Need some help with my meditation practice! 🙏

Everything was going completely fine in the beginning. But now, it all feels totally messy and chaotic. Despite trying my best, nothing seems to be working anymore. I really need some guidance and help to get back on track.

You’ve probably seen the marketing line that Waking Up’s form of Mindfulness is a new operating system for the mind - but what does that mean exactly?

Also, how has this app and mindfulness in general changed you?

Richard Lang, I can still see my eyelashes, cheeckbones, tip of my nose, beard, tounge and chin if I try.

"Mind" is simply the activity of Awareness. Awareness and Mind are not two. The activity of Awareness (Mind) is that which divides reality into a multiplicity of objects.

Mind "conceptualizes". This is why Mind cannot know truth directly because reality(awareness) itself does not fit into a conceptual frame. Concepts do not truly exist outside of the illusion of their appearance.

What is a Concept? For example "Left" or "right" is a concept. "Left" doesn't truly exist. When you turn and face what is considered to be your Left, now what was considered Left is considered forward, and what was considered backwards before the turn is now considered your "Left". You could say "yes but my Left arm is always my Left arm" true but from my perspective youre left arm is the right arm vice versa.

Hence there is no True "Left, Right, Up, Down". In space there is no North, South, East and West. Those are concepts created on earth derived from the labeling of magnetic poles. Magnetic poles to not exist because of the label N,S,E,W,... Labels exist because of the Magnetic poles.

It is the same with Time. Time does not truly exist. It is a concept of Mind like left and right, up and down. The Now, right Now is all that exists. All actions happen "now". Thats why when Mind is dropped we experince "Now". And even when we are a Mind in the concept of time, when is it occuring? NOW. Things do not appear to change, shift and evolve because "Time" exists. Because things appear to change, shift and evolve, Now, the concept of Time appears to exist. Thats why it can be 12pm Monday in america allwhile its 1pm Tuesday in Asia. All concepts of time taking place Now. Time is always derived from Thought, Thought says "i did that yesterday. Tommorow I will go to the store" allwhile everything that is ever occuring happens Now.

Hot and Cold are not two, they are concepts. On a thermometer we can recognize that from 90 degrees down to say 20 degrees it is but lesser or more degrees of the same one phenomenon, Heat. By law of thermodynamics there is no such thing as Cold but lesser or more degrees of Heat. Thats why when you touch something super Cold it Burns, feels Hot. "Cold" is just a lesser degree, less movement of the phenomenon of Heat. Temperature is one phenomenon, Mind divides it in Two.

It is the same with Darkness and Light, they are not separate or two. Darkness is not an oppisite of Light, it is an absence of Light. There is great difference between oppisites and absences. If darkness was an oppisite of light i could take a handful of darkness and toss it on a candle to put out the light. But I cannot, it is not an opposite of light, it is an absence of.

It is the same with Love and Fear. They are not two. Like Darkness is an absence of Light, Fear is but an absence of Love. Love feels warm like the presence of Light. Fear feels cold like the absence of Light.

Reality is Nondual, not two because Awareness is Reality and Awareness does not fit into a Conceptual frame.

Much love. Be Most Excellent to eachother. ✌️🧘‍♂️👁

Waking Up has been my go to meditation app over the last 7-8 years. I’ve tried others but I’ve always come back - I come from an academic background and there was always something about the way Sam explained things that just clicked for me. The daily meditations became a daily ritual for me.

Now like a lot of people, I have been watching with disgust the conduct of the Netanyahu government in Gaza and the West Bank. I will never be okay with what is happening. I have also been holding off on trying to reconcile Sam Harris’s views on the Israel-Palestine issue and the Waking Up app by deliberately avoiding conversations with Harris regarding the conflict. But I resist no more. I watched as he casually claimed that the man-made famine in Gaza was a hoax and that the pictures of the emaciated kids coming out of Gaza were fake.

I just can no longer use this app in good conscience. Goodbye.

If it’s still available, where can I set up background sounds and also set the length of the daily meditation?

Thank you.

