http://beinglucid.com:80/ Recent content on Being Lucid Hugo en-us http://beinglucid.com:80/insights/test/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/insights/test/ http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/what-is-a-meditation-method/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/what-is-a-meditation-method/ A meditation method is a technique that evokes a deeper sense of awareness, serenity, and insight in the mind and body. Each meditation method is a different path that can lead you to the same inner state of meditation. At different times, different methods may be most meaningful and relevant. There is a striking metaphor used by Buddha to describe meditation methods to his disciples: “Suppose a man were traveling along a path. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-being-rather-than-doing/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-being-rather-than-doing/ We constantly feel the urge to be doing something. Sitting silently, doing nothing, we get fidgety and anxious. We feel compelled to take up tasks, projects, or trips, even if they are meaningless; or to escape repeatedly into entertainment, whether through TV, smartphone, computer, or video game, which are all things to do, things with which to occupy oneself. In this state of compulsive activity, contentment has to be postponed until everything we need to do is done. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-allowing-and-accepting-feelings/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-allowing-and-accepting-feelings/ We are perpetually suppressing our feelings – not only unpleasant ones but even the happy and blissful ones. The methods of suppression are subtle and many, and are deeply ingrained. We have become accustomed to denial and postponement of feelings, to temporary consolation, and to escape. Feelings, both bad and good, are perpetually swept under the rug. It takes conscious, dedicated effort to undo destructive patterns in the mind and become emotionally healthy. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-being-present/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-being-present/ Being present means being here and now, alert and awake, and not somewhere else, lost in thoughts, feelings, ideas, or hypothetical scenarios. The past and the future are only conceptions of the mind – unreal, false, like dreams or illusions. They are artifacts of the mind’s capacity for imagination and simulation. Only what is happening right now, in this present instantaneous moment, is real and true. We need to think about the past and the future in order to survive, succeed, learn, solve problems, and progress. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-allowing-things-to-be-as-they-are/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-allowing-things-to-be-as-they-are/ Great meditation masters have always said that in nature and existence there are no problems or imperfections, that everything is perfect as it is. There is great depth and subtlety in this message. It is not as simple as it seems. It has been misunderstood to mean that one has to deny and ignore problems, difficulties, imperfections, and conflicts, and maintain a false pretense of positivity. However, it is quite the opposite, and herein lies the essence of this method. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-acting-consciously/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-acting-consciously/ Act deliberately. Whatever you are doing, do it on purpose, consciously, intentionally; not automatically or mechanically. Be present within yourself as you act. Although this is a commonly taught meditation method, it has not been adequately explained what it means to act consciously. In order to act consciously, you have to distinguish between what you are doing and how you are doing it. Once you verbalize what you are doing, watch how you do it. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-thought-awareness/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-thought-awareness/ Awareness of thoughts is a powerful meditation method that can bring clarity, tranquility, and insight to the mind. It can be difficult at first to recognize thoughts and to tell them apart from emotions. Thinking is the same as speaking, but silently, in the mind [1]. This initial insight uncovers many others. For example, language provides the basic structure of thought. All thoughts, from the trivial to the complex, are linguistic in nature. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-disownment/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-disownment/ We are conditioned and programmed through social and environmental forces. Through meditation, it is possible to become aware of these conditionings and grow out of them into a greater, more mature, more lucid consciousness. Throughout our lives, we identify with various social groups and roles within these groups, and we strive to belong in these groups; similarly, we reject identification and belonging with other groups and roles. These could be small or large, local or global, real or abstract social groups. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-dissolving-belief/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-dissolving-belief/ Belief is a superficial acceptance of something as true, whether or not it really is true. Belief is a construct of the mind, not a direct observation or experience of truth. As such, it is intrinsically false. Belief is an innovation of the mind, useful in the right framework. For example, the scientific method involves forming a hypothesis, which is a tentative acceptance of something as true — in other words, a belief — in order to test it through experiment and inquiry. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-transcending-inferiority/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-transcending-inferiority/ There is a deeply embedded sense of inferiority and self-hatred in the human psyche. The gnawing question in everyone’s mind is: how can I prove myself to be better than others, the best one among my peers? This is classic male animal behavior. To prove oneself the most suitable male, there is a fight. Whoever wins is proven to be superior, and secures mating rights with the female. In animals, superiority is proven with strength, whereas in humans, there are many different ways – with strength, wealth, power, beauty, intellect, talent, respect, fame, and so on. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-the-second-center/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-the-second-center/ In the body, we ordinarily identify with the head. All of our energy and attention is focused in the head. If you try to sense, where in space am “I”, it is somewhere within the head. The rest of the body is felt to be an extension of this head self, and is mostly neglected. Knowing the brain as the control center reinforces this attitude. So we tend to become head-oriented, and thereby mind-oriented. http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-breath-awareness/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://beinglucid.com:80/methods/the-method-of-breath-awareness/ This is by far the most popular meditation method, taught to beginners as the first entrypoint into meditation. But it is not as easy as it is made out to be. It is easy to teach, but not easy to learn. I found myself struggling with this method for many years before it really clicked. Popular descriptions of it are simple, perhaps too simple. For example: “watch the breath go in and out”.