lennart

Meditation is not the only way. There are a lot of exercises. And also different people need different things at certain points in their life.

Is this your current experience or do you just believe it?

Do you think he is deluding himself?

I somehow can't copy it. Just go on page of his blog. Its called Infinite Love Awakening.

I just watched his video about infinite love in which he is talking about his recent awakening and that he is beyond most of the enlightened teachers he also said that emotions like fear have become absurd to him they don't make any sense anymore. This made me curious how his day to day experience and emotions are.

Day 62: - 8 min of normal deep breathing and afterwards 5 min of alternate nostril breathing - I had some stomach pain which made it hard for me to breath into my stomach - I tried to focus on the sensations in my nostrils which wasnt easy - felt a little bit restless Day 63: - 8 min laying on my bed - my were a little bit sore - was difficult to keep my mind focused - maybe I should switch again to sitting Day 64: - 10 min sitting on bed - had a few moments of lucidity where I was only focused on the sounds of breathing or the feeling of the air on my nostrils - other than that a lot of thoughts Day 65: - 10 min lying on the bed - After some breaths I got into the rhythm and could notice a silencing effect on my thoughts - left nostril was a little closed which was a little bit annoying but I could let go of that Day 66: - 10 min sitting on bed - had a lot of thoughts but the funny thing is that the breathing and the switching seems to go on its own - Also the steady rhythm of inhale and exhale brings me into a light trance Day 67: - Left nostril was a little bit closed so I just did normal breath meditation - 10 min sitting on bed - focused on the tip of the nose - got distracted in the middle by my mom - I had some moments of focus - also a lot of distraction Day 68: - 10 min sitting on bed leaning against the wall - I took a few minutes to get into it - I got into the rhythm of rising and falling of my breathing - the sound of breathing is especially calming for me because it reminds me of the rhythmic sounds of the ocean Conclusion after 10 weeks: I have been doing 10 min for almost a week now and the effects seem to be more noticeable. The technique definitely has a calming effect on me and I enjoy that. The only thing that is a little bit annoying is that sometime I just can’t do it because my nostrils are closed. Then I just do normal breathing.

I love the Wim hoff method. I always feel good afterwards.

Thank you so much bro. I definitely will test some of these and I will gradually go up with the duration. For how long are you doing pranayama now?

Day 55: - 6 min laying in Bed - had a little pain in my neck are because I exercised before - counted the breaths from 1 to 10 and then backwards - helped me to recognize when I lose focus - after a few breaths the breath slowed down Day 56: - 6 min laying in bed - my right nostril was a little bit closed - did the breathing anyway - tried to really let go on the exhales - counted the breaths and focused in the end behind my eyelids -> more present Day 57: - 7 min sitting in bed - tried to progressively slow down the breath - I made a little pause between the outbreaths and in breaths - I became more mindful Day 58: - sat on my bed with back support - 7 min - I tried to really slow down the breaths - when it was very slow I became more aware Day 59: - 7 min sitting in bed - I tried to breath really slow but after a while I got out of breath and I breathed harder again. - when I opened my Eyes it felt like I was gone Day 60: - 8 min sitting on my bed - slow breathing + countin the breaths - a few times I lost focus and forget the counting - felt that I got into the parasympathetic nervous system Day 61: - 8 min sitting on my bed - On the exhales I could really relax my muscles. Especially in the face - more relaxed afterwards Conclusion after 9 weeks: I am starting to slowly increase the duration. Sometimes I go deeper than other times but thats ok. I can relax a little more I think also.

What do you think about having rigorous routines for somone who is very obsessive about routines. I am struggling with feelings of guilt after indulging into „negative“ behaviour like eating an unhealthy meal or missing my daily meditation practice etc. I am also a perfectionist which goes with having very high expections on myself so it is hard for me to stick to things like daily meditation because I get discouraged after a while because there is little to no progress ( which is probably normal in the beginning). I also have the tendency to wanting to do very much in the beginning. Like meditating daily. Making a green smothey in the morning. Studying daily etc. So what would you recommend? To just let myself try to do all of these things at the same time or to go against my urge to do all these things at the same time and focus only on one thing like meditation and do that for an extended period of time like a year or so and then add another habit? I would appreciate your thoughts!

