Heart chakra opening

[Thrice Daily]

4 hours ago, Rheor said:

I guess this sort of big crisis just happens in a cultivator/meditator life, it forces one reassess things.. Due to energy blockages I found I could not hold a particular concentration technique which seemed only to interfere.

 

 

I am glad it helped you. For a time I tried different techniques, in the end, neutral awareness and letting go seem to be the best also in my experience.

 

Outside of sitting, I like to practice "allowing" my experience to be as it is when I remember, helps me snap out of negative mind patterns especially regarding happenings in my body or how life "ought" to be.
 

 

Never been on group retreat, I sit alone. I do have contact with close family though. I meditate only 1 hour per day now so I can focus on attending more on practical life matters like finding a job, learning new things, resuming social life...
 

Vipassana is one technique I am particularly drawn to, sounds good. I will probably give it more time once I get a bit more solid ground in mundane life.

Thank you.

Yes when you feel the time is right you will know, and booking into vippasana will be an unforgettable experience. 

 

I still remember the huge pot in the cold wintery morning there, filling it with jugs of boiling water then pouring the oats in as the hot water swirled round and round. Stirring pouring stirring pouring. And adding the other ingredients to the porridge very precisely . Never cooked such a big pot of oats. 100 or so people !!!!

 

The cooking is so precise there, the measuring of rice and the spices for the dishes, it really is unforgettable sitting and serving there...

[snowymountains]

11 hours ago, Rheor said:

Due to the sensations shifting when releases occur, I am intimately convinced that this is the result of energy purification. I remember wanting to take an appointment with a cardiologist only to see that they were all booked for months.
With that said, I will consider your words of caution.

 

Some pathologists or GPs may be able to do a lot till you see a specialist. We often think of them as generalists, but some of them do have domain knowledge in other areas, it's just not at the same depth as that of a specialist in that area - this is my layman's understanding of it at least and what I do personally ( I don't have any training or knowledge in Medicine )

 

11 hours ago, Rheor said:

A part of me wants to follow your suggestion, especially if no medication is involved. I can't help but be skeptical especially if the physicians are not familiar with energy symptoms. Might be worth a try.

 

The CBT psychotherapist will work with the symptoms no matter what caused them, in your case they could work with you on the brain fog and what you can do to improve. Imo it's still important to see a medical doctor for the brain fog as there may be underlying physiology.

 

E.g. - just to give an example as to why seeing a doctor in parallel to psychotherapy is important, I am not saying this as something that may be relevant to you, just an example/illustration of the importance of a medical doctor alongside psychotherapy - after a car accident people often experience brain fog (and also short term memory loss), it is very important that they are monitored by a medical doctor as one of the factors causing this is that their organism needs a lot of resources to repair, in a sense the memory loss happens because their organism prioretises not to register an event and instead uses all its resources to heal.

 

So a medical doctor monitoring the process of physiological healing is very important. A psychotherapist will help a lot, but only a medical doctor can deal with the physiological components of this. Any backpedaling on the physiology front may undo progress in psychotherapy.

 

Psychotherapy-wise Imo when there are symptoms there, first lower the symptoms and integration follows after the symptoms have been treated - Jung was of the same view btw, he was extremely practical and efficient with his patients/clients, all the integration stuff he discovered, working on polarities etc, he knew well when it's time to work on that and when it's time to focus on symptoms. CBT is excellent at symptoms treatment - provided the psychotherapist has training and experience in protocols relevant to your symptoms, so ask them over the phone.

 

Best of luck with recovering.

Edited Saturday at 08:11 AM by snowymountains

[Rheor]

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

Sorry Rheor, I see that I never replied to your thoughtful answers to my questions.

 

I was already glad for your previous answers, no worries.

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

Instead of constructing a person who has no confidence, can't force things, is losing grip, is frozen, I would advise accepting things as they are moment to moment. To wrestle with the underlying CONDITIONS of how things are a notice that you tell a story about a person who you don't want to be.

 

I can't deny anything about that.

