RickyFitts

Takes one to know one, lovely

Oh heavens above, what IS this madness?? Good Lord, is there a four o'clock in the morning now?? Aw you're so welcome, glad if I can make your day a little easier Sounds like you've got a hectic day ahead of you - take real good care of yourself darl, I'll be thinking of you Weekend in the caves though, that should be absolutely amazing! Can't wait to see the pics too

@ryangold Yep, couldn't be happier for you two - so happy you found one another, it's a really beautiful thing

That's something you've got to figure out for yourself, I'm afraid! As a general rule, if I'm in two minds about whether I should continue my practice or not, I carry on with it; other times you just know when you need to ease up, but you'll figure it out as you go along. I'd echo the advice of @Thought Art to listen to your body, that's very solid advice I'd say - might take a bit of practice if you're not in the habit of listening to what your body's telling you, but it gets easier the more in tune with it you are.

I love this quote so much, thanks for the info @Ismael

Recognise that you've got no valid reason to hold on to any feelings of resentment, anger, bitterness, etc., towards others that you may harbour, and resolve to let go of those feelings. That's not to say that it's necessarily easy to let go of these feelings, but recognising that there's no good reason to hold on to them is an important first step.

Something else that just came to mind is that acupuncture can apparently be helpful in alleviating kundalini symptoms, that might be an option to consider if you're really struggling with it.

I'm assuming (possibly wrongly!) that the profound realisation of oneness you had that you talked about on another thread was a sort of energetic catalyst, although I don't know if you were meditating before that? I know those sorts of experiences can trigger significant movements of energy (I remember feeling a subtle movement of energy through my spine and out the top of my head when I had my initial awakening), they can be catalysts for kundalini awakenings. What you're describing sounds completely normal though, I experience the rocking back and forth and side to side sometimes too - an allowing practice sounds perfect, the key thing is just to relax as much as you can and then the energy can gradually work through any blockages in your system. Be very gentle with yourself though, if you feel like you need to ease off your practice then by all means do so, listen to what your body's telling you; don't be alarmed if you find that certain emotions are starting to arise, too (fear, sadness, anger, etc.), that's just the body releasing what had previously been suppressed. Just do what you need to do in the moment in order to feel better if that does happen, and trust that the feelings will pass, eventually. As for grounding, just walking around and being in contact with the ground can help with that, as can visualisations like the one above where you're visualising roots growing from your feet into the ground, that'll just help you to shift your attention into your body as much as anything. A few deep belly breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth (being sure to relax your body before you start breathing, so that you can breathe without straining), can help to alleviate any anxiety or tension you might be feeling. (Sorry, I know I'm throwing a lot of information at you there, I'm sure you know a lot of this stuff already!)

@noticeom Excellent post, agree with everything you said. I've started meditating to music recently, and I've found it to be a refreshing change from meditating in silence - I'm particularly feeling this one at the moment, I find it conducive to meditation:

@Gianna Really hope it helps darl, I know it's not very much fun when the energy's stirring up all that discomfort and nausea Can take a while for your body to adjust to all the energy that's been freed up in your system, that does tend to be a challenging part of the journey for the majority of people (myself very much included!), I know a regular body-centred practice has been a must for me personally.

Ugh, I dunno, maybe I'm old-fashioned but how's about relating to women on a human level, first and foremost?

Fantastic, happy to hear it I can relate to the feeling of stuckness you're talking about, and not knowing what your purpose in life is - I know it probably sounds trite, but I really do believe that the answers can be found within. So the only advice I can think to give right now is to listen to your inner knowing, bring your attention inwards and listen for what the spiritual teacher Adyashanti refers to as 'the still, small voice'. And have the courage to act on what it's telling you. Best of luck with it, I know it's not easy but you'll figure it out

what's the situation with the childhood trauma you mentioned, did you manage to resolve it or is it an ongoing issue?

Aye, no arguments there!

Maybe you need to examine your motivations for beginning the spiritual search in the first place. Without attempting to justify or defend yourself, because justifications and defences aren't the truth.

'Being awareness means there is no one who is being aware. There's no separation between what is and the awareness of it. Ego's version of awareness is "me" experiencing "what I'm aware of". That's not what I mean by awareness.' - Jon Bernie 'If you find yourself looking, or seeking, or avoiding; grasping at your experience or pushing it away; or experiencing confusion, which is its own sort of struggle with what's present; if you find yourself struggling in any of these ways, stop and tune into your body. Feel the pressure, or the tension, or the anxiety. Feel the emotions that are present - maybe longing, or maybe grief or sadness. Be aware of what's happening in your body, and in your mind.' - Bernie

They might be right about you being ungrounded, that's an issue with a lot of people (I've had issues with this too) because we tend to be so lost in our thinking, and it might be especially problematic if you have a lot of energy moving around in your body. You might benefit from doing a grounding exercise like the one below, it'll help you to connect to your body and release any tension that might be hindering the flow of energy:

Yeah, I reckon you might be right. Her behaviour might still trigger certain feelings in you, which would be understandable, and that's fine too - these sorts of situations can help us become aware of issues within us that might have remained unconscious otherwise.

Never experienced it myself (well, not that I can remember at least), but from what I understand, it's an intentional out-of-body experience - we have what's known as an astral body, apparently, and in astral projection that leaves the physical body. You can visit other dimensions and the far reaches of the universe apparently, it does sound very cool to be fair.

Having kids is definitely a culture-shock, it turns your whole life upside down (not that I've actually got kids myself, I should say, but it's the impression I get). Still, though, you'd hope she'd still remember your birthday, if you were such close friends. Was it an equal relationship, would you say, was there equal love and respect between the two of you? I experienced a similar sort of thing with my best friend, though that really wasn't an equal relationship and I was happy to be free of him, quite frankly.

Ain't that the truth!

Exactly. Also an excellent point.

Once bitten, twice shy!

I'll be honest, when I opened the thread I didn't see the discussion going in the direction of fruit-based sodomy. Which, on reflection, was clearly a major oversight on my part.

Nature, eh? Flippin' 'eck Beautiful, Esilda, thanks again for sharing