Pathwaytofree

I want to keep my meditation simple. So for now, I do a few minutes of meditation using a free app. Sometimes I just set a timer, sit, and focus on my breath while taking attention away from my mind chatter. Other times, I'll follow a guided meditation, but I'm not sure which ones to do.

I had a very scary experience with Kundalini Yoga a couple of years ago, and I'd like to avoid anything like. I'm surprised practitioners of that type of yoga don't warn people.

Is TM meditation too far "out there"? What about guided meditations-- how do I know which ones would be safe and grounding, vs too out there for me? My therapist suggested I meditate while staring at a candle flame, but I'm not sure that's a good idea, either. I read that even following the type of meditation with a mantra could be harmful because the brain gets stuck on the word, or something like that.

I've tried to read things online regarding which types of meditation and spiritual practices to avoid, but nothing's really consistent. I need to be careful because of my long history with depression and anxiety. Maybe other people don't have to be as careful, but after what I experienced from a short time of Kundalini yoga sessions, I don't want to take the chance again.

I have a good friend who overdid it with spiritual practices and got really sick mentally from it.

I'm also curious if anyone knows what type of prayer/meditation for Step 11 Bill W and Dr. Bob did. I think I recall hearing a circuit speaker say that this was "meditation" before the '60s when the Beatles brought Eastern meditation over to the US. Meditation before that was different.

Ringo123

I've heard it said that the only way to meditate wrong is not to meditate. Rather simplistic, I know.

Anyway, I remember reading that Bill W would do a walking meditation of some sort. I'll do my best to look it up this weekend and get back to you on Monday.

I have a history of depression too. You are not alone.

I have a little meditation exercise that I'll share. When I take a breath in, I think or say to myself what I'm needing from God and the out breath is the trouble I have or the character defect. Such as:

I breathe in God's love; I breathe out my fear.
I breathe in God's strength; I breathe out weakness.
Breath in God's peace; breathe out anger.

And so forth.

And while doing this, I try to imagine during the in breath, His love, strength, etc entering my bones, blood, organs, my whole body replacing my fear, prejudice, anger, pride, etc which is released out of me during the out breath.

Sorry I went on so long. Attention to detail and being exact are both a blessing and a curse.

Tommyh

here is a old oxford group and early AA guide
https://www.twowayprayer.org/how-to-...wo-way-prayer/
I did this at one time for 4-5 years with a friend

page 13 of Bill`s story and page 55 is what I use today

Sunflowerlife

Hi there- do you mind sharing your kundalini yoga experience with me? It's a yoga I started with 5 years ago and while I felt it helped me at times I also felt like it increased my irritability or other times I would just get nauseous from it. It's a very powerful yoga because of the combination of movements and breathwork.

For me, guided meditations have always been my favorite alternative. I used to use The Meditation Podcast before they started charging and now I just pick on from GAIA Tv. But there are tons of free ones available through the podcast app on my iphone as well.

I would pick the one you resonoate with- I think if you keep this simple you shouldn't have any problems. I personally don't have any experience with TM.

Have you heard of Joe Dispenza? He has changed thousands of lives through his meditations. Here's a link to his latest blog. You can then go to his website and browse his meditations. You can also find many of them at the library. They are long for the most part but there are also communities on FB in case you need help or have questions.

I think any meditation has the power to change us in ways we may not expect. For example if we do chakra meditations where we cleanse the chakra, things may come out that were stuck or blocking us. So it may feel worse before it gets better. But the goals is always to heal. I have heard of others having issues with Kundalini and I think it's one of those practices that is extremely powerful as kundalini energy is very raw, and not refined- which is why most people ask that you do it along side a teacher. Having said that, one of my best friends has done her teacher training in kundalini and has reassured me countless times that it's "safe." I will agree with you though- that it is not something to take lightly. I have pretty much moved on from it at this point.

I think it's great that you have a regular practice- I am still struggling to do that although I just learned Reiki which often feels like a meditation in itself.

The Habit of Your New Self ? Dr. Joe Dispenza?s Blog

Pathwaytofree

True. I've heard the same thing about praying.

