[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Clyde Sullins on January 28th, 2015, 7:26 pm

Lore Workshop Thread

Introduction

Meditation is the skill of clearing one's mind of thought and outside forces. At lower levels, it allows the meditator to better concentrate on a task and deal with annoyances and distractions. At its highest levels, it gives the ability to delve into deep meditative trances in which they can cut off entire senses at will, focus through the worst of distractions without being unnerved or losing focus, and even deepen understanding of themselves and the world around them. Some truly great masters of meditation have even been rumored to be able to enter the Chavena at will, and to enter Dreamlike states where they can look upon their own life, and even protect their dreams from outside influences.

It is used by a wide spectrum of people throughout Mizahar, for both mundane and magical tasks, or even spiritual or intellectual ones.

It can be used in varying degrees to enhance one's life, and many people who have skill in meditation will take time to center themselves before doing something of importance; oftentimes finding themselves better off than those who do not. Though obviously this is only helpful if they can predict the upcoming event, and prepare and center themselves beforehand. Something that comes by surprise will be hard to prepare for, or to meditate in advance of.

[Contents]
1 Prerequisites and Related Skills
1.1 Personal Magic
1.2 Combat
1.3 Exercise
1.4 Observation
1.5 World Magic
1.6 Gnosis
1.7 Mental Defenses
2 Training
2.1 Breathing
2.2 Focus
2.3 Posture
2.4 Sources of Meditation Instruction
3 Phases of Meditation
3.1 Initial Phase
3.2 Centered Phase
3.3 Trance Phase
4 Skill Progression

1- Prerequisites and Related Skills

Meditation is a complementary skill, thus it does have not any prerequisites. It is capable of enhancing or assisting various skills if the meditator centers themselves prior to the activity, or to aid in the aforementioned mental fortitude. There are even some skills that compliment meditation to the point that they can enhance certain meditative techniques.

It is important to bear in mind that anything that would be considered a distraction for the meditator's level will knock them out of a centered state. Only experts or masters can keep centered while being active or doing anything strenuous such as combat, and experts can still lose their centered state by greater distractions.

1.1-Personal Magic

First and foremost, meditation is commonly used in several initiations into personal magics. Certain magics, such as morphing, hypnotism, and voiding require days or even weeks of solitude and meditation to unlock.

It also affects some of the factors or strains that influence using personal magic, that of "ability to concentrate" and to a lesser extent "fatigue." (These quotes are in reference to those mentioned here) By centering oneself prior to casting, the Mage is more easily able to focus their magic, to control it, and to concentrate through distractions. In general, a mage who is skilled in meditation will be harder to distract and will be able to concentrate more than an uncentered mage in similar circumstances.

Additionally for experts and masters, it may become easier to resist the impulse to cast more and more magic known as sweet whispers.

Meditation is also believed to mitigate the consequences of overgiving to a degree. One can do this by centering themselves, or resting in a deep trance to fight the effects. While this can lessen some of the mental effects, and accelerate recovery time, it won't usually assist with any permanent effects brought on by overgiving.

Meditation, unlike leeching, does not allow one to do more magic. Doing more magic after meditating to mitigate overgiving will only make any previous attempts at doing so void and take away any relief that has been gained. Where leeching allows one to put off overgiving to a later time, and potentially makes it worse, meditation can assist in coping with and or lessening its effects.

Regular meditation, over a period of time, can accelerate the time needed to recover from a particular instance of overgiving. Deeper trances would lessen the effects felt due to overgiving.

1.2-Combat

Meditation can often help in combat by keeping people from being distracted in a number of ways. It helps them stay focused on the task at hand, and keeps them from becoming distracted by irrelevant information, outside stimuli, or even physical injuries.

In order to achieve this, however, the person needs to center themselves before fighting. This means that if one is caught in an ambush, and they did not have time to meditate, then this skill would be nearly useless. It is mostly used when a planned spar or scheduled fight is occurring.

Generally, only experts or masters in meditation can keep centered in the midst of a fight as the activity would be far too distracting for anyone else. Both experts and masters are capable of staying centered if they sustain a minor injury, but it is only the master user that can stay focused if if he sustains a serious injury.

1.3-Exercise
Meditation can be useful in exercise by helping to focus on repetitive or repeated acts. Less strenuous workouts can be used as a means to center oneself.

If already centered, highly skilled users can use it for more strenuous workouts as it allows them to be able to work through the pain that would normally make them stop. This can also be dangerous if they push themselves too far as strained muscles and bone fractures can easily be overlooked in this state.

1.4-Observation

Observation is a skill that can aid certain meditation techniques. When a person is skilled in both observation and meditation they can enter deep trances where they have the opportunity to reflect upon recent events and experiences; reliving the moments in order to notice details that were previously missed.

This does not enhance their observation abilities, nor does it allow them to sense things they cannot normally sense within their abilities (i.e. thoughts, or things outside of your sensory range), but it can help a user to focus and notice things that they might normally ignore or pass over as unimportant at the time. It may also be helpful to delve through memories in order to pick out specific facts of that event that they may have forgotten, or that they might see in a new light with what they know now. However it is still limited to what was directly sensed and what they were aware of at the time.

1.5-World Magic

Certain world magics that require a strong willpower, such as Spiritism, where users undergo possession by spirits, and Summoning, where they are dealing with another beings will in order to control them, can be aided by the force of mind and willpower gained through long term meditation. The aid in mental fortitude can be invaluable to such practitioners. It does not make their magic any more powerful, but can help them in dealing with others, and in keeping from being controlled against their will by these entities.

1.6-Gnosis

While meditation does not directly enhance one's gnosis in some cases it can be helpful in activating, focusing on the task of using the gnosis, or approaching a state of mind in which you can better understand or connect with a deity.

Such gnosis that are aided by meditation include: Dreamwalking, Inavalti, Izentor, Lykata, Oceanus, and Severing.

However, it is important to note that the only enhancement occurs to the wielder; using meditation does not make the gnosis itself any more powerful unless specifically stated on that gnosis's lore.

1.7-Mental Defenses

Someone who is skilled in meditation will likely have more mental fortitude than someone without similar training. This is due to a combination of training one's mind, learning to deal with distractions and stressors, and the general self awareness brought on by spending time in introspection and getting to know yourself.

This means that they will be better able to deal with stress over time, or to break free of mental prisons, such as the ones created by high level chaon. Users can also better defend themselves from having their mind altered or dominated by another persons will, such as against practitioners of hypnotism. This can be done in various ways. Against higher level mental attacks or techniques it may require a user to retreat inside of their mind where such outward influences cannot touch them. For lesser techniques simply centering oneself may be enough to fight off the mental intrusion.

Note that this does not mean they can immediately do so, nor that they can break free of effects far stronger than their own skill in meditation, but it can assist in mitigating or lessening such mental effects. Along with this the more subtle or stealthy such an effect is, the more difficult it is to combat or to even notice so as to be able to raise one's mental defenses, such as in the case of very subtle uses of hypnotism.

