I recall an Indian guru in a YouTube video once quipping “Many followers have asked me, how do I quiet my brain. I tell them ‘your brain can be cleared of all thoughts only once, and then your family holds your funeral.’ Meditation is not the absence of thoughts but the acceptance of thoughts without interaction.”
I always considered meditation a kind-of inward focus. Like, you’re not ridding yourself of thoughts. You’re deliberately ignoring outside stimulus. That’s why people meditating will typically close their eyes, relax their body, play some kind of white noise to deaden outside sounds, burn some incense to occlude any distracting scents, etc. Also why some kind of physical practice like long distance running or yoga is helpful - you’re leveraging exhaustion to encourage relaxation.
For someone with ADHD, that probably does feel like a superpower. But it’s more like a muscle that you develop over time. Little kids are notoriously bad at it. Much older people tend to fall into a meditative state more easily.
the brain can be cleared of all thoughts only once, and then your family holds your funeral
It’s too bad these events aren’t consecutive. My FIL cleared his brain of all thought decades ago but he ain’t dead yet. Fox told him what to fill it with.
I… do not think that’s accurate
I recall an Indian guru in a YouTube video once quipping “Many followers have asked me, how do I quiet my brain. I tell them ‘your brain can be cleared of all thoughts only once, and then your family holds your funeral.’ Meditation is not the absence of thoughts but the acceptance of thoughts without interaction.”
I always considered meditation a kind-of inward focus. Like, you’re not ridding yourself of thoughts. You’re deliberately ignoring outside stimulus. That’s why people meditating will typically close their eyes, relax their body, play some kind of white noise to deaden outside sounds, burn some incense to occlude any distracting scents, etc. Also why some kind of physical practice like long distance running or yoga is helpful - you’re leveraging exhaustion to encourage relaxation.
For someone with ADHD, that probably does feel like a superpower. But it’s more like a muscle that you develop over time. Little kids are notoriously bad at it. Much older people tend to fall into a meditative state more easily.
It’s too bad these events aren’t consecutive. My FIL cleared his brain of all thought decades ago but he ain’t dead yet. Fox told him what to fill it with.
Then it’s not clear, you’re confusing cleared of thoughts with filled with stupid, malicious thoughts.