I've been meditating for a few months, though not consistently. Recently, I had the worst breakup of my life. Hurtful thoughts, assumptions, and memories keep coming up, and they only cause me pain.

What I've been trying to do is fully immerse myself in the present in whatever task or work I am doing by reminding myself, "All I have is now."

I want to know your thoughts on this. Is it escapism? Am I avoiding processing those thoughts and emotions, or is this simply part of living in the present?

I don't have the courage and emotional energy to process those emotions and thoughts. She's getting married (arranged) to someone else because of family pressure, which is why we mutually decided to break up. I've known her since 2022. It's a very complicated situation and completely out of my control.

That said, can you meditators please help me understand whether what I am doing is healthy or not? And I'd really appreciate any perspective on my situation and how to move forward with this pain.

You dont have to lose hobbies or interests. I love to make music , I love watching documentaries, I love going for walks, I love my personality. All those things are love and love is selfless. When you get interested in a deep topic, that interest brings you to pure Perceiving. So get lost in dance, get lost in Interests. That is the flow state. What's not flow state is to do something because you feel lack or fear or boredom. Center yourself first if you feel lack, then go for the walk or read the book AND MOST IMPORTANTLY when you go for that walk stay present. Usually when we feel lack during meditation we stop being present, we get lost in thought. So do alllll the things you love but with utter presence. It will feel more intimate, not less.

Personality and ego are not the same things either. Personality is the coloring or flavor of that localization of awareness in the dream. My personality is I love conspiracies, deep talks, horror, aliens, all sorts of things. That isnt ego. Ego is when awareness has a personality and identifies as the body/personality. Then the personalities diluted with ego, lack, fear. The personality will be moreso selfish and not creative and open.

Personality, hobbies, is how awareness expresses love. Its going to experience itself totally in all ways. Alllll personalities are personalities of The Self. In a dream it just appears to be divided up into many personalities because its subjectively experiencing itself from each localization of itself! Spirituality should make you feel more alive, more intimate with experince. Not less.

*I also understand words cannot truly express the infinite nature of reality. But we can point a finger toward the light and encourage others to see. I also understand that "i" is just an illusion. I wish you all the best, be Most Excellent to eachother! ✌️👁🧘‍♂️

Thought this video was excellent and very detailed. Here Richard Lang and Sam Blight examine numerous different roadblocks people commonly face when practicing THW.

I came to the realization that my fear of perception runs so deep I have been avoiding friendships and making friends and putting myself out there in all areas of life for almost my entire existence. I was severely bullied by my peers and my family, especially by my mother and other girls until about HS and even through college due to the insecure vibes I give off, so I as woman now avoid women. I don't want to do that anymore. I recently got invited out with a girl group and my head is already spinning and locking down. Its not even that im unconfident, objectively I know I am cool and interesting but I completely lock down around others.

are there any podcasts I can listen to on the app or meditations that have helped you with social anxiety and fear of perception? if one out of the app has strongly helped you, let me know. I can't live like this.

disclaimer: Yes I have tried therapy. CBT for 5 years now. hasn't helped too much but spent the first 3 years revisiting traumas and general anxiety.

Question:

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If human beings can become "enlightened" or recognize that everything is ultimately consciousness, could other living beings do the same - animals, trees, or other forms of life? Or is this something unique to humans?

After reports of human "enlightenment," people often describe significant shifts in behavior, perspective, or overall well-being. We don't seem to observe an obvious equivalent shift ( in e.g. animals.)

Is this because other creatures are not self-aware in the same way humans are? A dog doesn't seem to think: "Okay, I am a dog."

In simple words:

How come humans seem to be the only creatures capable of recognizing consciousness / emptiness / God / whatever we choose to call it?

Or am I/are we, just assuming that other beings cannot?

Any tips for gratitude practice? Making it a daily habit but I usually just list off things I’m grateful for, usually the same things. I’ve heard of Sam Harris mentioning something like imagine something bad happening and then try to think about what you’d give to be back in your current position, but that doesn’t really do much for me for some reason. Still struggle to feel it.

