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91

Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Social Life and Vipassana/Dhamma way of living

« Last post by mobius on June 12, 2019, 11:59:58 PM »

sorry if this is sort of a meaningless post, but I just want to say, once again, I've been humbled by reading others comments here. It made me realize things I'm doing wrong, and problems within myself.
Thanks for sharing! 

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Social Life and Vipassana/Dhamma way of living

« Last post by stillpointdancer on June 12, 2019, 09:15:03 AM »

On the other hand the best measure of how far you have developed is when you are out and about with people who do not meditate. We can all get on well with people who think and behave in ways we identify with, but the true test is how you interact with everyone else.

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Social Life and Vipassana/Dhamma way of living

« Last post by Mert on June 11, 2019, 09:47:02 PM »

People with ego, even if it's your family, are tiring to be around. Communicating ego, especially with people you love, is something disheartening.

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Numb legs while sitting

« Last post by Goofaholix on June 11, 2019, 09:28:33 PM »

I've been sitting for 20 years and I still occasionally get numb legs.  When it happens it's generally either that the cushion is too hard or my trousers are too tight (usually if I'm wearing jeans). So adjust those first if you can.

When cross legged on a cushion you should be aiming to have your knees on the ground, if they are not then google the butterfly stretch and do these stretches daily (and adjust your cushion height if necessary) until you can achieve that.  If you are trying to do the lotus you might find the Burmese posture easier, google that.

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Numb legs while sitting

« Last post by tug on June 11, 2019, 09:10:52 PM »

Hi. I'm new to sitting on a cushion, and I'm going to attend a retreat soon where we will be sitting for long periods but I can't find a position which does not result in dumb legs, usually within 10 minutes. Some say the numbness passes with time but that's not been my experience to date.

I've heard people say:
- it's due to leg shape and can't be overcome (i.e. due to blood vessels being pinched because of chunky thighs)
- it's due to nerve impingement due to bad posture
- just sit on a chair and forget the cushion
- working through the pain is part of the process so just learn to put up with whatever pain is experienced.

I've looked at quite a few websites/videos, including the ones in this forum and have tried out various approaches without any success to date. I feel that the lack of clarity and constant changes of approach is getting in the way of my mediation, hence this post.

Any thoughts?

Tug

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Social Life and Vipassana/Dhamma way of living

« Last post by Chaska on June 11, 2019, 08:28:57 AM »

Wow amazing thank you so much for your answer it will help me a lot as I am going to have many friends’ wedding parties this summer.

I totally agree with you, it is my ego saying “you worth better than this conversations etc” which is great to acknowledge.
I also love your definition of meditation regarding others (everyone is mindful we just take time to focus simultaneously on the 3: thought, feeling, sensation). It helps to redefine the idea of meditation I might have. Being sometimes caught up into transforming Vipassana into my own sect. So thanks again.

I will try to be calm and gentle during this time and recognize my agitation about wanting to leave or complaining mentally instead of waiting to be on my meditation cushion to feel the waves of anger.

Much metta

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Vipassana and ego dissolution

« Last post by Matthew on June 04, 2019, 11:20:48 PM »

Thank you for your suggestion, that makes sense. Can you recommend a specific technique?

The one one the homepage could be a good method to experiment. Relaxation is key: breathing in and breathing out with a wide awareness of all sensations created by the breathing process. The outbreath needs to be relaxed and slightly longer than the inbreath. This increases vagal nerve stimulation and engages the parasympathetic nervous system (aka "rest and digest") - it slows your heart rate, calms body and mind. This allows you to "rest and digest" both physically and mentally.

You'll find it here and there is a pdf version you can print out to work from/remind yourself of the instructions.

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Vipassana and ego dissolution

« Last post by giovyledzep on June 04, 2019, 04:25:23 PM »

...
Also I have experienced dissociative symptoms a lot in the past such as derealization etc.. so I'm used to the feeling you seem to be describing but this was just on another level. I was told that people meditate for years before reaching similar stages when they have all the training to handle the situation.

You would be well advised to avoid the Goenka technique given your history of de-realization. Meditation techniques differ and the Goenka technique is quite forced. De-realization and other dissociative spectrum disorders do not respond well to forced techniques - I think this explains the serious reactions you had.

A more gentle technique based in calm and relaxation rather than forced focus would work better with the disposition of your mind.

Thank you for your suggestion, that makes sense. Can you recommend a specific technique?

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Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Vipassana and ego dissolution

« Last post by Matthew on June 03, 2019, 11:43:51 PM »

...
Also I have experienced dissociative symptoms a lot in the past such as derealization etc.. so I'm used to the feeling you seem to be describing but this was just on another level. I was told that people meditate for years before reaching similar stages when they have all the training to handle the situation.

You would be well advised to avoid the Goenka technique given your history of de-realization. Meditation techniques differ and the Goenka technique is quite forced. De-realization and other dissociative spectrum disorders do not respond well to forced techniques - I think this explains the serious reactions you had.

A more gentle technique based in calm and relaxation rather than forced focus would work better with the disposition of your mind.

100

Meditation, Practice And The Path / Re: Vipassana and ego dissolution

« Last post by giovyledzep on June 03, 2019, 05:11:23 PM »

I found this video to be pretty helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg-h_MSijDo

And this notebook explains the experience in general mystical terms: https://paulbrunton.org/notebooks/23/8