JustARandomPanda

I get it that people hate religion. It's been the In Thing to Hate on Religion for the last 500 years. But I sure wish people would drop the Flavor of the Age veneration of naturalness too. Natural spontaneity (which is what "be your own spiritual self" becomes in actual daily practice) ain't the panacea it's held up to be. As I said...so far..the alternatives to religion are just as dismal historically in solving this planet's assorted societies' 'harm others' behaviors as religion is. So far "dialoguing" with others hasn't solved those problems either. If I recall correctly experiments done in the 70s showed that *ADULTS* (forget about the kids and teens) can not resist when peer pressure is egging on harm-others behavior.

This is the stage I'm trying to get at. Interestingly Master Nan Hai-Chin, when instructing totally-noob students (in one of his books I own) said, "My words are poison but without them you will not get well." Yes. I liked Gurdjieff. He was very much all about how one must work their asses off to get anywhere. He also had a reputation of occasionally being a less-than-kindly Sifu/Teacher sort. I have not studied the Kabbalah but I am very interested in it. Your explanation - especially the visual diagramming of it was helpful. A short story: One day as I was meditating the word "Chokma" kept arising in my mind. I had to look it up on Wikipedia. But then I remembered what the Zen Patriarchs advised. To ignore it anyway because even something like that is still illusion. It is interesting (and oddly makes it easier for me!) to take the Zen Patriarchs advice literally. I'm wondering if that's going to bring howls of protest on this board? It certainly would from Materialists! There have been debates at this very board as to whether the Buddha taught that the world actually IS illusion or merely operates LIKE an illusion. The general consensus I think was that it merely operates LIKE one, not actually IS one. In fact I don't think even I had the balls in that thread to say it actually IS illusion (of course I'm not at a stage where I could assert or deny such a statement with authority anyway but whatever). I know some folks in that thread howled about how making the strong statement of this world and everyone/everything in it IS Illusion was irrational and unfounded even in Buddhism (it all had to do with who's view was the Buddha's Right View of D.O and Emptiness [who had the "Viewless View" - which I have no clue what that is either] and what Emptiness implies about Illusion, etc etc etc) and it certainly was against Taoism to state the world IS illusion (if I'm remembering that whole thread correctly - which I admit I might not be - but that's how I understood how that whole *very loooooong* thread of arguing back and forth went down). I take it the Zen Patriarchs would say, No...the world actually IS illusion. And maybe be unpopular to boot as a result but who knows... But back to your above referenced quote: When I read the above it reminded me of passages I read in the Shurangama Sutra. That there are Beings who - though they manage to rise to an extremely high level of realization - almost seem trapped? They're playing around (with what I can't remember) but unable to make that final step to true Enlightenment. Master Nan says that this is called the Outside Path. How in the world does one get out of an Outside Path if one finds one is in it?!! (assuming that's even possible. Is it possible to be trapped in an Outside Path for all eternity?) Master Nan and Master Hsuan Hua both advise the careful study of the Shurangama Sutra as it is the only Sutra that discusses how exceedingly, ridiculously high level Beings (human or otherwise) making erroneous conclusions about their equally exceedingly, ridiculously high level Direct Realization (read: probably higher realization by orders of magnitude beyond anybody who posts here). Master Nan says our world is "major solidified false thinking". I have often pondered what he means by that. But perhaps it is something similar to what you are referring to above? Is the astral also the result of major (albeit less-solidified) false thinking? Bodri says (oddly enough) - that being born a human in some cases is better than being born in the god realms. Around us everyday we still have all-too-evident reminders of evil and suffering and it helps to spur one (well for those who bother to anyway) to resolve to be a Buddha to get out of it. If we were all born in bliss realms we might not have the werewithal to resolve to do anything else but just naturally enjoy the bliss of being a god. He said you can see this even with humans who are born very fortunate or achieve great fortune. Those with great wealth, power, status, etc very rarely have the gumption to give all of that up or turn away from it to pursue the Truth.

Yes. I think this is what most people intuit (and was what I was trying to get at with mentioning the Beatitudes). I don't think most people are really referring to how a "loophole Lawyer" might exploit a loophole in the Golden Rule to justify his/her non-virtuous behavior simply because He/She was following the Golden Rule exactly to the letter. They follow it to the letter but break it's spirit. At least that's how I understand it. For those peeps I'd just use Confucius' version of the Golden Rule. It leaves the "loophole exploiters" a lot less room.