2- Training

Meditation has many common practices which can aid in meditating or gaining a meditative state while remaining calm and focused.

2.1-Breathing

One of the first things someone will learn in meditation is to control their breathing. Keeping an even pace to one’s breathing can be calming and can assist in entering a meditative state.

2.2-Focus

When meditating, it is common to focus on a specific object, concept, or action.

Object/Image- Often, this is something the person is familiar with. They concentrate within their mind and form a specific image and exclude all else. It could be a smooth pebble that they saw earlier that day, a complicated knot within the bark of a tree, the waves of surf crashing upon a beach, a God they worship, a person they love, or even a favorite sword - as long as they can concentrate on it alone.

Generally, this is either a pleasant image, or a calming or neutral one. An image that elicits strong emotion such as hate, anger, lust, or greed, or that is directly conflicting with what you are trying to achieve or what you are meditating on is not recommended.

Also note, this only helps in the initial phase, and can actually be counterproductive to meditation when trying to go any deeper.

Concept- This is another means of focus, in which the person focuses on a specific concept, instead of something that is physical. This could be the concept of absolute emptiness, or justice and righteousness. It could be of chaos, of darkness, or of life. Often this is used by practitioners who use their meditation as a form of devotion or worship to a deity, and the concept they often follow is that of the domain of their deity. These people often feel that meditating on the concept of their deity brings them closer to them, and to understanding them.

Action- This means of focus is similar to ones used in personal magic; of incantations and gestures. It is also better for people in which sitting still and doing nothing is particularly difficult. Instead, they can use the specific repetitive action to calm and focus them, and send them into a meditative state in which their actions mean nothing, due to the repetition.

Examples of this are chanting the same word or set of words over and over, moving in a set pattern such as a set exercise or activity, or simply walking at a steady pace while clearing one's mind of thoughts. This can be counterproductive to higher phases beyond becoming centered.

2.3-Posture

Posture used while meditating varies from person to person. Something that is comfortable and useful to one practitioner can be nothing but painful to another. As a result, many different postures are adopted; some prefer to be sitting, possibly with their legs crossed. Others prefer standing. And others prefer to invent their own unique posture to take on while meditating. The posture itself is not important as long as it can be held for a long period of time and is comfortable to the user.

2.4-Sources of Meditation instruction:

Meditation is a skill one can both discover and hone by oneself in the absence of teachers and books. However, there are various forms of external sources of training which can be useful.

Books- Often the easiest form of instruction for meditation, most libraries or places that sell books will have basic books on meditation going over the basic concepts and usages by a novice, and some very basic exercises or means of becoming focused.

Higher level books with information on the trance states or other abilities only available to experts or masters of meditation will be harder to find, and much more expensive if they can be found. Even then, these will often just be a general overview of the concepts or some simple exercises in the specific states. Only the most extensive and largest of libraries will have more complete books written by accomplished users of meditation, and these will almost never be for sale.

It is important to note that content found in books will vary from place to place, as it is shaped heavily around the native culture.

For instance a book on meditation in Zeltiva would likely have been written by a mage, and so would be more focused on what is useful for a magic user in their castings. Another such book found in Ravok might focus on meditating on the concept of chaos, worshiping the divinity of Rhysol and have more of a religious bias.

Teacher- Teachers are usually harder to find than books on meditation, and will also vary from place to place. Like with books, this is usually affected by the people and culture of a place. The teachings of an instructor of meditation will vary quite greatly between a Konti in Mura, a Priest in Ravok, or a knight in Syliras.

However, while a book will provide the theory and a few practice exercises, an instructor can lead their students in meditation, providing assistance in becoming centered, while pointing out incorrect methods. They can give hands-on experience and explain what works and what does not. In addition, although their guidance can be limited as meditation revolves around self-reflection and is generally an independent activity, a skilled user of meditation can guide a novice down the correct path and prepare them for the sensations they will experience while providing priceless recollections of their own journeys.

3- Phases of Meditation

There are several phases to meditation; all of which are for different purposes and come with their own weaknesses. In general, the deeper into meditation one is; the more ignorant and exposed they are to the world around them. So comparatively, at the shallow levels of meditation one would be aware of everything around them, while at the deepest levels they are oblivious to the world.

At master level, while in a trance, if someone were to stab you or someone was standing in front of you talking, you would not notice or be aware of either occurrence. This is because as the deeper you sink into meditation, the less influenced you are by the events outside your mind.

3.1- Initial Phase

Often for newer users this is as far as they will get. The initial phase of meditation is when you are just beginning to meditate on this specific occasion. It is very shallow, and is generally easy for one to be broken out of by any distraction that affects the user at their current skill level. If any distraction affects the user during this phase, they will have to start over.

It is possible to move in this phase, but only in simple repetitive ways. Considered an action style of focus, it is ill-suited for fighting or doing anything that requires deviation, such as some sort of crafting.

In this phase, only very minor advantages are given. People in this phase will tend to be calmer, breathe more evenly, and will be slightly more focused – at least compared to someone without skill in meditation. This is because the person is able to use the same focus techniques used in meditation in their life to calm them down and be able to focus better.

Note though that in this case it is the techniques learned in order to meditate that are helping, not actually meditation, as only highly skilled users can meditate while active, and only masters while fighting heavily.

If for instance a person is angered, they can take a few moments, breathe, and focus their mind to make themselves calmer and less likely to do something regrettable. These are all common techniques used by practitioners to gain focus.

3.2- Centered Phase

This is the state most users aspire for and attempt to hold for as long as possible. It tends to be easy for lesser users to be knocked out of, and only expert or better users can stay centered while doing any kind of sustained activity.

It is in this phase that a person is truly calm and objective; they are able to keep their focus on the subject of their choosing. However, if any of the distractions for their level occur while the user is centered, they will be knocked out of that centered state.

In this state, by being more self-aware, a user is able to keep calm and rational, looking at things objectively, and thinking at a deeper level than normal as they tune out the various outside distractions. In general, this is the state of meditation in which one wants to reach before doing whatever important task they have been meditating upon.

For instance, prior to completing a specific act of Reimancy, a Reimancer that centers himself will be able to ignore distractions, better focus on his magic, and control it.

A scholar, on the other hand, might simply reach this state and think about things in it; using it to stay objective and halt any previous preconceptions that would regularly distract them from free-thinking.

3.3- Trance Phase

This is the only state which cannot be used while being active and in general requires the user to be absolutely still; except for breathing. These trances are often what people think of when they think of meditation, where one is their own island in a ocean; unconscious to the world around them. This status can only be achieved by expert or master users, and only masters can stay in this state for prolonged periods of time.

In this trance state, a user is able to retreat completely inside of themselves; utilizing a variety of techniques in order to think clearly and delve into their own memories.

However, this is also one of the greatest dangers of meditation. By tuning oneself out from the external world, that same world has the potential to become a risky environment to not be aware of. For instance, a person in a trance might not notice the sound of someone creeping up on them, or the smell of smoke in the air if something is burning, like the building they are resting in.

