RickyFitts

I've experienced various aches and pains whilst meditating over the years, I remember one instance where I was hit by a wave of nausea in my solar plexus that felt fucking awful, it was so hard to sit with it (I did, though, and the feeling dissipated after a few minutes). Different parts of my body have felt rather tender at times, too, particularly in the region of my stomach and lower back; I've felt pressure in different parts of my body, too, initially it was in my head but I've also felt it most noticeably in my heart.

For me personally, it's a couple of things: 1) Two spiritual teachers I have a lot of respect for, the Buddha and Adyashanti, have talked about how they saw many of their past lives after they became enlightened; and 2) I've been told about many of my own past lives by two people I trust and have a lot of respect for. So I tend to believe in reincarnation, though I can't say that I know that it's a fact. I don't think it's especially important, either, I think life is all about this moment, right now, and obsessing about past lives can become just another distraction from what's really important.

You're so welcome, glad you found it helpful I'm afraid I don't, sorry about that! @Ulax Did I try what myself? Empathising?

I've been subscribed to this fella's Youtube channel for a while now and find him to be very wise, the following video is his most recent upload and I found it very insightful, so I figured I'd share it here:

The title of this song happens to be my real name, I always loved the way she sung it

For anyone who's having a hard time at the moment:

@Preety_India Sorry, Preets, only just seen your post now - bless you, a belated merry Christmas and a happy new year to you too

@EmptyVase Yep, that's a distinct possibility ?

Fantastic, love this - thanks for sharing I know that for me personally, relearning how to feel has been absolutely central to my spiritual growth; we tend to learn to shut down emotionally from a young age, and reversing that trend can be hugely challenging (certainly has been for me, Jesus). Sounds like you've had a big breakthrough though, fantastic!

@Gianna You're very welcome, really hope it's helpful for you @Zeroguy Absolutely, so, so important

I prefer his new look, looks more grown up to me. Like he gives a shit what I think, but, y'know.

Interesting. The sensation in my head isn't really painful for the most part, it's just pressure - I first felt this not long after I started meditating about eight years back, I started to notice a pressure like someone was pushing their thumb into the centre of my forehead. I believe this indicates that my third eye was becoming active so I consider it to be a positive development, ultimately, though over time it's also forced me to deal with issues in other energy centres (all the centres are interconnected, after all) which has been challenging. That's certainly a possibility, though I do actually practise 'Do Nothing' meditation (which you alluded to) so I think I'm all right in that respect. I had a serious issue with emotional repression so it's taken a long time to even begin to release those repressed emotions, but I'm making good progress with it. Agree completely, to date it's been easily the most effective approach to meditation that I've tried. I'll keep this in mind. Resentment seems to be more of an issue for me than blame (though I guess they're quite closely related), but I'm gradually working through it. Thanks, kind of you to say

I've been very aware of my root chakra for maybe two-three weeks now, there appears to be a connection between that energy centre and my heart - actually, everything seems to come back to my heart in the end, the unresolved trauma I have in that area of my body seems to have a knock-on effect on the rest of my energy-system. I'm still experiencing a lot of head pressure, too, which always seems to intensify when I focus on my heart. But I'm getting there though, slowly but surely.

@Judy2 You're welcome

Only if you make it into one, if you tell yourself that the point is to have a silent mind - go into it with that belief and you'll be in for a world of frustration, because you really don't have that much control over your thoughts. I like Adyashanti's simple meditation instruction: 'Allow everything to be as it is'. And if thoughts happen to be arising, that's just what happens to be arising in the moment, and it's not a problem. I think the key thing is the releasing of the underlying unresolved emotion that's driving the mental activity - once that's resolved, the mind tends to become quieter. Though fair warning, the mind may actually become busier for a time, it may get worse before it gets better. But that's perfectly normal, it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong.

Absolutely, yoga can be hugely beneficial in a number of ways - I highly recommend it, I know it helped me so much when I was suffering with chronic anxiety for example As I say, I think what tends to be at the root of negative emotions like irritability is unresolved trauma and emotional upset, and once you resolve those issues (easier said than done, but definitely worth the effort) then the irritability gradually falls away be itself. You do have to do the inner work though, it can't be purely conceptual - 'you can only heal what you can feel,' as Teal Swan says. Right, I can absolutely relate to this! But what you resist, persists, as Jung said - I know that learning the true meaning of self-acceptance has been so important in my own journey, because denial and repression only end up enslaving you. And again, it can't be purely conceptual, there has to be a physical softening into vulnerability and a willingness to allow the arising of uncomfortable or even painful emotions.