This I agree with. I think Confucius phrased it a bit differently if I recall correctly. I think he said something (to paraphrase) do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Ooh! Please explain! *perks up ears* Yes. I've always liked the Wiccan Rede ever since first finding out about it. It is very hard to put into practice though. For the very reasons you specify. Everytime I think of an action that could benefit someone I could also think of ways it might actually (counter-intuitively) harm them. Perhaps this is true. There's one thing about your stating how beliefs always harm that I question. I will use myself as an example since it's truthfully the only thing I know of right now. I am a beginning meditator. I believe that Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings are true. Especially his bit about the 4 Noble Truths. I once said to myself, "SB. Enlightened Beings do not just say things for no reason. Why did the Buddha pick out those 4 statements above all others as his very first lesson after achieving Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree?" Currently, in American society - it is addicted to Positive Thinking. I've been in chatrooms where people have argued with me strenuously that the Buddha was absolutely wrong because - well hey...they ain't suffering in their lives so that ipso facto proves he was wrong. This said by people who haven't attempted even 1 minute of meditation or to try to see if they could even replicate the Buddha's instructions on how to verify if what he said is true or not. But to get back to what I was saying. In a way Vmarco...I need that belief. The belief that Shakyamuni was right. If I did not I'd be just like those people in the chat rooms I've argued with. They don't even bother to investigate if their assumptions about their happy-natural-spontaneous life might be other than what they see and experience it to be. It may be that ultimately beliefs do harm one and if so then of course I will have to discard it. But right now it is Belief that gets my lazy ass to sit down and actually bother to practice meditation in the first place. Is that still harmful?

However rampantly popular it's been in Western Civilization to denounce organized religions for the past 500 years (first by assorted Elites and now by pretty much everybody) I find Religion-Denouncers to forget that Religions have historically also been humanity's strongest proponents of the need to cultivate Virtue - formost of these being Loving-Kindness and Compassion (1 example: the Beatitudes). Natural "Spirituality" - aka "just be natural self" - has no such track record - especially not the kind trumpeted at Taobums or other websites. Neither does Agnosticism, Skepticism or Atheism. In fact, Agnostic Societies and reliance on Geneticly-based Nature has an atrocious track record regarding not-harming-others. Mao Zedong anyone? Pol Pot? Stalin? Most of Western Europe and a lot of North America is agnostic or atheist in actual daily practice even if not in name. Despite this neither of these populations of the globe have reduced or eliminated crime in proportion to their discarding of adherence to religious teachings in their everyday lives. Even Chimpanzees (hey that's Nature - how very unreligious!) have now been shown to engage in warfare and genocide. Before anyone goes casting stones at religions be aware that being our "natural selves" doesn't have a superior track record of "do-no-harm" either. Quite the opposite in fact.

1. Could you please clarify this a bit further? I read this and it reminded me of something I vaguely recall from the Western Mystic Rudolf Steiner a transcript of his lecture topic. I could've sworn I remembered reading a snippet of a talk Steiner gave on Evil wherein he said that the blessed state of higher beings exists only because some others stayed behind and suffer. Now, it may be that I misunderstood and misremember what Steiner was saying. I found his lecture puzzling. Honestly...I keep second-guessing what Steiner might have meant by that but it sounds somewhat similar to what you just said. Was Steiner (and you?) saying that because I (since Buddhists teach Human Birth is Precious), for example - will not relinquish my desire for pleasures/bliss/oneness/insert-amazing-blessing, etc - set up some kind of vibratory "feedback" or "resonance" in the Triple Realm/Universe-Multiverse, etc that "causes" unwholesome states/unblessed states to ALSO be sustained? 2. When you speak of Undivided Light - is this the same light as the Tathagata Amitabha Buddha? The Buddha of Infinite Light? Also - is it a LITERAL Light?! As in, something even I, a zero-realization person would say "yep, that's definitely Light alright!" sort of thing. Is it the case that Amitabha really - quite literally (and not just figuratively) is - Infinite Light?

