[James_80]

Does anyone else find that meditation worsens their condition? I find after a few weeks of practising it that my thoughts seem even more uncomfortably out of control and I feel more detached from my emotions. I also experience memory problems, like my memories are no longer easily available to me. I essentially become the detached observer of the mind/body in a state of suffering. I hoped it would induce a state of calm as I learn to silence my thoughts but instead it seems to separate me further from myself. I hoped it would bring me closer to my emotions and engaged in clearer thinking but it seems to do the opposite. Perhaps I need to keep doing it daily over a very long period for this to happen. The types of meditation I have practised have been simply focussing on the breath and a body scan and various mindfulness techniques. I can reach an enjoyable peaceful state when doing the meditation itself, it just seems to have negative after effects the rest of the day. Or maybe I have accidentally fast tracked myself to enlightenment because of dp, haha (another topic to discuss perhaps in the spirituality section).

 

[ThoughtOnFire]

Imho, enlightenment would be a complete total recall. Not a total mind wipe. You can get in a car and drive around in reverse and still be driving the car.

 

[James_80]

Imho, enlightenment would be a complete total recall. Not a total mind wipe. You can get in a car and drive around in reverse and still be driving the car.

Yeah, that sounds like a good metaphor for what enlightenment would be like. I was just joking with the enlightenment thing though but it certainly feels like an uncomfortable separation between the 'I' and 'me'

 

[ThoughtOnFire]

Much of meditation techniques out there are actually encouraging dissociation in a way. They say ask yourself: "Who am I?".... and the idea is to detach from body..."ego"... etc. But the truth I've believed for awhile now is that the body, even the ego, is merely a manifestation or extension of your true self, or consciousness. Many modern spiritual gurus and cliches will say "You are not your Ego"..."So kill your ego"... but two things... Firstly, you are also not your hand, you could lose your hand and still be "you", but why cut off your hand? Instead learn to USE your hand as a tool. Same thing with Ego. Secondly, Ego is actually just a Latin word, it means "I"... It's just you, your persona. Nihilism is not the way to go, and usually leads to existential depression and can induce solipsism.

 

[eddy1886]

Meditation never did squat for my DP except make me feel more distant and puzzled...

I want to come back into myself more not move further away from my thinking and persona.........

In fact meditation always made me panic more....Gave up on it a long time ago....