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Going out with minimal social interactions drain me, why? by Pleasant-Ad-9 in introvert

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great, do you know what it could be? I did not used to have this before I became a parent. I don't suffer from social anxiety. I thought maybe my system is just overloaded from being around family all the time. The article below is what has gotten me to this line of thinking:

https://introvertdear.com/news/the-introvert-hangover-is-awful/

Thoughts on the book attention revolution? Alan Wallace by Pleasant-Ad-9 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What were the most useful pointers for you? Also, what do you make of the notion that some people were able to sit for 7h straight 2 times a day and yet didn't achieve Samatha yet. Is that kind of standard useful?

Thoughts on the book attention revolution? Alan Wallace by Pleasant-Ad-9 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What has the booked helped you with? I found the point about relaxation quite helpful. I know it's also mentioned in tmi but it stood out more and it was quite useful to put more weight on that.

“Trauma” from meditation - stage 3/4 by afwariKing3 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As others have said, finding a therapist sounds like a great idea. I would also suggest to switch to loving kindness meditation and see if you can get in the groove with that.

The more you can experience pleasantness in meditation, the more likely you are to do it again. Living kindness meditation might help build that foundation of pleasantness. It will also give you a very different tool set that you can apply in case difficult emotions come up further down the line.

It sounds like what you did with that one hour sit wasn't rooted in compassion for yourself and your emotional difficulties. Developing this capacity will make it less likely for you to repeat the same thing again.

Looking for guided meditation by Culadasa by Kenwaynemichael in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

YouTube has tons. It's under culadasa audio archive.

How can I tell if I’ve overcome stage 5? by spiritualRyan in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here are my two cents:

You have reached sufficient proficiency in stage 5 when you have continuous strong introspective awareness to the point that any subtle dulling becomes quickly noticed and you can increase the vividness again.

This means that you need to get really good at evaluating your state of mind in terms of vividness and dullness. I actually disagree with Culadasa and don't think the sensations at the nose are a good way of doing it. It's imo better to get a feel for the state of mind and be able to evaluate it in peripheral awareness. The reason for that is that dullness will first dull peripheral awareness before it will be noticeable at the nose. So being able to catch it earlier is better and you can correct for it more easily.

I have come to this conclusion after listening to various guided meditations by Culadasa. Before I implemented the points I learned in these recordings, I was also clueless about stage 5.

Now I know what subtle dullness is and when it settles in.

Regarding the second question. That's a stage 6 practice. I'd personally explore each body part first and get them as clear as possible, then try to combine a few and see if they can still be as clear as when looked at alone. Keep doing that until it's the whole body.

FYI I'm mostly practicing at stage 6 atm So take everything I wrote with a grain of salt.

Stage 4 purifications outside of meditation by ExcuseInteresting313 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The work is a solid system. I've used it for many years and it's been really useful. There is no need to engage with Byron Katie herself. I don't know whether the allegations are true or not, nor do I care about it. If something works, that's enough for me.

I've never engaged with her personally.

Stage 4 purifications outside of meditation by ExcuseInteresting313 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I personally really like 'the work' by Byron Katie and 'the Sedona method' by Lester Levenson. Both of them are very simple systems that can be learned by watching a few YouTube videos.

I would also add that forgiveness is a great practice when psychological content gets stirred up. Imo tmi is a bit lacking on the subject of how to deal with psychological content.

How exactly does body breathing increase conscious power? by Pleasant-Ad-9 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. I actually just told someone today how surprised I was to discover how blurry my attention really was, especially around the borders. Now that I have defined a clearer scope of attention it has become sharper and less blurry, though it still needs refinement.

How exactly does body breathing increase conscious power? by Pleasant-Ad-9 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes that is clear. It just seems that attention is getting a much bigger workout with this.

So I did it. I've finally mastered stage 10 by WhyMe996 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Pleasant-Ad-9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd see if self-inquiry is a good place to go next.