This is a good question! I've been pondering this myself. You know what's really odd? Any of you remember the heated debate in the Global Revolution thread? The more I think it over the more I am beginning to think maybe Twinner was on to something. Basically he was counseling for people to begin selectively withdrawing their support from the organizations/institutions/businesses that one disagrees with and replace them with alternatives. Of course most people - me included - can't do a massive change like that. But it's possible on a small, local scale to begin. Here's some things I've done in the past and want to do again. Support the teaching and passing on of Pre-Industrial Revolution skills. A lot of those old skills were surprisingly high tech and should not be lost. The skill needed to make shoes, create tools, spin wool into yarn, plow land without benefit of modern machinery, etc needs to be kept. Someday society may have a real need for such skills again. There's a society that helps do just that: Society of Primitive Technology Society can still be specialized...it would just be at a less oil-dependent/mechanized level. 2. I've put in an application to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Amazing organization that both teaches volunteers *how to build a new "Green" house and wire/pipe it from start to finish - and do it to Gov Code. Or alternately renovate an old one. The recipients don't even have to pay interest. The only thing they'll ever have to pay is the principle. The interest rate is set to 0%. This will not solve homelessness but it can help rebuild / restore dilapidated neighborhoods one house at a time. 3. Start seeing if you can buy things that are built locally or handmade. Or better yet - learn a skill that teaches hand making something and sell it on the side. 4. Support local alternative currency movements and Exchanges as much as you possibly can. 5. Build your own home made seed bank. Seed banks are going to be hugely important in the next hundred years or so. You can make one with anything that can be sealed air & moisture tight. The biodiversity of local habitats is decreasing - especially in suburban backyards. This is one way of preserving genetic lines that are being lost so they can be re-introduced/restored later. 6. If you own a house switch from a water-intensive lawn to Xeriscaping. Especially important in the draught-plagued Southwest and West and join a local group that teaches it. 7. Begin buying LOCAL Food - yes, even if it isn't necessarily organic. The Organic Food Industry alas has become oil-dependent/water-wasting as consumer demand has outstripped supply. Better yet, if you have some land or large patio try growing your own food (preferably with non-GMO Heirloom seeds). If you have further room you can even learn old-time Root Cellaring for storing excess veggies safely. 8. Begin supporting Scientific and Technology Research directly. Lots of orgs are popping up that allow individuals to chip in and donate money directly to a scientist/engineer and his/her team. Funding from Government, Industry and Universities is drying up so Scientists are starting to take their Grant Proposals directly to the People. Here are two: OpenGenius.org SciFlies