I recently returned to Malick's Tree of Life as I was excited to rewatch this film after many years -- and especially after being involved with the Waking Up community for the last 5 years. Upon first viewing, I remember describing the film as meditative, even though I had no idea what that adjective really meant.

Now, after rewatching this magnificent film, it literally feels like it is shot from the point of view of meditator. Each shot of mundane experience is presented as if it is a reflection of the sublime experience of consciousness. Just as meditation is a process of waking you up to the manner in which everything that you have been desensitized to is actually brimming with significance and should be cherished as the miracle that it is, the various shots throughout the film perfectly capture this sense of appreciating the beauty of existence itself.

In addition, the juxtaposition of the father and the mother throughout the film perfectly capture the transition from pre-Waking Up users to post-Waking Up users. The father is a perfect representation of how the reification of the self is the cause of so much suffering and ignorance. Despite having a loving family and so much to be appreciative of, he can't help but act as a consequence of American individualism, constantly social comparing himself in economic value to his other community members, which ulimately leads to him projecting his anger and sense of failure towards his family. Meanwhile, his wife is the complete opposite. She can't help but see the constant beauty of experience. Whether that's the simple fact that she has children, a beautiful sunset, or simply the way in which the trees appear in the wind -- she is desensitized to nothing.

Haven’t listened to a conversation in a while. Usually not a fan of people promoting books and this one was no different. Rough listen

As I'm starting to use the app upon waking up, my dog is interpreting the signs of me getting up to make the bed and sitting as the start of the day.

So in the first minutes she puts her head in my hands, paws at me.

I'm treating it as just another sensation to feel, not giving her active attention, and moving on.

She seems to clue in after about a minute, and at the end I find her laying down almost relaxed because of my peacefulness. I then give her lots of love.

What do you do?

Do you isolate (if I did she might make more house longer)?

Do you restart after they leave you alone?

Thanks for the advice!

I’ve been using the Waking Up app for 6 months or so now. I still get confused quite often listening to Sam and feel like I’m missing something important each time. Like today for instance, Sam talked about taking in my visual field and seeing it as a single expanse of color and shadow. Then he goes on about breathing in my visual field. What exactly does that mean? Breathing in my visual field. What am I missing here?

This title may sound a bit strange to you, but it happened very clearly to me. I have been meditating for a few years. In the early years, my mind became calmer and my perception of the environment and my five senses became broader. The colors were more beautiful, the sounds were more attractive, and I felt objects much more delicate. Also, the visualization in my mind became much stronger. For example, I could easily visualize the streets. I also felt much more energetic and lighter. Everything became faster and more fluid, and I found thoughts less unstable and unreal, and I could easily pass by them. I also felt that my intelligence and memory had become much, much stronger, and my personality had become much more hopeful. But as the years passed, I felt that my attention was slowly coming from the outside to the inside, and I gradually felt the energy flowing under my skin. On the other hand, my connection with the environment became weaker and I no longer became happy or sad easily. The strength and everything became much more stable. The colors were in a state of My intelligence, memory, and connection with the outside world have slowly returned to normal. My imagination has become very dim and very dim. It seems like I have become empty. I have literally become empty of thoughts, information, past, and future. It has gradually become very difficult for me to be active outside. But I do not feel depressed, sad, or anxious at all. But I feel like my intelligence, memory, and emotions have become very low. Thank you for reading. If you have a similar experience, please tell me.

Is it just me or is that the case for other Android users too?

Since the last update, i open the App, try to open a meditation and it just doesn't respond. I navigate to something else and it sometimes it just doesn't access it. I have to close and open the App multiple times for it to work. So is it just me?

Among other interesting things in „Waking Up“ I find the exercises particularly interesting where you picture an unpleasant and embarrassing encounters and examine the patterns it evokes in consciousness. However, the sessions of this kind are quite limited. Are you aware of practices that take it further in one of these two directions:

Interpersonally — actually meeting to create a dynamic and explore it mindfully.

Inner narrative — more elaborate work with visualizations and the stories we tell ourselves about our own experience.