How To Deal With Deep Fustration

[electroBeam]

Whenever I meditate, especially doing self inquiry, I experience EXTREME frustration. Not a little frustration, I mean to the point where sometimes I need to stop meditating because the frustration is so intense, that I cannot concentrate any-more.

A good example is Leo's latest video. When trying to find 'me' or kind of trying to examine the self, the act of even looking brings a lot of frustration. For me personally, this is because the self disappears as soon as you look(its like a troll that teases you, and runs away as soon as you start to chase it). Its like the pot at the end of the rainbow, you just cant get to it.

This makes me highly frustrated, and this is a big issue because it really distracts me from concentrating. I had to pause the video multiple times to just give myself time to relax. If I'm frustrated, I cannot possibly look or seek for the higher self, its like trying to find a crashed boat in a wavy sea. 

 

Are there any ways to overcome this? Anything I can tell myself to calm myself down? Or maybe any activity I can do to stop this annoying behaviour?

 

Thankyou!

[Falken]

This is interesting. I get this too sometimes, especially when i tried strong determination sits I sometimes have to stop because I have a feeling of being stuck into my body that somehow weighs hard on to my mind as well. This used to happen while regularly meditating too but it got much better over time, maybe it's just something you have to get used to and let go over time.

[step1]

On ‎04‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 7:50 AM, electroBeam said:

Whenever I meditate, especially doing self inquiry, I experience EXTREME frustration. Not a little frustration, I mean to the point where sometimes I need to stop meditating because the frustration is so intense, that I cannot concentrate any-more.

A good example is Leo's latest video. When trying to find 'me' or kind of trying to examine the self, the act of even looking brings a lot of frustration. For me personally, this is because the self disappears as soon as you look(its like a troll that teases you, and runs away as soon as you start to chase it). Its like the pot at the end of the rainbow, you just cant get to it.

This makes me highly frustrated, and this is a big issue because it really distracts me from concentrating. I had to pause the video multiple times to just give myself time to relax. If I'm frustrated, I cannot possibly look or seek for the higher self, its like trying to find a crashed boat in a wavy sea. 

 

Are there any ways to overcome this? Anything I can tell myself to calm myself down? Or maybe any activity I can do to stop this annoying behaviour?

 

Thankyou!

I guess the reason you are getting frustrated is because there is no you to find.  

Whenever you are 'seeking' then you are acting from the standpoint of your ego.  With the self enquiry it's a little different to the normal meditation as you are using your ego to come to the realisation that there is no you, and sometimes what happens with this is that all of a sudden the rug is pulled from beneath the ego and all that is left is awareness.  So the intellectual realisation can trigger the experiential realisation.  It's not going to happen over night though so I wouldn't get frustrated with it.

Regarding the frustration during normal meditation, if this is happening then you are still identifying yourself with the ego.  You have to let go of 'you'.  A way to make this happen automatically which works for me is by practising the strong determination sits.  Once things start to get really painful I accept the pain and the situation I am in, basically the ego surrenders, it takes a while for this to happen but when you do this the pain goes and so does your ego and you are left in a  state of kind of nothingness where your vision goes strange and the pain is not there either.  You also have a sense of not being in your body.  Its pretty cool.

One thing I would say is that sometimes I will have really bad meditation sessions where the monkey mind is on full whack, but then afterwards I will feel very  relaxed.  I think there is a saying that goes something like 'with meditation you notice your gains off the mat'

 

Edited May 6, 2016 by step1

[Henri]

@electroBeam Do not try to make your meditation perfect. 

Let it come as it comes and be gentle with it.

Frustration can only arise when the expectation is too high, you want to do your best, you want `quality-meditation`.

Meditate effortlessly and be kind to yourself.

[WelcometoReality]

@electroBeam If you dive down under the waves you'll find complete stillness and how stormy it is on the surface does not matter at all. ☺

[askdfjnak]

On 5/4/2016 at 4:50 PM, electroBeam said:

Whenever I meditate, especially doing self inquiry, I experience EXTREME frustration. Not a little frustration, I mean to the point where sometimes I need to stop meditating because the frustration is so intense, that I cannot concentrate any-more.

A good example is Leo's latest video. When trying to find 'me' or kind of trying to examine the self, the act of even looking brings a lot of frustration. For me personally, this is because the self disappears as soon as you look(its like a troll that teases you, and runs away as soon as you start to chase it). Its like the pot at the end of the rainbow, you just cant get to it.

This makes me highly frustrated, and this is a big issue because it really distracts me from concentrating. I had to pause the video multiple times to just give myself time to relax. If I'm frustrated, I cannot possibly look or seek for the higher self, its like trying to find a crashed boat in a wavy sea. 

 

Are there any ways to overcome this? Anything I can tell myself to calm myself down? Or maybe any activity I can do to stop this annoying behaviour?

 

Thankyou!

"that which stands in the way is the way" 

I had this exact same problem a few months back with self inquiry/neti-neti (to me they're the same thing). As my mind was realizing that there was no self to find and yet was unable to escape whatever was appearing in front of it I got extremely angry and frustrated. I would literally scream and punch walls after meditating. I also started to feel really claustrophobic in my body and mind, even after meditation stopped.

I felt like this cat:

Everywhere I tried to escape to the same truth was there and there was nothing I could do about it.

I had practiced "comfy" spirituality before that and had some nice experiences but it wasn't until I really put the pedal to the metal that I actually started to change deep inside.

Somebody posted this video on here and it really spoke to me:

https://youtu.be/QVyv1uJ6Rd0?t=19m25s

I realized I could just exhaust my way into truth. I started sds/inquiry. If I was still angry at the end of a sit I would immediately repeat the same time. There were a few times where I sat for 8 hours before I finally broke through an issue but once I had broken it, it was finished forever. My psyche got cleaned up really quickly doing this.

It wasn't fun. But totally worth it. 

This is what I continue to do.

I practice the technique that I hate the most, because I know if I hate it I have resistance to work out.

A lot of people would probably disagree with this though. Its just my 10c.

Do what you're gonna do.

[Presence]

On 5/4/2016 at 0:20 PM, electroBeam said:

Whenever I meditate, especially doing self inquiry, I experience EXTREME frustration. Not a little frustration, I mean to the point where sometimes I need to stop meditating because the frustration is so intense, that I cannot concentrate any-more.

 

@electroBeam

when u get frustrated

just stop and Look inside

with Awareness who is getting Frustrated frustration will dissolve