This is the stage I'm at. I have not attained even the cessation of thoughts so it's moot for me to talk about anything beyond that. This is why I'm truly bewildered by VMarco always going on and on about how bad beliefs are! Without the belief that Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings are true and that I, too, can implement them and thus attain Buddhahood / Realize the Tao I would not have even bothered to try to do so. I'd still be sitting on my ass being an Ass so to speak. I do have beliefs: I believe that the teachings by the Buddha are true and give a blueprint or roadmap on how I or anyone else can come to have the same realization he did/has. And I have - alas - not led a very meritorious life when I consider where I want to be (Diamond-Sutra Bodhisattva then on to full-blown Buddhahood). The one thing lately however that I have come to strenuously believe beyond a shadow of a doubt is that cultivating Virtue is absolutely CRUCIAL to attaining any kind of Prajna Wisdom. Without the cultivation of Virtue..first, last and always...then you might as well toss in the towel on the rest of it. I think even the Buddha himself - just like Confucius and just like Lao Tzu (and just like Jesus for that matter!) constantly stressed the need to cultivate Virtue. I've interpreted that as it first manifesting as... 1. the wish to cultivate Virtue and then 2. actually putting Virtue into practice As in, roll up your sleeves and get in there and start helping other sentient beings while upholding the Precepts. To that end I've taken Liao Fan's, Lao Tzu's, Confucius', Jesus' and the Buddha's teachings to heart I'm looking around for ways to volunteer my time to aid others - and especially aid in the sharing of the Dharma. And *especially* in how actually doing good deeds speeds up realizing Prajna Wisdom (along with assorted other blessings too). Since doing so my thoughts have gotten - hmm...how to say it...softer. There are short moments when they aren't so insistent and sometimes disappear. I just wish they'd stay gone for 24 hours as opposed to 24 seconds. Here's something else that I have taken to heart - especially since I am plagued with thoughts still. I have been trying off and on for over a year and a half to get my thoughts to settle down. Simply noticing my breath was not doing the trick. I'd get frustrated and quit for a while then start up again. Once I hit a hardcore "wall" so to speak and even though I was berating myself daily that I should be practicing I simply could not bring myself to sit for even 5 minutes (!) to simply notice my breath. That weird "inner balking donkey" surprised the heck out of me. I finally got over it and back into practicing. But I've been reading more spiritual books when I was directed to the book about Liao Fan. Bill Bodri (whom I am a HUGE fan of) discussed him. Now I got *very* lucky and found a used copy on Amazon for only a few dollars but you can read it for free in a PDF Here - Liao Fan's 4 Lessons It's actually a short easy and very enjoyable read as it tells Liao Fan's story. A lot of it is about what Liao Fan learned about the necessity of cultivating Virtue and how doing so started changing his prophesied "fate" the moment he rolled up his sleeves and started doing good deeds for others. Prior, he'd been depressed that everything prophesied about his life had come true and it made him listless and despondent and like he wasn't in control of his own life. Anyway...there's more to it than just that. It's a really fun read. It ties in very nicely with Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Vedanta, Christianity...etc...basically any of the world's religions that stress cultivating kindness to others. In fact...tonight I was watching a Fora TV debate between some Scientific-Oriented Agnostics vs. Pro-Religion defenders. The question debated was whether the world would be better off without religion. And the whole time I kept thinking...it is not necessarily organized religion in and of itself the Defenders where saying needs defending. What they really seemed to be saying is that anyone who follows a religion truly is a cultivator of Virtue. Much maligned though organized religions may be they are also the organizations that historically have been the staunchest defenders of and reminders that humanity needs to constantly be cultivating Virtue. Alas...human history with an Agnostic Skepticism bent doesn't yet have a long enough track record to say the same thing. Perhaps in time it too can say the same but so far it's just the noob on the scene. If anyone is interested in the debate you can see it here The World Would Be Better Off Without Religion Oh..and on the subject of Enlightenment Master Nan said something that cracked me up. I got a big laugh out of it. I'll paraphrase since I don't have the quote directly in front of me. He said something to the effect of "if you Realize the Tao while in Full Lotus but lose it when you uncross your legs you were only Realizing and Attaining your Legs." I busted up laughing for real the moment I read that. Oh man, I wonder how many meditators who're convinced they've occasionally Realized the Tao might deflate the moment they read that?

Attention Attention Attention Attention Attention Attention ................................................................

Interesting. I tend toward favoring the governmental organizations of the U.S. being way more isolationist while actual U.S. citizens becoming way more Internationally minded and rolling up their sleeves to discover ways to engage and help both locally and internationally. I've spent time abroad myself and it brought home fast just how insular and parochial the average American is. What I've long been flustered about is my country's hubris in thinking there should be a "one-size-fits-all" path to superior economic and societal development. Of course, having said that...there are plenty of other countries that have the same kind of hubris. So it's not as if this superiority mindset is somehow restricted to only Americans. It's just that since the U.S. is still the top-dog (for now) it's easy and popular to hate on America and Americans. I'm pretty sure as China, India and other countries like them overtake the U.S. they will finally begin feeling the heat of anger and envy that was long reserved strictly for Americans.

Dunno if this is any help or not but I'm posting it to this thread in case others find it interesting Stop Cheating Yourself: Answering "Yes" to All These 10 Questions Can Determine If You're Spiritually Enlightened or Not

This is the exact same reason Publishing Companies are in favor of moving to ebooks. Especially when it comes to the lucrative college textbook market. If you buy the ebook version of a required textbook you can not resell it. And it's typically only a few dollars less than the print version. But the publishing houses love the fact that it will eviscerate the used book market since they - like software companies - don't get a dime on any resell. Their new books keep competing with used ones. As ebooks take off - the used book market will become less and less of an issue as the decades roll by. Back to the SOPA and PIPA issue - I was one of the many who tried calling my reps and senators. I called too late. Their voicemail boxes were so full no more messages from their constituents could be recorded.

Well this is depressing to hear for somebody who is too poor to afford a teacher of any kind. Books are the only method I can afford.

