Meditation to erase depression

[August Campbell]

Buddhist Meditation is a tried-and-true method to control emotions, whether they are sorrow, jealousy, anger, loneliness, resentment, etc. There are many different emotions, each one of which has its own difficulties, so each must be tackled one at a time. That's why the practice of meditation has to be combined with studying lessons about emotions.
If anybody has questions about meditation, I'll be glad to answer.

 

[okidoke]

We have The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion just down the road that has regular meditation sessions. I have been and it was a nice experience. I’ve meditated several times in my life with pleasing results, but I find my camping to be even better. I can sit for ages by a body of water or the fire and let nature soothe me.

 

[TropicalStarfish]

I don't think meditation is about, 'controlling emotions,' or, 'controlling,' anything, really. At least that's not my understanding of it.

Though I'm not sure I understand it; I'm not sure I ever will.

I meditated extremely infrequently in my youth, with some surprising results.

I've meditated regularly over the past year or so.

I've read the book, "Zen Mind Beginners Mind." And I've read a book by the late Thich Nhat Hanh. A lot of people seemed to have liked him, and I like him too; but, his suggestions for meditation haven't really clicked with me.

I suppose lately, it can lead to a brief respite of peace and calm.

I'm sure like with martial arts, and general fitness, there are a myriad of ways to practice meditation, and a myriad of motivations for practicing meditation.

I must admit, I kind of wish it was some magical cure-all for the problems of life; but, I don't think that's how life works! hehe. Life is problematic, sometimes. I think meditation is more about, 'coming to terms,' with the whole thing, or a part of it. And on the upside, it's about, 'getting with it,' 'digging it.'

It is queer, after all.. *sigh*

 

[Walnut]

For me in my limited experience with meditation, its all about breaking the cycle of rumination. I can feel the stress evaporate off of my head. I love that feeling.

I was getting a constant headache for a few weeks. Over the counter drugs weren’t working. It was when I went to buy the super big bottle of aspirin that I decided to step back and do some research. I’m glad I did because more aspirin would have made it worse. Especially when I was ignoring the suggested dose. More aspirin is not the answer to more headache.

I meditated a few times and the headache is mostly gone now. Last night was the first decent sleep I’ve had in a while.

I’m motivated now to keep meditating. I’ll probably turn into Superman soon.

 

[August Campbell]

I’m motivated now to keep meditating. I’ll probably turn into Superman soon.

No, Not Superman but more like Spock, the alien from the planet Vulcan who keeps his emotions under control, maybe too extremely. Extreme example of Stoicism.

 

[Walnut]

Live long and prosper

 

[August Campbell]

Live long and prosper

Thank you, that is correct, the Vulcan salutation. And since this thread is about Meditation, here is a video from Star Trek of Spock teaching Vulcan meditation.

 

[Walnut]

 

[August Campbell]

Thank you for that video of Tuvok teaching Vulcan techniques. That "cloud" technique is also a part of Zen meditation but just a small part of it. Because many people harbor emotions that are so intense that it takes the entire discipline of Zen in order to erase and eradicate.
Oftentimes what is needed is not only the meditation but also receiving counsel from a Zen instructor or head-monk. One-to-one consultation.

 

[August Campbell]

@Walnut
Now that You mentioned Tuvok, my understanding is that Tuvok is a Full Vulcan whereas Spock is half-human and half-Vulcan. That's why in Spock's case, his two selves were constantly at war with each other. It's interesting that in the new series, the current series, Spock is shown serving under Captain Pike. As you know in the 1960s series, there was only one episode showing Captain Pike. At that time, the glaring discrepancy was that Spock was shown as highly emotional as compared to when he serves under Captain James Kirk when Spock suppressed his emotions. At that time it was never explained. So it's good that the new series, the current series, serves to iron out that discrepancy. A clarification of that uneven characterization.

 

[Walnut]

I think the Star Trek universe presents Vulcans (I never watched TOS, or the new shows) as masters of meditation, mindfulness, emotion; they also present them as socially inept. Neelix makes it a goal to get Tuvok to dance by the time they get home. Tuvok (or any Vulcan) seem to be incapable of fun. They poke fun at Tuvok telling him his personal hell would be a place where laughter is the only form of communication.

