3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

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Voku Hila, modified 11 Years ago at 11/26/12 5:26 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 11/26/12 5:26 PM

3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 34 Join Date: 6/29/12 Recent Posts
Hello people! emoticon

1.

I feel, that very often when I get into a depressive state(dissatisfaction, nervousness, anxiety) the pressure on my 3rd eye gets "unpleasant". In such times I get very often frustrated, because I dont know many things, so I get a little panic.

Like in meditation... In these times I get scared by the many possibilities of how to note and label, although I "know" that I am not doing anything fundamentally wrong. (Maybe there would be a more efficient way, but thats no reason for stress) In these times meditation gets a bit frustrating. My concentration abilities also disappear, relatively.

Regarding social life... In these times I don't know how to deal with situations the best way and that overstrains me. And then I judge myself. I make myself pressure to perform the best way.
...............
Other times I'm "in the flow" and this stress seems to be non existent, or it is deep in the background. Meditation is pleasant. Life is pleasant, Talking with people is pleasant. I sometimes even just love the people aroung me - or I think so
................
It seems like there are 2 extremes. I already thought about ADD. Now, while I write this post, I'm more in the depressive state. The complexity of live overstrains me. It's for example very hard to make a rational post, because the big picture overwhelms me. I over analyze. and because of that I get very insecure about the nature of things. I loose my intuition.

Any guidance?
How do I if its the Dark Night or just my own stuff, or both?
Any meditation guidance? (Yet, I switch between noting and Choiceless Awareness/Do nothing)


2.

I often get "flashbacks" of bad experiences and then my body shakes, or I twitch with different body parts. I also sometimes discharge something vocally. Or i squeeze my eyes and so forth. It's like i relive these experiences emotionally.... This is pretty independent of my mindset. I can have these experiences also, when I am in a peaceful mood.

For example last time I was in a depressive state and I was visiting a girl I really, really liked....... Some friends of her came by and I was extremly nervous and exhausted, so I made a bad impression. The next night I almost got no sleep because I relived this evening with the phenomena described above... I also groaned with emotional pain....

Are these kriyas?
Any guidance?


A therapist is too expensive btw
Althoug this whole post might seem a lil bit horrible. I made progress with meditation. It was much, much, much worse 2 years ago.

metta
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Florian, modified 11 Years ago at 11/27/12 4:55 AM
Created 11 Years ago at 11/27/12 4:53 AM

RE: 3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 1028 Join Date: 4/28/09 Recent Posts
Diagnosing via forum posts is very difficult.

I recognize some of the things you describe. I associate them with the dark night. So to mention a bit of general DN advice:

Lazy walking meditation, with a wide focus. Stroll along in a park or along a river or whatever nice spot is available. Look at things around you and in the distance (don't just look at the path a few feet in front of you). Take a breath and note the smell. Listen. Note the sensations through the soles of your shoes. Note the air currents on your face and hands, the back of your head... Also note the thoughts (I use "hearing" for thoughts, to put them in their rightful place ;) ) Note the energy pressures and other sensations.

Martial Arts can ground energy stuff, teaches you a lot about your body and its limits, and gets you out and having fun with other people as well. It doesn't have to be secret master tai chi - I do Judo, which is usually available at low cost in little clubs (and also in expensive schools).

Hitting (samatha) Jhana can help soothe dark night vibes, which can have that edgy energy feel to them.

As to therapy - depending on your circumstances, counselling could be available from your school or employer. Have you checked for that? Taking care of your body and mind is a good thing to do. Your body/mind is a being just like any other being, and providing for its well-being is not somehow less noble just because it's "your" body/mind. If no counselling is available, journalling can be quite effective, maybe in the form of addressing an imaginary third party (teacher, friend, the Buddha, whatever). But do check out the possibility of a real live person to help you face-to-face.

Be well, and cheers,
Florianto
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Voku Hila, modified 11 Years ago at 11/27/12 11:36 AM
Created 11 Years ago at 11/27/12 11:25 AM

RE: 3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 34 Join Date: 6/29/12 Recent Posts
Florian Weps:
Diagnosing via forum posts is very difficult.

I recognize some of the things you describe. I associate them with the dark night. So to mention a bit of general DN advice:


mhm... yes I think I also had several experiences, which could be interpreted as an A/P event. I also have, sometimes but rarely, mild hallucinations/visions of something which is threatening me... it's nothing "real".. just something which I feel as a thread.

