I meditate.

It's pretty great.

I shikantazate.

Zazen, but i ought to be more diligent

Tried it in a structured way a few times, honestly it got pretty uncomfortable. Probably would get better with practice. Lately I like to light an incense and just sit peacefully for a few minutes before reading, it’s nice just to create those few moments where I feel no pressure to be doing anything in particular

Yes, though honestly been a bit sloppy about it lately. But I stay in meditative awareness quite a lot without sitting formally at this point. And I "drop in" through the day.

Yes. At least every night before bed. Sometimes also in the morning and midday. It can certainly be a direct gateway to enlightenment.

Enlightenment enschlightenment.

It gets me high, enlargens my world and makes the invisible visible.

It also makes me confident. That's important in my job.

I try but the only way I have ever had a truly empty mind is if I am super high. Either on a lotta weed or high on adrenaline.

The flow state I can reach in a competitive video game is pretty spiritual tho. That really is the best I could describe the feeling, and based on what I have read over the years about what meditation aims to do and how it feels when reaching it, it really is the same.

The goal of meditation isn't an empty mind though. It's a common misconception. Not sure if this is your case of course.

Flow state is considered spiritual though, yes. But it's not necessarily the state all meditations seek.

Flow state is a hyper focused meditative state. It's also possible to have a hyper open meditative state, such as noticing thoughts and everything else that arises.

People interested in spirituality usually practice both 🙂

Happy for you!

My point, underlined.

I wouldn't know an enlightenment if I was pissing on one. I am familiar with those other things tho. Now you tell me what meditationy gifts you are familiar with.

Please keep civil. Note that this is a spirituality community. If you wish to discuss meditation as a self-improvement practice, you might try !mentalhealth@lemmy.world instead.

Was it the underlining, the pissing or the request for a straight answer?

Look at this guy telling us about goals.

General conduct. You made it clear you're not interested in meditation as a spiritual practice and then use unnecessarily crass language. If you are unable to participate in a good faith, rational discussion, this space is not for you.

Don't try me.

Edit: They tried me.

There isn’t one unified meditation practice, though. Many varieties, with different effect, outcomes, goals. Trance, introspection, oversight, insight, emptiness, fullness. Movement, stillness, vulnerability, strength, presence, absence, there are many practices claiming or producing meditation.

Definitely true, you're right. But I've not heard of one that specifically aims to completely stop thoughts. And as I said, it's a common and unfortunate misconception that that's the most general goal of it.

i do

it's just very calming, nothing profound