eskwire

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Posts posted by eskwire

  2. Posted · Edited by eskwire

    2 hours ago, Yonkon said:

    @eskwire This is unspeakable true. I am too lazy to watch a 50 minute Video on an important topic. But is it safe or not?

    Is it safe to drive a car? It depends, right? It's rather hard to say. 

    The point of the video: I cannot quantify shamanic breathing's risk level re: long-term brain damage, despite trying. The research done on hyperventilation is mixed with other factors, such as prior brain injury and anesthesia. That means it's your call - a call you might want to make with some more information on the topic. 

    It does cause delayed reaction time and psychomotor dysfunction, so if you choose to take on the unknown level of risk, I would at least wait a couple days to drive a car. 

  3. Posted

    @JohnV You're welcome.

    Even during a "strong determination sit" - the one where not moving is integral to the teaching - it is allowed to straighten the spine. The point of sitting still is to learn to sit in discomfort without running away from it or running toward a pacifier (like changing positions). Keeping a straight spine is helpful to the practice. 

    These rules are also not so hard and fast that you should give up because of them. There is a lot of room to apply these rules judiciously. If a rule is making you stop meditating altogether, loosen up on it. It's ok.

    Feel free to try the stems again. Try to understand the purpose and spirit of them (applying awareness) rather than doing them mechanically. 

    Godspeed. ✨

  4. Posted · Edited by eskwire

    Wow. Dad Leo made us do a bunch of work and now we're all boring. ?

    Jkjkjkjk I love all of this and can enjoy leisure/socialization/relaxation so much more than I ever could before.

    Just sitting (meditating) or taking a bath for relaxation. Reading. I pet animals when they are around and listen to my friends' emotional stuff. 

    Listening to music needs to happen more - I have gotten back onto Netflix at times and that needs to stop.

    Although nature documentaries are nice - I can't really rag on those. 

  6. Posted

    I am fairly certain I won't have children, in part due to my ethics, but mostly due to a lack of preparedness and the complete/utter lack of reassurance that it's worth it. 

    In utilitatian terms, it's unethical to have kids because fewer humans (your children) are sucking up your resources (time and energy) that could be used in work that helps many people. Fewer humans are receiving benefit.

    There are, however, many ways to consider this issue.

    Maybe you wouldn't be the one who helped a lot of humans - maybe your child would. In the utilitarian worldview, more people would benefit from you having children, which would be ethical.

    The latter example is what most people bank on. "I am a good person who learned a lot of lessons and my children are therefore gonna be GREAT and make the world a better place."

    This is problematic. Firstly, because you are living vicariously through your children, and that's unhealthy.

    Secondly, your kids could turn out to be scum sucking assholes regardless. The world runs on probabilities.

    So. Up to you. 

  9. Posted · Edited by eskwire

    This has been a long-term goal of mine for the past 6 months.

    Vipassana centers offer longer stays - 20-40 days for advanced practitioners meeting certain criteria over lengths of time. I am working toward that end because I want the structure of the center. 

    Another part of that goal is working for myself, so I can take time like that off at my discretion. Obviously, Leo already does that.

    This is the next step for someone who has done a few 10 days retreats and maintained a daily practice. 

    --- edit/

    Nevermind. It's a month of researching 5meo and mindfulness rather than formal sitting. 

    Maintaining practice outside of a formal sit - meditating with your eyes open, so to speak - is very important. The extended formal sits are effective for rewiring, in my experience. 

  11. Posted

    50 minutes ago, BestSelf said:

    This is great! Thanks for putting in all the time and effort to create it! So I am an athlete and really would like to avoid the potential slowing of reaction time effect. Do you think there is a way i can incorporate shamanic breathing and still get the positive effects from it WITHOUT the negative effect on reaction time? Like possibly shorter duration sessions(10-20 mins) as well as less frequently(every 2 weeks or month)?

    Great question! That was a very important finding - what was most useful to know.

    I cannot say with any certainty how many minutes doing shamanic breathing would equate to fewer days/less time spent with delayed reaction time and psychomotor dysfunction.

    My personal solution will be to do this infrequently and not do it if I have to drive the next 2 or 3 days. 

  13. Posted

    2 hours ago, Truth Addict said:

    I don't know, I just can't even imagine that to be true, honestly.

    I know they're mere sensations, but how is this any practical?! It's just philosophy. I still deal with pain even though it doesn't exist (as you suggest).

    Looks like Truth is not always practical after all. ?