Waking Dream/Lucid Dream- This is a type of meditation where a person retreats within themselves and in their mind to go to a "happy place." It is a place populated either by subconscious or by directed thoughts that will it to take on a specific form – it is similar to a dream.

Often this will initially take on a common shape or "place", and is usually a location where one feels at ease and safe. For an avid reader this might be a secluded area in a familiar library. For a warrior this might be an often used training hall, or it could be one's childhood home as they sit in a comfortable chair in front of a warm fire. This generally will vary from person to person, and rarely will two people have the exact same happy place.

Once they have entered this happy place, the person in the trance is free to populate it with objects or people from their memory, or with more abstract ideas or images that they can think of. Often though these images will be warped by observations or preconceptions of an object or person and will not truly represent the object itself.

This type of trance is often used as a stepping stone for other trances, or used as a safe place to retreat to within the mind in-between sessions. It is usually where the meditator appears when first entering a trance state.

Some people will actually "view" the results of other trance states from the safety of this happy place. For instance, they could see the memories in a memory trance as if through a window in their happy place like the events of the memory are taking place through the window.

Usually those who spend time in their happy place will come out feeling invigorated and refreshed, as if they had just spent the time in their trance in a deep sleep.

Deep Sleeping- Considered a variation of the trance state, deep sleeping is something that masters of meditation can do. The normal process for this is to lie down and enter a waking dream trance. Once there, they will focus for a few chimes and then will themselves to fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

By doing so they are able to immediately enter into a sleep state where they can sleep without being awoken. The main purpose of this deep trance is to allow the user to capitalize on their time and feel twice as rested when they awaken than the amount of sleep they actually experienced.

Similar to a full trance, while in this state, the user will not be able to be roused no matter what is going on around them. For this reason it is only a good idea to use this when in a safe place or with someone watching over them, or else the user risks being killed in their sleep.

There are two methods of specifying when to awake or how long to sleep, the focus method and the counting method, both of which are done just prior to entering the deep sleeping state, and tend to work with varying degrees of accuracy.

For the focus method the user will focus on either a time of day they wish to awaken, or they will focus on a period of time to sleep, and then enter the deep sleeping state. For the time of day method to work they must also be roughly aware of what time of day it is currently, which usually means either checking the sun before meditating, or if they have one a clock. If it is night time or one is underground the time of day method can be particularly difficult without a clock.

For the counting method, the user must focus on the amount of time they want to sleep while in their waking dream state, and slowly count out an increment of that time before actually entering a deep sleep. For instance, if a user wanted to sleep for two bells, they could count to one chime slowly in their head, and then concentrate on waking in another 120 counts of that counted time. However, if the person is bad at pacing themselves or counting off the time then they could end up sleeping less or more than they intended. It can often be useful for this process to have an accurate clock or such device to help pace oneself in their counting. (The counting method requires at least novice level skill in mathematics)

Both of these methods are not perfect, and often the user will end up sleeping less or more time than they intended. For the focus method this is 50% less or more than the intended time, and for the counting method this is 25% less or more than the intended time.

For example if someone wished to sleep for 4 bells, and used the focus method, they would sleep somewhere between 2 and 6 bells. Using the counting method for the same 4 bells they would sleep between 3 and 5 bells.

Regardless of the length of sleep or accuracy of waking, a user will still gain the benefit of deep sleeping and wake with the benefits of having slept for twice as long as they actually have.

Thinking Trance- In this state, a practitioner will totally submerse themselves in their mind; blocking out all distractions, all preconceptions, and everything but the single topic upon which they are focusing. In such a trance, users will find themselves able to create new ideas and new avenues of research or experimentation for specific subjects, as things that would normally seem irrational or impossible can be viewed with a new sense of clarity. It is in this state that the user can truly be innovative, connecting ideas and concepts that formerly appeared disparate due to the distractions of life.

They are still limited by their own knowledge of the subject, but those who know a great deal about it already can further their craft in ways previously thought impossible. One could even notice the ways in which a variation of skills can be used in conjunction to reach a greater whole.

Memory Trance- In this trance, like the others, a user will become totally immersed in their own mind and oblivious to the world around them. However, unlike the previous state where a user meditates on a specific subject, here, a person will focus on a specific time period in their past. For experts, this is generally limited to only a few days back and at their greatest extent a season prior, but masters can go back as far as they want - even back to their own childhood.

In general, the deeper one goes into their past while meditating, the longer it will take one to attain that memory and relive it. However, masters tend to be faster at delving deeper due to their mastery of meditation, so while it might take an expert bells of constant meditation in order to relive a memory from half a season ago, a master could achieve it in merely a few chimes of meditation. A master can go back decades in this state; taking a few bells per decade.

Another important tool in this state is markers. Since it is often impossible to go far enough back in a single sitting, a skilled user will memorize a specific portion of time, as a place marker in their work. Then, when they next enter a memory trance, they can start from that same marker, instead of needing to begin over. It is usually useful for this specific portion of time to be memorable, so that it is easier to focus on it and recall it amongst other memories.

This is more useful for masters as it can allow them over time to go all the way back to their childhood; often spanning days or even seasons of regular meditation to reach so far back. And while experts are limited to one marker at a time, masters can have several at once, reaching up to three at the extreme limit.

Once a specific memory has been reached, it is possible for the user to relive that moment in their mind at the same pace as the first time. They are limited to what they observed with their senses in the time they first experienced it, but sometimes hindsight allows them to make connections with details that at the time went unnoticed. For instance, knowledge that you know now may bring new light to past words or actions said by others.

A danger here is in getting lost in the past. While reliving their own memories, the user can get so caught up that they forget about their present life. Many masters of meditation get lost in the “better days”, traveling so far into the past that they find themselves becoming addicted to how life used to be, or on the thought of what might have been if they could change events.

4- Skill Progression

Novice-

A novice is simply learning the basics; how to breathe, finding a means of focus, and a posture. Meditation can only help in very minor ways such as keeping a bit more focused, calmer, and controlled. They are limited to the initial and centered phase, though they cannot hold the latter for long. It takes them at least 30 chimes of focus to center themselves if uninterrupted, and they are easily roused from it by any distraction.

A person who is a novice in meditation tends to be easily distracted. Even such simple things as birds calling, or the wind on their skin, or someone talking nearby, can break their concentration.

Competent-

At this stage they have better learned how to deal with minor irritants and distractions. But any moderate distractions like excessively loud or sudden noises, or someone coming up and pushing them over or hitting them will break them from their state.

At this level they can more quickly center themselves. Steady breathing is almost second nature to them, and they find that they have more clarity when focusing and thinking, and on keeping calm and on task even when people try to get a rise out of them by berating or teasing them, or when in stressful situations. They are now skilled enough to hold the centered phase for longer periods of time, and are not so easily knocked out of it. It usually takes them 10-15 chimes to become centered, as long as nothing interrupts or distracts them.

