When To Change A Meditation Technique?

[Annica]

Hey there!

I have been meditating daily for almost 6 Months now. I started using the Do-Nothing technique and found myself gradually becoming more mindful and thus more happy over the following months. Six weeks ago I attended a 10-day vipassana retreat from Goenka that taught the Body-Scan-Technique. This retreat was a tough experience and I went through serious emotional turmoil but I interpreted as spiritual growth. However that technique still really robs me of all the joy I used to get from my meditation.

Now I have the urgent question whether these symptoms are either..

... a phase I have to go through in order to grow

       OR

... an indicator that the Body-Scan-Technique is not suited for me

[I recently switched back to Do-Nothing for 3 Days and I saw myself being happier again, tried the Body-Scan the day after and had the old negative feelings.]

Any advice is highly appreciated!

Annica

 

[Arkandeus]

my advice, always follow the joy, follow what feels good.  
you do not ''need'' any specific spiritual practice to grow, there's no meditation that is so important that you can't grow without it. 
you are free to chose how you evolve, as you want it. 

one can try to awaken spiritually in a hardcore way by going hard, facing negative feelings as much as possible and that's fine if you're beginner and you're desperate to advance but ultimately the goal of enlightenment is to feel good. 

one has to keep that in mind, and ultimately the task to feel good will fall upon yourself, that's enlightenment. 
you'll be responsible to make yourself good, so the habit of going hard and pushing yourself because you're chasing something is never going to get you there.  
I think some people might be lost in this, thinking they can go as hard as possible till they reach a spiritual breaking point and boom, eternal bliss and happiness. That's not how it happens, that's too easy.that's why people fall in and out of enlightenment.    going hard is easy, going slow is not 

the sooner you realize that you have to get rid of suffering yourself,it's not gonna fall out of spiritual sky,  the more seriously you'll take your good feelings. 
you have to cultivate a state of good feelings, and that's only possible if you start paying attention to what feels good

Edited March 30, 2017 by Arkandeus

[Prabhaker]

15 hours ago, Annica said:

Technique is not suited for me

When you try the right method it clicks technique. Take one technique and play with it for at least three days. If it gives you a certain feeling of affinity, if it gives you a certain feeling of well-being, if it gives you a certain feeling that this is for you, then be serious about it. Then forget the others, do not play with other technique. Stick to it - at least three months.