I think overall this makes Vulcans seem less wise and in control of emotion. Like they are hiding from emotion.

My experience with meditation is to calm my mind. I look at as practice for calming my mind, so I can have more fun at other times. I don’t see meditation as fun, but it does give me a greater chance of having fun.

 

[August Campbell]

In all honesty and all fairness, it took both Christianity and Buddhism to solve my toughest problems. Just one religion alone could not have rescued me. It had to be both. At least in my own case Christianity managed to solve problems in the physical realm but not in the emotional realm. It was only Buddhism that enabled me to successfully manage my emotions.
On the other hand, Christianity is split into so many denominations that fight each other. This is especially seen in the fighting between the Catholics and Protestants, with each denomination insisting that the others will go to Hell eternally. No matter what Christian-denomination I practiced, I was condemned by another denomination. So for peace of mind, I turned to Buddhism because it has practical techniques for managing emotions. It is a religion but it's nothing supernatural at all, because it focuses on practical techniques. That's why Buddhism is called the most practical religion.
At the same time, it was a Christian-charity that enabled me to make a breakthrough in the physical realm. In other words, Christianity is the solution for my physical realm while Buddhism rescues me in the spiritual emotional realm. So I seriously need both religions. Both.
That duality is good because it prevents religious argument. It shows that we must respect all the different religions equally.

 

[August Campbell]

I think the Star Trek universe presents Vulcans (I never watched TOS, or the new shows) as masters of meditation, mindfulness, emotion; they also present them as socially inept. Neelix makes it a goal to get Tuvok to dance by the time they get home. Tuvok (or any Vulcan) seem to be incapable of fun. They poke fun at Tuvok telling him his personal hell would be a place where laughter is the only form of communication.

I think overall this makes Vulcans seem less wise and in control of emotion. Like they are hiding from emotion.

My experience with meditation is to calm my mind. I look at as practice for calming my mind, so I can have more fun at other times. I don’t see meditation as fun, but it does give me a greater chance of having fun.

Contrary to Your conjecture that Vulcans do not have fun, they actually have pleasures such as music. In the 1960 series, for example, Spock was shown playing a Vulcan harp. They must have other kinds of pleasures too, but the point is that they do not indulge in them to an excessive degree to the point of hedonism.
The word I'm leading up to is Overstimulation. When participants get overstimulated, then they get easily bored. Such people are Unable to enjoy comparatively Unexciting activities such as walking in the park because their dopamine-receptors have been damaged by Overstimulation. That's why I stay away from video games. Such people are so addicted to their internet-computers that they don't go out to socialize at all.

 

[August Campbell]

Zen quotation: Happiness is not the absence of problems but instead the ability to deal with problems.

 

[August Campbell]

The quotation that follows next is one I agree with wholeheartedly, because it accurately applies to my own life in what I have now: "What comes easy, won't last. What lasts, won't come easy."

 

[August Campbell]

No matter what the situation--in every situation, there will be troubles. When I expect those troubles, then I'm not disappointed. It's that expectation of reality, that there are always pluses and minuses, that enables me to tolerate.

 

[August Campbell]

To add to the previous post about pluses and minuses in every situation, it actually comes from the Chinese principle of Yin and Yang--in other words the Universal principle of Opposites. There are always Opposites, whether it's night and day, life and death, and of course joy and pain.

 

[user 150037]

I try meditation music but I can't settle on a specific one - plus the trouble with Youtube is that it gets disrupted by randomly placed adverts! Grrr...

 

[WanderingInTheWoods]

Buddhist Meditation is a tried-and-true method to control emotions, whether they are sorrow, jealousy, anger, loneliness, resentment, etc. There are many different emotions, each one of which has its own difficulties, so each must be tackled one at a time. That's why the practice of meditation has to be combined with studying lessons about emotions.
If anybody has questions about meditation, I'll be glad to answer.

This is something I've been getting into a lot this year. It's been helping me with my emotions and things that I'm suppressing. Glad you decided to share this. It's truly helpful and it has helped me throughout the years.

 

[TropicalStarfish]

I try meditation music but I can't settle on a specific one - plus the trouble with Youtube is that it gets disrupted by randomly placed adverts! Grrr...

bandcamp should have you covered there... or adblockers 'ublock origin' for youtube (though the powers that be are trying to make defeat the adblockers now)