Day 48: - 5 min laying on my bed - Lying down works well for me - Counted in my mind the in and out breaths. That helps me to stay focused - Will do another 5 min session later - again 5 min laying on my bed - After a long hike and I was really exhausted and tired - It felt so good to breathe into my stomach had a lot of pleasant sensations in there - I counted the breaths which helped with my concentration Day 49: - did 10 min laying in bed - counted the in and out breaths and focused on the blackness behind my eyelids which helped a lot to stay focused - belly breathing was pleasant for the stomach Day 50: - 10 min laying on the bed - was hard to focus even with the counting - it felt very long and in the last minute I needed to check my phone Day 51: - 10 min sitting on my bed - counted the breaths and tried to refocus when mind wandered - afterwards I was calmer Day 52: - 6 min laying in bed - counted from 10 backwards which helped to stay focused because one has to be more alert to count backwards - became more present towards the end Day 53: - nose was clogged so I did normal breathing for 6 min laying on my bed - breathed in to my belly while counting - Recognized that when I focus on my eyelids I become very present Day 54: - 6 min laying down in bed. I really relaxed me and in the end I layed there and just noticed the darkness behind the eyelids. Conclusion after 8 weeks: You likely noticed that I didnt stick with the 10 min. Thats because it felt like the 10 min were just too long and I didnt wanted to force myself to do it because than it would be likely that I wouldnt do it. Also I notice how there are little moments of being present. Especially when focusing on the darkness behind eyelids. It seems that this is useful for me. I enjoy doing it daily. It makes me kind of proud to have gotten this far.

That is pretty awesome. I too want to build muscles and become lean. But first I need to fix some joint problems I got through mobility training. I definitely also want to go into the direction of consciousness and enlightenment although that will still take a veeeery long time. ?

May I ask what your vision is and which practices you do to get you there?

Yeah and also I think tiny changes over a long period of time like 2-3 years can make such a big difference. Just the difference in the mentality is huge. Because a person who makes tiny changes into a meaningful direction will live and feel more purpousful and meaningful than a person who is not. So for now I have a 5 minute deep breathing/ mindfulness meditation that I want to commit to for at least one year. I am already doing it for about 50 days. After 90 days I will implement the next habit. Which will probably be a daily green smoothie or any greens/ vegetables either in raw form or smoothie form.

I think my biggest goal or aim right now is to focus on building my health. Both physically and mentally. Because it seems to me that this is really the foundations for almost everything else that I want to achieve. So I guess I will be focusing on implementing a few (one at a time) habits that take me into this direction.

Yea I think I will just keep things at a slow pace so I wont be overwhelmed and have to back down later. Thanks

Yea thats a good idea to do one habit first for an extended period of time.

Day 41: - In the mornings I most often have a little stomach pain and the belly breathing is really good for alleviating that. - breathed for 6 minutes - I wanted to do box breathing (3-3-3-3) but it was too straining so I just breathed naturally - felt more awake afterwards Day 42: Did 5 minutes of a guided breathing video + positive visualization with relaxing background music Was feeling very good. Day 43: - 5 min - had a lot of thoughts but I let them go - was feeling calmed and refreshed after Day 44: - sat straight without back support - was difficult to breath into the belly - I think its better to lean against something for me Day 45: - sat on the balcony in the sun of chair - got in to the rythm and had a moment of being very mindful Day 46: - did 4 min on the balcony and got interrupted - then I did 5 min in my bed lying down - my stomach hurt a little bit - so I couldnt breath as deep Day 47: - Was laying on my bed - breathed deeply and counted my breaths which made it easier for me to stay focused Conclusion after 7 weeks: I still like the calming effect of the exercise and it is handy to do when one is in a negative mood. I intend to go to 10 min from now on

