Arman

Great animation/production. You have a great voice for this stuff. What kind of mic are you using? thx for sharing

My experiences are similar to yours. Part of the reason the 'down' portions are as miserable as they are is because of the attachment to being high and the resistance to being low. Part of the issue is thinking that it is problematic or that something is wrong. Notice the assumption that you are supposed to be happy and successful all the time. I have heard that belief described as 'unique to modern western civilization'. It is a destructive belief because it denies the rhythms of nature and self development which leads to frustration, confusion and lowered self esteem because every time the pendulum swings the other way it's an opportunity to beat yourself up. What has helped me to grow and evolve through the fluctuations is constantly keeping in mind the idea of the 'rhythms of expansion and contraction' that are fundamental to this world and a part of all systems. Without sounding too esoteric: night always follows day, what heats up will cool down, flowers open and close, etc. These rhythms directly apply to the inner journey and particularly the expansion and contraction of the psyche. Holding this in mind helps to avoid becoming too 'zoomed in' to any one aspect of the experience. This expanded awareness in my experience seems to accelerate the process which makes the highs less frenetic, and the lows less miserable. You can then honor the difficulties as opportunities and you will have a more intuitive motivation to become less 'grabby' of the good times.

EXPLAIN YOURSELF MISTER.

Gonna agree with Heart of Space here. I tried it a handful of times when I was in my late teens. My suggestion is to stay away from it. It's gross and acts as a disassociate at higher levels. Any major altered state has potential for consciousness work but that doesn't mean it's advisable or worth exploring. It's mostly used for recreation - and it's trashy even for that. It also probably did no good for my brain. The answer to all your questions is: Don't dude. Just don't.

That's just your ego speaking, don't tell me what to do.

Funnily enough I just posted a quote from this website, and I have suggested it in the past so I apologize to mods if it seems a bit spammy - but I have found aypsite.org to be a pragmatic and systematic guide to understanding and taking on practices. You can start slow and simple and move up. The site is a bit outdated visually but go to the main lessons section and read anything that captures your eye. The opening to its pitch is "An open and integrated system of advanced yoga practices is offered here which will unfold lasting inner peace and natural ecstatic radiance."

This is sometimes referred to as automatic yoga and is not an uncommon experience among practitioners - particularly those working with pranayamas or kundalini related practices. From the aypsite.org website:

My suggestion is to surrender to parts of your experience at a time. You can surrender to certain lighter and less intense feelings, or thoughts, or anything you like. In my experience typically when we are unwilling to surrender something it is because we are still juicing an aspect of the experience/emotions that we're going through. We don't want to surrender it because at the being level we think it is dangerous or unproductive to do so. Is it possible that despite the suffering you are experiencing, part of you believes that it is safer/optimal/preferable, or in a distorted way more enjoyable to feel the way you are feeling? To help uncover this, as best as you can, identify and give a label to the negative experience you are having (ie. stuck, confused, frustrated, contracted, etc) then take a few breaths and ask "Why is it safer to feel (label here) than to not feel it?" and see if anything wants to arise. Here is an alternate exercise: First think of an experience or alternative circumstance that you find preferable. For example maybe you are feeling like you can't decide what you want to do in life and it is causing you suffering. The preferred life experience would be "To know firmly what I want to do with my life." Once you have identified the preferred experience, sit down and ask yourself "What bad thing would happen if firmly knew what I want to do in my life?" (obviously alter this to work with whatever you came up with, but keep the 'what bad thing would happen if' question) This may provide some insight into hidden emotional attachments or fears that we didn't know we necessarily had on certain subjects. Over time it becomes more clear why we are not willing to surrender to certain experiences, or unwilling to align with the experiences that at the conceptual level we thought we wanted. When we discover parts of ourselves that are 'holding on' or secretly wanting to stay in lower emotional experiences, then we can choose to release them bit by bit by allowing the discovery to be as it is without trying to 'fix it'. You can also hold the feeling in awareness then simply drop it and breathe it out. This helps to dissolve part of it and can be repeated over time until it is dissolved from consciousness. Trying to surrender 'everything' is neither necessary nor necessarily productive. It is great work to surrender simply to certain emotions or certain aspects of your experience. To be surrendered means to be okay with the experience without wanting to change it. To simply allow it to be. This helps the experience to unravel and unfold and become lighter over time, which makes _you_ lighter over time. It is not necessary to 'try so hard' when you are wanting to surrender. Can you just be yourself right now? For a few moments can you allow yourself to be without wanting to control, try so hard, or see if you are doing this right or wrong? If you are feeling like you want to surrender but find yourself frustrated and in pain, could you just be okay with the experience of not feeling like you can surrender? Can you surrender to that aspect alone? Over time these layers of resistance will dissolve and you will find you have the courage and ability to then surrender other aspects of your experience like deeper negative emotions that have been suppressed.

very nice, we just need one of our beloved Venerable Dalai Sri Sri Baba Bagawan Swami Paramhansa Leo Guraji

My guess is to have fun and temprarily release from the tensions of life. Large events usually reflect some kind of mass consciousness. Low or high is relative to where you're at and what your goals are. For many people getting together to dance and have fun is a healing experience. Sounds a little bit like it is easier for you to judge the event and the people as low consciousness than find out why you're feeling alienated and seemingly unable to let go and have fun.

I use a smartphone app called MindBell which routinely makes audible chimes throughout the day based on how you program it as a reminder to engage in practice and become mindful. I have used it for a few years and find it practical and profound in its use.

Nice, made me think of Shinzen Young's story of Zen initiation. I think you'll enjoy this. Story starts at 5 minute mark https://youtu.be/lq1IL_DnC98

Part of it is that presence is a non-resistant state which allows for both an immediate diffusing and gradual releasing of a lot of contractions and emotions that we hold.

why don't you form your own by slowly connecting with like-minded people you resonate with and keeping up with them?

Early experiences seem more a matter of grace than of willpower or force. Maybe you can't make it happen again because you're not the one that made it happen. I also think the nervous system needs to be purified before it can sustain those states for too long because it can be taxing on a body that isn't used to higher energies.

nice, George was heavily into the spiritual path. I can't miss an opportunity to share my favourite George Harrison performance of all time tomorrow when you rise, anther day for you to realize me or send me down again

my experience of benefits: increase in energy, increased focus and concentration, increased bliss, sense of connection, reduced feelings of discontent, relaxation in the body, more joyous creativity should be practiced with wisdom, caution and guidance

have you tried?

This is part of it:

A wall! Or anything straight. Try propping a pillow against your lower back and a wall while sitting on the ground or on your bed. In my experience even with back support, you will gain strength over time.

Why not use back support?

Extract from the book 'Atlantis and the Garden of Eden' on Giants it's fun to think about.

To add, if you ever feel like going to the doctor, you probably should.

You're welcome! If you choose to take on the practices, I suggest you be mindful of pacing. Enjoy.