presence and fear

[jose]

Does the process of being present (or the road to it) have a component of fear to it?
Does it bring fear due to the fear of judgement from ourselves and others, fear of loneliness, fear of being lost and not knowing…?
Is this why we rush in with our active minds to save ourselves, and in the process lose presence?
Does presence require allowing yourself to be vulnerable and comfortable with these fears?

Is this presence the same kind of presence spoken of in buddhism, or a different kind of presence?

[raushan]

Hi Jose,

You got it right. Being in present forces you to face your fear, insecurities, anxiety and all kind of element. Generally, our habit tendencies is to avoid these feeling and do some activities to divert our attention.

Exactly, Presence require allowing yourself to be vulnerable and comfortable with these fears. Observing these fears with kindness.

In buddhism as you progress with meditation you might discover multiple things which you might not be able to get by reading in books.

Thanks
Raushan

[jose]

Thank you Raushan!

As one approaches the power of presence, and your fearful thoughts becomes so devastatingly overpowering, that you feel completely insane, separated, and lost, is this what the spiritualists call the 'dark night of the soul' and the psychologists call 'depersonalization disorder'?

[Nicky]

The Buddhist path has a moral foundation, which, when practised, overcomes the fear of judgement from ourselves and others and the fear of being lost.

As for more subtle existential fears ("dark night"), these occur when ego diminishes. Both presence & courage is required here to cross over.

[stillpointdancer]

Thank you Raushan!

As one approaches the power of presence, and your fearful thoughts becomes so devastatingly overpowering, that you feel completely insane, separated, and lost, is this what the spiritualists call the 'dark night of the soul' and the psychologists call 'depersonalization disorder'?

Stuff happens when you meditate, sometimes good stuff, sometimes fearful stuff, although mostly nothing really seems to happen. The bad stuff only needs dealing with if it starts to impinge on your everyday life, or if it turns you off meditating. When it happened to me I used a combination of 'safe place' and 'white mist' visualisations, which helped get me through. I still use them if I need them.

[jose]

Your replies make sense. I was always confused since many articles describe 'presence' as blissful without any mention of fear. My experience has often been that the road to presence is littered with fear.

[90sbb]

I'm new to meditation i only been doing this for about half a year. When i get into deep meditation noises would make me jump in a paranoid way and disrupt my trance. What really helped me is i go to a small room and lock the door (If you don't have a lock you can put a chair under the doorknob) and use earplugs that way i cant hear anything and i feel safe.

[jose]

Yes, I do that as well.

[Laurent]

I'm new to meditation i only been doing this for about half a year. When i get into deep meditation noises would make me jump in a paranoid way and disrupt my trance. What really helped me is i go to a small room and lock the door (If you don't have a lock you can put a chair under the doorknob) and use earplugs that way i cant hear anything and i feel safe.

Hello,

Running away from the problem won't solve it.
When it happens, it should be your meditation object
You can try to observe sounds and the way you react to it. Also depending on the type of meditation you practice.

Metta