Question For Taoist Meditation Practitioners (only)

[Rara]

A super simple (and the simpler the better) technique to calm the qi monkey is to think "yes" every time a thought arises. That's it. The thoughts begin to arise in increasingly long intervals, right up to the point where you find yourself waiting for a thought to show itself, but none do.

 

I've actually heard about this technique before for helping with insomnia (which I also get) I will try this out for sure

 

Thanks everybody for your replies, they have been very useful.

 

Ok, now I'm off back to my sitting.

[Sloppy Zhang]

For me, if I need to sneeze, I sneeze. If I need to wriggle, i wriggle.

 

The way I see it, the point is not "to sit in meditation for 30 mins" or to "hold posture for 40 minutes" or whatever. The point is to do the practice right. As you get more practiced, and as others have said, as you go deeper, doing the practice right carriers you further and things like sneezing and running noses don't come up.

 

Using myself as an example, as I'm doing my practice the first few minutes is usually me and my body getting settled. I work out physical and mental kinks here and there. So the posture I start in isn't the posture I finish in. I don't start really getting into it until I get into it for a little bit. Once I get into it, things like sneezes and wrigglings fall by the wayside. Not because I am forcing myself to not do those things. But because I am focused on my practice, and they just don't come up.

 

At some point I come out of it. Sometimes this is after a few minutes. Sometimes this is after many minutes. But my goal isn't to add minutes each time, or beat myself up over losing minutes. My goal is to do my practice a little better (or at least not worse!) each time. And let whatever else happens happen.

[Sloppy Zhang]

For me, if I need to sneeze, I sneeze. If I need to wriggle, i wriggle.

 

The way I see it, the point is not "to sit in meditation for 30 mins" or to "hold posture for 40 minutes" or whatever. The point is to do the practice right. As you get more practiced, and as others have said, as you go deeper, doing the practice right carriers you further and things like sneezing and running noses don't come up.

 

Using myself as an example, as I'm doing my practice the first few minutes is usually me and my body getting settled. I work out physical and mental kinks here and there. So the posture I start in isn't the posture I finish in. I don't start really getting into it until I get into it for a little bit. Once I get into it, things like sneezes and wrigglings fall by the wayside. Not because I am forcing myself to not do those things. But because I am focused on my practice, and they just don't come up.

 

At some point I come out of it. Sometimes this is after a few minutes. Sometimes this is after many minutes. But my goal isn't to add minutes each time, or beat myself up over losing minutes. My goal is to do my practice a little better (or at least not worse!) each time. And let whatever else happens happen.

[Rara]

I thought alpha was the mad intense waves and beta were calmer. Or am I muddled? Or perhaps I read misleading info?

 

That said, I believe surely beta must be calmer...just going on the basis of lingutstic patterns like "Alpha Male" for example...the predator with more ego in the mind...

Ok, I re-read on this topic today and now I feel like the fool (because I read about this a couple of years ago and obviously wasn't paying attention)

 

Jeeeeeez. Oh well!

[Rara]

Rara, I work with people training brainwaves for a multitude of neurological, personality and behavioral problems, its called neurofeedback.

 

Ok, where do I sign up? (Currently in bed easing a migraine, on strike against my own business and self) Edited April 27, 2015 by Rara

[astralc]

Ok, where do I sign up? (Currently in bed easing a migraine, on strike against my own business and self)

 

Rara, it is best to do a google search for Neurofeedback practitioners in your area, its not something that you can do on yourself, its like brain surgery, I wouldn't recommend it.

 

You can go to these sites as well, they have information, research and registries of practitioners:

 

ISNR - www.isnr.org

EEGSpectrum - www.eegspectrum.com

 

You are welcome to PM me if you  have any questions.

[Rara]

Rara, it is best to do a google search for Neurofeedback practitioners in your area, its not something that you can do on yourself, its like brain surgery, I wouldn't recommend it.

 

You can go to these sites as well, they have information, research and registries of practitioners:

 

ISNR - www.isnr.org

EEGSpectrum - www.eegspectrum.com

 

You are welcome to PM me if you have any questions.

Oh definitely, I'm not going to begin to work on this myself! Thank you, I will look into it.

[Aaron]

If you are hungry, eat.

If you are thirsty, drink.

If you are tired, sleep.

If you need to sneeze, sneeze.

[z00se]

I have been practicing mindfulness and "living in my belly" more seriously recently and I am benefiting greatly.

 

This morning for example, I "Kung Ku'd" my washing up, breakfast, washing and putting out of clothes and cleaning of the whole house. I then did my kung fu forms nice and slowly and finished with some footwork and punching drills. I use the term "kung fu'd" a) because it's funny (my instructor used this phrase the other day and it just resonated with me) and b ) to best describe a state of relaxation, focus and deep natural breathing.

 

While my untrained self would have been a scatty mess (and therefore, all of the above probably would have taken me a day to complete) I have got this all done efficiently in four and a half hours!

 

Now the only thing that didn't quite go as well was my rounding it all off with a seated meditation. I sat and gathered my posture and began breathing. I was thinking I would last 20-30 minutes but I only lasted 10! Why? Because suddenly my nose started itching. I managed to deter myself from sneezing but as I continued to focus on the breath, I then noticed my nose filling up with mucus.

 

"Snort, snort" and keep on going....nope. Now the nose was starting to run and to trickle down on to my lip.

 

"Ok that's enough now" I thought, and I opened my half-shut eyes, reached for the tissue in my pocket and then dealt with my nose.

 

So my question to you...as a Taoist in seated-meditation, what do you do if you need to sneeze? Perhaps I should have allowed it to happen and used that experience as a part of my seated-meditation. I guess I was trying to be "too Zen" by ignoring it and trusting it would go away. Would a Taoist be less strict and accept the sneeze?

 

Thoughts please. Much love x

 

I haven't read the whole thread, just your post, however i have had a similar thing happen.

 

Now when i'm really been practising lots the sneeze can begin to come but then i become aware of it, the sensation actually draws my attention there, and it goes away back to where it came. The same thing happens with hunger too, like i can be hungery, then practice and the hunger just goes away. It's like the chi just pulls your body into balance so you don't have any of these feelings.

 

I don't think this is good, i think if your body wants to sneeze it should sneeze, and if you feel hungry to begin with one should eat. This is one reason why i don't think intense practice is all that great. The practice becomes you and to me it's not natural any more, it becomes artifical to me. Life becomes manufactured to balance. Although the feeling starts getting addictive and the depth of the balance and power gets stronger and stronger... i always had this inkling feeling that it wasn't the best way to go. And i think that inkling feeling is always something to listen to.

 

However.... if i have a runny nose or a cold, and i don't fight it and let it run down my cheek before wiping it off, and don't blow my nose clear, in 15 mins or so my nose will clear up by it's self. It's like it just evaporates (obviously i gently tap dry anything left on the outside of my nose ). So the same attention can sometimes be good. Well, actually i would have assumed that blowing my nose to clear my blocked up nostrals would be good and common sense, but it is more benefit for me to have them cleared by ignoring it. But i get no inkling feeling with this one that it is better to blow my nose. Meanwhile similarly, when the sneeze feeling dissapears i have no remorse for it's going. Who knows...

[Rara]

However.... if i have a runny nose or a cold, and i don't fight it and let it run down my cheek before wiping it off, and don't blow my nose clear, in 15 mins or so my nose will clear up by it's self.

Yeah...mine was kinda ticklish and distracting...and runningbover my mouth haha. I couldn't take no more.