At this level daily sessions of meditation and becoming centered can mitigate overgiving to a degree, making its mental effects slightly lessened when the user is centered, and cutting the time of recovery by 1/4. (So an effect of overgiving that normally takes 20 days to recover would now take 15.)

This includes things such as imaginary pain, a desire to cast for no reason, or sudden outbursts of anger. This does not lessen physical symptoms or effects of overgiving, such as numb limbs or blurred vision, but it can still accelerate recovery time of such effects.

Expert-

At this level it is now possible for them to enter a trance. It is at this point that they can maintain a state of being centered in the midst of a battle; allowing them to stay calm and focused. It is also at this point that a focus becomes less important, and they can enter the centered state simply by breathing for a time.

Moderate pains and stimuli can be ignored, and once they are fully in a centered state they can even block out certain senses to a degree, not nullifying them but softening them and making them less extreme, making deeper trances possible.

They can also enter memory trances in which they can relive events from recent days and notice details they did not notice prior, using only a maximum of one marker at a time. They can enter their "happy place" and rest for a few bells at a time in it. They can also make connections between very different subjects in a thinking trance, and think more deeply upon a specific subject. It takes them 2-5 chimes to become centered, and 10-15 chimes to enter a trance.

It is at this stage that safety in meditation becomes an issue, as they can delve deep enough within their own mind to not notice threats or other signs of danger that would have broken their state at lower levels. From this point on meditation is best done with a trusted ally for protection, or while in some kind of safe or isolated place.

At this level daily sessions of meditation and becoming centered can mitigate overgiving even more, making its mental effects greatly lessened when centered, almost nonexistent when in a trance, and cutting the time of recovery by 1/3.

Master-

At this point, a master of meditation is an island within his own mind. Nothing will break their focus, not even being stabbed, run through by a sword, losing a limb, or being set on fire. The only limit is that of the physical body and its inclination towards fatigue and exhaustion.

When in a trance they can cut off the input of specific senses or even make themselves oblivious to the world outside of their mind. They can choose between cutting off all senses and cutting off all but one sense.

They are almost always in a centered state and can enter it instantly; as well as only needing 2-5 chimes to enter a trance state. When in a deep meditative state, they can go through almost all of their memories - even back to childhood - and notice things they were too young to understand at the time. They can use up to 3 markers at once.

By now they also understand themselves at an intrinsic level. They think with absolute clarity and while in a trance of deep thought, they are able to make connections between facts others might feel are impossible or blasphemous in their revelatory nature.

They can meditate and stay centered while asleep in order to protect themselves from outside interference and influences, and can stay in their "happy place" without being interrupted for days; barring any physical thing that forces them to stop meditating. They are also now capable of deep sleeping.

At this level daily sessions of meditation and becoming centered can greatly mitigate overgiving, making its mental effects greatly lessened when centered, almost nonexistent when in a trance, and cutting the time of recovery by 1/2.
Last edited by Clyde Sullins on December 13th, 2015, 6:53 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Clydes Stuff

I am actually in RL a super intelligent hamster from Rhode Island, with a 7 year plan to take over the world.

Update 6/2/18- 1:10AM EST: His 7 year plan a success, and several weeks ahead of schedule, Clyde leaves to oversee the world he has taken over.

No new threads after end of Spring 518-Will still be checking for PM's occasionally, but focusing on a new character.

Graders note: :
Please be aware Clyde is a master Magecrafter. He therefore should not be gaining full xp(or possibly shouldn't gain any at all) for simple tasks related to this magic, such as low level MC items, particularly for repetitions of creations he has done before. Feel free to contact me if unsure of a instance of his magic use compared to his skill level.
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Irriari on January 30th, 2015, 1:19 am

I think my main issue with this skill and with some of the trances is the idea of "Observation- This is one skill that can actually aid certain meditation techniques. When a person is skilled in both observation and meditation, they can enter deep trances where they have the opportunity to reflect upon recent events and experiences; reliving the moments in order to notice details that were previously missed. While this is Miz and modern psychology might not be applicable, I think that this kind of paints an untrue picture of human memory. Memory is extremely fallible and prone to many changes over time. You can a) Not remember things correctly in the first place (e.g. thinking it was snowing when it was actually raining), b) Change the memory due to stimuli after the fact (e.g. When Jen told the story she said it was snowing, so it must have been snowing) c) recall the memory wrong or with missing pieces.

With all these taken together (plus the fact that memory is so very limited), I don't think it would be possible to recall details you didn't see before. If it was the main focus of your attention at the time and it was in the very recent past, you might be able to meditate to recall more specific details. However, it's far more likely that you memory will have recorded bits and pieces and you have to try to piece them together. Small details (like the color of a horse your friend was riding 10 years ago) are likely going to be made up or wrong.

I do love the rest of it and didn't see any other errors. However the above strikes me as relating more to echoic/visual storing abilities or memory. Take it with a grain of salt.
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Kailily Sinclair on March 16th, 2015, 4:34 pm

Yea i feel the same way, it looks solid though.

Id like to see some stuff on what happens if the meditative trance is broken during over giving recovery, what are the time intervals that are required? An hour ? two hours ? Do you need to be in a state of meditation all day? I figure there comes a point when you need to eat and sleep and there are different states of overgiving ranging from light to bad to worse etc.

Anyway as usual its a great piece just needs a smidge more info
Shout out to Aventis for helping with my avatar. :)
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Lorden Ladis on March 21st, 2015, 7:07 pm

Minor Suggestions:


Exercise- Meditation can be useful in exercise by helping one to focus on repetitive or repeated acts. Less strenuous workouts can be used as a means to center oneself.

If already centered, highly skilled users can use it for more strenuous workouts as it allows one to be able to work through the pain that would normally make you stop. This can also be dangerous if you push yourself too far as strained muscles and bone fractures can easily be overlooked in this status.


'Status' should probably read 'state'. Otherwise, the wording makes reading jarring, and takes a second or two to make sense of.

It also affects some of the factors or strains that affects using personal magic, that of "ability to concentrate" and to a lesser extent "fatigue."


I'd change 'affects' to 'affect', just my two-cents. In its current state, tacking the 's' on to the end of the word, makes the reading a bit odd, if that makes any sense at all.

Like combat, if one is caught unawares, they would not likely have time to center themselves.


'Unawares' should be 'unaware'.

Where leeching allows one to put off overgiving to a later time and potentially make it worse, meditation can assist in mitigating it, and speed the recovery process.


You said mitigating a few too many times, imo. I'd rephrase the highlighted portion to read 'in coping with and or lessening its effects, while simultaneously potentially speeding one's recovery process'.

Such gnosis that are aided by meditation include: Dreamwalking, Inavalti, Izentor, Lykata, Oceanus, and Severing.


Just saying that Evantia could probably be aided as well, seeing as it takes discipline to utilize it, to its full capabilities. Additionally, being in a meditive state, could assist one in picking up anything that may occur within their expanded aura ;)

It could be a smooth pebble that they saw on the walk there, a complicated knot within the bark of a tree, the waves of surf crashing upon a beach, a God they worship, a person they love, or even a favorite sword - as long as they can concentrate on it alone.


