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Jack
United Kingdom
305 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 09:29:36 AM
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Hi,
I would still consider myself very much a beginner, despite practicing various meditations for around ten years. I am twenty five years old.
I practice meditation for inner silence.. my meditation this morning revealed a kind of ubiquitous peace and real happiness, albeit fleetingly.. that's okay.
I practice John Ruskan's Emotional Clearing as a sort of body-based focussing, (there is a lot of bound up emotional energy, trauma, frustration, etc. in here of course)
That helps to approach higher consciousness and emotional healing.
One large issue of mine though is to do with the intellect, or thinking centre. It is constantly indulging in regret, guilt, poor choice of past actions, what has been 'confessed' to others and what perhaps hasn't.. I don't know at what point confession to others is healthy and at what point it is simply trying to unburden myself and creating more problems with others.
I would appreciate some advice on how to deal with the intellect, especially a ruminating, shame-addicted and hiding one. At the moment I find myself attempting to 'reason out' some of the negative thinking patterns, but there is a lot of intellectual conflict.. putting more layers on top of others.. at what point can I say "enough, let it go, time to move on" and really do so?
Sometimes, just sometimes, I have fleeting glimpses where I can see that -I- am not these thought patterns, I am freedom. This does not help the day to day relating or living in any real way yet.
The mind really indulges in these patterns and it generates a lot of anxiety and dulls enjoyment of life and relationships.
Hope all are well out there, peace,
Jack |
Edited by - AYPforum on Jun 05 2012 09:40:28 AM |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 11:08:32 AM
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All that will happen with purification.
The mind will heal and find its place automatically. It becomes kind of like a trained animal (a really smart one haha). It will happen with continued practice.
I know it's discouraging when the mind seems to have so much power, so keep doing what you're doing and tame that beast :D |
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mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 1:49:09 PM
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I recommend Eckhart Tolle.
You just form a habit of recognizing when your mind is causing suffering, and redirect your attention to experiencing the present moment (ie your 5 senses) without interpretation, drawing your attention into what is actually happening NOW.
It's quite simple:
If thinking is constructive and aimed at serving a useful purpose which will help you, it's valid.
If thinking is causing you unnecessary pain, and not helping serve a constructive purpose, stop it, and pay attention to something else.
I know thoughts of suffering are very compelling, they seem to draw us into identification with them, but over time and with practice you can recognize this, and not buy into it. |
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Jack
United Kingdom
305 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 7:40:26 PM
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Thank you.
Seems to be as I suspected then. I am not always aware enough of Consciousness to let it slide, so it is a matter of adopting an attitude and discipline to recognise and intentionally move away from these thoughts.
One thought trap is that I 'need' these thoughts.. if I don't beat myself up for making mistakes, how will I avoid them? If I don't confess my actions (something akin to gossip/slander, or perhaps simply confiding), I will be stuck with them and be unable to open with the person in mind.
So, the intention should be not to interract or reason with the paranoid thoughts or conflicted mind, but to make a determination to simply 'drop' the mind-stuff and come back to the present moment or task at hand. Yes??
Thank you so much for replying. Basic stuff, I know, but the basics often are the most important for a happy life, eh!
Jack
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mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2012 : 07:20:58 AM
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quote:
So, the intention should be not to interract or reason with the paranoid thoughts or conflicted mind, but to make a determination to simply 'drop' the mind-stuff and come back to the present moment or task at hand. Yes??
Definitely Jack, that is correct.
Just remember, these thoughts compel us to identify with them and get trapped into the thought stream. It does you no good. You don't get to be a better person by dwelling on your mistakes and problems. As you live in an increasingly conscious way, centered in the present moment, you will naturally notice a tendency to be more conscious of your actions, and they will naturally be better actions. I could tell you that recriminations and guilt would make you a better person, but the fact is, they won't. They'll just make you an unhappy one with less energy available for good actions.
I've been through a more extreme version of what you describe: 8 years ago I had an episode of paranoid psychosis. I was smoking a lot of weed, and my mind broke into a constant thought stream of recriminating thoughts attacking me and making me feel awful about myself, and very paranoid thoughts saying people were talking about me etc. It was a nightmare.
I healed my mind by just remembering hundreds if not thousands of times per day to bring my mind back to the present moment, to pay attention to the sunlight, the sounds, the feeling of my body. Never to indulge in or identify with the worrying thought streams.
8 years later I'm a different person - there's much joy and ecstatic bliss here, so much energy available to help others, and not a single bothersome or worried thought - ever. |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2012 : 11:39:29 AM
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Hey Jack, Mr Anderson has it right.
There is no need to worry/think about all this stuff. It's all bullsh*t.
There is no thinking about why you should, why you shouldn't, or why there's always a paradox.
I suggest focus in on being, and forget about thinking. You won't of course, because it takes a long time to forget to think. But it can be done. So do the best you can now, and keep practicing, and down the road, a new way of being will evolve in you.
quote:
So, the intention should be not to interract or reason with the paranoid thoughts or conflicted mind, but to make a determination to simply 'drop' the mind-stuff and come back to the present moment or task at hand. Yes??
Exactly. |
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escapado
Germany
88 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2012 : 5:07:25 PM
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Hello Jack
There is no problem at all, though we all have that kind of thinking more or less often in our everyday life.
If there is a problem and you try to solve it you just entangle yourself in a web of close-minded reason, where everything INSIDE that box makes sense but if you'd watch it from outside...
The fastest way to get rid of problems/blockages is to let them slide and just experience what is. Easy going. If becoming lighter meant solving all the puzzles and problems first then our easyness would be one big madness.
Probably now and then this letting go of the problem will be like trying to suppress the idea of the problem or trying to do an intellectual abstract split which will just cause more confusion and pain (like "There is no problem at all! Why do I believe there is a problem while there is none (I just have to go on like that to find the knack of it)"
This is another reason to cultivate inner silence, which brings you clarity.
In the end it's all just blocks in your mind. A block isn't just a astral/emotional/physical obstruction but at the same time beliefs etc.
For example when try (maybe that's the same with you as with me) bring the breath down to the rootchakra in spinal breathing and you can't because there is a block which makes it hard, a thought is triggered: I can't do it.
This is just resistance. Mental aswell.
Have a nice journey, mate :) |
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What of the intellect?
