scared of meditating

[Heart of Space]

32 minutes ago, levani said:

just out of curiosity how could you be so sure that psychedelics aren't for me though ?

Just not at this point.  Don't jump off the high dive just yet.  Build up some solid experience meditating first. 

[The0Self]

15 minutes ago, levani said:

so what now am I supposed to not meditate or take psychedelics ever and live in this materialistic life forever with all this mind masterbation ?

 

I will read the books above but i'm just so lost with this

For meditation: If you’re confused, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re depressed, you’ve got nothing to gain and nothing to lose. If you’re joyful and happy, you could stand to be happier or more loving. If you’re anxious, you could stand to be less anxious. Hell even if one were a psychopath they could stand to be more compassionate or stop rejecting anything, including their self and others. But of course there isn’t actually anyone. There is only everything, which is of course, not a thing at all.

[Jacobsrw]

8 hours ago, levani said:

Please don't laugh as this is the level of development/stage i'm at now. I don't want to get traumatised or get PTSD from meditating ∴ do you have any advise for me to overcome the fear and to start meditating. I heard horror stories where people lose themselves for 10 years after meditating or they get sunk into "eternity of pain" or the dark night o the soul or whatever.

I'm still scared of sleeping with the lights off so i'm at that level unfortunately,

same with psychedelics and real yoga

Hey there,

I am really sorry to hear this and hope you are doing okay. Don’t be so harsh on yourself when it comes to developing your spiritual practices. Each person is on their own unique path of growth. 

A tactic that helped me some years back was beginning with 2-3 minute mediations and cumulatively increasing them over several months. I can now mediate for an how or so if desired (however, I usually do 20-30 mins at a time). But keep in mind, It’s not the length you mediate but rather the quality and depth you cultivate in doing it. Aim for quality sessions regardless how short they are and slowly build your way up from there ?

[ivory]

8 hours ago, levani said:

I heard horror stories where people lose themselves for 10 years after meditating or they get sunk into "eternity of pain" or the dark night o the soul or whatever.

Yep, it happened to me, and it was a nightmarish six years.

I won't say you need to be concerned, but I would encourage you to develop a healthy sense of self before you tackle the advanced stuff. I'm not sure where you're at developmentally but if you experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, or low self worth then you need to start there. Ignore that shit now and and it will show no mercy later.

[Gesundheit]

That is nothing to laugh at. It's sad to hear actually. Consider that drinking water can be equally dangerous as meditation. Do you ever stop to think whether you should drink or not? Even though it's possible to choke to death simply by a cup of water.

[Carl-Richard]

5 hours ago, Claymoree said:

 why neurosis?  

Because you're essentially trying to get through your day while constantly getting bombarded by intrusive thoughts about staying aware. There is nothing spiritual about it.

[levani]

1 hour ago, ivory said:

Yep, it happened to me, and it was a nightmarish six years.

I won't say you need to be concerned, but I would encourage you to develop a healthy sense of self before you tackle the advanced stuff. I'm not sure where you're at developmentally but if you experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, or low self worth then you need to start there. Ignore that shit now and and it will show no mercy later.

how do i develop a healthy sense of self ?

[levani]

34 minutes ago, Gesundheit said:

That is nothing to laugh at. It's sad to hear actually. Consider that drinking water can be equally dangerous as meditation. Do you ever stop to think whether you should drink or not? Even though it's possible to choke to death simply by a cup of water.

is it equally as dangerous as meditating ? can you lose yourself in "eternity if pain" by drinking water ?

[Rilles]

10 hours ago, levani said:

Please don't laugh as this is the level of development/stage i'm at now. I don't want to get traumatised or get PTSD from meditating ∴ do you have any advise for me to overcome the fear of meditating. I heard horror stories where people lose themselves for 10 years after meditating or they get sunk into "eternity of pain" or the dark night o the soul or whatever.

 

I've meditated on and off for about 5 years, you really have nothing to worry about, I was a little bit scared of being alone with my thoughts first but thats subsided after about a week, just try it, I promise you have nothing to worry about. 

[flowboy]

Why are you scared of sleeping with the lights off? Do you have an anxiety disorder? Past traumatic events? Were your parents unpredictable or violent?

