Why do we meditate?
- We meditate to build the capacity day after day to show up as our best selves (or as close to that as we can muster in our imperfection) for those who rely on us through the great web of interdependence.
RE: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/04/covid-skeptic-sympathy/622827/
The events of the past two years—political, cultural, epidemiological—have eroded my ability to sympathize with people who should damn well know better. I ought to be able to summon a more sympathetic response than “What on earth did you expect?” but often I just can’t. I am fed up and, I admit, no longer my best self. Somehow it has come to this.
- [To find the] strength within ourselves that allows us to interact in the world in a way that we never lose sight of our true nature, where we find refuge and steadiness, and bring this to the world. —Myoshin Kelley
Transclude of being-peace#^0c82df
—Being Peace
There is a natural progression in the growth of awareness. You might start off with just one object, say the breath. After a while, you will become aware of several objects in the body. Then you will notice how you’re feeling, while being aware of all these objects in the body. Later on, you will become able not only to be aware of the objects and feelings, but also of the mind that is aware, plus the attitude that is behind the awareness. Once you’re able to see this whole picture, you will begin to understand how all objects affect each other. This is understanding; this is wisdom.
—Sayadaw U Tejaniya
Andrew Holecek: How Much Should I Meditate to See Results?
How does Meditation help us do the hard work of daily life?
- allows our individualized self to dissolve a bit, and gives us the strength and resilience to just go: do the work, without as much rumination around the work
Meditation and emotions
Having a regular meditation practice makes us more aware of what’s happening in our mind, the mental undercurrent that tends to go unnoticed when we’re caught up in our daily activities and interactions. With meditation, we begin to catch some of the ember-like thoughts and subtle emotions that, left undetected, escalate before we notice them.1
Has meditation ever been studied from a evolutionary perspective?
This question popped in my mind recently, I am not sure if I can articulate what I’m asking but I will give it a try. I am going to equate anxiety with people’s “flight or fight” response. Let’s assume that humans evolved to feel anxiety. This trait was helpful because it helped keep people safe when they lived in an environment with a lot of natural predators. They sensed a threat in the environment and the fight or flight responses kicked in to Get them out of danger. So my question is, if we gained this mechanism because it keeps us safe, shouldn’t it be absolute? Why does the human brain allow us to mitigate the fight or flight response through meditation, if from an evolutionary perspective, mitigating this response would put us in danger? 2
meditation and others
Perhaps meditation helps us recognize the inherent being of other beings, and the intent value of that just being. Seeing past or beyond someone’s physical characteristics conditions, anything any impressions that we pick up on when just seeing them and normally forging judgments may be with meditation, practice and contemplation we recognize just being without any particular qualities that we might like, or just like, and we value that being as they are without liking or disliking.