Meditation, life’s struggles and happiness

[Elche0000]

Hello

So I’ve been meditating on and off for probably 15 years. Generally I have focused on breath or a mantra. I’ve had several ‘experiences’, can get very relaxed, can keep focus, quiet mind etc. However, despite all this ‘practice’ I’m not actually sure meditation has brought me any real benefits. It does allow me to take a time out and occasionally I feel a bit more spiritually connected but generally I’m no happier (and probably less happy), I still get anxious socially, I get stressed etc. I don’t even feel any more compassionate!

I’m not at a great point in my life generally and things seem to have been going downhill for years. Flowing from this I’ve begun to wonder whether meditation is actually a waste of my time. I don’t expect it to be a panacea for all ills but I do feel like all this time should bring some benefit. And if it’s not going to help me then maybe I should spend my time on something else

Grateful for any thoughts. Would I be better doing a different type of meditation or any other suggestions.

Thanks

[Unseeking Seeker]

Hi Elche!

Ups & downs in the external ... duality (a word used often!) is by design, cyclic, just like a Ferris wheel. How we react to the roller coaster ride of life, depends upon our orientation.

If we are externalised, enmeshed in attachments, fears & desires, we seek outcomes ... the cause of desire & fear. Sorrow is inevitable if we pursue the perishable.

If internalised, we simply observe, nonchalantly, all unfolding ... not passively ... we are active, zestful, energetic but unconcerned about the outcome. We are in a now-continuum. Childlike, humble, unexpectant, acceptant.

Moreover, the ego evaluates the ephemeral while our soul consciousness, the eternal. Therefore, what is good or bad to the ego is an evolutionary experience for the soul.

As for meditation, your question inspired the following lines, now duplicated in the poetry section:

No progress in meditation?

Quiet mind ... peaked childlike attention
What about memory linked retention?
Why denied the ‘benefit’ ... divine love energy?
Why does it not entwine with us in a synergy?
Think! Is there clean space in our heart within ...
Free of gross & feral toxins?

The way, my friend
Is to blow in the wind
Habits, prejudices, attachments ... uplift resonation
To sync our presence with the higher divine vibration
Being to become
With the That Oneness, One

.......

Meditation as a quick fix gym workout
With attachments, fears & desires as we go about
Means, our orientation is still externalised
Not internalised
A quick inward peek
Is unlikely to get us what we seek
But if we uplift our consciousness
In lived reality, in contemplative stillness
In thought, in word & in deed
Then indeed!
We are, as we are, complete

***

[iamthat]

Meditating on the breath or a mantra is a good start, but there are other systems of meditation which may take you deeper. You say you've been meditating on and off for 15 years. How long do you meditate for? Do you meditate daily? Is your meditation part of a serious spiritual path or are you just dabbling?

You say that things in your life have been going downhill for years. Are these practical issues, relationship issues, health issues? What are you doing to resolve these issues?

Meditation is a journey of self-discovery, allowing us to see our personality patterns and step back from them. This puts our everyday life into a bigger context, and gradually we don't take ourselves so seriously. Persistence is the key.

I've been meditating for 40 years and it has transformed my life and changed me on many levels. Personality patterns are still present but I have found a core of peace and stillness which allows me to rest within and be the witness to whatever is happening.

There are no simple answers to your questions. But if you decide to stop meditating and do something else with your time, is that going to improve the quality of your life? Or will it just provide a distraction from whatever is not working in your life?

Peace.

Originally Posted by iamthat

Meditating on the breath or a mantra is a good start, but there are other systems of meditation which may take you deeper. You say you've been meditating on and off for 15 years. How long do you meditate for? Do you meditate daily? Is your meditation part of a serious spiritual path or are you just dabbling?

You say that things in your life have been going downhill for years. Are these practical issues, relationship issues, health issues? What are you doing to resolve these issues?

Meditation is a journey of self-discovery, allowing us to see our personality patterns and step back from them. This puts our everyday life into a bigger context, and gradually we don't take ourselves so seriously. Persistence is the key.

I've been meditating for 40 years and it has transformed my life and changed me on many levels. Personality patterns are still present but I have found a core of peace and stillness which allows me to rest within and be the witness to whatever is happening.

There are no simple answers to your questions. But if you decide to stop meditating and do something else with your time, is that going to improve the quality of your life? Or will it just provide a distraction from whatever is not working in your life?

Peace.

What do you think about past hurts, psychoanalysis within the scheme of meditation?

Does meditation heal past harms or hurts in one's life. esp as a child?

Namaste.

Originally Posted by Elche0000

Hello

So I’ve been meditating on and off for probably 15 years. Generally I have focused on breath or a mantra. I’ve had several ‘experiences’, can get very relaxed, can keep focus, quiet mind etc. However, despite all this ‘practice’ I’m not actually sure meditation has brought me any real benefits. It does allow me to take a time out and occasionally I feel a bit more spiritually connected but generally I’m no happier (and probably less happy), I still get anxious socially, I get stressed etc. I don’t even feel any more compassionate!

I’m not at a great point in my life generally and things seem to have been going downhill for years. Flowing from this I’ve begun to wonder whether meditation is actually a waste of my time. I don’t expect it to be a panacea for all ills but I do feel like all this time should bring some benefit. And if it’s not going to help me then maybe I should spend my time on something else

Grateful for any thoughts. Would I be better doing a different type of meditation or any other suggestions.

