live in a void of shattering abundance. It turns out I am not my thoughts. It turns out the impermanence of things that people weep over and cling to, is the key to your liberation and freedom when viewed in a different light. It turns out love and service to others will make you happier than doing things for yourself. It turns out that cultivating loving kindness for other beings will break your heart open to ways of being that you can’t imagine.
This is a work-in-progress. Some points to flesh out later:
- Thoughts on Meditation Retreats
- Thoughts on getting started with meditation as a beginner
- Different lineages and how they differ (and why you should just pick one to start with)
- Goenka retreats and hardcore Anapanasatti style meditation alone is popular (and well funded) but seems to miss the forest for the trees.
- Why Vajrayana and Zen appear to me to be the paths with the best aesthetics and approach to awakening.
- Buddhism created a very direct path to this thing called Awakening, which is a real but nebulous thing. It is important to understand what it is and what it means.
- A list of great teachers (in real life)
- A list of great podcasts and interviews