NLP is Pseudo-Science. Check here , here and especially here. Of particular interest is the following research regarding NLP used on people with an alcohol or drug habit. Excerpt: Putting into practice Robert Cialdini's book is much simpler.

What an interesting post. Arab... Start reading up on persuasion and human decision making. You need to find out what research has discovered about effecting change both within ourselves and in others. It will show you your limits as well as potentials. It will show you how what you do can make a difference in what others think and do. You won't get this info from a message board. Not many people at Taobums bother to learn this kind of stuff simply because there's no burning drive to learn it. But if you really want to find out what scientific research has shown works and not just folk beliefs then you're going to have to buck up, dig in and learn. Really learn. Even by rote memorization if you have to. See if you can find the following books at your local library or just buy them and study them closely. Influence:Science and Practice (5th edition) by Robert B. Cialdini The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking by Kevin Hogan The Science of Influence by Kevin Hogan Covert Persuasion by Kevin Hogan Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, et. al. Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics and Marriage 3rd Edition by Paul Ekman Ph.D. Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception by Pamela Meyer Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baummeister The Science of Self Control by Howard Rachlin Changing for Good by James O. Prochaska, et. al. P.S. Breaking his bong was not a good tactic. It could well make things harder now if your goal is to persuade him to the benefits of your lifestyle vis-a-vis his (that is - after all - what you are truly trying to "sell" him on and so far you haven't found him buying it). All the breaking does is send the signal of your lack of self-control (which is preceded by a significant drop in blood glucose according to research). Displaying signs of lack of self-control is not a good way to persuade or get someone to "buy" into your way of thinking/living, etc. What they notice instead is that your words and deeds do not match up. Again...I urge you to read up on this stuff. You need to know what you are up against if this is truly what you want to do. And make no mistake. You have set yourself up against a mountainous hurdle. If that were not so we'd all be mindless drones to marketers at every turn and no salesmen would be held to sales quotas by their employer. The good news is that it IS possible to influence and persuade people - *if* you know what you're doing. It won't deliver 100% results but it will give you a huge boost over the guy who knows jack sh** about what research has found out has the best chance of working. If you get no others be sure to check out the 1st persuasion book on the list and the last book - Changing for Good - if you don't read any others. All books I've listed are based on rock solid research. Not Anthony Robbins style exhortions to "awaken the giant within" or Dr. Phil or Laura Schlesinger style preaching. And last but not least I give you this last link. Seriously consider reading it for your own sake. Emotional Awareness: Overcoming Obstacles to Psychological Balance and Compassion by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman Ph.D.

Well I'm excited. I just got an email notice that my book order shipped today. So we'll see how long it takes the post office to deliver it to me. I'm still not expecting it until after New Year's Day. Especially when the U.S. Postal Service is pushing to have so many centers shut down to stop the red ink piling up in their accounting books. In keeping with the overall theme of this thread. Have yall checked out this site? Criticizing Skepticism Julio Siqueira. He's a Brazillian with a degree in microbiology. He's a critic of the New Atheism. The kind advocated by the likes of Richard Dawkins or Daniel C. Dennett. His entire site eviscerates the claims by Physicalist/Materialist/Militant Skeptics of the likes of the affore-mentioned men and those who run SCICOP (now known as CSI). Basically he holds them to the same standards they criticize as failing in others. And *shows* not just tells - how they themselves fail to live up to the standards they require of everybody else. It is fascinating. Basically Siqueira lets these Materialist-Atheists hang by their own ropes. The same can be said for University of Cambridge Physicist Brian Josephson. Fascinating reading. I've actually come to believe that the diligent efforts of men like Dean Radin and Charles Tart are showing that Psi research is trying like freakin hell to hold itself to a higher gold standard than demanded by even the likes of Physics, MicroBiology or a whole host of disciplines that have lower standards of what passes muster of double-blind, randomized, controlled research. And I lost a huge amount of respect for James Randi once *all* the details of how he ran his Million-Dollar-Psi-Prize offer came out. Randi was playing fast and loose. No peer reviewed journal of any scientific discipline would accept any research study as valid had it followed Randi's rules of judging what stands and what is discounted. In fact...once the whole story got out and circulated on the web he formally retired his offer. It no longer stands. Sunlight is the best disinfectant sometimes to less-than-honest ways at increasing the sum of human knowledge. I was really disappointed to find those things out about Randi because for years I'd seen him as a guiding light. Anyway...to get back to the original topic...once I get the book and finish it I might give a summary review in this thread of it. Or at least try. It might not be possible but I'll at least take a shot at it.

