Are these the Dukkha Nanas?

a person, modified 8 Years ago at 7/18/15 12:45 AM
Created 8 Years ago at 7/18/15 12:39 AM

Are these the Dukkha Nanas?

Posts: 27 Join Date: 11/12/13 Recent Posts
Lately I've had a big ball of tension and fear in my belly, that on any given day shifts between that part of my body and my chest.  I have difficulty diverting my attention from this part of my body; it is as if there is a suction, and I have trouble diverting my attention from it.  My thinking tends to become very negative and "orbit" this part of my body.

The rest of this post is just extra information for anyone who cares to read...

I've found myself developing some equinimity too.  I think it's equinimity, at least.  This feeling of, "Ok.  These negative sensations...this tension in my body, and these negative thoughts...are ok," and after flowing through my experiences with that organically-produced philosophy enough times, a sense of equinimity will develop that lasts for awhile.  There have even been some experiences of emptiness.  But I have trouble believing I could have completed a cycle through the maps, and landed immediately back in the dark night of the soul with the same psycho-spiritual issues as before.

The equinimity has been real, unless there's some greater form of equinimity I haven't found.  I have trouble understanding where you can go from equinimity, other than....well like, I've had moments where I've noticed my sense of self latching onto a sensation, and noticing it has created a feeling of emptiness and freedom.  this tension while an experience has passed through me, associated with my identity, that I've let go of that's led to a feeling of spaciousness and emptiness.  but it's hard for me to apply experiences like that to the maps, when my primary place seems to be the dark night of the soul...with negative thoughts "orbiting" tension in my chest and abdomen.

A lot of the aforementioned meditation happened while I was on vacation in Missouri.  Basically I was just practicing general mindfulness while looking for the three characteristics, while trusting any insights that seemed to appear. This meditation wasn't like ridiculously intense or vivid like on a Goenka retreat...it was very focused, but was interspersed with the other things I was doing throughout my stay in Missouri...often we were sight-seeing and I was pretty quietly meditating in the front seat, largely just because the sensations in my body were so terrifying.  At Goenka retreats my meditation has felt really intense and vivid and sharp, and it has not been that lately...like, I know what my mind and body are capable of and it's pretty intense, and this hasn't been that exactly but I still feel like I'm meditating.
Mattias Wilhelm Stenberg, modified 8 Years ago at 7/18/15 12:07 PM
Created 8 Years ago at 7/18/15 12:07 PM

RE: Are these the Dukkha Nanas?

Posts: 131 Join Date: 10/26/13 Recent Posts
Almost all contractions in the body are fear, existiential fear. The easiest way I've found to deal with them may sound a bit childiish, but that is to talk to them. All fears are basically misunderstandings that are clinging to the body, and if you invite them up, look at them and thank them they will usually just release and go away. I'd do somehting like this:


Relax (ie: meditate a few minutes)
Put awareness on the area of the body where the fear is
Ask inwards "Fear, can you show yourself?"
When it comes up, say "Thank you."
Then ask "What are you trying to protect me from?"
Then "Is that true?"
Then "Are you needed now?"
Then "What do you want most of all?" (usually Peace)
Then "Are you ready to relax now?"


Basically just have a short, graveful and honest conversation with it. Works for me.

The technique is basically the same as "Deep Looking" as described here: http://markedeternal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/deep-looking.html