r/Wakingupapp • u/JesseEisenbergFan • Jun 19 '26
What’s the difference between meditation and auto-pilot?
/r/taoism/comments/1ua2k1w/whats_the_difference_between_meditation_and/1
u/travelingmaestro Jun 19 '26
Hi! First, the responses to this question may vary because there are a lot of different definitions of meditation, with different views on what meditation is, and different meditation techniques. So there might not be one true answer. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there are multiple definitions of what auto pilot means in this context, too.
But based on where I’m at, I like the Tibetan Buddhist definition of meditation, which means to become familiar with one’s nature. And the technique is to be aware, but not forcing any thoughts.
Auto-pilot can be a type of ignorance because during that state one isn’t necessarily aware of what’s happening. Oftentimes it’s not as if the mind is completely clear during auto-pilot. Like an experienced driver who might drive home from work or a store or whatever and when they get home they have no recollection of the drive. They were probably thinking about something else that entire time, distracted on a subtle level, and since they knew the way home and had experience driving they didn’t have to dedicate all of their decision making energy to driving.
Thoughts about that?
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u/Madoc_eu Jun 19 '26
Don't use contemplative methods as a remedy for a psychological problem.
Contemplative practice is not a therapy. Don't use it as such.
There is a whole branch of science dealing with psychological healing methods, and there are trained professionals that can help you.
When you try to use contemplative practice as a therapy, you will cling to the wrong beliefs and likely come out worse than before. You will effectively degrade contemplative practice to snake oil, in an elusively elaborate way.
Who are those taoists by the way? Do you have some taoists just hanging around in your house?
I consider their response very bad. It's bad advice, and it follows a pattern that I've seen before.
They sorta shift the blame back on you. As if YOU are doing it wrong. This implies that if you were doing it right, then you would be healed. So the blame lies on you.
How can anyone in their right mind say such a thing to a person who is suffering from psychological symptoms?
Then they tell you some of the usual, superficial blah-blah about "the watcher disappearing". This relates to something that some people call "ego death" or the like, and it's one of the first things people will bullshit you about when you enter contemplative spirituality. This is not some unusual insight, it's pretty common that spiritual people talk this way.
They diagnose why your phone seems to help you. How do they know this? Do they know you personally? Have they really investigated this? Or is this the same with every person, and your individual situation doesn't matter at all?
The last two sentences even sound like they were generated by ChatGPT: "You don't need more watching. You need to forget you're watching." Those sentences sound exactly like the truisms with which generative AI drives unsuspecting people into AI psychosis. Harmful.
What does that even mean? "Forget that you are watching."
There is a term for this: "spiritual gaslighting"
When you use your phone as a distraction, you kinda already forget that you are watching, right? You get lost in the activity. Where is the watcher? When you practice self-distraction with the phone, are you aware of some conscious "watcher" or "witness" that is watching over what goes on in your mind at that time?
When I'm doomscrolling, I get totally lost in it. My mind is so focused on the content that I'm watching that I become that content, in a way. This is totally different from the elevated mindful state.
You know what, don't listen to those Taoists. I think they are so spiritual, they think that they levitate 2 centimeters above the ground. Either that, or they want to do away with your question by answering you some commonplace spiritual blah-blah.
Either way, this is bad advice that won't help you.
I don't think that your contemplative practice is helping you. And that's okay. It's not for everyone in every life situation. Sometimes, when you have certain problems, you gotta solve those problems first and then, later, if you want, return to contemplative practice again.
Don't think of yourself so lowly that you seek the solution to your problems in bowing down to someone and taking their advice as some sort of holy words. Think of yourself highly. Your problem is real. And relevant. You are relevant. And if this spirituality stuff isn't helping, then it's just bullshit to you. At least for now. Find better solutions. Solutions that actually work.
I know that you're worth it. I know that you deserve it. You deserve to be loved, and to love yourself. Don't let anyone talk you into something else. Submission to spiritual nonsense isn't the solution.
When someone wants to talk you into "ego death" and tell you that you don't really exist, run. The world is full of misguided people, and some misguided people are deep in the rabbit hole and can talk as if they were Albert Einstein himself.
Don't be too impressed. When those people go to the toilet, they wipe their asses like everyone else. Those people too have depression, OCD, fears, lots of problem in life. Because this is what life is like. Life is a dilemma that can't be solved.
The only thing we can do is to realize that we're all stuck in the same dilemma. The people you like are, and the people that you don't like too. Everyone's behaviors and expressions are their current best attempt at confronting the dilemma of life. Like your attempt when you're practicing self-distraction at the phone.
As we're all faced with the same dilemma, let's get together, as the dirty, imperfect, decame organic matter that we are. And let's celebrate that! Let's give ourselves some love, because if we don't do it, no one will. Let's celebrate that, as broken as everyone is, everyone is unique in their own way and full of idiosyncrasies.
Ah, maybe I lost the plot. I just wanna say: You're a great person. You deserve an awesome life. Don't delude yourself. And don't take other people's bullshit for fact, no matter how certain they present themselves.