tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post4306257552802702351..comments2024-02-07T21:24:37.121-08:00Comments on Blogtrotter: Jason Siff's "Unlearning Meditation": Book ReviewJohn L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-61990099772455872822010-08-13T07:38:52.982-07:002010-08-13T07:38:52.982-07:00Perhaps why, TL, Sam Harris and cohorts acknowledg...Perhaps why, TL, Sam Harris and cohorts acknowledge logically the promise of meditation without the fixation on the Father Figure granting us wishes and helping to win football games and save chosen few from fatal disasters and diseases? They too wonder if part of humankind's evolution means facing the fact we're on our own. Not easy, and I wonder if most people can live without the comfort of faith and hope for the afterlife: this tendency to project our fears and joys on another person embodied or disembodied seems, as Daniel Dennett's "Breaking the Spell" (also reviewed by me if you search the blog), innate to our species.John L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-13173309958936615582010-08-10T14:16:25.655-07:002010-08-10T14:16:25.655-07:00After considerable delay, back to your point: &quo...After considerable delay, back to your point: " would you agree that meditation is not directed outward necessarily towards a Higher Power, but that prayer must?"<br /><br />Indeed, that is the purpose of prayer. Which is why prayer is an utterly futile exercise. When you finally realize that you are on your own, and have to deal with this mess without any outside intervention, the sooner you can actually deal with it.<br /><br />That's also sometimes referred to as "growing up."tamerlanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-62556048706743950512010-07-27T11:57:07.156-07:002010-07-27T11:57:07.156-07:00TL, Siff agrees with you. I was curious about zaze...TL, Siff agrees with you. I was curious about zazen's differences, and the book does not offer UL as a counterpart; I merely wondered about the comparisons and contrasts, upon which he does not elaborate. I too like green, as you can see on this blog. Enjoy the verdant fields up your way, even in summer's heat.John L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-22119293674872149742010-07-26T20:52:44.011-07:002010-07-26T20:52:44.011-07:00Meditation is for centering. Plain and simple. T...Meditation is for centering. Plain and simple. The most tangible thing I've ever meditated on is the color green. The admonition to focus on inhale, exhale is for a reason. <br /><br />What Siff proposes, however useful it may be, is not zazen. Nor should Siff offer it as such.tamerlanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-44730216740311411932010-07-25T16:41:05.761-07:002010-07-25T16:41:05.761-07:00No, it isn't the point. "Religiously incl...No, it isn't the point. "Religiously inclined apostates" that we are, would you agree that meditation is not directed outward necessarily towards a Higher Power, but that prayer must? I differentiate meditation as directing itself in a variety of spiral, lateral, or unpredictable patterns, as Siff emphasizes, whereas a theistically aligned prayer aims "vertically."John L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-60977369396388787512010-07-25T15:38:56.146-07:002010-07-25T15:38:56.146-07:00Sounds a lot like praying, which is not the point....Sounds a lot like praying, which is not the point.tamerlanenoreply@blogger.com