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kohls6781
USA
9 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 01:33:27 AM
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Hi,
I am not very sure if this is where I need to post this question or not. I apologize if this is not the appropriate forum.
Throught out my life I have been inclined towards spirituality and read books about it. I was practicing asanas, pranayama, and meditation before(many years ago). But I also have this mysterious (according to doctors) gastric problem ever since I was a kid. It is not life threatening but I experience physical suffering literally every moment inside my body. I went to many doctors but they were just clueless. Naturopathy and Homeopathy could not do anything either.
It has been many years since I could do asanas or pranayama. Meditation, I can try but it just awareness of my pain. It gives temporary relief and relaxation. It is frustrating to read about spirituality but not able to practice/experience anything.
I prayed to God, spiritual gurus but nothing changed in so many years (more than 20 years).
Do you think I just need to spend rest of my life like this? Everywhere I find theory about God responding, spiritual gurus helping, miracles happening but why don't I find anything happening in my life? Is it because of my past lives bad karma?
Sorry for this long post and I thank you very much for your patience.
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Edited by - AYPforum on Feb 18 2009 01:46:28 AM |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 01:46:28 AM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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YogaIsLife
641 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 06:34:23 AM
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Hi kohls6781 and welcome in the forum 
No, I don't think you have to be like that for all of your life, of course not! I believe there is always a way, the key is to find it. And to find it one has to keep on searching and learning along the way Learning to listen inside. I think you are in the right track. Like they say, being aware that there is something wrong is half the cure. Wanting to be cured is 2/3ths I'd say 
Have you tried AYP deep meditation? I had similar problems as you (not exactly the same but health related troubles all the same that I was also clueless about) and Deep Meditation was the base from which I started feeling noticeably better. Worth trying, the only thing is to be consistent with it and being open and having faith.
It is not that DM alone will cure you but might very well give you the stability and clarity you need to find your way. Suddenly, slowly, gradually, you will find how the answers are flowing in your life
I wish you all the best. |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
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anthony574
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 09:17:31 AM
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| kohls, what is the nature of your illness? |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 11:11:36 AM
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Hi kohls6781 and welcome....
quote:
Originally posted by kohls6781
I also have this mysterious (according to doctors) gastric problem ever since I was a kid. It is not life threatening but I experience physical suffering literally every moment inside my body.
I too have had Gastric issues for most of my life. Only recently have I been able to manage them without the use of drugs. I have been self-medicating for over a decade using marijuana for these issues. I don't know your exact condition, and I am not a doctor, but I found that nauli kriya REALLY helps with my stomach and bowel issues. It takes some practice for sure, but once you get the hang of it I find it really helps (me) to keep my GI tract healthier and more stable. If you wouldn't mind sharing a bit of the details of your issue if it's not too personal then perhaps there may be some more specific advice coming from other practitioners here. Wish you the best my friend.
Love,
Carson |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 12:37:01 PM
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| I am working on finding the cure for this kind of thing. I too deal with health problems that just won't seem to go away and spiritual stuff aggravates it. |
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riptiz
United Kingdom
741 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 2:44:12 PM
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Hi,
I suffered with reflux acid for about 30yrs before starting energy work.Qi Gong, Reiki, meditation have all helped until it's all but gone now.I couldn't look at a biscuit or slice of bread without getting reflux acid.I was on Omeprezole for 3 yrs and now nothing.
I suggest you practice self healing daily.When sat relaxing place your hands on your stomach or other body areas to give self healing as you rest.When you go to bed place your hands on stomach and sleep in that position all night if possible.Meditation will help but it's not a quick fix.
L&L
Dave |
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thimus
53 Posts |
Posted - Feb 20 2009 : 05:26:55 AM
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Here is the approach of Eckhart Tolle, not to find as such in his books but on the dvd’s and cd’s from retreats. Its immediate and very helpfull.
Eckhart says pain is a gift, a real spiritual master (but dont tell the world : they will not believe you). Some yogi’s and saddhus inflict pain on themselves in order to stay present. (Remember those with one hand uplifted for years.)
The problem with pain is that it occupies our mind, with dark stories, so much that you feel hopeless, depressed, have no more fun in life. So the mental comments in our head make that we are not only having pain but we suffer too.
How then to use pain ? By totally allowing it to be there. Be present with the pain, dont comment, be mentally still. Watch out for the tricky mind who will say :”Ok : I accept the pain, for then it will go away”. After a little while it will say : “the pain is still there, this is not working” , and there you go again. This is not the fully acceptance that is needed. When the mind or ego begin with their stories, watch them, allow these voices too. Dont identify with them : you are silence, the silent witness.
Now the pain is losing its prominence : it will become (more and more) a little wave on a very big ocean that is your conciousness.
A study proved that most of sponentaneous healing happens to people who accept their illness. This makes sense : your mind and body are now at ease, calm. Not to declare war on the illness. The story of Eckhart’s father : his father never went to a doctor, the father said : “When I beat this disease or illness, maybe a bigger one will come up”. Eckhart now continues to say not to take this as a rule not to visit a doctor.
