Meditation - What I learned so far

Lets start with fun things.

A) How to get high on your own breath?

I was surprised that this was possible, but it is.

To do this, you take 50 deep breaths.

Then you exhale completely and dont inhale for as long as you can. Then inhale once you feel the strong urge to. Then hold breath for 15 seconds. Repeat this 3 to 4 times.

The other method is to start breathing deep very slowly, then faster and faster until you reach full speed.

B) Exhale longer than inhale

I was actually surprised to find out that when you take full breaths, you need to inhale fast and exhale slow.

It seems to be good when you are working. It gives you more energy.

Also, when you do some manual labor, you can greatly increase endurance by making short pauses from work when you inhale.

How it is done: Exhale(work), Inhale(short pause from work).

It also works with relaxation. You close eyes when inhale, and open them when exhale.

The basic time is: 2, 6, or maybe 2, 4,

So you inhale for 2 seconds and then exhale for 6 seconds.

For meditation it is also good to make pauses.

Inhale - Pause - Exhale - Pause

So for example, there is:

3, 2, 5, 0

You inhale for 3 seconds, pause for 2, then exhale for 5, and inhale again for 3...ect.

I will post all I have found and list what they are for.

C) Binaural sounds and isochronic

There is plenty of free apps for this. You just need headphones for binaural sounds.

I have read some reviews that say how binaural sounds can cause headaches.

I listened binaural for over 5 hours a day. Still no headaches.

Binaural sounds can help you feel better, or sleep better. 

 I have listened to lots of sounds during the day, including ancient Chinese music.

D) Now, all this helps with meditation. You can meditate longer if you feel better.

As far as I have seen, the basics of meditation is to sit down, close your eyes and keep changing your focus on breath, body parts, gravity, sounds...ect.

Proper deep breathing is important. The longer you breathe deeply, the better you will feel.

Meditation is good stuff, you can even do it while walking. It is about being so truly in the moment and yes, well oxygenated.

Clear mind and feel fresh: 3, 0 , 9, 0,

Relax: 3, 0, 6, 6,

Calm: 3, 6, 6, 0,

Sleep and calm: 4, 7, 8, 0,

Zen meditation: 5, 2, 5, 0,

Harmony and concentration: 3, 9, 6, 3,

Box breathing good for anxiety: 4, 4, 4, 4,

Stress relief: 12, 3,

Peace of mind and anti appetite: 5, 0, 5, 5,

Control: 9, 0, 2, 0,

Against addiction: 4, 2, 4, 1,

Anti stress: 2, 0, 4, 0,  or  2, 0, 6, 0,

Pranayama: 7, 4, 8, 4, 

Awaking, alert: 6, 0, 2, 0, 

Confidence: 1, 0, 5, 0,

Trance: 3, 2, 5, 0,  or  2, 1, 5, 1,

All these breathings are based on: Inhale-Pause-Exhale-Pause.

0 means there is no pause.

Science has discovered that ideal amount of breaths per minute is 5 to 7.

I will take 6.

6 breaths per minute means inhaling and exhaling in 10 seconds. No more. No less.

So your ideal one breath time should be about 10 seconds for regular deep breathing.

Example: 3, 1, 5, 1, 

Total: 10 seconds

Is it possible to exist without thinking?

Or more accurately is it possible to be self-sustaining without thinking.

Like RM suggested, I think that physical and mental relaxation and contentment can be achieved without the need for deliberate effort. Walking is good.

Deliberate effort by definition would seem to be counterproductive. 

Many years ago, I did dally in Buddhists retreats and being the type of thinker that I am, I readily concluded that it was just about substituting one regime of physical and mental effort for another.

I think that most people do it to look cool within their peer group.

Which is not to say that achieving coolness within their peer group did not afford them a certain amount of physical and mental satisfaction.

Horses for courses I suppose.

Though most Western non-conditioned Buddhists will eventually fall into a typically Western style of materialism, it's just that they will tend to decorate their lives with reference to more youthful dalliances.

My biggest problem was that I was never really content with anything. What felt good one day became boring the next day.

This was usually the main reason I kept quitting everything.

So I figured I need to put an end to this feeling of boredom.

Internet suggested meditation. But since I didnt know much about it, I simply downloaded a bunch of meditation and breathing apps.

Since I like to have science involved, I searched for perfect breathing patterns.

Before this, I didnt pay much attention to my breathing. My breaths were short and minimal.

I thought it didnt matter how you breathe as long as you breathe.

But after I did controlled deep breaths for the entire day, I noticed an improvement in the mood. 

I actually kept changing the speed of breath and ratio of speed for inhale and exhale, but it was always full inhale and full exhale.

I felt better after implementing that.

I dont know what helped the most because I implemented so many things at the same time.

"Like RM suggested, I think that physical and mental relaxation and contentment can be achieved without the need for deliberate effort. Walking is good."

I think some effort is needed. I had to focus on breathing and sound therapy to prevent boredom.

Its hard to be content with doing absolutely nothing. This is true in cases of people who spent their entire life seeking content in doing different things every day.

I even tried pills, but none of them worked longer than few days.

It seems that controlling breath and focusing on the breath for the entire day works better than any pill.

I wont guarantee any results. I am just saying what worked for me.

Yep, I get that.

I find mental contentment through physical exercise. The more tired I am, the more relaxed my mind becomes.

Cycling and long walks, not obsessively but perhaps more than a lot of people.

No good if one dislikes exercise I suppose. Though it's like you and your breathing techniques, if one is going to try and improve one's wellbeing then one will also need to make an effort to do so.

Exercising the brain is also necessary to keep oneself mentally sharp. But certainly not morbid overthinking or continual social media bombardment.

I would suggest that social media dependency can result in over-expectation, consequent disappointment and depressive negativity.

Debateart is good compositional exercise, which I do when I have a spare moment or two.