 

The thing with psychedelics is that your own state of mind influences the trip. So if you feel scared, it will show you some scary things. If you feel great and you trust it, you have a great trip. Both outcomes can be equally enlightening, by the way, but if you don't have some skill in calming yourself down, you could completely panic and that's not fun.

So wait with psychedelics until you have your anxiety under control, and when you are more skilled in calming yourself down (meditation will help), you are ready.

 

Don't conflate psychedelics and meditation. Meditation is the safe route. The worst that will happen to you as a beginner is boredom.

 

 

Edited October 29, 2020 by flowboy

[Shin]

It's not gonna do any of the things you mentioned.
You really need to go deep to get those kind of things.

You'll go there only if you want to, or if you are careless and go way deeper than you can handle.
Once you open the pandora box there is no turning back though, so you're right to be cautious.

[levani]

2 hours ago, ivory said:

Yep, it happened to me, and it was a nightmarish six years.

I won't say you need to be concerned, but I would encourage you to develop a healthy sense of self before you tackle the advanced stuff. I'm not sure where you're at developmentally but if you experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, or low self worth then you need to start there. Ignore that shit now and and it will show no mercy later.

how do i develop a healthy sense of self ?

[levani]

5 minutes ago, Shin said:

It's not gonna do any of the things you mentioned.
You really need to go deep to get those kind of things.

You'll go there only if you want to, or if you are careless and go way deeper than you can handle.
Once you open the pandora box there is no turning back though, so you're right to be cautious.

and how do i be cautious ? where do i get the info for this ?

16 minutes ago, flowboy said:

Why are you scared of sleeping with the lights off? Do you have an anxiety disorder? Past traumatic events? Were your parents unpredictable or violent?

 

The thing with psychedelics is that your own state of mind influences the trip. So if you feel scared, it will show you some scary things. If you feel great and you trust it, you have a great trip. Both outcomes can be equally enlightening, by the way, but if you don't have some skill in calming yourself down, you could completely panic and that's not fun.

So wait with psychedelics until you have your anxiety under control, and when you are more skilled in calming yourself down (meditation will help), you are ready.

 

Don't conflate psychedelics and meditation. Meditation is the safe route. The worst that will happen to you as a beginner is boredom.

 

 

i'm a little scared of sleeping with the lights off ∵ of sll the scary movies i guess and i had a frightning sleep paralysis when i was 15/16 (i'm 26 now)

 

thank you for the advise btw.

Edited October 29, 2020 by levani

[Carl-Richard]

19 minutes ago, Rilles said:

I've meditated on and off for about 5 years, you really have nothing to worry about, I was a little bit scared of being alone with my thoughts first but thats subsided after about a week, just try it, I promise you have nothing to worry about. 

What is even more scary is being alone without your thoughts.

[Rilles]

18 minutes ago, Carl-Richard said:

What is even more scary is being alone without your thoughts.

I havent reached that state.  Sounds kind of nice to be honest. 

[Shin]

30 minutes ago, Carl-Richard said:

What is even more scary is being alone without your thoughts.

The horror

[ivory]

1 hour ago, levani said:

how do i develop a healthy sense of self ?

By getting professional help.

[levani]

17 minutes ago, ivory said:

By getting professional help.

i don't think I need professional help, i am just an average stage orange/going on to green guy with some irrational fears like many people who is just trying to be cautious, i am not a hypochondriac (i think), i am just wary of all the negative things that can happen ∴ i want to be ready for them,

so far what i realised is that meditation is just a route that teaches one how to surrender.

[nistake]

Start slowly and ease into it. Even if it means just 5 minutes a day. I'm pretty sure you won't experience anything out of ordinary. Not in every case, but usually you need many-many years of experience in hardcore meditation to reach stages where 'paranormal' stuff can happen.

[Gesundheit]

@levani It feels like you have created this view about meditation that it's some kind of evil dangerous monster that is coming to rape you or something. Just so you know, you don't have to do it. No one is forcing you to sit down and meditate, and most probably no one ever will.

If, on the other hand, you're interested in this particular practice, you can research it in full depth as long as you have a keyboard and a hand. Understand the basic definition of meditation, and that it, essentially, is nothing but observation. For me personally, I have reached a point where I can meditate on the fly, and it takes no effort for me at all. I don't do formal meditation anymore, except very rarely. I just observe things, mostly inwards, and try to be objective. That's the whole thing for me.