drugs and meditation

[jcsuperstar]

oh no its the old get high get enlightened thread

no, i'm talking about all sorts of drugs, have any helped you?

like i take omega 3 pills, i dont know if they help my meditation, but they help my mood and they make bad dreams go away (if i quit taking them for long periods of time i actually have bad dreams but when on them i dont...) , they are supossed to be good for depression, maybe there is a conection.

i also heard a piece on NPR about mind enhancing drugs (a.d.d. drugs etc) and many people are getting them to help with memory and focus. i was sorta curious if one could use them to strengthen concentration meditation, but i have no way of testing this...

ginko? ginseng? B12?

what are you hooked on?

[Guy]

what are you hooked on?

Coffee, I definitely notice it effects my meditation if I have 2 or 3 strong cups during the day before I sit. However, I don't notice a difference between having 1 cup and having none. I have tried many times to stop altogether but it seems this is quite a strong attachment for me.

Also, having lived in Australia all my life, I am very attached to vegemite.

[Fede]

St John's Wort
Black Cohosh
Dong Quai

All natural herbal remedies which relieve the symptoms of the menopause.

No way would I ever have HRT.

They seem to be working.
I haven't massacred my partner or stolen sweets off small children in weeks.

[Cittasanto]

Hi Fede

No way would I ever have HRT.

I have heard these are awful in some cases, not all but when they are bad they are bad.

They seem to be working.
I haven't massacred my partner or stolen sweets off small children in weeks.

LOL

[rowyourboat]

wasnt coffee used by christian monks to help them pray?

[Ben]

I would say that coffee wasn't used to help them pray so much as it was probably used to help them stay awake!
And when it comes to my meditation, I usually don't start an early morning session without first having a cup of coffee.
Kind regards

Ben

[appicchato]

And when it comes to my meditation, I usually don't start an early morning session without first having a cup of coffee.

Viva cafe...

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

At work, me and my friend Ramsis call coffee "wake up juice" or just "juice" for short.

"Juice time?"



Seriously though, I've found coffee can be useful to offset sloth and torpor... but don't overdo it or you'll lean towards the hindrance of restlessness and anxiety.



Metta,
Retro.

[zavk]

No coffee for me before meditation, it stimulates my mind too much. A cup of tea does the job nicely in the morning, it perks me up without over stimulating the mind.

[AdvaitaJ]

I've been drinking coffee in copious quantities for forty years. About 10 years ago, I reached some sort of "tipping point" at which time I became hyper-sensitive to the caffeine. Sometime after that, I switched to half-caf which has worked well.

Regards: AdvaitaJ

[Jechbi]

what are you hooked on?

Dopamine. (As produced in the brain.)

[yogamaggie]

As far as I know, coffee drinking arose during the early modern period so I doubt Christian monks were drinking coffee.

[flyingOx]

what are you hooked on?

Dopamine. (As produced in the brain.)

All endorphins are friggin awesome man. They can take me way out there. Like WOH!.. DUDE!

[woini]

As far as I know, coffee drinking arose during the early modern period so I doubt Christian monks were drinking coffee.

In Ethiopia there is the story of how coffee was discovered. A goat herder watched as his goats ate from a plant and he noticed that they were full of energy and vibrant. He tried the plant and then introduced it to the world. It happened in the 9th century A.D. Historians agree that Ethiopia is the country of origin for the discovery and few dispute it. Ethiopia is one of the largest exporters of coffee today.

[nomad]

I’ve never found any external substance such as ginko, caffeine, or B12 to be particularly helpful during meditation. If anything, coffee has been a serious detriment to more than one of my meditation sessions. Usually if I have a full stomach and I’m comfortable, it’s enough to keep my mind focused.

~nomad