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

If you are feeling stuck, SAY so. Earnestly put your hands out with open palms and openly, without an object, ask for help. Say that you are lost and don't know what to do. Have no outcome or method of cause or result in mind, and be open to whatever comes to mind. Watch your mind, and your life for an open hand... an idea, a person who invites you to do something... anything. Another possibility: there is a way out of your life that is something that compromises your pride, or is uncomfortable for you to consider. I might be the thing that you would NEVER do, like bankruptsy, or something else that wouldn't kill you or violate being open or kind to the world or life, but MIGHT violate a fixed idea you hold.

 

I was lost and stuck, that's right. I have been guided with lots of spiritual resources which I am grateful for. Now I am trying to make the bridge between spiritual and mundane life (so to speak), C.G. Jung and consequent (personal) dream work has been useful recent addition in this regard.

 

The main stuckness I feel now is devoid of unnecessary stories, I do struggle with living with the intensity of the heart opening still rather disturbing in terms of mental confusion/spaciness/overload but I don't dread it so much any longer (you contributed to my new stance too ).

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

Being conscious of the non-dual SHOULD include a trust that what needs to happen will happen, and that you are protected. Nonduality also means that reality will mirror your attachments, aversions and fear back at you, challenging you to surrender or drop them in the interests of dropping what obscures you seeing reality clearly. One of your primary obscurations is your limiting story about the past and future that stops you from moving forward. Reading your paragraphs, I see a LOT of limiting beliefs. You have a complex story that you appear to be using to create a cul de sac in your life. My suggestion: DROP IT. Stop telling this story about yourself. It isn't happening now, it is a story about a past you no longer live in, even if that past was yesterday.

 

In my opinion, being aware of non-duality creates a great tension of opposites between "spirit" and "matter". At least in my case, it's as if I had to consciously make an extra effort to stay grounded in the mundane/phenomenal world, keeping the "bridge" was harder.

I hesitated to edit out the post after posting the negative parts, but I thought it would be better to leave my demons in the light and not falsify what I first wrote. I was about to drop my limiting stories and hold on to my new prospects instead anyways.

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

Question: What actually DRIVES you? What are you actually excited about?

 

Curiosity, understanding things deeply, team work, social interactions, nature

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

What do you WANT?

 

Balance/middle-ground between "spiritual" and practical life, expressing hidden parts of myself

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

See above. My daughters boyfriend is a remote programmer making over $100 a year. He retrained in AI, did a few projects for his work, and will be making even more in the months to come. His is awkward with other people, and now has more limited interactions in his team which works for him. He had to work through a similar set of imagined limitations (expertise working as a data analyst) to move forward.

 

Good to hear for him. I let go of emotional projections I had about my previous field and technology while still keeping in mind how it could be dangerous or even useful, it is out of my control anyway. I tried out of my good will to retrain, I just had no will nor mental capacity to restart from scratch, so I let go. I'm trying for now to find a job that is not too mentally demanding for now that allows room for energy unfoldment.
 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

You demonstrate the ability to discard negative story-telling already! Good news! Now, trust (since you evince an interest in non-duality) that what you are surrounded by can't help but love you since it already what you ARE. Notice what it mirrors back to you, and notice where it reflects the fictional stories about reality you are constructing and DROP them.

 

Yes, I realized long time ago, I had no choice but to drop a lot of stories anyway, starting from external ones, moving on to internal ones. This has been hellish, I can't hide it.

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

The way out is to be sick of suffering. Stop escaping.

 

I would if I could

 

On 9/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, stirling said:

Seriously... ask for help, be serious about taking what you are presented as your path and it WILL change.

 

I have some troubles asking for help, not wanting to be a burden or bother others. And in my specific case here, I felt embarrassed to talk about it as someone who went to an extreme without guidance and feeling lost and confused afterwards when coming back to earth.

Edited Saturday at 07:10 PM by Rheor

[Rheor]

On 9/12/2024 at 11:24 AM, ChiDragon said:

@Rheor

Based on your symptoms, may I ask you a question?

What kind of activity were you involved when you are a teenager? Did you do something constantly and more often like most teenagers do with your five fingers?

As a teenager I was under "lower" instincts too, I was no exception. It was probably a LOT less than others though.