I think that could also be some DN stuff??


Lazy walking meditation, with a wide focus. Stroll along in a park or along a river or whatever nice spot is available. Look at things around you and in the distance (don't just look at the path a few feet in front of you). Take a breath and note the smell. Listen. Note the sensations through the soles of your shoes. Note the air currents on your face and hands, the back of your head... Also note the thoughts (I use "hearing" for thoughts, to put them in their rightful place ;) ) Note the energy pressures and other sensations.


ok... I mostly meditate at home. I've written this idea down in my "SOS Techniques"-List .. next to the technique you showed in an other thread (breathing through the third eye)


Martial Arts can ground energy stuff, teaches you a lot about your body and its limits, and gets you out and having fun with other people as well. It doesn't have to be secret master tai chi - I do Judo, which is usually available at low cost in little clubs (and also in expensive schools).


Yes I like that idea. I think I go to a hapkido trial practice this friday. The problem is here also the money, but I think I will work this out. ...I'm a student emoticon


Hitting (samatha) Jhana can help soothe dark night vibes, which can have that edgy energy feel to them.


mhm... I don't know if I reached a jhana or not, because the descriptions are really complicated. sometimes during meditation I almost do not breath.. is that maybe an indicator?

when I'm in the depressive, diffused state concentrating is very hard (no jhana). I also automatically judge myself for not concentrating enough(=frustration) and there are also other unpleasant sensations, which distracht me.

Today I did Choiceless Awareness(Do-Nothing, Call of the search) again. I think it helps, regarding the depressive, diffused state. Normally I almost just do Noting.(sometimes with labelling, sometimes faster sometimes slower) which doesnt help really help when I am diffused. But it could also be that the next time I get in this depressive, diffused state I do "do-nothing" and it wont help.... I'll see ... meditation seems to be very irrational, while in this state.


As to therapy - depending on your circumstances, counselling could be available from your school or employer. Have you checked for that? Taking care of your body and mind is a good thing to do. Your body/mind is a being just like any other being, and providing for its well-being is not somehow less noble just because it's "your" body/mind. If no counselling is available, journalling can be quite effective, maybe in the form of addressing an imaginary third party (teacher, friend, the Buddha, whatever). But do check out the possibility of a real live person to help you face-to-face.


No I don't know if a therapy is sponsored by my university and I somehow don't like the idea of a therapist. He/she probably won't understand my real issues and my world view...

Recently I use the girls I hook(ed) up with as some kind of therapists. just talking with them about deep stuff. thats also some sort of solution, I think ^^.

How did you get out of the DN?


Thanks
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fivebells , modified 11 Years ago at 11/27/12 1:35 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 11/27/12 1:35 PM

RE: 3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 563 Join Date: 2/25/11 Recent Posts
Hi, Voku. I think I came to meditation from a similar place.

Regarding the 3rd eye, I agree that "breathing" through it is very helpful. I like what Thanissaro says about this:

Another technique is to breathe through the pain. If you can become sensitive to the breath sensations that course through the body each time you breathe, you will notice that you tend to build a tense shell around the pain, where the energy in the body doesn't flow freely. This, although it's a kind of avoidance technique, actually increases the pain. So think of the breath flowing right through the pain as you breathe in and out, to dissolve away this shell of tension. In most cases, you will find that this can relieve the pain considerably. For instance, when I had malaria, I found this very useful in relieving the mass of tension that would gather in my head and shoulders. At times it would get so great that I could scarcely breath, so I just thought of the breath coming in through all the nerve centers in my body — the middle of the chest, the throat, the middle of the forehead and so forth — and the tension would dissolve away. However, there are some people though who find that breathing through the pain increases the pain, which is a sign that they are focusing improperly. The solution in that case is to focus on the opposite side of the body. In other words, if the pain is in the right side, focus on the left. If it's in front, focus on the back. If it's in your head — literally — focus on your hands and feet. (This technique works particularly well with migraine, by the way: If, for example, your migraine is on the right side, focus on the breath sensations the left side of your body, from the neck on down.)


