Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why? 
I know I'll get some heat for this, but here it goes anyway.<p>Disclaimer: I'm a Christian. Not of those that make the news or your typical "fundamentalist". I read and study the Bible and do my best to be a good person, understanding the world around me yet living as closely as possible from that which God has asked of me, through the Bible. And if you ask, I've been doing pretty good at it while remaining relevant in the world around me, even in the tech community, so often agnostic or even atheist.<p>Meditation, unlike commonly thought of, is not about "emptying your mind" or "getting in tune with the Universe". Meditation is all about letting a thought, concept or idea completely soak your brain. That allows you a superior cognitive understanding of it. The different areas of your brain will be called to process it from all different angles.
From a Christian standpoint, there are a few things that we are called to meditate on: "(…) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (<a href="http://bible.us/Phil4.8.ESV" rel="nofollow">http://bible.us/Phil4.8.ESV</a>) If you read the previous verses on that passage (4-6), it talks about "rejoicing" and "not worrying". That is only possible when you let your brain soak in the pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, etc thoughts.<p>Now, I'm not trying to preach or ask you to follow Christ or God. What I'm telling you is that meditation is <i>actively</i> thinking about certain things and those things alone. It's not passive. It's not "emptying your mind". That is relaxation and it's also a good thing. But "emptying your mind" without filling it with the right things can have terrible consequences.<p>Personally, I'm trying to "disconnect" a little bit more. Less Twitter. Less RSS. Less… Apple rumors. Why? Those are all fine things and I enjoy knowing the latest news on the things that interest me. But living on the "now" has terrible consequences over how I analyze the past and prepare the future. I need to read more books and… meditate on what is important.<p>Bottom line: take time off, unplug, relax. Read/listen to things that fit the verse I quoted or bring up things that are either troubling or exciting you. Then allow yourself to unwind by letting the silence around you help you focus on what you have soaked your brain in. And I'd say "pray", but that mind be beyond the scope of your question… ;)