[Rheor]

11 hours ago, snowymountains said:

 

Some pathologists or GPs may be able to do a lot till you see a specialist. We often think of them as generalists, but some of them do have domain knowledge in other areas, it's just not at the same depth as that of a specialist in that area - this is my layman's understanding of it at least and what I do personally ( I don't have any training or knowledge in Medicine )

 

 

The CBT psychotherapist will work with the symptoms no matter what caused them, in your case they could work with you on the brain fog and what you can do to improve. Imo it's still important to see a medical doctor for the brain fog as there may be underlying physiology.

 

E.g. - just to give an example as to why seeing a doctor in parallel to psychotherapy is important, I am not saying this as something that may be relevant to you, just an example/illustration of the importance of a medical doctor alongside psychotherapy - after a car accident people often experience brain fog (and also short term memory loss), it is very important that they are monitored by a medical doctor as one of the factors causing this is that their organism needs a lot of resources to repair, in a sense the memory loss happens because their organism prioretises not to register an event and instead uses all its resources to heal.

 

So a medical doctor monitoring the process of physiological healing is very important. A psychotherapist will help a lot, but only a medical doctor can deal with the physiological components of this. Any backpedaling on the physiology front may undo progress in psychotherapy.

 

Psychotherapy-wise Imo when there are symptoms there, first lower the symptoms and integration follows after the symptoms have been treated - Jung was of the same view btw, he was extremely practical and efficient with his patients/clients, all the integration stuff he discovered, working on polarities etc, he knew well when it's time to work on that and when it's time to focus on symptoms. CBT is excellent at symptoms treatment - provided the psychotherapist has training and experience in protocols relevant to your symptoms, so ask them over the phone.

 

Best of luck with recovering.

 

Thank you, this is useful.

[ChiDragon]

On 7/27/2024 at 11:16 AM, Rheor said:

I have been meditating a lot for two years, I reduced off from 8 hours daily to 2/3 hours over the course of two months in order to focus

I feel most of my energy working around the heart chakra, like a "lock" in the center of my chest. My chest feels "full" with heat and pain accumulating in the heart, some head pressure aswell along with some level of mental fog. 

 

Pressure keep accumulating in my chest, I do the bare minimum of meditation just to release excesses.
To ground myself: Tai Chi, "earthing" barefoot on backyard,

When you meditate, did you concentrate on your breathing. Since you do meditation and Taiji, both are involved with breathing. If you had done properly with breathing, then, it should help to release the pressure off the chest and head as well. As I recall, the head use about 20% of the oxygen from the breathing. The lack of oxygen, hypoxia, might cause problem in the head as you had described. Try to breathe slowly and deep while meditating.

Use this as a guideline in your breathing.

 

[Rheor]

On 9/14/2024 at 10:06 PM, ChiDragon said:

When you meditate, did you concentrate on your breathing. Since you do meditation and Taiji, both are involved with breathing. If you had done properly with breathing, then, it should help to release the pressure off the chest and head as well. As I recall, the head use about 20% of the oxygen from the breathing. The lack of oxygen, hypoxia, might cause problem in the head as you had described. Try to breathe slowly and deep while meditating.

Use this as a guideline in your breathing.

 

First, thank you for your reply on this thread and your helping hand.
 

I am not sure there is much to do about headaches / fog / confusion / disorientation when something as significant as heart chakra opening is on the way (I still make room to be proven otherwise though).

Otherwise, I don't know. Since I watched this video from master Nan Huai-Chin, I am reluctant to focus on the dantian. I might be misunderstanding something, in which case it's my loss.

[ChiDragon]

42 minutes ago, Rheor said:

First, thank you for your reply on this thread and your helping hand.
 

I am not sure there is much to do about headaches / fog / confusion / disorientation when something as significant as heart chakra opening is on the way (I still make room to be proven otherwise though).

Otherwise, I don't know. Since I watched this video from master Nan Huai-Chin, I am reluctant to focus on the dantian. I might be misunderstanding something, in which case it's my loss.

You welcome! Your headaches, most of the time is caused by hypoxia(lack of oxygen). How is your breathing? I wouldn't worry about what has been said in the video. He seems very convincing and very serious about it. However, it seems to me it was baseless of what he is telling everybody. I am breathing all day long by focusing on my dantian. I am staying healthy everyday. Anyway, it's up to you. If your don't feel comfortable with it, just don't try it. Good luck to you.