Never liked the weird names given to types of "meditation" so here's an alternative taxonomy of "attention exercises" made up just now.
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1/ Concentration: Focusing on one sensation so that other thoughts don't intrude. Reduce unintentional mind wandering. Easier on "study" drugs/caffeine.
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2/ Release: The opposite of the above. "Let go" of a thought like frustration, anger, etc... Purposeful mind-wandering. Easier while high.
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3/ Kindness: A sub-variation on "Release" focused on relationships based tensions. An important sub-variation b/c "All problems are interpersonal relationships problems." Easier on MDMA.
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Regarding (3) IMO expanding it to some sort of global well-wishing for all sentient beings doesn't make sense b/c it's too abstract of a concept which makes it too easy. Targets should be people annoying you right now in life or "problem of evil" stuff like genocide.
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4/ Balance: Giving equal attention to all thoughts that arise. Round-robin. Emphasize subtle thoughts, dampen strong ones. Equanimity. "Noting". Easier in nature/tranquility b/c main failure point is being carried away by strong thoughts.
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5/ Flow: Losing yourself in the moment. Difficult for "you" to purposely lose "yourself". Easier in situations which "demand" attention like sports/dance or "wrenching" chemicals like classical psychedelics.
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There's a zen story (forgot source) where an abbott was deciding on who to succeed him. The successor would be the one who was least lazy. One monk just walked by the river all day and the other poured himself into tasks like fixing the roof, etc...
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The river walker "won". the lesson seems to be that using goals to concentrate yourself into flow states makes the time pass faster which is lazier b/c you experience less life suffering.
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Story could be flipped IMO. The river walker could be "disconnecting" from life like a pothead. Floating through life doesn't necessarily demonstrate the ability to carry the full burden of suffering as if it were a feather. (Rather it could be refusing responsibility.)
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End of conversation
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