Meditation

[Lupita]

About meditation.

She asked me if I had done sat, I said what is sat? when you sit on the floor. I said I have arthritis, she gave me three cushions for my knees which still was painful.

She guides you, we were six persons and her. Everybody was very friendly. I felt welcome. I sat, and it was painful, I have to find a comfortable position. But cannot be in bed because you fall asleep.

Then she starts saying to concentrate in the respiration, how you feel the air coming out and in through your nose and how you feel it going to your lungs. Fell the vibrations on your skin, your hair, if there is an itching, or a pain, concentrate on your breathing. If your mind goes away come back to the air in your nose.

She keeps silent for some minutes and during that time the mind goes away to stories and inner dialogue, go back to the breathing, or when she tarts talking again she takes you to the breathing again.

Then she does the relaxation for all the body what they call body scanning, and go through all your joints, feel your elbows, feel your knees, etc, and you feel very relaxed, and you hear the respirations of the others, and you know that is something nice.

Then after about 35 minutes she starts talking about loving one self, not to disapprove our selves, to forgive our imperfections, to see the deep inside us, and she goes very deep, and after 47 minutes she rings a bell, a bell that has a sound very nice sound, almost hypnotic, then you open your eyes.

She asked me how I felt I told her that just to stay still was a huge effort since I am a very restless person, just to resist not to see my watch was a huge effort, and she was amazed that despite I am so restless and it was my first time I sat quietly with closed eyes for 47 minutes, but I have to confess that I had to scratch my face several times and move my legs several times, but it was relaxing anyway. When I went home I was feeling better and more hopeful.

She has other places where she does it for a donation and I am going to try to go since I am on vacation.

Hopefully I am going to get a better job than the one I had and I will do better and I will have better relationships that I had in the past.

Does anybody have any opinion or experience with meditation? I know that Hopalong knows a lot about it.

[lighter]

That sounds very hopeful, Lupita.

I hope you can attend those other meetings too.

Lighter

[Lupita]

It might be of help gor you too. Have you thought about it?

There are CDs to do it at home.

I got very good ones and I dont mind to share.

Love to you.

[Hopalong]

Sweet Lupita,
I am so excited for you I feel tearful. 

SOOOOO happy to hear about you testing out that experience...
of giving yourself peace.

Please keep going. It's a function of repetition.

(((((((((((((((((((((((Lupita)))))))))))))))))))))

You bring me joy, with this story.

lots of love,
Hops

[lighter]

Please do share,Lupita.

I'm afraid I have very limited energy for self care lately so..... picking something up right here... right now... on the board would  be very helpful.  Thanks

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Yes, Lupita...

I have experience. It's absolutely AMAZING that you were able to sit so long, for your first time!! Very unusual... but very, very, very good.

Hops is right about the repetition; it will have subtle - and sometimes unexpected (in a good way) - effects on you; how you feel and how you think about yourself. I'm so glad you found an opportunity to try this and that it was with someone who knew what they were doing. Protecting you on your first experience. I've found it's not really necessary to sit for such a long time. Better to try develop a habit of 5-10 minutes, twice a day. And even that can be difficult for me... but I try.

I think of it as "practice" in letting go... just "being".

[Lupita]

Paradoxically I feel very stressed out because I do not have a job. But I will meditate and see how I feel later. Will come back later and tell you.

Hi PR, Lighter, Hop. Thank you for your ecnouragement.

Light I am sure that you could use some. I promise you that you will feel in a better way to assess and manage your situation.

LOve to you all.

[lighter]

Lupita.... have you read Eat, Pray, Love?

I think that's the title.

Pick it up and think good thoughts about finding another job.

Are you going to send me info on your resume?  I just talked to my recruiter buddy this morning.... he'd help.

Share some of the finer points of your sitting experience.....

 Amber, you too....

 when you can.

I think now would be a great time to give it a try.

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

You CAN sit in a chair; feet flat on the floor hands resting comfortably on thighs. It helps if the back of the chair is high enough to support your nect. Not necessary to contort your body into unfamiliar or uncomfortable positions. Eyes open or closed. Soothing music helps some people; not a requirement. It is all really, really simple.

You are aware and focussed on your breathing and how your body feels, relaxed. That's all. You WILL be distracted by thoughts, physical sensations... and it just happens and when you realize this, just return attention to breathing and relaxing (again, if necessary) your body.

This is exactly what my T had me do to reduce my level of anxiety - which was out of this world; off the charts anxiety. I'd always believed that meditation had to have a higher purpose... DUH. The main purpose is simply to feel and be how you feel and are while meditating - calm, relaxed, peaceful - and SECURE in your own body. Worked immediately to lower my anxiety and she had me do just 2 minutes, 3 times a day - and within 2 weeks, most of the uncontrollable-ness of my anxiety was gone. You just think "2 minutes" and your mind will automatically end the session for you. (I used to fear getting "lost" in meditation... not being able to return to normal awareness... a residual from experiencing true dissociation, I think...)

So much for my endorsement. I also had other experiences.

I attended a 3-day meditation retreat once. And every session ended with having tears stream down my face... amazing grief and sadness... and also FEAR. When we met as a group to discuss experiences, no one could explain this for me - and I got increasingly frustrated at the mystery of the tears. Even my great guru hubby (n-ex#2) couldn't explain this... all anyone told me was that sometimes emotions come up in meditation. I was meditating to feel better, not worse. So I had avoided it for a long time...

Well - you should know that this basic relaxation technique is how I also approached, contacted, and worked with Twiggy later in my therapy. Same EXACT meditation technique... with one small added item: she had me roll my eyes up to the ceiling as far as they would go. That is a short-cut to a deeper, more relaxed state. Because we took meditation just a step further into a self-hynoptic state. Everything else was the same... and it was always, always, completely at my control - how long, how deep - but as you all know, what I discovered doing this amounted to a re-traumatization... a bringing of the old repressed trauma from my unconscious to my conscious awareness... so that we could deal with it.

It was the stuff locked away in my unconscious that created the tears and the fears, while I meditated... because my thinking mind was out of the way... and the feelings were THERE. I just didn't know WHY the feelings were there, until I did this in therapy.

[Lupita]

Hi Light and PR.

Your views are insightful.

I discovered, I was feeling like my life was not worth it, and I felt that nothing was worth it, and probably that is the way self esteem works too. You do not appreciate your self and you do not appreciate others either.

I did not do iy yet. I am lazy today. But will do it and tell you about it.

Light about the resume, I will PM you in the next days. It is going to take me several days to prepare that and I am lazy right now.

I will try to suppress this stonach ache that I have now that coes from stress. Fear. Not getting a job.

[lighter]

Stomach ache = need for relief...meditation....new coping tools

Meditate then give me a quick guided tour through the process.

I'd really appreciate that: )

[sea storm]

Hi Lupita,

I am happy for you that you have found some peace. I just found a poem for you......

The time will come
When, with elation you will greet yourself arriving
at your won door, in oyour own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

And say, sit her. Eat.
You will love again the starnger who was your self,
Give wine, Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcon

I think meditation is one of the best ways to get back to yourself.  To the whole essence the connects to the divine.
It is not a narcotic that will stop feelings, but a path with heart.   The breathing is healing in so many ways and improves organs, brains etc.

I have arthritus too and I sit in a chair. A Tibetan monk taught me and the chair if fine.

You sound better after being away from school from hell even a few days.  There are better things coming for you for sure.


Love,

Sea storm

[Hopalong]

You're not a lazy person, Lup...

It's a new habit to acquire.

Ten minutes a day (twice a day's better), plus the class.

You can do it and it will repay you a hundredfold.

xo
Hops