Really? This I find fascinating, because I've been doing a walking meditation and I find I do better with that than a traditional sitting meditation. Thank you for taking the time to find that piece of info.

I'm sorry you have a history of depression, too. Thank you for saying I'm not alone. One day the stigma will end. I like seeing that more famous people are coming out and saying they suffer from d/a. Most recently, I saw an article about The Rock saying so.

I love this. Thank you. I'm definitely going to try this. It reminds me that I once heard a speaker say "I breathe in God, and breathe out me" but I didn't really understand how. You explained it much clearer.

You must be my long lost twin. I'm still waiting for God to remove that character defect from myself. ;-)

Pathwaytofree

Tommy, as always, I knew I could count on you to chime in with the perfect answer for a question about the steps or God, that was clear and not vague. Thank you. I spent a couple of hours this morning going through the two way prayer website. I've never heard of that mentioned even during Step 11 shares. I'm going to share it at my home group.

Pathwaytofree

I wasn't doing Kundalini yoga that long--just a few weeks. But it made me extremely nausea, dizzy, irritable, overheated, and brought on migraines. It is extremely irresponsible in my opinion that there is no warning or explanation whatsoever about this type of yoga. And it was extremely irresponsible when I approached the instructor, that she was of no help and didn't tell me this is a common phenomenon. She didn't mention anything about "Kundalini energy" or "Kundalini awakening." This should have all been clearly explained in the description of the class. I've done other types of yoga for years on and off with nothing like this happening.

If you google something like "dangers of kundalini" or "kundalini syndrome" there is a ton of info out there. Messing with awakening the kundalini is not safe unless truly done with someone who knows what they're doing. Unfortunately there are a lot of "certifications" out there but it leaves the consumer to have to do research to see which are truly accredited and well-regarded certifications and credentials. My goal in taking Kundalini yoga wasn't to awaken my kundalini. I took it because they described it as a more spiritual type of yoga. After reading about Kundalini energy (also described as the coiled snake that sits at the base of our spine), I don't want to waken mine. I preferred having the more traditional type of spiritual awakening through inventory and amends and I just wanted to do yoga as a moving form of meditation.

I like the guided meditations on the free apps but I just wasn't sure which ones weren't a good idea. For example, anytime in Kundalini yoga when she'd have us focus on our third eye--I'd get headaches. I read focus stuff like that is not safe. I want to avoid those sort of things.

The name sames familiar. Thank you, I will check out his blog/website.

These are the type of things I personally would like to avoid right now. I read too much online about the dangers of trying to unblock chakras. To me it just doesn't seem natural.

It's definitely not "safe" if someone is not prepared or ready to deal with the "extremely powerful kundalini energy". My spiritual awakening doing step work was more gradual and so I was able to change gradually.

Great if that's what you like. Personally for me I'm sticking with more traditional forms of meditation. A friend of mine said she learned Reiki and she said she saw dark things she doesn't think she was meant to see. But everyone has their own experience and has to find what works for them.

Let me know what your thoughts are after you read about Kundalini yoga, I am curious.

Sunflowerlife

I have read about it because I had the same issues - I must not have expressed that in my comment. I stopped doing it because I would either get irritable or nauseated. I have since been told to cover my head with a scarf to avoid the nausea. There were only a few times where I came out of it feeling better than when I went in. I just don’t think it’s for everyone and I agree that there should be a warning, especially in a class setting. If you go back and read the class description I wonder what it says. . I always used dvds so I didn’t know much about what was going on until I researched it for myself.

I wasn’t suggesting reiki just telling you what works for me. I have never heard of anything negative coming from it although any type of deep self healing has the power to bring on really intense things from the past and present. It’s a risk one is willing to take in order to become “awakened” and if you are not interested in that then just stick with a basic meditation that focuses on the breath and on relaxing he body. Keep it simple.

tomsteve

how do I know which ones would be safe and grounding, vs too out there for me?

after a few years of complicating it, i found that keeping it simple works real well.
When we retire at night, we constructively review our day.
After making our review we ask God's forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.
On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.
In thinking about our day we may face indecision
.We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle.
We are
often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while.

other than that, its a learning process of what works and what doesnt.
does it feel right?
does it not feel right?

