The lived experiences of people who engage in meditational practices.

[Chip]

Another thought: in fall, the desert rivers I ran could get strong upstream winds. So my boat could be blown upstream against the current, unless I rowed hard.

I found that setting a rhythm between my breath and my stroke, and keeping it steady despite changes in the wind, really helped. Instead of being pissed off and frustrated, I'd enter that flow state, where the river, the wind, and my effort all seemed like one fabric.

When I was acting upset, it would make my dog nervous and she'd fidget and be unable to find a comfortable position. When I got into that flow state, she would cuddle up and snooze, waking up for the rapids.

[Chuck Naill]

Most of our equipment came from NRS. We still use a 1980's Bills Bag. Great company.

[Chip]

I get cat tubes, bags, Paco pads, etc. from Jack's Plastic Welding. Met Jack many years ago when he was just starting the company. He invited me on his Grand Canyon trip, with a bunch of new boats to demo.

I paddled a Fat Pack Cat—



—or rowed a Cutthroat for the entire trip.



160 named rapids with 80 rated difficult. I swam five times.

Trip of a lifetime!

[Chuck Naill]

Being in Eastern Tennessee and North Carolina, my experiences are with tight, technical, steep creeks mostly rain fed so that you never run the same section twice.

[Chip]

That sounds cool. Jack designed a small paddle cat, the Pack Cat, that could be broken down and backpacked to streams with no road access. At about 25 lb., you could also carry lightweight camp gear and a few days food and fuel. The Wind River Range, on the Continental Divide, where I lived and worked for years, has lots of steep, rockbound headwater streams, fed by glaciers and snowmelt, that can be rather sporty.

Our drill was to backpack upstream with a notebook, scouting the run, looking for strainers and falls and other hazards. When we got to the point where the creek was no longer passable, too rocky and steep, we'd camp and start the run the next morning.

Pack Cats were also the ticket for desert canyons where the launch or the take-out could be miles from the nearest road. Here's my sweetie, on our Escalante River trip in Utah, when a big snowpack made it viable.



Here are our Pack Cats parked in a tributary, in full expedition mode. Mine (rear) is a two-seater that was our camp hauler, beer barge, and toilet rig.

[TSherbs]

I just browsed through this thread, and I don't think that I ever posted (I am tired, and may have missed something). I have recently joined a Buddhist sangha (mostly online because it is a 40min drive away) and have become more "formal" with my meditation practices. We are going through meditational hindrances and their associated dhyanas right now, and we mediate as a group each week (the dharma on this is from the teachings of the Buddha). I don't know much about "schools" or anything; I just try to do what is suggested, and recently I have been reading one of Tay's books on the core Buddhist teachings. When the material becomes esoteric, I lose interest. For me, a very verbal person, the fewer words the better for my spiritual work.

[TSherbs]

I've been quite busy with a dog that I am training and acclimating to living in a home (he goes to a permanent home tomorrow), but I have managed to get some journal writing and reflection in after our longer mourning soujourns. Right now I am using Tay's book, Your True Home from Shambhala Press. It's edited (selections) by Melvin McLeod, but I enjoy the opportunity to reflect in the morning in my journal with my fountain pens and to remember the goodness and wisdom of that man. I sometimes think I hear his soft voice speaking the words. A bit spooky, I admit.

[TSherbs]

For example, The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering by Bhikkhu Bodhi is (to me) a wonderful guide to the core practices of Buddhism.

Thanks, I'll keep it in mind.

[TSherbs]

I'll also say that my meditations, presently, when they "dive deep" ("open doors," whatever the verbiage might be), are typically initiated (or "unlocked," or whatever the verbiage) through visual means: some kind of visual image or scene comes to me and I follow this with my mind, trying to probe and ask questions but without straying far or for long from the images. I am trying to learn to do this without relying on language. Language is such a double-edged sword for me.

[TSherbs]

Do you take re-incarnation literally? I just can't wrap my head around that idea and accept it. So far, it has not been a deal-breaker for me because I am a neophyte and I can dodge the issue. But I know that it is out there at some point....

[dneal]

Do you take re-incarnation literally? I just can't wrap my head around that idea and accept it. So far, it has not been a deal-breaker for me because I am a neophyte and I can dodge the issue. But I know that it is out there at some point....

I find it beneficial to separate the dogma. There’s plenty of clinical evidence for the benefits of meditation, mindfulness, and many other principles and practice related to Buddhism.

[dneal]

@TSherbs - you might find John Vervaeke useful.

[dneal]

Perhaps, but "Western approaches" is a bit nebulous. I don't disagree from the perspective of "pop" mindfulness, meditation, etc...

Western science, on the other hand, has been studying the mind/body interactions, in the context of Buddhist teachings, Stoicism, etc... and doing a very good job tying it together. I don't reiterate John Vervaeke for nothing, but there are other researchers like Andrew Huberman (a neuroscientist) who explains brain activity and neurotransmitters with regard to anxiety, depression, etc... and techniques for management. Most explain these ideas and data in layman's terms.

Science helps sort the "woo woo" stuff from what actually works, and can explain why.

[dneal]

Reincarnation, for a start.

[dneal]

Why does the Dalai Lama talk about it?

[dneal]

Seems the Dalai Lama would have accurate translation on the site, and the whole discussion is about different beliefs, when it was adopted, etc…

[dneal]

I don't have questions about that, because it's "woo woo" stuff.

I see a trend for people to focus on dogma and doctrine rather than the beneficial point. Some Muslims can fixate on how to best clean themselves after defecating. Christians can fixate on resurrection, whether Lazarus or Christ.

All of that sort of thing ignores the beneficial point(s) of religion or spirituality. Recognition of human imperfection, and ways to deal with or improve the human condition. John Vervaeke's work is an amazing effort to distill the beneficial from the bullshit.

[Chuck Naill]

It is important to wash after defecating. Pre germ theory perhaps, but folks were smart enough to know shit and food didn’t mix.

Resurrection is essential for those who choose to follow, otherwise, pour another cup of coffee.

[TSherbs]

However, that said, this thread asks specifically about the lived experiences of people who engage in meditational practices...

Actually, for the last month my daily practice efforts were in a shambles while I was caring for my foster dog. He became so attached to me that he would cry when I closed him out of a room (even when I would shower, he would cry on the other side of the curtain). He also was a grand snorer, so I just felt I couldn't get the "space" I needed, and this inconvenience knocked me off my game, so to speak. Maybe this means that my game isn't actually that strong (which I would readily admit).

[dneal]

However, that said, this thread asks specifically about the lived experiences of people who engage in meditational practices, not a discussion of past and present philosophies.

Everything I post relates to lived experience. You might find that the digression began with your response to my post (#36)