Constant tiredness and heavy feeling above the eyes, difficulty thinking, concentrating

[senseless virtue]

7 hours ago, -_sometimes said:

Play it long enough, and you can win, slowly but surely, no? 

 

No, Vipassana is not a game that you play. Don't get deluded by the Western pop psychology propping that mindfulness is an easy or convenient answer to just any personal problem.

 

Wanting to gain lasting wisdom and insight into your own condition as a sentient being is the entry fare for gaining anything useful out of mindfulness, but there are also many other preliminary factors that are necessary as taught in the doctrine of Noble Eightfold Path by Gautama Buddha ranging from correct ethics to having the right effort and energy.

 

If you have the view that there is a ball to dodge or that the practice is some type of casual entertainment that just mechanically produces some virtuous result, then you are missing the point and not in it for insight.

 

Mindfulness is about perceiving the three characteristics of phenomena: non-self, impermanence, and unsatisfactoriness. Anything else is complete waste of time that trains a navelgazing habit that may distract you from engaging with life and doing good for others.

Edited May 15, 2020 by virtue

[Mandrake]

10 hours ago, virtue said:

 

It's relatively easy to use mindfulness meditation to overexert oneself if wisdom is underdeveloped.

 

Brain consumes a lot of energy. If you use your head's analytical capacity to facilitate insight development through access concentration and if especially intensively as in many hours each day or in retreats, then you are certainly allotting a lot processing power.

 

It's quite common to see and hear yogis discuss about the lack of energy and also have severe mental issues that come up because of Vipassana practice. A lot of this could be helped with developing proper samadhi to support investigation with good energy, but this isn't the favored approach or known how to accomplish it by all teachers.

 

Gentle mindfulness when not overdone is fine usually, but even then it would really benefit from expert yogis or psychological counselors helping to set good insight routines how to investigate the three characteristics wisely. Otherwise, mindfulness may end up being a fruitless game of dodge ball with your own mind.

 

Thanks, that clarifies what you meant.

 

In my experience, done several retreats and spending a lot on the cushion, there's a tremendous release of tension and energy, leaving me lighter, more energetic, and overall in better mood and health. Of those few I've met that end up with problems, they either have mental issues before embarking on a spiritual discipline, and/or they force things prematurely. Though there are nuances.

 

 

Mandrake

 

 

[senseless virtue]

7 minutes ago, Mandrake said:

Of those few I've met that end up with problems, they either have mental issues before embarking on a spiritual discipline, and/or they force things prematurely.

 

This accurately fits all yoga. This is the Dao Bums forum and evidence for your statement is all around to be publicly seen.

[freeform]

9 hours ago, -_sometimes said:

Why? What's wrong with sleeping late if it's easier to sleep?

@Cleansox hit the nail on the head.

 

And to add to it - your body has its own rhythms that align with nature’s rhythms. If the rhythms are out of alignment you’ll develop major issues over time. If you already have some issues, then they’re not likely to heal.

 

The fundamental basics are always the most important - things like sleeping well, eating well, exercising and spending some time outside and with other people.

 

Get those right and many other problems will begin to slowly resolve themselves.

 

And once they’re resolved you’ll be able to go even further with your development

[Sebastian]

56 minutes ago, freeform said:

The fundamental basics are always the most important - things like sleeping well, eating well, exercising and spending some time outside and with other people.Get those right and many other problems will begin to slowly resolve themselves.

 

This is so important. Our body's energy follows the cycle of the Sun. 

 

Where is the Sun at noon ? Above our heads. And where is the Qi at noon ? In the Bahui region.

Where is the Sun at midnight ? Literally under the earth from where we sit. And the Qi ? At the perineum.

 

So ...

 

When the Qi is already at the top of the head at noon, you don't do strong Qi cultivation practices to raise energy.

When the Qi is at the perineum at night and your body is winding down, you don't stay up and stimulate yourself with video games.

 

What do you do instead ? In general, it's good to something that opposes the natural movement, but gently.

 

At noon, you can relax and wind down. You can take a nap.

 

At midnight, when the Qi is reaching the sexual organs, you can do some brief standing practices to sublimate that energy into a more refined form instead of being transformed into sexual Qi. Then you can sleep.

 

Just some ideas.

 

[-_sometimes]

Thanks for your help everyone. It seems there is much I can still do to help things along. Back to the drawing board it is!

[-_sometimes]

11 hours ago, Sebastian said:

 

This is so important. Our body's energy follows the cycle of the Sun. 

 

Where is the Sun at noon ? Above our heads. And where is the Qi at noon ? In the Bahui region.

Where is the Sun at midnight ? Literally under the earth from where we sit. And the Qi ? At the perineum.

 

So ...

 

When the Qi is already at the top of the head at noon, you don't do strong Qi cultivation practices to raise energy.

When the Qi is at the perineum at night and your body is winding down, you don't stay up and stimulate yourself with video games.

