I would love to get some conversations going about . 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](reddit.com/r/TheMindIlluminate), 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](reddit.com/r/streamentry/wiki/), 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?

@IAmErik dumb question but why is it considered better to sit in the lotus position? Why should that be superior to a chair?

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@taoish
I think the idea is to avoid sleepiness. It is easier to tell if you're drifting off and correct.

I use a chair. I think it's important to be comfortable and avoid distractions. I usually don't have a problem with sleepiness.

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