What is this 'there' that we're talking about? I take it take it that you're referring to wherever the person that is meditating, is currently at. However, you did not establish any location as an example; that being said, I don't think it's necessary that you do. Rather I would rephrase the sentence slightly to state:

"on a walk earlier that day,"

or simply

"earlier that day"

This is the only state which cannot be used while being active and in general requires you to be absolutely still; except for breathing.


This is an overview, not a one-on-one lesson. Thus, this should probably read 'a user' or 'a student of meditation'.

Further Thoughts:


I think my main issue with this skill and with some of the trances is the idea of "Observation- This is one skill that can actually aid certain meditation techniques. When a person is skilled in both observation and meditation, they can enter deep trances where they have the opportunity to reflect upon recent events and experiences; reliving the moments in order to notice details that were previously missed. While this is Miz and modern psychology might not be applicable, I think that this kind of paints an untrue picture of human memory. Memory is extremely fallible and prone to many changes over time. You can a) Not remember things correctly in the first place (e.g. thinking it was snowing when it was actually raining), b) Change the memory due to stimuli after the fact (e.g. When Jen told the story she said it was snowing, so it must have been snowing) c) recall the memory wrong or with missing pieces.

With all these taken together (plus the fact that memory is so very limited), I don't think it would be possible to recall details you didn't see before. If it was the main focus of your attention at the time and it was in the very recent past, you might be able to meditate to recall more specific details. However, it's far more likely that you memory will have recorded bits and pieces and you have to try to piece them together. Small details (like the color of a horse your friend was riding 10 years ago) are likely going to be made up or wrong.

I do love the rest of it and didn't see any other errors. However the above strikes me as relating more to echoic/visual storing abilities or memory. Take it with a grain of salt.


I just wanted to offer my take on Irriari's post. While I'm no expert, I think the main point I'd like to bring up is that, while the concept of a soul is debated irl, it does exist in Miz, and it does record memories. In fact, a whole layer of the Mortal Soul, is dedicated to 'storing' memories and skills, to quote the Soul wiki-article.

"Persona is the second layer, containing the soul's personality, feelings, skills and memories. It is more subject to modification that the Soulcore, and is usually shed entirely - though perhaps only temporarily suppressed - during reincarnation."


So. what we get from this, is that the Persona does record memories, and it is not just the human mind that is responsible. However, you could also argue that the Persona can be modified, and might be inaccurate, as you said the Human-memory is. I just wanted to throw this observation out here; you'd need a Founder, the author of the Soul article, or someone more versed in the lore than I am, to tell you how exactly the soul relates to one's memories, and to what extent that they can be tapped. That aside, it is worth considering, if you're going to decide how and if memories can be recalled, via the use of Meditation.

Summary:


A very nice article, one of the most refined that I've seen, without extensive peer-editing. I've been looking forward to someone tackling the Meditation write-up for a while, and thus I'm glad to see a capable author taking on the task. Good luck Clyde, and props to your writing skill.
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Clyde Sullins on June 21st, 2015, 1:19 am

Alright, I've addressed all of the above comments as best as I could. I'll detail below any changes:

---

Irriari: That is a good point, memory isn't perfect. However I'd point out that when dealing with deep meditation trances we aren't dealing with normal memory retrieval.

I mean things like hypnotherapy allow people to access long forgotten or repressed memory. And meditation is all about going inward and getting through the haze and distractions.

I did however make a small addition on the observation note, -"It may also be helpful to delve through one’s memories in order to pick out specific facts of that event that you may have forgotten, or that you might see in a new light with what you know now. However it is still limited to what was directly sensed and what you were aware of at the time."

I'd also point out that experts are limited in memory trances to going back a single full season, which is mentioned under the memory trance lore. Its only at master level that you can go really far back. And by the time you are a master level meditator, well I'd think you'd be able to sort through such inconsistencies and issues.

But regardless, trances are only possible by experts or masters in mediation, so by this point they should have pretty fine control over such things.

You still, as you said, can't notice things you didn't directly sense before. You are limited to seeing and sensing in the same way as you did before. However the bigger focus of this technique is about looking back and reflecting, and perhaps putting things together in new ways that you can only do with your current knowledge.

Perhaps at the time you saw a symbol quite clearly, but it meant nothing to you, or perhaps you simply forgot in time that you saw that specific symbol at that given time. But perhaps now you know what it means, or your skill in something has increased, and this could give new meaning or understanding to a situation.

Such as say... At the time you had no skill in cryptography, and read a encoded letter. Now you have expert level skills, and suddenly the true meaning of the letter is quite clear.

If you specifically noted, "hey that guy has a grey horse with pink polka dots" in the given instance of it actually occurring, then you'd likey notice it in looking back. Otherwise, I'd say you didn't directly observe the specific fact, and it would sort of melt into the background while retrieving the memory. But that would be situation and person specific.

Maybe you really like flowers, and so you'd recall the specific types in the vase in your mothers room on a day when you were 5. Or perhaps you don't care about flowers, and wouldn't observe anything more than flower in a vase from going in the same room a couple of days ago.

---

Kailily: Overgiving mitigation is described in depth in the skill breakdown, for a given skill level. It says daily sessions, not that you need to meditate to the exception of all else for the entire recovery time. Considering most overgiving symptoms last for more than a few days, doing so non-stop wouldn't be feasible.

So that would mean you'd need to get to a centered state at least once a day for it to count, every day during the recovery process. I've added a small bit to the skill breakdown for each level making it clear that it simply requires achieving a centered state each day.

---

Lorden: Thanks for the grammar stuff, I tend to have issues with such. I think I made all of the grammar edits you noted.

I didn't alter the bit about gnosis, since I think I only listed ones that specifically mention meditation on them. But there is the possibility that it would be used in others.

---

Thanks for the comments, and helping me make further revisions, or to make things more clear.

I think its nearing completion, so shouldn't need too many more reviews before its ready.
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Sayana on June 22nd, 2015, 1:51 pm

Prerequisites and Related Skills

Formatting – make each skill more visibly obvious so that a reader could simply scroll down to see all the skills that meditation affects. This also applies to other sections that have lists but it's hard to quickly scan the items in the list.

Formatting – if personal magic is “first and foremost” then put it at the top of the list (just reordering)

“It also affects some of the factors or strains that affect using personal magic…”


The word “affect” is used twice in this sentence. If possible change it to a different word.

“If one meditates and centers themselves while being affected by it, or better yet, rests in a deep trance to fight the effects.”


Awkward wording. “rests in a deep trance one can fight the effects.”

“This does not allow one to do more magic, such as how leeching does.”


Awkward wording at the end. Also, avoid starting a new paragraph with “This” since the reader might not know what “This” is.