Thanks

"On and off"

What is your daily practice, what is your idea of meditation?

If done 'properly' meditation should aid to increased clarity, peace and inner wisdom.

JL.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by janielee

What do you think about past hurts, psychoanalysis within the scheme of meditation?

Does meditation heal past harms or hurts in one's life. esp as a child?

Namaste.

From my own experience meditation sooner or later brings everything to the surface to be dealt with. If we believe that meditation is going to be all bliss and kisses which automatically brings peace of mind then we are in for a surprise.

Meditation is not a means to bypass all our issues, the hurts and harms of the past, especially from childhood. Instead, we have to face them and release them. So there are times when meditation is a struggle, because there is no escape from past painful experiences.

My own belief is that consciousness (or the Soul) seeks to use the personality as a vehicle of expression. The more clear we become mentally and emotionally then the more useful the personality is as such a vehicle of expression. So when we are serious in our spiritual intent then consciousness will exert pressure on the lower vehicles to push things to the surface. Which sometimes makes the spiritual journey a bumpy ride.

Some people may say that in meditation we should just calmly observe whatever is arising without being moved by it. Which is fine in theory, but sometimes we can do with some assistance. After all, if the physical body has a severe cold then few of us would simply sit in meditation observing our congested head and running nose and general feeling of lousiness. We would probably take some kind of remedy. So anything which helps us process our emotional stuff is of value, whether it be psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, counselling in all its forms, EFT, whatever. There are many therapeutic tools out there - we may as well use them.

Peace.

Originally Posted by iamthat

From my own experience meditation sooner or later brings everything to the surface to be dealt with. If we believe that meditation is going to be all bliss and kisses which automatically brings peace of mind then we are in for a surprise.

Meditation is not a means to bypass all our issues, the hurts and harms of the past, especially from childhood. Instead, we have to face them and release them. So there are times when meditation is a struggle, because there is no escape from past painful experiences.

My own belief is that consciousness (or the Soul) seeks to use the personality as a vehicle of expression. The more clear we become mentally and emotionally then the more useful the personality is as such a vehicle of expression. So when we are serious in our spiritual intent then consciousness will exert pressure on the lower vehicles to push things to the surface. Which sometimes makes the spiritual journey a bumpy ride.

Some people may say that in meditation we should just calmly observe whatever is arising without being moved by it. Which is fine in theory, but sometimes we can do with some assistance. After all, if the physical body has a severe cold then few of us would simply sit in meditation observing our congested head and running nose and general feeling of lousiness. We would probably take some kind of remedy. So anything which helps us process our emotional stuff is of value, whether it be psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, counselling in all its forms, EFT, whatever. There are many therapeutic tools out there - we may as well use them.

Peace.

Thanks for that iamthat.

I appreciate you sharing all that; don't disagree with any of it.

The only [other] question I have is that sometimes or maybe more often when I sit, there is quite a lot of quietude. Thoughts which would usually surface or arise, are muted, much quieter or don't arise.

Therefore, I was wondering how to "work through" other things - things which don't seem to come to surface much or are dissolved in arising, but which still affect me.

And thus psychoanalysis or whatever, although I can't see how psychoanalysis can replace meditation; but wold view them as complementary aspects for someone who knows how to meditate.

Don't know; just thinking

Thanks!

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by janielee

Thanks for that iamthat.

I appreciate you sharing all that; don't disagree with any of it.

The only [other] question I have is that sometimes or maybe more often when I sit, there is quite a lot of quietude. Thoughts which would usually surface or arise, are muted, much quieter or don't arise.

Therefore, I was wondering how to "work through" other things - things which don't seem to come to surface much or are dissolved in arising, but which still affect me.

And thus psychoanalysis or whatever, although I can't see how psychoanalysis can replace meditation; but wold view them as complementary aspects for someone who knows how to meditate.

Don't know; just thinking

Thanks!

I would agree. I don't see psychoanalysis or any other kind of therapy as a replacement for meditation. As you say, it is complementary to our meditation practice. Psychoanalysis is a way to deal with unhelpful mental and emotional patterns, meditation is a way to go beyond the mind and emotions to our true nature.

I sometimes think of consciousness as a light shining through the filters of our mental and emotional bodies. If these filters are dirty or blocked then that limits the amount of light which shines through. Much of our work on the spiritual path involves cleaning these filters, which is where therapeutic tools come in useful. When the filters are clear then our inner light shines forth without distortion.

You raise an interesting question about how to work through things which affect you (presumably in your daily life) but which do not cause issues in meditation. Maybe these reflect your personality patterns rather than any blockage in energy from past events. Meditation is a means to stop regarding personality as our identity, and instead we see personality as just a collection of patterns. Such personality patterns may result from our experiences when growing up, our astrological chart, etc. They are simply how we express ourselves and relate to other people and deal with the world. Certain people and certain events may still push our buttons but that does not have to be a major issue. Just be conscious of what is happening when it happens and let it go.

Enjoy your quietude.

Peace.

Thank you for the dialogue, iamthat. Peace.