RickyFitts

I'm noticing various sensations in my body at the moment, particularly around the back of my heart - sort of around the area of my shoulder blades, I'm feeling quite a lot of energy in that area. The area around my sacral chakra also feels rather tender at times, in an oddly pleasant sort of way - the nerves in that area seem to clearing or something, I'm not quite sure. My root chakra also feels very open, which is a tad disconcerting - I know kundalini rises from that area, and it can be a very intense experience by all accounts. Anyway, I think it's all good, I think my nervous system's gradually becoming entrained to all the energy that's been awakened which is good, obviously.

It's just wonderful, mate, it really is, I'm so happy for you and Preety Breaks my heart to hear you say that, mate, honestly. But I understand, though, I was always harshly self-critical too - that's a trait that runs in my family it seems, I notice both my parents can be very hard on themselves. Some very painful wounds at the root of that sort of thinking, can be challenging to heal. Blissful dissatisfaction - I'll have to give that a try sometime

@Preety_India Cheers darl

@Marcel Nice list! A few more I'd add: Down-to-earth Sense of humour Doesn't take herself too seriously Empathic Is open-minded, but knows her own mind too

Lovely idea for a thread (A bit of Kyla La Grange too, brings to mind a song of hers that an ex-girlfriend shared with me that I love, 'Vampire Smile'.)

That's quite the cross to bear, because no-one is perfect - you're holding yourself to an impossibly high standard. What if you don't do things perfectly, can you handle the idea of being imperfect? What do you feel it says about you if you aren't perfect? You've instinctively learnt to shut down over the course of your life, due to the environment you were raised in - it's sadly so common in humans (and again, especially in men), I was no different in that regard. And I was a very sensitive, troubled child, too, so I ended up bottling up all sorts of strong emotions, until the pressure simply became too great and the sheer extent of my suffering forced me to awaken. That was really only the start of the journey, though, and things actually got much tougher for me after that, as I had to face all the emotional issues and traumas that were still in my system. The big thing for me was simply learning to consciously inhabit my body, we humans tend to be so much in our heads and we end up having a very conflicted relationship with our bodies as a result, we tend to feel restless and agitated if our minds aren't engaged in some task or other. I keep saying it, but body-centred practices are so important I feel - or at least they have been for me personally - because we can't think our way to emotional resolution. Exactly, yeah, that' s how you've been conditioned. Hard to break these patterns, it takes lots of discipline and patience - and time, as you say. I know from my own experience that having a loving partner who's compassionate and understanding to talk things through with can be hugely cathartic and healing, though, so I'm glad you've got Preety for that my friend

'When you sit, stop, and tune in, you’re entering an infinite realm of discovery and possibility. So what you think about it, the beliefs you have about it, what you’ve heard about it – all that can go into the background, so that you can actually begin to see, and feel, and be available, fresh, for what’s happening. You have to go beyond the teachings. You have to go beyond your own beliefs, especially ones that you are very attached to.' - Jon Bernie

Yes, exactly. Exactly this. Often people are trying to manufacture a certain state, they're trying to control their experience in some way - that isn't meditation as far as I'm concerned, that's a waste of time. For me, meditation is simply a state of non-resistance. It's a relaxation as much as anything, an allowing.

It's a funny thing, I'd have thought that as I became more sensitive in my body that I would become clearer on what exactly I'm feeling - but sometimes it seems like the opposite is true and I'm actually becoming less clear. Maybe that's not entirely true, though - maybe the truth is that I simply don't want to feel what I'm feeling right now, so I go into denial about it. The emotional theme that recurs most often is simply grief, but the frustrating thing about it is that I can't seem to figure out exactly what I'm grieving. But do I actually need to know that? I think there's a tendency in humans - certainly in myself at any rate - to try to figure out the reasons why, simply because that's how our brains are wired - we're problem-solvers by nature, that's a big part of why we've been so successful as a species. But, as Teal Swan would say, you can only heal what you can feel. This is where humans (and especially men) tend to be stunted, I know that in my own case I've had to relearn how to feel - and it's been extremely challenging.

There's no rush, I'm sure it'll all become clear in time

Pink Floyd - 'Empty Spaces/What Shall We Do Now?'

@Marcel Cheers buddy, really appreciate it. At the moment I'm just feeling disoriented, I'm not even really sure how to describe it... it's kind of like I'm being emptied out, I don't know. It's not like I feel really terrible or anything, just... well, like I say, disoriented! I'm all right though pal

I've been feeling soreness in my shoulders today whilst meditating, particularly in my right shoulder. This kundalini awakening business I tells ya, it's the gift that keeps on giving...

Or you could meditate whilst sat on a chair if that's more comfortable for you, obviously, that's always an option. It's just whichever position allows you to sit with the least discomfort

You're so cute Ah well I haven't fully resolved the issue, but it's certainly much more manageable than it was Oh no, sorry to hear about your issue with your knees! Is it a serious issue? I'm just a little concerned that seated meditation might worsen the condition, though you can always see how you get on with it and then stop if it becomes too uncomfortable, of course. Great!

To surrender in this context is to allow the resistance to the visceral sensation of fear that you can feel in the body to release. Because whilst you're in resistance, you suffer, because your resistance is blocking the flow of energy (and the felt sensation of fear is ultimately just energy).

You are definitely not a sociopath, Preety, let me just state that categorically. Sociopaths can't feel empathy, guilt, or remorse, and that doesn't apply to you.

Why would it mean you're a sociopath?

Funnily enough, I'm also of German extraction on my dad's side (great-grandparents were German, my surname's actually German).

Sigh, beautiful, again... what a gift to the forum you've been

I just love the way your mind works, Gianna, I'm in awe of it

Oh, just another note on meditation: Try positioning the tip of your tongue against the back of your top front teeth, that'll pull your tongue forward and out of the back of your throat, which should allow you to breathe more easily and freely. This might sound odd, but our jaws are misaligned because we eat with cutlery, apparently - our teeth should be aligned so that the top row sits directly on top of the bottom row, but instead we tend to have an overbite, which pushes the tongue back and can inhibit our breathing.

God I love you, Gianna A sure-fire sign that you've found the right practice for you, that's wonderful It became painfully apparent when I was having a hard time a few years back, when I meditated during that period I'd become conscious of this painfully contracted, desperate sort of feeling in that area of my body (but I'm doing much better now ). Oh I'm so glad to hear that Oh, I'm so glad I mentioned it then in that case! Hope it helps I had posture problems too, initially, sitting in meditation was exacerbating a long-standing lower-back complaint I had - though when I corrected my posture, the complaint magically resolved, which was a very pleasant surprise!

I love your passion, Preety