Thich Nhat Hanh compares pain with a crying little child. He says to craddle your pain.
Sri Aurobindo said pain is pressure from above to push you on the spiritual path, to evolve.
Krisnamurti had incredible headaches : he said : “They are working on me”.
Yogani says : “the guru is in you” : in this case : pain can be a very good master.
You are on your way but things go wrong : its a steep mountain, cold fog and mist around you, hunger and thirst, tired, a fiercefull doG behind you. He threatens you and you are fearfull : here is the place it will end, not having reached the goal. ... But all of a sudden the mist is gone, warm sunlight, the promised land is there and behind you, out of the fog, comes the doG an the doG was God pushing you all the way.
“Thou who hast troubles and trials, rejoice for in them is strenght.”
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anthony574
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - Feb 20 2009 : 09:04:24 AM
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thimus, interesting take on the subject.
i have never had a chronic condition, but acute illnesses I have had on occasion (stomach problems, respiratory infections) interestingly have always been "stepping stones" for my path. During each of those times I focused so much more on myself - eating very well and little, doing many naturopathic things to nurse myself, sitting in the sun, ect. It was during these times that I think the combination of eating less and focusing so much on myself and my body always lead to profound feelings of joy and inner stillness. This happened recently when I had an upper-resp. tract infection...I was almost sad to see it go because when I felt better I also came down off of my "high"! So there are definately positive things to say of illness as there are positive things to say of everything. There are people you hear about who are paraplegics and other people with equally debilitating conditions who swear they would never go back and undo the past because their condition taught them so much about appreciating every aspect of life and that kind of thing.
Kohls, I'm still interested to know the nature of your condition??? |
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kohls6781
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2009 : 10:30:20 PM
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This is really a wonderful site. One of the best things to happen in my life. I thank you all for your responses.
YIL, I didn't try AYP deep meditation. Right now this is what I am doing. I sit with my eyes closed and just be aware of my heart region. But I will try DM.
CarsonZi, I was reading about nauli kriya. It sounds very interesting for gastric problems but I was a bit confused about the process. I need to read it few more times to understand completely. I have one concern though. I was doing alternate nostril breathing, ujjai etc before but they aggravated my sysmptoms. But I will definitely give this a try.
anthony, these are my sysmptoms. I have chest tightness (sometimes with heart palpitations, high pulse rate, and high blood pressure), head pressure/headache, and anxiety. I have these symptoms 24/7/365. Another symptom is I abruptly wake up from my sleep after 5,6 hrs. This happens every night. After getting up I feel awful for a couple of hours. If I can rate the combined pain of all these sysmptoms at 5 out of 10, then after eating anything (not much difference between healthy food and junk food, sometimes hot and spicy food makes it worse and sometimes a fruit, vegetable, rice, or even a multi vitamin tablet will make it worse) the pain increases to 8 or 9, stays there for 1 or 2 hours and again will come back to 5. This has been the case for atleast 20 years. Doctors tested for acid reflux, gastirc motility disorders, heart problems, blood tests etc, but everything came negative. I was told by atleast two doctors that I had to live with this for the rest of my life.
thimus, very interesting response. I am not very familiar with Eckhart Tolle teachings but at some point in my life I was interested in Vipassana mindfulness, just present moment awareness without judgement. But I could not continue because of two issues.
One, I have sleep problems because of meditation. I posted another question on this site
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=5162
If I meditate in the evening, I won't be able to sleep in the night. Now mindfulness is also a form of meditation, so I am concerned about doing it the whole day. Being aware of myself (or my pain) without judgement throughout the day can be intense on my nervous system.
Second thing is, may be pain is considered as a gift by some highly developed persons. When I was in my teens, I was so excited about spiritual path. Slowly I woke up to the fact that this condition was moving me away from spiritual practices. If I do asanas or pranayama, I suffer from aggravated symptoms for 1 or 2 days. This state also had impact on how much I enjoyed with my parents, my education, job, financial condition, relationship with my friends/relatives, and now even on my kids. Every event in my life entered and is leaving or left me without any sweet memories. Every time I sit before food I know that my symptoms are going to aggravate. How much pain is enough pain? Didn't Jiddu Krishnamurthy take pain killers during cancer treatment? Sometimes I feel very confused and lost in life. Maintaining awareness requires energy. Energy requires motivation. I just could not motivate myself. |
Edited by - kohls6781 on Feb 22 2009 02:29:23 AM |
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kohls6781
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - Feb 23 2009 : 01:17:39 AM
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Hi again,
I was going through old messages of AYP forums and found this.
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=1337
This was discussed in 2006 and I see that some of the names are still on this forum
May I ask how it went? Sorry to ask this question but...is such healing really possible?
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Edited by - kohls6781 on Feb 23 2009 01:38:34 AM |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
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kohls6781
USA
9 Posts |
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Health problems obstructing spiritual path
