While I'm not sure about this, I think mettā might be a form of P.J. Eby's Mmm Test, which aims specifically at reinforcing positive patterns of feeling about other people.
Yeah, I agree. It's sort of priming yourself to feel positively about people. That gives me a good idea: on days when I don't find time for a full vipassana session, I think I will try to still spend a few minutes on mettā just to reinforce those neural pathways.
Also, I just started cleaning my desk. XD I'd been meaning to do that for a while ...
After seeing that mettā and P.J. Eby's Mmm Test could be connected, I crafted my own little practice that kind of melds aspects of both of them. After meditating for an hour in the morning I spend 2-4 minutes imagining an awesome far future, and then imagine doing awesome things to realize it.
For the far future I imagine a fun-theoretic posthuman civilization, with all sorts of exotic amazingness. I then imagine myself taking near future actions toward reducing existential risk.
I don't know how much this affects my behavior (if at all). The level of abstra...
Related to: Understanding vipassana meditation, Vipassana Meditation: Developing Meta-Feeling Skills
This is a place to discuss experiences and problems related to practicing vipassana meditation. This space can also be used to organize meditation events or retreats.