    It is true. I recommend a Vipassana retreat to begin seeing this in "practical" terms. Sensations are interpreted as pain or pleasure. They are the same, and this sameness can be felt/perceived/sensed for real. You just have to do the work and realize the teaching. ?

  14. Posted · Edited by eskwire

    Alright, guys, here is the research I promised @Source_Mystic on the safety of Holotropic Breathwork/Shamanic Breathing.

    It's a video because I figured the massive wall of text would be waaaaay unpalatable.

    It's long and I am talking somewhat slowly at times, so feel free to speed it up!

    ///see (some) resources attached\\\

    cerebral blood flow before and after hv.pdf

    Holotropic Breathwork paper.pdf

    hyperventilation and cbf.pdf

    hypocapnia and diseases of civilization.pdf

    Voluntary Hyperventilation in Panic Disorder Treatment.pdf

  15. Posted

    Hi! I'm sorry you are at a low, because it feels bad, but it is the beginning of something new. 

    I understand why people do pick-up, but ultimately, it will not fulfill you. It is an external source of validation and happiness. It is competition, deceit, and concern for the shallow side of life. If this is your sole strategy for achieving contentment and ease, it is doomed to failure.

    You say that you do 10 minutes of meditation per day and, to be frank, that's not enough. That's nothing. That's for some relaxation and a little focus, not transformation.

    The 6 Pillars sentence stems are meant to bring your awareness to the center, and to write down what is observed/learned through heightened awareness. If your awareness is not heightened through techniques such as meditation, and you are doing the sentence stem exercise in a mechanical way with disbelief, then yes, it could be useless.

    Start anew, do something different. 

  20. Posted

    23 hours ago, Source_Mystic said:

    @eskwire  How is that research coming ?  I am waiting for somene to show me how  extended oxygen deprevation from 15 minuets to 9 hours is healthy and furthermore so healthy that it should be a regualiar practice daily or weekly for 52 sessions in a year. 

    I'm working on it! It takes a lot of reading to get through studies and try to understand all the context and the bodily systems. Much harder and more time consuming than just Googling "oxygen deprivation " ? and I am working full time with a broken ankle. Very tiring.

    I will present my findings when they are done. 

  21. Posted

    @How to be wise This will be my last post on the topic, as trying to persuade someone seems like a foolish waste of time. 

    An example of a source of suffering that is not an attachment to thoughts is subconscious clinging and subconscious aversion. They affect your life without even showing themselves enough to do The Work.

    If someone cuts me off in traffic and I am not mindful enough to even notice I am enraged in that moment, I won't do The Work. In that case, meditating would have helped.

    @Faceless You seem like a very nice Rad Dad, so I will try not to be rude about this. It is not necessary to referee or Dad me. I clearly stated multiple times that it's fine this person does The Work and I am happy it is working for that person (finding their own teacher/portal).

    I am contesting the arrogance and inaccuracy of pushing it as a downside-free silver bullet for everyone at every time. The potential for a denial effect and lack of compassion in Byron Katie's work is something I will always point out. It's important.

    My concession is that I have realized I would benefit from doing The Work again now, since I have done so much meditation and finally have the mindfulness skills to apply it outside of doing worksheets.

  22. Posted · Edited by eskwire

    2 hours ago, How to be wise said:

    @eskwire I’m sorry if I sounded too harsh.

    You can’t heal from a trauma unless you realise that the physical event didn't cause your suffering. Your thoughts about the situation did. If you carry on believing that trauma is possible, you will continue living in fear that maybe tomorrow you will be traumatised. 

    You do the work on thoughts that cause you internal suffering. ‘The Work’ is based on healing the mind. A thought like ‘I broke my ankle’ isn’t really what’s causing most of your misery (but it does cause some, so you could The Work on it if you want to). If you break your ankle, and want to do The Work, do it on a thought like ‘I shouldn’t break my ankle’ which most people clearly are attached to. Who would you be without the thought ‘I shouldn’t break my ankle’ when the paramedics are taking you away? More internal peace. 

    Internal healing only happens when you realise that what you thought happened didn’t. 

    Btw, Byron Katie’s depression was pretty serious. In fact, the last two years before her awakening, she couldn’t leave her house due to fear. She stayed in her bedroom for months on end, her clothes and hair stuck to her body because of how long she stayed in one place. That sounds pretty serious to me. 

    Sidenote: in the advanced stages of The Work you can actually stop your physical pain. Physical pain always happens in the past and future. After her awakening, there was a time when Katie stuck her hand down a champion juicer, and it literally crushed her fingertips. Even though her hands and clothes were filled with blood, she couldn’t feel any pain because of her not attaching to thoughts. 

