The Meditation Technique That Backfired For Me (And The Simple Fix)

Meditation Retreat Experience and Current Practice00:00

The retreat involved group sessions with guided feedback from instructors like Henry and Valerie. After a 25-minute sit, participants discuss experiences such as restlessness or planning compulsions. Instructors provide targeted adjustments for the next session, like specific focuses to try.

Meditation is kind of like sports or exercise. What kind of exercise? There are many ways to meditate: Vipassana, transcendental meditation, Zen.

Retreats help describe what's happening when sitting still with eyes closed, focusing on breath or observing thoughts. Feedback polishes the practice. Similar to transcendental experiences from meditation, psychedelics, or breathwork, which involve not fixating on the self.

During the retreat, frustration arose, questioning the value. Post-retreat in Austin, 3 to 5 days of blissful calm attention followed: everything got done without rushing or future-tripping.

Parallels exist between methods for entering trance states: concentration practices using mantras (like TM) or rhythmic drumming lead to unusual mental states, with payoffs noticed in the following 1-3 weeks.

The Labeling Practice That Backfired and the Fix03:32

Labeling practice (from the Way of the Way app, which both speakers use): Label mental phenomena like 'radio' for talking/thought words, 'video' for images, planning, or memories.

For someone with OCD, labeling became interruptive and stressful: endless 'radio radio radio radio'.