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Comment by groffee | Hacker News Reader

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I am beyond disinterested in football. Don't really like hamburgers much. And it's certainly debatable how mindfully I scroll. I find value in mindfulness and am open to suggestions and teachings on breathing and meditation.

But you'll need a heeeeeelllaaaa more data before you casually add "psychic powers" to the claims :-)

Where's the airtight data for all the miracles and portents that are similarly said to have been performed by Western spiritual figures? These pro-West double standards and systemic biases are getting quite tiresome.

Nonexistent.

(I am equal opportunity skeptic :)

Also we must lead very different lives ; is there a broad community of people with beliefs relating to western spirituality miracles and portent? Which pro western double standards are there for spiritual miracles??

As far as I'm aware there are zero standards or proofs for miracles and portents from anywhere; things like Randi's challenge don't specify geographical origins; and more seriously though, double blind trials etc are equally agnostic to western BS vs anybody else's BS.

Apparently among the other things it develops are a contempt for most of humanity?

Saying that science done in Europe and the US about ancient Asian breathing techniques is embarrassing is way less offensive than thinking that Europe and the US are most of humanity.

I didn't say anything involved was "offensive"!

I am ambivalent about "western science", it's very useful, there are also other modes of inquiry and discovery that are useful.

However, it's funny to think that one might do lots of meditation and consciousness altering meditation, which some people say can lead to some form of enlightenment, spiritual calm, and/or compassion for humanity, and instead it leads you to sum up those who don't follow your directions as "mindlessly scrolling, eating hamburgers and watching football" in a generally contemptuous screed.

That was not a reference to "those who don't follow your directions". As stated in OP's comment, it was clearly aimed at those who would outright laugh about these spiritual matters, simply because OP pointed out that such practices might also develop special abilities at some point. It's absolutely a fair remark.

Or perhaps your assumption that “western ‘science’” is only valued in “Europe and the US” is the offensive perspective?

Searching for the strawman doesn’t make your point stronger.

anytime i read something like that i have to wonder: if it can make such a big difference, why can't i see that difference in the world? perhaps it really only goes as far as the child level party tricks. or perhaps psychic abilities don't really matter.

>psychic abilities

With the correct ancient breathing techniques, one can see the downvotes coming before they even post.

What sort of psychic abilities?

I've heard it can enable you to offend large swaths of the population using only words.

Clairannoyance?

I'm so mad that I didn't see that coming

You really need to be practicing more of these breathing techniques :)

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