> Very similar to meditation. The best meditation advice I got was to just sit down, focus on doing nothing and be OK with being bored. Not some breathing techniques, how to focus your mind, posture etc. That comes later, very naturally, after you get curious about improvements.
Chilling != meditation. Like I get that chilling is helpful for you but words have meaning and that is not meditation.
Chilling is not “doing nothing”. When people use that word they usually mean consuming content (listening to music, watching shows, reading book) or doing some other relaxing thing (knitting).
You’re right that words have meaning, and purposefully doing nothing at all to the point of being uncomfortable with it is antithetical to “chilling”.
> The best meditation advice I got was to just sit down, focus on doing nothing and be OK with being bored
Without any proper technique or guidance, this is just chilling. What does it mean to "focus on doing nothing here?". I can apply this sentence to binge watching 10 episodes of Friends, getting stoned, just slouching on the couch, staring at walls etc etc. That is what it means to chill.
OTOH, to meditate is a very explicit, focused action which requires technique and discipline.
Watching Netflix or getting stoned is clearly not doing nothing. If you take it literally then it becomes clear what is meant: just being, without indulging in anything, not even our thoughts. I agree this requires focus, but i don't think it requires technique but rather practice. As for discipline, i don't even know what that is
> I agree this requires focus, but i don't think it requires technique but rather practice.
Tell me how you would do this without a technique. Your mind wanders and a random thought appears, what do you do? Whatever you are going to say next is by definition a technique. The fact that there a multiple answers to this questions means that the problem is open to a variety of techniques that have a range of effectiveness. This implies teaching and guidance.
I guess I agree with you when you put it like this. I think I don't like the term "technique" here because it makes it sound as if there's something you need prior to starting meditating; as if there are some requirements to meditating; whereas I would argue meditation is not that different from the non-meditative state. Sure there are techniques like counting your breaths or body-scanning but I think this is all secondary to just sitting still and noticing whatever appears.
There is no one true meaning to the word meditation.
We can say there's real meditation, and we can discuss what that means to no end.
But simply the word meditation means different things depending on which stage you're at. The trick is not to be contrarian like you're coming off despite your probably best intentions, but rather to accurately assess what each meditator needs at their stage of the practice, and see how your words can propel them like the wind on a sail.
Chilling != meditation. Like I get that chilling is helpful for you but words have meaning and that is not meditation.