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557 points gnabgib | 5 comments | | HN request time: 0.715s | source
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tavavex ◴[] No.45049085[source]
This is a really strange comment section. The average person sharing their experiences seems very unlike the average HN user.

I feel like I can barely relate to those people, and understanding what they're saying is nigh impossible. The definitions of most things are really vague - even the article of this thread only defines breathwork as "cyclic breathing without pausing, accompanied by progressively evocative music". So... faster breathing while intensifying music is playing?

One issue for me is how anything connected to these topics seems to attract a healthy mix of rational observation, psychedelic users and religious people (old and new). Deciphering which is which is really difficult without already having a foot in the door on this topic.

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spacebacon ◴[] No.45050246[source]
Let’s talk about the willingness of so many to hijack an unconscious process (breathing), This forces you to reflect on control, and then plunges you into a recursive semantic loop: Did I do this? Or did this happen to me? This is the basis of consciousness hacking through sign activation. It only gets stranger.
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1. galaxyLogic ◴[] No.45050362[source]
It's like you're doing meditation, and thinking "I shouldn't be thinking". But you can't be conscious about being unconscious. Or something like that.
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2. spacebacon ◴[] No.45051039[source]
Yes, thank you for your attention on this matter.
3. Cthulhu_ ◴[] No.45051200[source]
Of note is that meditation isn't about not thinking per se, more about allowing your thoughts to flow freely.

Which is a weird thing that happened to me or that I became aware of a few years ago, late at night or when I lie down for a nap I can get into that state, it's like dreaming while being awake. Of course, as soon as I'm aware of that I snap out of it, it's like "hey I want to keep following that train of thought" but it doesn't work when it's active.

Of course, if I don't snap out of it like that I will invariably fall asleep, lol.

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4. mattgreenrocks ◴[] No.45055291[source]
Yup. It’s a lovely state of mind. Feels like the executive function has switched off so the usual judgment/self-censoring can’t interfere. It’s like a pure state of creativity/openness.
5. galaxyLogic ◴[] No.45055978[source]
Between the states of wake and asleep I sometimes (more than once) can see my self floating above a forest, as if I was a drone flying above trees. I realize what is happening, that I'm not asleep and can keep on flying. I can snap out of it, or maybe I fall asleep.