Mind over easy:
Some people who practice say the DN is not that bad for them, but I seem to be one of the people who get really shaken up by the territory. This has gotten much better over the time I've practiced.
It's one hell of a ride for me.
Well, being detached and mindful of everything is basically the key, but as you go deeper, there are more and more subtle ways in which you don't want to let go, and when you get to 3rd vipassana jhana, you're basically faced to let go of a lot in order to get to EQ. Personally, I think the letting go that happens in re-observation to get to EQ is similar (or, the same, depending on how you look at it) to the shift from 3rd to 4th shamatha jhana, so doing jhanas up to 4th and then starting vipassana is also a good route.
That's a great observation. Reminds me of a song : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tp0r9197uo
For years I read or heard about letting go, but through meditation learnt what it actually means.
A couple of days ago, out of the blue I was having intense stomach aches. This went on and off for 3-4 days. I thought maybe it was my diet. I did my best with WebMD to diagnose what medical issue I could be having, but nothing matched up. On the last night it became so severe that I couldn't sleep. I almost believed that I have an appendix issue and I will need to be operated the next day, that's how severe it was. Luckily the next day it stopped aching completely and by night I was feeling really good, like I'm back to my old self. I was able to appreciate art after a long time. I think this was when I first hit low eq, but I'm still not sure.
I've read some of your posts, and I totally relate to some of your DN experiences. When I started this practice, I had no idea how serious Daniel Ingram was in his book about the dangers of the DN. In times of strong DN'ing, I've dealt with intense feelings of loss and uncertainty, self-hate (strong in misery/disgust), bleakness in life, lack of any point to life, helplessness (related to seeing anatta), etc... from my experience, I'd say that if you can get better at getting to equanimity consistently, the better you'll be able to proceed smoothly through the DN nanas. Once the 3 characteristics start sinking in and you get familiar with the territory, sudden crises and roadblocks become natural, predictable cycles, and you get better at navigating smoothly, applying the right focus, etc...
This is why I'm glad to be here. It is comforting to know there are other people going through the same thing when almost everyone you know in real life doesn't come close to understanding what's going on. I also experience a lot of laziness and the only thing to do is really push myself into doing what needs to be done.
With the emotional intensity, repressed memories and emotions, that kind of stuff, I find it useful to practice in whatever way you practice mindfulness. It seems to come up for a good reason, as the next thing that surfaces to detach from, and the more your practice can indiscriminately penetrate even the toughest things that come up in meditation/daily life, the more you're able to deal with anything that comes up with less pain and stress.
My take is that if I just do the meditations and keep the process going, the subconscious stuff is always being worked on.
I'm glad I started this at a relatively young age even if it did slow down my worldly progress. The older we get the more things we repress, the more attachments we create, and the more things we have to deal with later on. I agree that mindfulness and acceptance is key to sailing through rough waters, but at the time it is also challenging to do so.