Resusitating this thread. I had an experience a few months back about this topic. Heard a voice out of nowhere telling me to start gazing at the sun daily. It said sungazing would rejuvenate my pineal gland. I remember being very surprised but gazed up at the sun for like 2 seconds as the voice suggested. This was mid-day and that was all I could stand. I had never even heard of sungazing but after that very weirdo experience I went home and did a google search on it and discovered it's a real tradition. I didn't follow up on it but I'm curious now as to what other beneficial effects it can have. Lately I've heard one can do it DIY-style if you go very slow and carefully. I guess *something* out there thinks I need to get to work on rejuvenating my pineal gland and maybe sungazing is one way to do it?

Can anyone explain to me if there is an advantage to making the sounds out loud? I know Master Nan Huai-Chin recommends doing them quietly while focusing on the sounds as a preliminary right before doing anapana. But is there any advantage to saying the 6 Healing Sounds out loud too? Also...is Tenzin's Warrior Sounds associated with any of the internal organs?

NGS24 I don't know how open you are to this but Chunyi Lin provides distance healing over the phone. TaoBum Drew Hempel (aka FullLotus) swears by its effectiveness. I am no expert but I thought I'd offer that as a possible option of someone who is a master Qi Gong healer. Spring Forest Qi Gong itself revolves around healing one's self and others.

Bumping this to add to my post history. There's some good info in this thread.

Dwai.... I looked up the book you recommended. The lone Amazon reviewer gave it only 3 out of 5 stars. Here's a link to his review. Is it still worth getting this book or is there another one that would be better for a beginner?

Is there a mantra one can chant that is A) safe at all times B ) helps one overcome obstacles and hinderances If so...is there a YouTube vid demonstrating correct pronunciation/intonation, etc?

I think there may be something to the bit about Qi feeling different than awareness of nerves, hot, cold, etc. One day I decided to play around with the energy in my right foot (or rather what I thought was energy). I started by focusing on my my big toe, then started "pushing" the energy/awareness in spirals throughout my foot. I did this for about 2 hours a day for 3 days of so. Then suddenly on the third day a Dam broke. After about 15 minutes of pushing and playing with this energy it was suddenly as if my right foot was made of nothing but air. Like an airy cloud. I freaked out. I could not believe how weird and different the sensation was. It was as if my right food was ethereal, having no weight or substance of any kind. That experience finally convinced me there must be something to this "Qi Gong" business. I've never had that experience again although I admit I've never bothered to do that same experiment over again. I just ordered Robert Bruce's 2011 revised and updated book Energy Work: The Secrets of Healing and Energy Work He uses a kinetic based method to develop your ability to feel real chi and not just nerves, blood, muscle tension, etc. It's step-by-step and I've decided to give it a shot as my new year's resolution.

Hi Dwai Well you convinced me to get the book. Amazon was out of copies so I had to get one from an Amazon Reseller. Since it's so close to Xmas I don't expect to receive the book until next year. Once I get it I'll dive in and maybe give a review of it once I'm finished. Anyway...kinda along the lines of what you were discussing. Have you noticed how most people in the West associate Tantra with sex? When I first started out that's what I thought too. So it surprised me to find out out the majority of Tantra practices have nothing whatsoever to do with sex. But try telling that to people who are not into inner alchemy, meditation, etc. Once they realize most Tantra is not sexual they lose all interest in it or ignore it completely. Now when I see "tantra" books in the sex section of a bookstore I just sigh and walk on by. Kind of a bummer to see something that is meant to help someone become a better person get so dumbed down and marketed as something it was never really intended to be.

Good point -K- I dunno. I guess because I'm so much an "in my head" person. I am addicted to thoughts - even thoughts about thoughts (if that makes sense). Always analyzing, categorizing, systematizing, concluding, etc... [if you're familiar with Meyers-Briggs I test as an INTP] Which I suppose from one point of view is still of course only possible in the "now". But one thing I notice I don't do while doing all those aforementioned things is simply notice stuff and let that be enough. Does that make sense? Anyway...can't speak for anyone else but meditation has helped me to relax a little on the always "being in my head".