Help with spiritual awakening and meditation

[Rich]

Why do you think meditation is not the end?

[RogeRio]

Posted by Rich (here)

Why do you think meditation is not the end?

I made an analogy above - like when you go to sleep, and can't sleep until you stop thinking.

if this happens everyday, or systematically, you will end up getting tired, bored, anxious, worn out, etc ...

--- edit ---

one wise hint - the better information, usually is the less visible

Posted by Ron Mauer Sr (here)

"Follow what feels good.

Question everything including my own suspicions.

Take a few chances sometimes for a little excitement."

let me complement with something

when you found something very difficult to question, criticize or suspect, it's probably one right way

[Rich]

so what do you think comes after it then?

[Paul D.]

I was hesitant about watching this, concerned that it might be a dry academic piece, that missed the point. Not at all though.
I loved it ... so much so I felt compelled to share.
The guy covers a lot of ground, very knowledgeably, concisely & with great understanding.
51.02

Matthew Ingram is author of Retreat: How the Counterculture Invented Wellness.

In this 2020 video, he describes two major styles of meditation that he, himself, practices – Vipassana or mindfulness meditation, based on pure awareness, and Vedic mantra meditation. The cultural context for meditation practice is crucial. There is a close relationship between Eastern meditative practices and western forms of psychotherapy. Other western disciplines, such as self-hypnosis are akin to meditation. The discussion also focuses on abuses that can occur between teachers of meditation and their students.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=W7INP8doxWk

[Ernie Nemeth]

I found deep meditation confusing. It is much akin to what I call ESP. You can work on it, focus intent on progress, even make some gains, but in the end the context gets swallowed by the experience.

It is the context that is of value. Yet the context evolves with the depth of meditation. And the experience is often visceral and blissful, overshadowing the meaning itself. It is easy to get lost in the feelings and forget the facts imparted during the meditation. Although the experience itself hinges on the dissolution of selfhood to some degree, the self is the lens through which we sense our surroundings.

The self observes the self melting away, yet there is no disassociation. As the self looses coherence, another is seen to rise in its place. This other is the silent observer, the watcher. The awareness of this part of selfhood is a great revelation to the self. It is a part of the self yet passive and unconcerned with events of any magnitude, whether mundane, malignant or magnificent. It does not act or react, it merely observes. It does not judge or expend emotional energy, it just watches, unperturbed. It neither hates nor loves, it simply is.

This seems to be our essence, forever undisturbed and impeccable. Without a worry, without a care. It is so antithema to our normal existence as to seem to be someone else, a heartless, immovable, automaton.

Yet the deeper one sinks in meditation, the closer one comes to the realization that it is this watcher, this observer, that is the "real me". How is the ego to deal with that?

That is what meditation becomes: a search for the true self, an understanding of what the self is and what we have made of it in this world.


I stay away from the confusion and contain myself only to body scanning in meditation. It helps keep the body young and supple without upsetting the ego. I only allow deeper analysis if insight is needed for a specific condition or problem or concern.

I find I straddle a fence I don't want to climb, but I also can't climb back down, so I just sit on top. I can look either way, I can see either side. I can't seem to make up my mind which side I want to live on - for twenty-five years now.

25 years of the "dark night of the soul", as they call it. You're supposed to make the leap of faith.
I can't or won't.


So here I am again, on the precipice. I am picking up my life where I left off. After I fell head over heels in love and gave up my practice for 22 years, I am building back up my yoga expertise, starting right from the beginning. Two more weeks and I will be intermediate again. A month after I will be at advanced. In six months I will be where I was 25 years ago...

I have an overwhelming desire to finish my yoga teacher's training. At 70 years of age!
If for no other reason than to make new friends. I need some badly. I am lonely all alone all the time. Not bored, just lonely. Sometimes I don't see another human for days, and remember I haven't talked to anyone except my cat. It's a quiet life, but no one will know I passed for months if I keep this up...


Anyways, taking up yoga training means that I will have to do intense meditation again. In a way I dread it. But I know what to expect, so there will be no surprises. I just hope the fates are a little more gentle with me this time...

[petra]

Posted by Ernie Nemeth (here)

I have an overwhelming desire to finish my yoga teacher's training. At 70 years of age!
If for no other reason than to make new friends. I need some badly. I am lonely all alone all the time. Not bored, just lonely. Sometimes I don't see another human for days, and remember I haven't talked to anyone except my cat. It's a quiet life, but no one will know I passed for months if I keep this up...

Anyways, taking up yoga training means that I will have to do intense meditation again. In a way I dread it. But I know what to expect, so there will be no surprises. I just hope the fates are a little more gentle with me this time...

Hi Ernie I really enjoy your postings and I am sorry you feel so lonely. You're lucky to have a cat Mine died and I can't get another one because my boyfriends dad has a cat phobia.

I'm really looking forward to hear about the results of your meditation since you're so much more well practiced than I. I can see why you might dread it. I get scared of "visions" and the like, I've had experiences of seeing things with my eyes closed and I do not like it one bit. Many of the things people here on PA do frighten the crap out of me to be honest. But I am still glad this forum exists, and don't forget you have friends here too!

[Szymon]

Meditation works. I've been practising on and off for the last 20 years. Around 3-4 years in, I had my own spiritual awakening/Kundalini, call it whatever you want. This process is real, and it purifies you from the inside out; you literally become a different person from who you started. Even your family won't recognise you anymore, especially if you had narcissistic parents or relationships. These no longer work.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to change themselves and start dissolving their egoic self (mask).

Here is a presentation by Bonnie Greenwell what is like having a spiritual awakening.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BJ2HEs6DcvY

Cheers,
Szymon