Questions about meditation

[virginia]

Hi John,

Thank you so much for your books, and for this forum. I am someone who practiced Falun Dafa for over ten years, so I do have some experience with meditation. However, last year I developed chronic neck pain, which I finally managed to get under control using an emotional exercise called Journalspeak. I realized through reading Dr. John Sarno’s books and listening to Nicole Sachs’s podcast that my neck pain was a product of suppressed emotions. I also realized that part of the reason I had been suppressing my emotions was because of my understanding of Falun Dafa, which does teach that the emotions are something to be overcome. The problem is there is very little real guidance as to *how* we overcome our emotions. Long story short, I left off my ten year practice of Falun Dafa, a very painful and drawn out process. Sometime along the way I came across your work, and your books have really resonated with me, and I feel like they are offering me a new way forward. So thank you very much.

I have a question about the meditation. Maybe I’m just not good enough at it yet. But I’m having trouble when bringing up an event and associated emotion to drop the event or person who caused the emotion and focus only on the emotion. It’s like once I’ve dropped the event or person and try to drop the blame I lose the emotion. So it’s difficult to have the direct experience when I’m not thinking of the particular event. The same thing happens when I enter the witness. At that point we are supposed to detach from the emotion, though, so maybe it’s okay that I lose touch with the emption at that point? Infind that when I try to enter the witness the feeling that sometimes comes up is compassion. I feel really sorry for myself. Like I see myself as though I were an observer and I feel pity for myself. Is that okay? I feel like this may not really be the witness? I hope my questions makes sense.

Once again thank you for this wonderful resource, and I look forward to hearing back from you.

[John Ruskan]

So sorry about the long delay in replying. There was a glitch with the forum that I did not notice and I have not been getting notices about postings. It’s fixed now.

Your story with FD illustrates how the traditional spiritual paths do not adequately confront emotions and feelings. Implying that they are to be ‘overcome’ results in a negative attitude towards them, which just suppresses them further into the subconscious. Instead, the more enlightened view is to accept and embrace them, so they naturally balance out and release.

Regarding your question, you may be taking things too literally – maybe that’s my fault. When we say move from the event to the feeling, we don’t necessarily mean to literally lose all awareness of the event. It’s just that we want to focus primarily on the feeling, and not the event. It’s no problem is the event is still there, presumably in the background. The main thing is to not lose the feeling, and whatever means you need to employ is probably ok. As you say, witnessing is key, but witnessing definitely means you are still with the feeling – you don’t lose the feeling when witnessing it. Same with detaching – you don’t lose the feeling, its just that your relationship to it shifts.

Compassion is nice, but it’s not the same as processing the feeling. You’re falling back into compassion maybe because you can’t stay with the feeling. Compassion is a reaction to the feeling, not the feeling. Same with feeling sorry for yourself – these are diversions the mind throws up to get in the way of doing the work. Put them aside and go back to the feelings. Compassion might be appropriate after you have successfully processed and released, but then you might not have any reason for it.

The key is to first, enter alpha – a deep hypnotic state beyond the everyday mind; bring up the event and the feelings; and take them through the steps. Don’t forget about using the breath and the 3rd eye – it can propel you into the altered-state.

Try practicing with the 3rd eye in your meditations to exercise it and really get the ‘witnessing - detaching’ perspective shift.