Regarding frustration/judgement, it is highly fruitful to take the sensations comprising the frustration as the object of meditation, and cultivate metta for them. It doesn't have to be an elaborate metta meditation, it can just be a sense of warm appreciation as you note the sensations. It is a good idea to start the practice with some kind of formal metta meditation before you get into the noting, though, to establish a warm, appreciative mindset to draw on.

Shameful memories can be approached the same way.
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Florian, modified 11 Years ago at 11/28/12 3:27 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 11/28/12 3:27 PM

RE: 3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 1028 Join Date: 4/28/09 Recent Posts
Voku Hila:
mhm... yes I think I also had several experiences, which could be interpreted as an A/P event. I also have, sometimes but rarely, mild hallucinations/visions of something which is threatening me... it's nothing "real".. just something which I feel as a thread.

I think that could also be some DN stuff??


Well, there is a "fear" ñana...

Voku Hila:
Yes I like that idea. I think I go to a hapkido trial practice this friday. The problem is here also the money, but I think I will work this out. ...I'm a student emoticon


Many Unis have cheap or free membership sports clubs for the students and faculty. Judging from your Nym, you're somewhere in German-speaking Europe, where I know this to be the case.

Voku Hila:
mhm... I don't know if I reached a jhana or not, because the descriptions are really complicated. sometimes during meditation I almost do not breath.. is that maybe an indicator?


Sure, if you manage not to panic emoticon

Voku Hila:
No I don't know if a therapy is sponsored by my university and I somehow don't like the idea of a therapist. He/she probably won't understand my real issues and my world view...

Recently I use the girls I hook(ed) up with as some kind of therapists. just talking with them about deep stuff. thats also some sort of solution, I think ^^.


Sure if it works for you, and her. It's not nice to use other people as an emotional dumping ground without asking if they are all right with it, though.

Voku Hila:
How did you get out of the DN?


I kept practicing, because I couldn't stand it any more.

Cheers,
Florian
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Voku Hila, modified 11 Years ago at 12/1/12 2:34 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 12/1/12 2:34 PM

RE: 3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 34 Join Date: 6/29/12 Recent Posts
thx for the link fivebells emoticon
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Voku Hila, modified 11 Years ago at 12/1/12 3:07 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 12/1/12 2:54 PM

RE: 3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 34 Join Date: 6/29/12 Recent Posts

Well, there is a "fear" ñana...


hmmm ... i don't really get the whole ñana thing. I think I just switch to practice and don't rely on the map thing. I had already the experience of no-self for a short moment. (there was a "melting" into sound, sight, space with a some kind of heavy panic) but I could also find arguments for not beeing in the DN, like there seem to be certain "topics" which produce fear in my life.

Many Unis have cheap or free membership sports clubs for the students and faculty. Judging from your Nym, you're somewhere in German-speaking Europe, where I know this to be the case.


Yes Austria emoticon but my uni sport institute is pretty overran

Sure, if you manage not to panic


no there is almos no panic. sometimes, very rarely, there is a very short panic, when I notice that I almost do not breath and I try to attach to the experience of almost not breathing for a very short moment. (subtle fear of losing the state included) but this happens within a few seconds and then it's back to "normal" ^^

And I've heard about seeing 3D in jhanas, but I always see in some kind of 3D when I close my eyes. (maybe it has something to do with heavy cannabis consumption when I was younger. I also had my firs 3rd eye contact, while smoking weed)

and the widening of my inner horizon (behind the eyelids) happens for a moment and is then already gone again. and maybe its not even a widening - maybe its just a moment of seeing the horizon behind the eyelids...

I don't get it emoticon

Sure if it works for you, and her. It's not nice to use other people as an emotional dumping ground without asking if they are all right with it, though.


No, I just get with girls more easier a deeper connection than with men. and thats somekind of therapy. they also tell me their deep stuff.
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Voku Hila, modified 11 Years ago at 12/2/12 7:57 AM
Created 11 Years ago at 12/2/12 7:08 AM

RE: 3rd eye pressure, depression, DN, kriyas?

Posts: 34 Join Date: 6/29/12 Recent Posts
Florian Weps:

I kept practicing, because I couldn't stand it any more.

Cheers,
Florian


did you increase your practice?

I medititate irregular. I sometimes miss the formal practice out for a week, although I often meditate in such times for short periodes during day to day activities(like walking). is it beneficial to increase the formal practice? which kind of meditation did you practice?

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