 

What do you do instead ? In general, it's good to something that opposes the natural movement, but gently.

 

At noon, you can relax and wind down. You can take a nap.

 

At midnight, when the Qi is reaching the sexual organs, you can do some brief standing practices to sublimate that energy into a more refined form instead of being transformed into sexual Qi. Then you can sleep.

 

Just some ideas.

 

What standing exercises do you recommend?

Edited May 15, 2020 by -_sometimes

[thelerner]

11 hours ago, Sebastian said:

 

This is so important. Our body's energy follows the cycle of the Sun. 

 

Where is the Sun at noon ? Above our heads. And where is the Qi at noon ? In the Bahui region.

Where is the Sun at midnight ? Literally under the earth from where we sit. And the Qi ? At the perineum.

..

that reminds me of an urban taoist I ran into.  He lived in an apartment and didn't pay for electricity or heating, never had them connected.  There was enough ambient heat from the floor and ceiling to keep it from getting too cold.  He lived according to the light outside; up with the sun and relaxing, meditating & sleep when it went down.  In tune with the seasons. 

[Sebastian]

9 hours ago, -_sometimes said:

What standing exercises do you recommend?

At midnight when the Yin Qi is at its max, and the Yang Qi is sprouting,  you can do any gentle movement to help that energy rise. The main thing is to be awake, sit up for a few minutes. Then go back to sleep.

 

This is mostly for inspiration though. This is how immortals from the Integral Way tradition practice. They understood that natural sublimation of sexual energy is required for high level cultivation. 
 

I think for most people, when Qi is at the sexual organs late at night, some of it will convert into sexual fluid later. You might have some dreams that go with this. This is natural and nothing to worry about. For cultivation sometimes you just re-use that energy before it becomes fluid. Other traditions have different ways to deal with this, some involve MCO, others practice in sleep etc...

 

This is not important though. I think following the natural cycle of the Sun is more important than sublimation of sexual energy at this point. Just don’t abuse your sexual function late at night when the Yang Qi is sprouting. And be calm and relaxed around noon.

 

Do most of your intellectual work in the morning, and progressively wind down in the evening. Just common sense. Don’t use the cell phone blue light very late too.

 

Most modern people have this reversed. They stay up all night and abuse their brain function playing board games or something like that. Then they dose off until early afternoon.

 

Theres a reason that traditional cultivation is mostly from 12:00 am to 12:00 pm — these are the Golden hours were the Sun is shining on you — and your Yang Qi is rising.

 

Good luck.

 

[freeform]

11 hours ago, Sebastian said:

At midnight when the Yin Qi is at its max, and the Yang Qi is sprouting,  you can do any gentle movement to help that energy rise. The main thing is to be awake, sit up for a few minutes. Then go back to sleep.

I just need to interject.

 

Although this might be useful for a cultivator, for @-_sometimes this is not recommended. In fact any sort of cultivation practice will cause major issues at this point.

 

Best to focus on the basics - sleep well, eat well, exercise and spend time with people (face to face).

[-_sometimes]

55 minutes ago, freeform said:

 ..spend time with people (face to face).

I'm curious as to why you specify this. Perhaps you have already explained why idk but well.. this would be a huge undertaking for me, as I'm rather lacking in the 'socialising' department. I just feel sort of empty of content / blank around people. Do you mean build connections, or just general interaction? Why? how would it help?

 

I hope you don't mind the questions, I just personally need a reason to do something as opposed to just 'you should because it's good for you'

[freeform]

1 hour ago, -_sometimes said:

this would be a huge undertaking for me

I know

 

1 hour ago, -_sometimes said:

I'm curious as to why you specify this.

Well there are certainly good reasons - which I’m happy to explain. But from my perspective, I sometimes get moments of causal insight where I get a momentary understanding of what’s happening on a specific level for someone. A bit esoteric!

 

A good sign that this would be beneficial for you is the very fact that you find it difficult or challenging.

 

On a basic level there are two types of people - introverts and extroverts. Introverts like you (and me) prefer not to socialise and extroverts prefer company and not being alone.

 

Introverts tend to contract inwards - and for you, at the moment, contracting inwards is not what you want - you want to expand outwards.

 

You don’t need to suddenly go out and be the life and soul of a party - just spending time with others - even just one on one - or as I suggested doing some volunteering or something like that. Even if the idea feels uncomfortable for you, I’m sure you’ll come to treasure the personal connections you make.

 

Apart from generating an expanding movement in your energy body, it will help to balance your inner nature and begin to ‘open’ your heart. This will begin to heal you and set you up for further development down the line. 

[Mandrake]

On 15/05/2020 at 7:45 AM, virtue said:

 

This accurately fits all yoga. This is the Dao Bums forum and evidence for your statement is all around to be publicly seen.

 

Indeed.

 

 

M