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Comment by h0h0h0 | Hacker News Reader

When I began to work on overcoming my addictions, I never gained any traction on it until I made meditation a part of my routine. I don't know anything about the scientific aspect of it but I noticed that I was more patient with things, able to suffer/sit through things and sit with myself a lot more. I think the sense of self-comfort that came from meditation was the most important thing. not the sense of comfort, but being comfortable with myself.

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Couldn't agree more. It's the sense of always feeling safe or 'home' in any situation that meditation can give you. I found it extremely helpful when dealing with anxiety and I'm not surprised it works for addiction as well. My mother requires anti-anxiety meds to function and I was determined to find an alternate solution. Once you learn to watch (or listen) to your thoughts as they pop up you start to notice all the background chatter your mind is producing without your knowledge.

It might sound weird to others but your mind is constantly telling you stories. 'I would feel better if I had drink' or 'I should avoid this situation because I might have a panic attack' or a magical combination of both 'If I drink I won't have a panic attack'.

Can you expand on how you started? Your routine?

I've had phenomenal experience with isha yoga's Inner Engineering. It is basically a daily 21 minute practice, that they thought me in a 7-day program. The practices are very simple (no strenuous postures etc). Since i started in Dec 2007, i haven't skipped a single day - the benefits are great enough that coming back to do the practice daily happens naturally.

Now it is also being offered online at www.innerengineering.com.

Above all, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the person behind all of this, is the coolest, most awesome spiritual master i've come across.

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

That's what works for me. It's not at all involved, just concentrate on breathing. When the mind wanders, just pause & (non-judgmentally) go back to observing the breath.

Of course YMMV, but I find half an hour a day is enough.

"It's not at all involved, just concentrate on breathing. When the mind wanders, just pause & (non-judgmentally) go back to observing the breath."

That's the same method "Happy to Burn" describes, but I still find it a case of "easier said than done", and difficult to do.

That is the case, and that is the point. It is very hard, in fact impossible to do for more than a few seconds without practice. Which is the problem you are solving by practicing. If you can make yourself just sit there, not scolding yourself as you drift, but always returning to silence and the breath, you can go longer and longer without thinking.

Its just like physical exercise - repetition makes you better. And just like physical exercise, it makes your entire life better.

Right, and that's why I thought to comment about "It's not at all involved" - it is that involved.

I think I read somewhere in the book that concentration isn't all that important (& in fact you don't want to develop it too far). You're mostly trying to observe yourself lightly, & to catch yourself.

I started getting into Vipassana meditation after proofreading an intro book on the subject called "Happy to Burn" (https://www.fifobooks.com/Catalog?bkid=6b430c42-5bf7-4e0d-a5...) for my startup.

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