“while simultaneously potentially speeding one's recovery process”


Missing period. Also, you could take out the word “potentially” since it makes it long and wordy. I know you’re trying to stress that it’s not guaranteed to speed the recovery process but I don’t think the word is necessary.

“However, it is important to note that the only enhancement occurs to the wielder; using meditation does not make the gnosis itself any more powerful unless specifically stated on that gnosis' lore.”


I believe it would be gnosis’s lore since it’s a singular possession. For example: Goss’s domain.

“This is due to a combination of training ones mind”


Missing apostrophe: one's

“possibly by retreating inside of themselves were such outward influences cannot touch them or their mind.”


Change “were” to “where”.

If meditation can indeed resist against hypnotism, can it be stated right at the beginning of the “Mental Defenses” section? I think this is really relevant to readers and it’s only barely touched upon at the end of the section.


Training

Formatting: The first two methods (breathing and focus) do not have a dash while the others do have a dash before them. It looks funny. Oh. Now I see that the ones with dashes are subtopics of Focus. Can you make it more clear that these are subtopics and not just part of a single long list?


Phases of Meditation

“At master level if someone were to stab you, or someone was standing in front of you talking, you would not notice their presence at the deepest levels.This is because as the deeper you sink into meditation, the less influenced you are by the events outside your mind.”


Missing space between these two sentences (between levels and This).

“It is very shallow, and is generally easy for you to be broken out of by any distraction that affects you at your rank.”


What does “your rank” mean in this situation?

For the deep sleeping, with the ‘internal alarm clock’ where you count the number of chimes you want to sleep for, it feels rather odd and out of place to me. I just know that many times when I’ve had something really important to do and wake up for, I would simply be very focused on the time I want to wake up and strangely my body would wake me up just before that time. Of course, in real life I never rely on that sort of internal alarm clock, but the counting just seems odd. You can leave it in if you like but those are just my thoughts.


Skill Progression

“This includes things such as imaginary pain, a desire to cast for no reason, or sudden outbursts of anger. This does not lessen physical symptoms or effects of overgiving, such as numb limbs or blurred vision, but it can still accelerate recovery time of such effects.”


What was just stated sounded hypocritical. Meditation can help things like imaginary pain but can’t lessen physical symptoms, yet it can accelerate recovery time for physical symptoms. Oh, is the pain the same intensity but the recovery time can be quicker?

“At this level daily sessions of meditation and becoming centered can greatly mitigate overgiving, making its mental effects almost nonexistent when centered, completely unnoticed when in a trance, and cutting the time of recovery by 1/2.”


If a master of meditation is almost always in a centered state, then would they feel almost nonexistent mental effects of overgiving at any given time? Does that mean they only feel the physical effects? And does that recovery time that has been cut in half apply to only the mental effects or the physical effects too? (It would be redundant if it applied only to the mental effects since already you’re not feeling any since you’re in a centered state).


Expert: “They can enter their "happy place" and rest for a few bells at a time in it.”
Master: “They are also now capable of deep sleeping.”

For expert, is ‘rest’ referring to deep sleeping or something else? In the master explanation it implies that they weren’t able to do any deep sleeping until master level was reached.



A few more thoughts:

What about food, water, and sleep? Are these a concern for someone who is meditating for long periods of time? Can you point out these dangers? As in lack of food/water/sleep.

Also, while deep sleeping can double the effects of sleep, do other forms of meditation or trances correspond to sleep at all? For example, if you were meditating for 8 hours all night in a memory trance, are you now really tired and need to get sleep since you didn’t sleep all night? Or since it was a trance it was sort of like sleeping?

And then in terms of master meditators being able to ignore stab wounds or being set on fire, it might be good to point out the dangers of being set on fire to the physical body. I know it’s obvious, but it might be good to note.


Overall, really well done and very thorough. I liked how you included different uses for meditation other than personal magic.
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Clyde Sullins on June 28th, 2015, 10:42 pm

Whew, nice comprehensive review Sayana, I'll try and address all of it. You made some really good points.

- Pre-req and related- I made this bit more like how I did it for the types of trances, breaking each one into a numbered subheading under the main aspect. Hopefully thats easier to see, and if nothing else it lets you see how its broken down in the contents break down.

- changed second affect to influence

- the bit about overgiving changed to- "One can do this by centering themselves or resting in a deep trance to fight the effects."

- Changed "This" to "Meditation"- cut off awkward bit as recovery is mentioned in the paragraph prior.

- Changed to gnosis's

- added ' to one's

-hypnotism- I added hypnotism specifically to the second paragraph. Ended up drastically changing it- here is the new paragraph-

"This means that they will be better able to deal with stress over time, or to break free of mental prisons, such as the ones created by high level chaon. Users can also better defend themselves from having their mind altered or dominated by another persons will, such as against practitioners of hypnotism. This can be done in various ways. Against higher level mental attacks or techniques it may require a user to retreat completely inside of their mind into a trance state, where such outward influences cannot touch them. For lesser techniques simply centering oneself may be enough to fight off the mental intrusion."

-Added break down for training segments. Formatting changes with that should help with the confusing formatting there.

- Reworded that paragraph a bit, the one about masters and being stabbed. Hopefully this wording is more clear-

"At master level, while in a trance, if someone were to stab you or someone was standing in front of you talking, you would not notice or be aware of either occurrence. This is because as the deeper you sink into meditation, the less influenced you are by the events outside your mind."

-By rank I meant skill tier, as depending upon your tier you will be distracted by different things, but I changed this to current skill level.

-We talked in chat about the deep sleeping stuff, and agreed upon the main bits of the changes. The end portion of the deep sleeping part has been heavily edited and added to.

- Overgiving- The reason for the difference here is that by meditating, one is able to filter out such affects to a degree, as mental affects are thus wholly in affect only in ones mind. So meditation treatment can assist with the mental symptoms while meditating, and also aid in recovering from it.

However physical symptoms of overgiving are not just in ones mind, it is a real affect to ones body, and so simply willing them away or retreating within ones mind doesn't work. If you morph a clawed hand and it gets stuck that way, meditating wont make that hand magically not be clawed. But it might help you get better faster, so long as the change isn't permanent.

When I say physical symptoms of overgiving I mean things like that, wholly physical and non-mental. Morphed limbs, bleeding eyes, stained muscles, numb limbs.

- With overgiving- Ah, that was a typo, I see I mentioned centered twice. On the others I mentioned higher tier levels of meditation, and its affect on each. But since as a master you skip the initial phase and go right to centered... Right, I'll fix that. So no, they'd only feel almost no effect when in a trance.

Also recovery time reducing is the same for physical or mental affects of overgiving, so long as the effects are not permanent.

- Expert/Master- The difference here is yes deep sleep, which only masters can do. At expert one can go to ones "happy place", from which other things can be used. As is mentioned in that earlier in the lore, near the end of the section about the waking dream/lucid dream, when one comes out having done whatever, they feel as if they have woken from a nap, but just a normal nap.

