Seems pretty useless to meditate much (aiming for real results) if one is very anxious or depressed. Sort of like running with mononucleosis.
I've spent months in a rut, and now that I'm slowly just feeling better in general, my baseline keeps improving with minimal effort.
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While it’s totally valid that meditation doesn’t help everyone’s heavy anxiety or depression, I wanted to chime in that the idea of meditating for “real results” is often the biggest block for me. I try to approach meditation with no goal in mind and simply the intention to do it
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Having a goal in mind or expectation is just another thought, and meditation is cultivating a state of mind where you aren’t attached to your thoughts. I agree that in my heaviest times, meditation has the potential to overwhelm me with how much it reveals so its not always ideal
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Oh I know, only been doing this for about ten years as well.
I meant rather that you can meditate for a *long* time under those conditions and feel very little change in concentration power, sensory fidelity and equanimity.
(Specifically using non-jargon here to avoid mix-ups.)
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Though I'm not sure if it's fair of me to say that the practice doesn't change anything, as much as you're not under conditions to feel the change.
Now that I'm not mildly depressed, noticing things or having a higher level of baseline concentration doesn't *feel* like a chore.
Sorry if I was a bit harsh in my initial response.
I've spent so much time debating and digesting the different attitudes around practice, it tends to get on my nerves these days. But that's sort of *my* problem.
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Replying to
Not a problem I didn’t take it that way, I appreciate it though! What you’re saying makes sense and gave me more to think about
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