     

     

    Yes, her depression was serious, but it's the type of depression caused solely by thoughts. Her external life was priveleved. She was only able not to leave her house for so long because her basic needs were covered. She did just need to work on her attitude - and that's why she thinks everyone else just needs to do that, too. Other people do have trauma. Children get traumatized - by thinking "untrue thoughts" or not - and need to heal.

    The point is not that the broken ankle is causing misery. The point is that something other than working with thoughts and not feeling pain is needed to restore functionality to the ankle. 

    You don't sound harsh. You just have no compassion, which is pretty par for the course with Byron Katie's method. 

    I was able to control the pain of my broken ankle without pain meds for a couple of hours through meditation. I was also able to keep a positive attitude through it. 

    My problem with your post is that, in my experience doing The Work, I saw that it has some potential issues. It helped me with forgiveness but not enlightenment - and even then, the forgiveness didn't stick. It's not the perfect method for everyone at every time. It is also silly to put down other methods as though The Work is definitely, for sure better.

    I'm glad you feel better this month; I just think you are over proselytizing. 

  23. Posted

    2 hours ago, How to be wise said:

    Despite the name, it’s actually a lot easier than the standard meditation and yoga path. Because it actually ends somewhere.

    The sankharas and body issues are caused by attaching to your thoughts!

    The ‘turnaround’ happens after the four questions for a reason. You first contemplate whether the thought you’re attaching to is true, and the other questions. When you come to realise that they weren’t true then you turn them around, so that you can gain more insights about the opposite, and embody them in your life. The turnaround is part of ‘the healing’. 

    Lol how can you heal from a trauma if you actually believe that it’s possible to be traumatised. 

    Is it true that sankharas are caused by attaching to thoughts?

    Let's turn it around.

    Maybe these thoughts are caused by sankharas. Perhaps they arise simultaneously. How do you know?

    Yes, "lol trauma" - that's exactly the lack of compassion I find in her work.

    Is it true you have to not believe in trauma or you will never heal from it? Why? Why is it impossible for trauma to be healed?

    My broken ankle is healing. I am practicing walking again. It was traumatized - hurt and damaged to the point of not functioning. With acknowledgment that it needed attention and healing techniques, it is getting better and returning to function. 

    If I just did The Work, it could look like this:

    Thought: I broke my ankle.

    Is that true? Yes, my ankle is broken.

    Is that reeeeeally true? Uhm, well, idk? Maybe it's just different not broken? But can I walk with it like this? Nothing is true?

    How do you react when you think that thought? I feel like I need to go to the hospital.

    Turn it around: My ankle broke me.

    How not helpful. I would still need to go to the hospital for treatment if I wanted to walk again without major malfunctions. This can also apply to the psyche.

    My point is that this is not helpful for everything and other healing techniques are needed for some people.

    Perhaps your body issues were due to depression about silly minor things. Byron Katie was emotionally distraught despite her easy, privileged, white lady life doing real estate whatever. Other people HAVE experienced serious trauma and The Work can be helpful in forgiving some of that. Other techniques are helpful, too. Don't laugh off other people's experiences because you read some books by a Sagittarius Horse who believes in everyone picking themselves up by their bootstraps and dismissing some harsh realities of life. That is her living her personality. 

  24. Posted

    On 4/18/2018 at 8:28 AM, Elisabeth said:

    You don't need to dedicate yourself for years right from the get go.

    Just try it, give it a month perhaps, twenty worksheets or whatever and see if it helps. If it does, do more.

    If, at some point, you feel like you're no longer making progress with it, you pick up some other technique. It's quite possible that the process - ANY PROCESS - can only take you so far. 

    Did you know you can actually get stuck with meditation? The Buddhists will tell their monks to go teach meditation instead if they stop making progress. Seriously. No one technique is perfect for everyone. When you see people saying some technique is perfect, it's because they found a technique that's perfect for THEM at THAT TIME. 

    ^Yes.

    It's great The Work works for the OP. Putting down meditation and yoga like it's off-brand trash by comparison is rather unnecessary. ?

  25. Posted

    The Work is ok. Reading it before getting heavily into meditation and spirituality just caused a lot of denial issues for me. Lots of going around in circles by dealing with thoughts (symptoms) instead of root issues (sankharas, the body). She also victim blames like a mofo. Instead of teaching you to accept that something traumatic has happened and healing must occur, you are told to also try and think up ways you did it to yourself. ?