Only with the deep sleeping a master can do is the effects of sleep doubled. However while deep sleeping one can't do anything else, none of the memory trances and such, while one can do those from a happy place. So a bit of a trade off when deep sleeping, as that is all one can do.

- Under the master skill break down, this is mentioned near the end- "The only limit is that of the physical body and its inclination towards fatigue and exhaustion."

Limiting the physical body is its need for food, water, and such. So yes, your body still needs food and water, though perhaps not quite so much since while in a trance your doing the equivalent of sleeping, and I'd imagine someone who sleeps all day wouldn't need to eat or perhaps drink as much as someone moving about and being active. Though at expert as it states you are limited to being in a trance for a few hours at a time, so its not as bad as when you get to master and you are more or less unlimited with that.

But yes they'd still have to eat and drink, or eventually they'd starve. And yes as you stated, being in a trance equates to sleep for the purposes of tiredness.

I'd think the physical limits of a body would imply the need for food and water, but if you still think it should be added I will. Though at this point I haven't.

Some things I tend to assume don't need to be explicitly stated. Just because you don't notice your pants are on fire doesn't mean you wont get third degree burns or inhale smoke and die. Just because you don't notice you just got stabbed through the chest doesn't mean you won't bleed out. And yes just because you try to meditate for a week straight without stopping doesn't mean you won't die of thirst.

Good review, and I think I made quite a few edits because of it.
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Firenze on July 9th, 2015, 2:09 am

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.

This is completely personal opinion, take it how you will.

Possibly changing up some of the wording in the introduction. A few words a repeated often and makes it hard to focus on what's being said:
Meditation is the skill of clearing one's mind of thoughts and outside forces. At lower levels it allows one to better concentrate on a task and to better deal with annoyances and distractions. At its highest levels it allows one to delve into deep meditative trances in which they can cut off entire senses at will, focus through the worst of distractions without being unnerved or losing focus, and even to deepen their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Some truly great masters of meditation have even been rumored to be able to enter the Chavena at will, and to enter Dreamlike states there were they can look upon their own life, and even protect their dreams from outside influences.


Suggestion for easier readability:
Meditation is the skill of clearing one's mind of thought and outside forces. At lower levels, it allows the meditator to better concentrate on a task and deal with annoyances and distractions. At its highest levels, it gives the ability to delve into deep meditative trances in which they can cut off entire senses at will, focus through the worst of distractions without being unnerved or losing focus, and even deepen understanding of themselves and the world around them. Some truly great masters of meditation have even been rumored to be able to enter the Chavena at will, and to enter Dreamlike states where they can look upon their own life, and even protect their dreams from outside influences.


Repetition of "one":
It is capable of enhancing or assisting various skills if one centers themselves prior to the activity, or to aid in one's mental fortitude.


Suggestion:
It is capable of enhancing or assisting various skills if the meditator centers themselves prior to the activity, or to aid in aforementioned's mental fortitude.


This may need adjusted to reflect pain tolerance (set under Prerequisites and skills):
Only experts or masters can keep centered while being active or doing anything strenuous, and only masters can keep going through anything but minor pain.


Because of this statement:
Nothing will break their focus, not even being stabbed, run through by a sword, losing a limb, or being set on fire. The only limit is that of the physical body and its inclination towards fatigue and exhaustion.


Remove "one" (Under Exercise):
Meditation can be useful in exercise by helping one to focus on repetitive or repeated acts. Less strenuous workouts can be used as a means to center oneself.


Remove "one's" (Under Observation):
It may also be helpful to delve through one’s memories in order to pick out specific facts of that event that you may have forgotten,


Duplicate meanings (Under Gnosis):
While meditation does not directly enhance one's gnosis, in some cases it can be helpful in activating or focusing a gnosis, on focusing on the task of using one's gnosis, or in coming closer to a state of mind in which you can better understand or connect with a deity.


Possibly change to:
While meditation does not directly enhance one's gnosis in some cases it can be helpful in activating, focusing on the task of using the gnosis, or come closer to a state of mind in which you can better understand or connect with a deity.


Remove "one" (Under Training):
Meditation has many common practices which can aid one in meditating or gaining a meditative state while remaining calm and focused.


Replace with:
Meditation has many common practices which can aid in meditating or gaining a meditative state while remaining calm and focused.


Simplify (Under Sources of Instruction: Books):
Often the easiest form of instruction one can find for meditation


Replace with:
Often the easiest form of instruction for meditation


Rephrase and over use of "one" (Under Waking Dream/Lucid Dream):
This is a type of meditation where one retreats within oneself and their mind to go to one’s "happy place." It is a place populated either by one’s subconscious or by directed thoughts that will it to take on a specific form – it is similar to a dream.


Replace with:
This is a type of meditation where a person retreats within themselves and in their mind to go to a "happy place." It is a place populated either by subconscious or by directed thoughts that will it to take on a specific form – it is similar to a dream.


Remove "one's" (under same category as above):
Often though these images will be warped by one’s own observations or preconceptions of the object or person and will not truly represent the object itself.


Adjust to:
Often though these images will be warped by observations or preconceptions of an object or person and will not truly represent the object itself.


Repetition of "one", Run-on sentence (same category as above):
This type of trance is often used as a stepping stone for other trances, or as a safe place to retreat to within one’s mind in-between sessions and is usually where one appears when first entering a trance state.


Adjust to:
This type of trance is often used as a stepping stone for other trances, or use as a safe place to retreat to within the mind in-between sessions. It is usually where the meditator appears when first entering a trance state.


Wording (Under Deep Sleeping):
There are two methods of specifying when to awoken or how long to sleep


Adjust to:
There are two methods of specifying when to awake or how long to sleep


Other than the above things (and this may just be me being picky, adjust as you wish) I think you did a really good job on this! Thanks for taking the time out to build on this Skill. Your hard work and efforts are noticed and appreciated!
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Clyde Sullins on July 9th, 2015, 3:38 pm

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In Response to Fire's review:

-Yeah, I've had some issues with repetition in my wording, I tend to favor certain words in bits and use them over and over. Your not the first to point that out, though apparently a few instances of that were missed. Apparently I really like says One's... - intro changed as suggested

- edited out one as suggested

- Changed that paragraph to this- "It is important to bear in mind that anything that would be considered a distraction for the meditator's level will knock them out of a centered state. Only experts or masters can keep centered while being active or doing anything strenuous such as combat, and experts can still lose their centered state by greater distractions."

- Removed one, and one.

- edited gnosis bit, though I changed "come closer to" to "approaching"

- Removed one

-edited book bit

-edited waking dream stuff as suggested

- deep sleeping stuff adjusted

Alright, I believe I addressed everything you pointed out, and made all of the needed changes.

Thanks for the review Fire, I believe I did everything you'd pointed out, with one or two slight alterations, though if I missed anything feel free to point it out.

And I can't take all of the credit for myself, its been helped quite a bit by reviewers over its time to reach its current state. and you should have seen my first draft...
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I am actually in RL a super intelligent hamster from Rhode Island, with a 7 year plan to take over the world.

