Breathing the energy

mr.minor

I am convinced it's all the fish they eat and their satisfaction is biological. All those omega 3's have gone to their brains. That's a lot more credible to me than that there is some kind of national good attitude toward expectations.

mr.minor

Hi everyone, I am new here but have been studying Yoga and a little meditation for a about 6 months. In my experiences with mindfulness and breathing, and when I find myself very connected with my body, I sometimes feel as if I am breathing and exhaling the energy of the room and the people around me. I often feel that this is unwelcoming to others as I feel as if I may be detracting some of their own energy through my breathing. Often when I am alone and I perform this exercise, I feel that I provoke subtle creaks and pops within my walls and the objects around me. I am a very tense person, and these creaks and cracks become very auditory during sudden drops into relaxation. I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences that may relate.

Lynn Cornish

Hi Mr.Minor and welcome!

I have had all kinds of experiences meditating...been doing it for a while...but I was taught to label them "thinking" and go back to watching the breath. In other words, I was taught not to pay attention or give energy to these kinds of thoughts. Let them pass like the clouds overhead and go back to your object of focus.

I hope that helps.

mr.minor

Thanks Lynn. I like the cloud analogy.

Carl

Perfect practical advice Lynn. And welcome mr.minor. It also helps to keep chapter 71 in mind:

[chref=71] To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.

It is by being alive to difficulty that one can avoid it. The sage meets with
no difficulty. It is because he is alive to it that he meets with no difficulty. [/chref]

Our brain’s mind will hoodwink us endlessly. So, it is best to [chref=2] practices the teaching that uses no words[/chref]. How do we know or understand what that is, if we can’t trust anything we think? Personally I never believe what I think is so, actually is so. It is more about what ‘it’ is not. It is not this, it is not that, it is not here, it is not there, it is not up, it is not down, it is not good, it is not bad,… This perceptual approach pulls me to look deeper and deeper, which is the only way I know to feel the [chref=14]indistinct and shadowy[/chref] ‘whole’. Not only take what you think with a grain of salt, take what you feel with a grain of salt, for what you feel will drive what you think... :roll: Ah well, easier said than done, eh?

mr.minor

Yes I think pigeon holing my past experiences into meticulous rationalizations as to how and why things happen has brought me a feeling or need to "burry the past" per se. Which on some levels, is valuable as it has brought me to Taoism haha. But in doing so, I've built a mental wall that I'm trying to cross. But rather than deconstructing and understanding my perceptions, I slowly am coming to accept them as reflections that have built a sense of self or identity, and am using this to live, think, and judge, and ultimately now, surpass. It seems the more I remain devoid of thought, just staying aware rather than being driven upon thought or emotion, the closer I come to myself and nature. The more I live in the flow, the lesser I feel I need to solve something. But by the same token, I agree with Ch. 71, as if I take this perspective as "the answer," I'll be once again setting myself up for battle.

Lynn Cornish

But rather than deconstructing and understanding my perceptions, I slowly am coming to accept them as reflections that have built a sense of self or identity, and am using this to live, think, and judge, and ultimately now, surpass.

I think I know what you are getting at. Your perceptions are illusory and also illusory is the self having these perceptions. You use the word surpass. When I am aware of difficulties (as Carl says, alive to them) I think what I do is more going underneath them, taking the lower position as the TTC says. I also like the feeling of the word "return." Return to unknowing, no self.

Through meditation, I have learned to take my thoughts with a grain of salt, but that is much harder to do with feelings. Feelings are like a flood of water carrying me away. That's a good challenge, though, Carl. And what else is there to do?