This from a post in the VibeNhance forum... http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1547515
...an old post Aye made. He was doing a meditation and experienced a lot of negative effects during it. I was wondering if this stuff was coming from his subconscious mind.
What are your thoughts?
Any comments from others also welcome.
The subconscious is like the basement in your house. It is the basement of the mind. Its is where all the junk is thrown... all the stuff that is considered garbage... that which is unacceptable... the negative parts of ourselves... the repressed emotions, the anger, the tears, the sadness, the greed, the side of ourselves that is considered 'bad', not good. They are all thrown there so that they are not seen anymore, they are thrown there so to be hidden from others, they are also thrown so to be hidden from yourself, too.
Once thrown there, one might think that they are finished with them. One may believe that they have risen above such things, are in control of the negative aspects of oneself. But this is not the case. One has not risen above. Instead, they have just been pushed down into the basement. There they remain waiting, waiting for the time when the control mechanism is lacking, then they can rise up to the surface of your being and be allowed expression.
In the past man had an easier time to just sit and meditate. It was common to work hard, using the physical body to do manual labor throughout the day. By the evening time he was ready to relax. He worked hard and slept well. Not like today. After all, it is a single body-mind mechanism. They are not separate. They are part of one mechanism. The body is the gross part of the mind, and the mind is the subtle part of the body.
It is not easy for the modern man to simply sit and watch his breathing because mind is filled with so much noise. Body has collected much tension... in the body, and in the mind. He doesn't work hard like he use to. Today, we live in an information age. We are continually bombarded with all kinds of information and knowledge about all different kind of things.
Now for the average person to simply sit and relax is not so easy. Immediately all the things that have been thrown in the basement will want to express themselves. There will be a flood. Expression is how they will be fulfilled. It is the endpoint that they are seeking. The flood of emotions, thoughts and images may be at such a pace that it will disturb the person very much, the person may even feel so uncomfortable that he may become fearful of the experience. He may not ever want to meditate again. To see so much "garbage" inside oneself is not an easy thing to take for alot of people.
Try this: Sit in front of a mirror in a room lit by a single small candle. Stare at your own face without blinking. Keep staring... The eyes will want to blink but after a while they will adjust. The tears will come natually to keep the eyes from drying out. Just keep staring at your face in the mirror. And what you see may frighten you if you do not understand what is happening. You will see angry faces, evil looking faces, ghostly images... even the devil may come, faces that are laughing at you... faces that are sad, crying. All kinds of weird shit you will see. Keep staring... and staring and watching what is coming up from your basement. And, know well, that only you are the one that has put it there.
Meditation is cleaning the basement. If you understand the mechanism. And what is said here, then to have an easier time with this, then move your body, do a physical workout, go for a good run before you sit to watch the breath. If you can also bring in the mind to express emotions while you work out with the physical body, then this would be even better.
I like your basement analogy. I think you'll also agree that we can affect change from the outside to be reflected back inside. Whenever I feel blocked energy, I always find a quick declutter and tidy up of my house frees my mind to reveal what the real issues are. Also, when I used to do a lot of liver flushing, as the gunk was being cleaned out, I was aware of my repressed emotions and stories.
It is impossible to disconnect the mind from the body, although many people try.
Have you read any Byron Katie books? I think you would really resonate with her, she's quite the modern zen master.
I really enjoy your posts and the way you write Turiya, I do hope you will consider a personal forum of your own to share what you have learnt.
Love
Maya XX
Appreciate your kind words. Funny, just before finding your post here I was in the Webmaster Support forum and considered requesting a meditation forum. I've been somewhat hanging out in the Conspiracy forum for sometime time now... but, of course, ignoring most of the conflicts that go on over there. It is getting quite old these days. I find it quite interesting that when I post, its as though I am at both ends of the spectrum - the poster and the one that is the reader, together. I am just talking to myself, so it seems.
All the Best - turiya
Hey Marge, thank you also.
When you experiment with this, the placement of the candle you will find works best if it is off to the side. But play around with it and put it where you feel it best brings stuff out. Personally, the less intense the light is on your face, the more the imagination will take off with what is coming up.
I use to do this meditation alot a number of years ago. I remember the first few times I tried it there was some unbelievable images that were pretty shocking. After posting this, I pulled out an old mirror and lit a candle and tried it again. Seems my basement is pretty cleared out because I didn't see much that looked grotesque as I remember. An interesting thing happens when you have come to the point when you are clean. And that is that if you keep staring at your image, soon you will find that you are not there at all. The mirror becomes empty! Have a look and see it for yourself.
cheers - turiya
The hardest part was not blinking-
With blinking, know well that it is the mind's way of trying to come back to interfere with the meditation of staring into the mirror. No movement of the eyes is also no movement of the mind. They are connected - blinking and thinking. The mind is more subtle movement, the eyes are more gross. But they are connected. When your eyes are still, your mind will become still.
If you keep it up, after a few days your eyes will get use to it. Tears will be provided, you can help by making sure you drink enough water. But even if tears are rolling down your cheek, let them go, just keep staring. It is said if you can do this everyday for 30-45 minutes, after one week you will see so many different faces that you will not remember which one is yours. When the mirror goes completely empty, then this is your real face... your original face. Keep staring and if the mirror goes blank then this is the moment to close your eyes and go into the subconscious. You will be naked, all deceptions about you are gone. This is your reality. You are going beyond what society has given to you. All the masks that have identified with will have fallen away. Slowly, slowly you will be changing into an authentic being. Then you cannot deceive yourself anymore, now you know who you are.
To know who you are is the beginning of a greater transendence. To me, that is what is meant by your dream with no reflection. It is who you really are. Everything in your dream is you. But the empty mirror is who you are at your deepest level.