Update 6/2/18- 1:10AM EST: His 7 year plan a success, and several weeks ahead of schedule, Clyde leaves to oversee the world he has taken over.

No new threads after end of Spring 518-Will still be checking for PM's occasionally, but focusing on a new character.

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Please be aware Clyde is a master Magecrafter. He therefore should not be gaining full xp(or possibly shouldn't gain any at all) for simple tasks related to this magic, such as low level MC items, particularly for repetitions of creations he has done before. Feel free to contact me if unsure of a instance of his magic use compared to his skill level.
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[Peer Review]Meditation[Skill]

Postby Naiya on July 13th, 2015, 8:34 pm

I have noticed a few things that seem to me to need correcting.
First
It also affects some of the factors or strains that influence using personal magic, that of "ability to concentrate" and to a lesser extent "fatigue."
I feel like the quotations here throw off the feel of the writing. Perhaps instead "... using personal magic, for example, the ability to concentrate, and, to a lesser extent, fatigue.

If not the wording and quotation change, I believe there should be commas added after "concentrate", after 'and', and following extent.

For experts and masters, it is even possible to remain centered in the midst of a magical battle or duel, and to better fight the impulses to cast more and more magic known as sweet whispers. Like combat, if one is caught unaware, they would not likely have time to center themselves.
Seems almost redundant after the previous paragraph. Perhaps, "Additionally for experts and masters, it may become easier to resist the impulse to cast more and more..."


One can do this by centering themselves or resting in a deep trance to fight the effects. While this can lessen some of the mental effects and accelerate recovery time, it won't usually assist with any permanent effects brought on by overgiving.
A comma after 'or', and possibly in the second sentence after 'and'.



This could be just a personal preference, but I feel the wording here sounds odd.
Meditation does not allow one to do more magic, such as how leeching does.
Perhaps "Meditation, unlike leeching, does not allow one to do more magic"

Where leeching allows one to put off overgiving to a later time and potentially makes it worse, meditation can assist in coping with and or lessening its effects.
I think there should be a comma after 'time'.

Regular meditation over a period of time can accelerate the time needed to recover from a particular instance of overgiving, with deeper trances lessening the effects felt due to overgiving.
Is "over a period of time" a dependent clause? If so, it should be offset with commas. Also, I think this is a run-on sentence. If you end the sentence after 'overgiving' you have a whole sentence, the following sentence would be along the lines of "Deeper trances would lessen the effects felt due to overgiving."

1.2- Combat- Meditation can often help in combat, by keeping someone from being distracted from the task at hand or by irrelevant information or stimuli, or even physical things such as injuries.
This sentence reads oddly to me, I would try something like "Meditation can often help in combat by keeping people from being distracted in a number of ways. It helps them stay focused on the task at hand, and keeps them from becoming distracted by irrelevant information, outside stimuli, or even physical injuries."

This means that if one is caught in an ambush and they did not have time to meditate, then this skill would be nearly useless.
There should be a comma after "ambush".

but it is only the master user that can stay focused if he sustains serious damage
Serious damage sounds like a video game, and I believe typically we phrase these things as though it were pertaining to real life. Perhaps "if he sustains a serious injury".

If already centered, highly skilled users can use it for more strenuous workouts as it allows one to be able to work through the pain that would normally make you stop.
Here you switched from 'one' to 'you'. Instead of 'you', use 'them'.

This can also be dangerous if you push yourself too far as strained muscles and bone fractures can easily be overlooked in this state.
You've had a subject change here again, and to say you is rather informal, instead, "one" and "oneself" would be more proper for an informative write-up.

This is one skill that can actually aid certain meditation techniques.
This should probably say "Observation is a skill ..." and the 'actually' is not necessary.

When a person is skilled in both observation and meditation, they can enter deep trances where they have the opportunity to reflect upon recent events and experiences; reliving the moments in order to notice details that were previously missed.
I don't believe you need the comma here.

nor does it allow you to sense things you cannot normally sense within your abilities (i.e. thoughts, or things outside of your sensory range), but it can help you to focus and notice things that you might normally ignore or pass over as unimportant at the time. It may also be helpful to delve through memories in order to pick out specific facts of that event that you may have forgotten, or that you might see in a new light with what you know now. However it is still limited to what was directly sensed and what you were aware of at the time.
This paragraph has completely changed the subject from 'one' to 'you' again. "One", and "one's" should be used in place of 'you' and 'your' respectively.

such as Spiritism, where you undergo possession by spirits, and Summoning, where you are dealing with another beings will in order to control them, can be aided by the force of mind and willpower gained through long term meditation.
There are 'you's here again, and then in the next sentences you are back to 'them' and 'their'. So the same subject correction should be followed with 'one' and 'one's' for the 'you's.

While meditation does not directly enhance one's gnosis in some cases it can be helpful in activating, focusing on the task of using the gnosis, or approaching a state of mind in which you can better understand or connect with a deity.
Here, 'you' should be 'one'.

Such gnosis that are aided by meditation include: Dreamwalking, Inavalti, Izentor, Lykata, Oceanus, and Severing
Should Divination, Healing, Sensitivity, and Telepathy be on this list also?

Also note this only helps in the initial phase, and can actually be counterproductive to meditation when trying to go any deeper.
I believe there should be a comma after 'note'

There are several phases to meditation; all of which are for different purposes and come with their own weaknesses. In general, the deeper into meditation you are; the more ignorant and exposed you get to the world around you. So comparatively, at the shallow levels of meditation you are aware of everything around you, while at the deepest levels you are oblivious to the world.

At master level, while in a trance, if someone were to stab you or someone was standing in front of you talking, you would not notice or be aware of either occurrence. This is because as the deeper you sink into meditation, the less influenced you are by the events outside your mind.
This should be "There are several phases to meditation; all of which are for different purposes and come with their own weaknesses. In general, the deeper into meditation one is; the more ignorant and exposed they are to the world around them. So comparatively, at the shallow levels of meditation one would be aware of everything around them, while at the deepest levels they are oblivious to the world."

It is very shallow, and is generally easy for you to be broken out of by any distraction that affects you at your current skill level. If any distraction affects you during this phase, you will have to start over.
'you' should be 'one' and 'your' should be 'one's'.

For example if someone wished to sleep for 4 hours, and used the focus method, they would sleep somewhere between 2 and 6 hours. Using the counting method for the same 4 hours they would sleep between 3 and 5 hours.
Here hours should all be 'bells' instead.

I think that covers the issues I noticed.

My only other editing comment would be that you are mildly inconsistent. Sometimes there is a header,
bolded header text- more words here,

and other times it looks like

bolded header text-
more words here,

and it changes from one section to the next. I think choosing one way and sticking to it would be preferable to the current mix.

Otherwise I think the write up is done well, the explanations are thorough and detailed enough that I feel I could use the page to my advantage when working up a meditation skill. I can see that you have put a lot of work into this write up, and I hope the notes I have made are helpful towards the completion of the skill.
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