Pathwaytofree

Hi Sunflowerlife,

I apologize for how my tone came across over my reply. It wasn't intended to sound that way.

Apologies again. My opinion came across too strong due to my experience.

I just think it's irresponsible for any type of teacher to teach something that has a risk, but doesn't include that as a warning. The description to the Kundalini class I took had no such thing.

Whatever works for you and makes you happy on your spiritual journey is what it's all about.

Pathwaytofree

[QUOTE=tomsteve;6854560]how do I know which ones would be safe and grounding, vs too out there for me?

Thank you, tomsteve. This is what I need to do too.

This definitely simplifies things and was exactly what I needed to read. THANK YOU!!!!

Sunflowerlife

Hey I appreciate that- don't worry about it, I know how awful it feels when you are trying to do something good for yourself and you don't get the results you were expecting or hoping for. If I were you, I would email the teacher/class and let them know. Maybe they will give thought to it and include more information on what KY actually does. I'll be honest, I was also surprised that my good friend who is an instructor, didn't really know what I was talking about when I told her I didn't feel well after doing it. She basically implied that if it was done correctly (taught by someone who followed Yogi Bhajan's methods) it shouldn't produce negative side effects. I know from experience that the energy was too raw for me. I am also an HSP/Empath, I wonder if that makes a difference- are you sensitive as well?

I subscribe to GAIA Tv and there are no warnings on the KY exercise either. I wonder why you and I had such a hard time with it??

Anyway, I truly hope you find a meditation you like. Again, I would just keep it really simple and focus on relaxing the body and mind and focusing on the breath. Good luck to you!

tomsteve

spiritual progress, not perfection-

Pathwaytofree

Thanks for understanding. :-) I had emailed the teacher when this was all happening and she gave me a rather lame reply. I probably should've spoken with the yoga studio owner. I still like that yoga studio but I guess I didn't handle my resentment well and I'm still carrying it....

From what I read online, the instructors aren't taught that anything bad could happen. I sort of view it this way: if a medication works well for many, but also has very bad side effects for some, we will hear about how well it works for many and we won't be taught or warned about the bad side effects for some....

Yes, in fact, I am an HSP/Empath. You definitely are onto something here.... For me personally, I don't let the fact that I'm an HSP/Empath control my life and I use it for its advantages. I don't identify with it, so to speak. Meaning, I just let it be and I don't think about it too much because I feel like if I did, then it would grow stronger. That being said, I am still very much in tune with other people's energies and my own energies. It is a blessing and a curse.

I'm guessing unresolved trauma, PTSD, and being an HSP/empath. What do you think?

Thanks you! I am working on keeping it simple. Yesterday I meditated to music and today I meditated after reading from a daily reader.

Good luck to you, too!

Pathwaytofree

And in a rather serendipitous moment, I just happened to listen to a speaker tape that a friend sent me the other day. The speaker mentioned that "biblical meditation" was what Bill and Dr. Bob were doing. We often think of meditation as the Buddhist type of meditation only. This is what the speaker mentioned:

1) Bringing something you're unsure how to handle, to meditation/quiet time. Asking God for an intuitive thought. (I do this while I walk my dog and I had no idea that's what that was.)

2) Reading a page of scripture, a daily reader, another spiritual book, etc. and sitting quietly and meditating on what you just read.

3) Two way prayer, what Tommyh mentioned and posted that fantastic link to.

4) Besides biblical meditation, there is Eastern meditation--that's the type of meditation where you allow your mind to chatter and you bring yourself back to your breath.

For me personally, and I'm only mentioning this since I'm the OP, I'm going to follow Tomsteve's recommendations of if it feels right for you, do it. If it doesn't feel right for you, don't. So I'm avoiding things like meditating on chakras, essential oils, reiki, etc. But that does not mean that isn't right for you the reader.

Thank you for such a helpful post!!!

~Forever grateful~

Pathwaytofree

I forgot to mention one other helpful thing I heard the speaker mention:

When you get an intuitive thought, but you're not positive it's intuition or from the mind, as yourself the 4 Absolutes from the Oxford Group:

Is the thought based on honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love?