Erik Przekop @IAmErik@qoto.org

This is Ted. He does not think that we play with him nearly enough.

@RogerSessions
I have only participated in a couple of ad-hoc group sits, and they were work-related. (Think, "let's bring in a meditation coach to talk to the team to improve productivity!")

I have been considering finding a meditation teacher if my progress slows again, but perhaps an online group would make sense. I'm looking at the site you shared now. Thank you!

@erik365
Hello fellow Erik-with-a-K!

I know that it is really common to start a practice & then drop it early on. I did exactly that several times!

I think there are a few reasons that it stuck after the first couple of years:

* I noticed the benefits early on, so I felt that it was a valuable use of time.
* I came across advice that told me it usually doesn't *feel* like anything is happening during a sit (particularly until it is a habit), and I found it convincing enough to believe.
* I read a lot on the subject, and tried a lot of guided meditations (YouTube and Insight Timer). That really helped accellerate my practice, since I need to have a logical reason for spending time on it every day.
* I made a rule that I would sit for just 5m per day. That was easy enough that I was able to build up the habit.

I would love to get some conversations going about #meditation. I'm not sure how well this platform supports such things, but the best way to find out...

I started a practice some time in the mid 2000's. I kept it to short (10-15m) sits, but managed to make it a consistent habit within a year or two. I like Headspace and similar meditation apps as a starting point, and recommend them to people if the topics comes up.

Around 2018, I started with [The Mind Illuminated](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMindIlluminated/wiki/index/), which is a more structured approach based on the book of the same name. This involved longer sits (20-60m), with some clear guidelines. I feel that my sense of equanimity improved dramatically around this time, and many facets of my day-to-day life along with it.

While I did reap significant benefits, I did not progress through the stages outlined in the book. This led me to a more metta-based practice called Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation or [TWIM](https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/wiki/twim-crash-course/), which is my core practice now. This has raised my baseline level of happiness quite noticably, and has also driven more "moral development" in terms of how I see the world and my place in it.

Does anyone else here follow one of these practices? Anything you'd care to share about your practice?

#TheMindIlluminated #TWIM

This is Mike, and he is a very good boy.
#Photography #Dogs #Pets

@JulieNye we love visiting the towns around Les Cheneaux including Detour village. It's great for rainy day trips from our place.

@JulieNye I found that I could "install" the web page as an app on my Android phone, and it works well for browsing and posting, and includes most of the features. The only thing that didn't work was attachments, so I had to skip over to the official app to create a post with the photos I just posted.
I just opened the site in my phone's browser, and install is one of the options under the three dot menu.

@JulieNye, I also have a thing about sunset photos. 🙂
These were taken near #RogersCity #Michigan last summer.

Winter has arrived! #PureMichigan

@freemo I don't have context for what you're describing, but if your BP is that high, you really should seek medical treatment. And maybe take a break from social media for a day or three. Even if the site struggles or crashes without your attention, we'll be fine. Please take care of yourself!

@charlesroper
I feel compelled to share this each time I hear the Oxford comma mentioned.
https://youtu.be/_9osMhzQmcA

@angelobottone
Might it be better to focus on solutions that offset the problems of a shrinking population? From a long-term sustainability perspective, smaller should be a **lot** better.

Or is there an embedded assumption in your post that I am not considering?

I did a brief #introduction post on my original server, but nothing since I switched.

Instead of defining myself by saying "I am a...", here's a collection of hashtags that interest me (in no particular order). #meditation (specifically #twim right now) #cigars #bicycling #photography #computerscience #physics #guitar #music .

I live in #Michigan (in #LakeOrion, which is 35+ miles north of #Detroit), and spend a lot of time around #RogersCity (I'll bet *that's* the first time that hashtag has been used on Mastodon). My kids are really bright and sometimes struggle with #ADHD, so I'll probably talk about that at times as well. I have spent more than 3 decades of my life as a #programmer, and now I get to be the old man who leads really smart people in solving big problems with small amounts of #software.

AMA - I'm always happy to share!

Some advice I have seen (which you may find useful):

* post about things that interest you, and include hashtags (for instance "birdwatching")
* boost posts that you find interesting from others - while there is no algorithm which those actions drive, it fosters connections as well
* spend some quality time finding people to follow - I love reading a variety of science topics, and I found a list of science journalists to follow on Reddit

On that last point, doing a more general web search to find mastodon users with whom you share interests is probably better than trying to find them on Mastodon itself.