I really like calm although I wonder if headspace would be "better" - the reason I went with calm is I tried both and found the Calm woman's voice most soothing. But headspace I believe has more of a guided program you can work your way through.

I guess spending 100 bucks for a mindfulness apps feels a bit too bougie in the same way (although not the same magnitude, obviously) that Peleton does. It would probably be hard to be mindful when my mind drifts to how much this is costing me, even if it's not really a lot in an absolute sense.

Holliday/Syn,

Danke, will check both out. Did my first headspace free trial meditation this morning and it seemed fine? I was thinking about how much longer it was going to last, which I gather is not quite the point!

Oddly enough, that kind of is the point. Biggest piece of advice is to ignore any notion that you are doing it wrong

Noted. We'll see how it goes.

One of the main points of meditation is to of course be reminded by your app that you probably ****ed up and are doing something wrong. Seems like you and Monte are both on the right track!

Re: BGP's rec tho, I agree with them that Headspace is k. I'm on day 759 in a row, and I agree with syndrome about that wherever you go book by Jon Kabat-Zinn is pretty k too. K-Zinn mainly talks about how sick it is to drop meditation streak brags into daily conversation as frequently as possible, thus my sick streak brag! (I actually though it was a higher number, and I shall carry this shame into today's meditation.) K.

Holliday there is nothing more usa#1 than a rec for a great meditation stool. Really.

I have a 30 day streak! Seems pretty k.

I don’t know the context of this post, but if it is what I think it is, I would suggest a lower fiber diet.

YW.

DT: I was crushed to see my 50 day streak broken when I went on vacation. Any favorite courses or singles?

My favorite favorite now are the later pro ones (goes to level 6 iirc) and just some ambient music in the background - naturally you do not need an app for this ldo. Or even a meditation stool by amazon furnishings.

I like the winding down ones and I find it helps my sleep - though I usually read before bed so I haven't done those recently because I leave my phone away from the bedroom now.

I usually just do the daily one because I am extraordinarily lazy when not at work and it's an easy and good habit.

That said, other good packs:
Pregnancy and any that focus on visualization (this seems to be my biggest challenge, yet also the most rewarding when it "works"). I have done this one 3x (so a solid 90 of the 700+ sessions if it's 30 sessions, which iirc it is)
I forget which other ones use visualization, whenever they do I resist it. Interesting.

Pain management (used for physical pain)

Kindness (I am kind irl, **** you)

You know speaking of that, I am not sure if this kindness pack, some other loving kindness meditation, or if it was some other guided meditation where you do active compassion or send positive energy or some BS for someone you ****ing hate with the passion of 1000 suns (spoiler alert it was not my ex wife lol), but that worked well too. I looked and I can't find what it was. One of the biggest benefits personally though that has really helped me - I frequently interrupt my thought patterns though (at least daily) to remind myself that whoever I'm dealing with is probably doing the best they can. I don't know why that works, but it does.

Cliffs: ban bgp, free thremp

Anyone else looking to get on or already on the Stoicism bandwagon? Loco probably thinks it's for fatty mcfatersons who are weak as F and eat taco Bell value packs too often. At least I'm hoping that's the case because I'd hate to not be allowed on!

Yugo,

We should test your commitment to forebearance by firing up another sub-forum WW game.

If you mean looking at instagram quotes that resonate with me, but actively changing my life in no meaningful way, then yes I am also on the stocism wagon.

Forum sucks without Thremp.

OK everyone we can stop arguing, "Finger Banger" is here to tell us whats up

Just giving my opinion cool guy.

I like the visualization ones as well, haven't tried any of the ones you mention though. I have the same sleeping routine: reading and phone in different room. I try to meditate before I begin reading though, I seem to read much faster after doing so.

Convert to Christianity. Pray instead of meditate.

ABP

I'm still waiting to find out what donglover69 has to say

I prefer this practice over "sitting down eyes closed" meditation too. It has made me a lot more grounded and a lot less neurotic.

DT put it well saying that the only purpose of the app is to remind you you probably ****ed up. Although judging from his streak it also seems to help with habit creation!

Haha, funny but completely normal. We always want to wrap our minds around something and ask questions and "keep busy." It's not a mistake, it just happens. All you can do is bring back your attention to your senses, it requires a pretty intense alertness to stay with it. You will continue to lose your focus on "the moment" hundreds of times. That is k.

What you thought a second ago doesn't matter. Just try to "be here now".

I don't really meditate very much, but I used to. Something I have carried over through the years is that when I am talking to someone I try to really listen to them, and not think about the next thing I want to say, which is my natural inclination.

I definitely have this issue. I can get very impatient and steamroll conversations if I'm not being somewhat mindful. Especially now that I'm alot less social than in the past...easy to just get hopped up with excitement that I'm actually interacting with someone and it's not virtually or involving raising a kid.

That would be long prayers. Not like in the TV series Gold Rush, where they pray for getting a lot of gold, and then rush to work on it.

Does this mean we can all get along now?