Day 34: Mini atem session (3min): I was in a bad mood because I got teased by my brother. I couldnt let go of it even an hour after. So I went to the bathroom and did 3 min of breathing. Afterwards I felt definitely better than before. My anger wasnt as gripping and was slowly overcome by benevolence. Great! Unfortunately the peace dissipated after a while but the anger was permanently weakened. Did two of those Day 35: Did 5 min upon waking up Right nostril was a little bit closed which irritated me a bit But I got into it quickly Felt like I was doing the switching in a trance while my mind went on doing its thing. Day 36: - 6 min - on the balcony - had some moments of wakefulness - then the monkey mind came in: “ great I will write about this in my blog” - the diaphragmatic breathing is good for massagen the stomach area Day 37: - 6 min - sat on the balcony and listened to the birds - felt very peaceful - at one point I lost focus Day 38: ⁃ 5 min in my bed ⁃ Breathing deep into the belly ⁃ Feels good to open up the belly area ⁃ A little bit more centered Day 39: - 6 min on the balcony - after some breaths the breath slowed down - I became more aware: became aware of the colour behind my closed eyelids and some sounds Day 40: - got a good organ massage through the belly breathing - had a little neck pain which was disturbing - felt better after Conclusion after 6 weeks: This week I had a day were the technique was really helpful for me ( Day 34). I am enjoying the technique so far. The effects arent always noticeable but for example it always feels good to breath into my belly because it wakes up and massages the organs.

Day 27: Had a pain in my neck area so it was hard to concentrate on the breathing. I slowed the breathing down which calmed me a bit then I forgot about it and the mind chatter started again Day 28: Was still sleepy. Breathed into my belly which felt good. I got a little bit out of breath because I controlled the breath length too much I think. Other than that I got a little moment of presence. Day 29: Sat with a straight spine on my bed while my eyes were open. Breathed into my belly. It was sobering. I settled. Day 30: - Sat on the balcony - felt very present and calm - towards the end I started to become unsettled and thought about how much time this would take Day 31: - sat on the balcony at my grandmas house - there was a lot of chaos and a little argument between my grandma and my mom - the breathing technique made me a little bit calmer - although my stomach pain was very distracting ... not the best conditions ? Day 32: Sat on the balcony and did normal deep belly breathing. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Calmed down. Day 33: - left nostril was a little closed - deep diaphragmatic breathing - 6 minutes Conclusion after 4 weeks: more and more I have moments of presence they arent very strong but I think through consisten practice they can become more predominent...

The place where I did the breathing

How has the relationship to other people changed?

Day 20: Hadnt had much sleep. Felt a little bit long. At first I breathed normal than I started to breath into my belly which felt much better. Day 21: Breathed into my belly. Felt good. Before alternate nostril breathing I did 3 rounds of wim hof breathing. This makes me very euphoric. So I was already in a good place. I feel very calm now. Day 22: Breathed into my belly which felt like a little organ massage. Tried to focus on the sensations in the nostrils. Whenever the mind wandered I brought it back Day 23: Did Ujjayi breathin on the exhales. I contracted my throat so the exhale became longer. When opening my eyes again everything was kind of more fresh Day 24: First I did the Ujjayi breathing then I started to make my bresth very soft and quiet so I had to focus on it to perseve it. Day 25: I am currently on a festival. Because of that I didnt have the opportunity to clean my nostrils with neti pod. So my left nostril was pretty closed. Because of that I decided to just do normal breathing through both nostrils. I breathed deeply into my belly. I got pretty relaxed and almost fell asleep. Day 26: Today I did the breathing at a wonderful spot by a lake. I felt scattered. At one point during the breathing I got a little bit more focused. I feel like the benefits are very subtle which makes it easy for the mind to dismiss them....

Thanks for the encouragement. Which pranayama techniques do you do else? And for how long have you been doing them?

I am definiteley interested. I will keep doing this practice for the full 90 days and afterwards I will decide how I will continue. I am also very interested in Qi Gong exercises and Wim Hof Method...