Buddhism...

I had a bit of a breakdown a couple of yrs ago and my therapist recommended going to meditation classes to help me relax. I went along to a few classes run by some local buddhists. The class lasted approx 2 hours, book-ended by two 20 min meditation sessions. The bit in the middle seemed to be a long, tedious talk about Buddhism, although my views were probably reflective of my mindstate at the time. I found the meditation a great way to relax (fell asleep a few times) I bought a cd and still use it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it was useful for me and overall the experience was positive. It didn't make me want to become a Buddhist tho!
 
alistair said:
I found the meditation a great way to relax (fell asleep a few times) I bought a cd and still use it.
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Meditation really is a great technique both for relaxation and also for developing and maintaining a sense of perspective and relative optimism. So is gardening. The mind is a very powerful thing and needs to be tamed at least once in a while.

I know someone who actually fears silence because her conscious mind fills with things she doesn't want it to - going over problems and trying to rationalize them, worrying and mapping out scenarios of doom and how she'd deal with them. Won't hear it that a bit of quiet meditation is probably the way to go to deal with all this ..

Rather than drowning it out, meditation can turn silence into a really positive experience. At the same time, a calmer and more open mind can live more 'in the present' and powers of observation improve significantly. It's amazing what you start to notice that you never noticed before (8)), and how many opportunities open up as a result.

On the mini-breakdown front, best advice anyone ever gave me for times of very serious stress is when you do something simple, like peeling an apple or brushing your teeth, clear your mind and focus only on what you are doing. Acknowledge the accomplishment of that task as an achievement. Do the same for the next task, meditate before sleeping and have positive belief that things will change for the better in time if you perservere. Life comes back together again far sooner than you'd think and you're far more able to handle things until it does.
 
djjaycool said:
Cool let us know if your more calm
8)
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I'm about halfway through the book already. I dunno about more calm, but it's definitely given me plenty to chew over. It's wise and intellectually stimulating, but also very mind****y, some of the ideas about ego and self overlapping with what I've read of highest level psychedelic drug experience.
 
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Leo's latest facebook rant about Buddhism as an incomplete teaching. 8)

Bring on the lairyness I say. It's good to be fiery and passionate. :p

...

There is a flip side to this teaching. A person who has no access to anger has no tool to deal with those who encroach. Yes, repressed anger is destructive but no access to it when it is called for brings powerlessness. I have met many Buddhists like this - so busy being 'above' negative emotions that they are powerless to defend themselves when they need to. This denigration of anger is an incomplete teaching.
 
...and on the subject of breakdowns - excellent! 8)

Times like that can be tough but in retrospect, always point to life's biggest turning points.

Let go of the handrail and have a full on meltdown - trust you have friends (and doctors) who won't shove their own socially acceptable agendas on you - and fall down the hole! :lol:

Sod being quiet (unless it's part of the natural flow) - rant/cry/scream/shout and you'll find something amazing on the other side.

It's a sign you're healthy.
 
My friend had a break down recently and following info on this thread I told him to call the local Buddist monastery for some advice.

Within 15 minutes they had a tow truck out to him and he was home in time for the repeat of Hollyoaks on E4+1.

Awesome stuff.
 
MARKB said:
My friend had a break down recently and following info on this thread I told him to call the local Buddist monastery for some advice.

Within 15 minutes they had a tow truck out to him and he was home in time for the repeat of Hollyoaks on E4+1.

Awesome stuff.
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:rolleyes:
 
Just posted this on FB (so apologies to those who've already read it):

Okay, just tried meditation for the 1st time and it's as if I immediately got it... just adopt a correct posture, concentrate on your breathing, note any thought that comes into your mind without trying to chase it away. The wallpaper (coz I was sitting facing a wall) seemed to change (pulse?) with each breath (similar-ish to low dose shroom trip) and I could feel my sense of self slipping. I stopped because there suddenly seemed to appear some sort of emotional resistance (ego?) and because I have earthly matters to attend to. ; ) Does this sound in line with meditation?!
 
Finished the book last night and it's a great read, very thought-provoking and rather testing (in a good way). The weird thing is it mostly doesn't seem to clash with anything we think we know. Reality is just 'there' and we overlay it with all these concepts, including our sense of self, to try and make sense of it, but in doing that we just fall into traps of confusion, dissatisfaction and even existential crisis. (Or something like that.
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) It definitely provides different models of thinking about things: ourselves, life's problems (big or small), even life and death.

Don't worry, I'm not now a buddhist, but it's all definitely food for thought.
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In fact, the trouble is once you start reading about it, your brain (if it's anything like mine) will be constantly chewing over and trying to digest the various ideas.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
Finished the book last night and it's a great read, very thought-provoking and rather testing (in a good way). The weird thing is it mostly doesn't seem to clash with anything we think we know. Reality is just 'there' and we overlay it with all these concepts, including our sense of self, to try and make sense of it, but in doing that we just fall into traps of confusion, dissatisfaction and even existential crisis. (Or something like that.
grin3.gif
) It definitely provides different models of thinking about things: ourselves, life's problems (big or small), even life and death.

Don't worry, I'm not now a buddhist, but it's all definitely food for thought.
wink2.gif
In fact, the trouble is once you start reading about it, your brain (if it's anything like mine) will be constantly chewing over and trying to digest the various ideas.
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Well said I think you take what can help you and move on
 
djjaycool said:
Well said I think you take what can help you and move on
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When you use a raft to get to the other side of the river, you leave it there rather than keep carrying the raft. ;)

I'll prob read some more books on the subject, including a novel I've had recommended: "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". However, I'll do some more normal reading first so as not to overload my brain.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
When you use a raft to get to the other side of the river, you leave it there rather than keep carrying the raft. ;)

I'll prob read some more books on the subject, including a novel I've had recommended: "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". However, I'll do some more normal reading first so as not to overload my brain.
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Remember you eat a meal one bite at a time.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
I'll prob read some more books on the subject, including a novel I've had recommended: "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". However, I'll do some more normal reading first so as not to overload my brain.
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Read that book many years ago as a teen, it was completely over my head tbh. Would be interesting to re-read before the onset of dementia.

gl with the studies.
 
Having a second read of Buddhism Plain & Simple at the moment. Stuff sinks in a bit better the second time round. Going through a bit of a stressful period at the moment, to be honest, and I reckon even a page a day and attempting to see things from a buddhist perspective really helps. As a mate said, there's not many situations that buddhist thinking can't be applied to. :D
 
Johnny Vodka said:
Having a second read of Buddhism Plain & Simple at the moment. Stuff sinks in a bit better the second time round. Going through a bit of a stressful period at the moment, to be honest, and I reckon even a page a day and attempting to see things from a buddhist perspective really helps. As a mate said, there's not many situations that buddhist thinking can't be applied to. :D
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That is true, I sometimes find that a few drinks smooth things out.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
As a mate said, there's not many situations that buddhist thinking can't be applied to. :D
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Thats why its so popular...... and one of the reasons why it doesnt sit 100% right with me.

Try applying a mathematical theorem to Buddhism :rolleyes:
 
Bez said:
Try applying a mathematical theorem to Buddhism :rolleyes:
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Why would you want to? It doesn't seem to contradict things we know through science, just gives a different perspective, which is why I think of it as a philosophy rather than a religion.
 
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