Author Topic: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation  (Read 15132 times)

Jhanananda

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #15 on: December 31, 2014, 06:36:40 PM »
Hello Jhanon, since you reported leg cramps, and you are vegetarian, then you may wish to look at this new thread I started: Leg Cramps at night and diabetes, because you might be becoming diabetic through your vegetarian lifestyle, as I did.  So, you could try adding nutritional yeast and/or eggs to your daily diet to see if your Leg Cramps at night go away.
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Jhanon

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #16 on: January 01, 2015, 12:10:07 AM »
I appreciate you thinking of me, Jhananda. I may have misspoke or forgotten, but these leg cramps are not happening lately. Interestingly, when I was heavily doped on stimulants as a child is when i got the cramps often. It should be noted that I rarely ate much most of my youth. But I ate the standard American shit diet when I did. Although I am grateful to my mother for feeding me.

When I stopped eating meat and processed food, the leg cramps vanished. But in response to your diabetes concern, I want to mention a few things. One, I had never seriously considered this possibility until now. Two, I have been gluttonous toward sugar foods for a long time. These days I only eat it when my calories aren't high enough, because the plant-based food I normally eat doesn't provide much calories before I am full. But, lately I am beginning to doubt that a human actually needs 1500-2000 calories a day if those calories are high quality plant foods and proteins.

Coincidentally, my friend today offered me a homemade kombucha-type drink called jun or jung. It was absolutely delicious and fulfilling, which I've found to be a sign that a certain food is helpful for the specific bio-individuality of a person. I believe kombucha and Jung use yeast?

Jhanon

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #17 on: January 01, 2015, 12:18:32 AM »
I should also mention an interesting phenomena I've never recorded but have noticed. I thank you again, Jhananda, for your impeccable intuitive insight allowing you to say the most helpful things so often.

All my life, until recently, I had an issue with profuse sweating. I used to think it was fight-or-flight response from the trauma of my childhood. And in the case of hand and feet sweating, this seems accurate. Gratefully, the N8P has resolved this, and I only experience fight-or-flight when meditation becomes unexpectedly deep and profound. I think meditation may have significantly helped gently re-train my fear response. What I mean is that the fight-or-flight response occurs less and less easily. Thank God for meditation.

Now the full body sweating took longer to understand. Embarrassingly so. It turned out that sugar and meat, even in the smallest amounts, induced long-lasting and profuse full body sweating. I am unsure what this suggests of my biology. But I know it is noteworthy.

Any insights?

Jhanananda

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #18 on: January 01, 2015, 01:54:27 AM »
Good to know that deep meditation has worked toward reducing your fight-or-flight response.  I would expect so, as it did for me.

As for sweating, I am not sure.  Avoiding meat and sugar, seems like a good idea.  I find all I need is eggs and dairy to augment an otherwise vegetable diet, so I am returning to it.  Perhaps that will work for you as well.
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Jhanon

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #19 on: January 01, 2015, 02:56:38 AM »
I will experiment with it. I'm more turned on to the yeast idea, especially if jung and kombucha have enough of it.

Jhanananda

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #20 on: January 01, 2015, 12:38:23 PM »
I will experiment with it. I'm more turned on to the yeast idea, especially if jung and kombucha have enough of it.
The key in nutritional yeast used for recovery from type 2 diabetes is nutritional yeast is grown in stainless steel vats, which have chromium in the stainless steel, and the yest is efficient at extracting the chromium and metabolizing it.  So, if the jung and kombucha were cultured in stainless steel containers, then you might be getting chromium from consuming them.

On the other hand all eggs are a super-food for chromium; and one egg has as much chromium as 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.
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Cal

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #21 on: January 01, 2015, 08:38:13 PM »
I'm realizing that there really isn't much of a choice when it comes to the title of this thread. From the beginning of this lifetime I've found it rather unsatisfactory. And it honestly seems there is a point in mystic evolution where we no longer "fit" into ordinary human society as a result of the contemplative path. I think this may be reflected in what society calls mental "disabilities", like ADHD and dyslexia. Perhaps these are in part a result of contemplative practice in the past. Because almost every ADHD and dyslexia individual I've met has been a contemplative. I'm stilling working out the details as I get deeper into samadhi, so I am not convinced yet.

I have often thought that if those who become mystics only knew the trouble it would make in their lives, then they would not take up the path, but each of us also find so much consolation in the religious experience that we all we line up for crucifixion if necessary.



I for one, would welcome it. It would be an end to this "wait". There is no meaning to anything, but the religious. Even that has dire consequences, at least here on the material planes. I bide my time, do what makes it pass the quickest. This is what I've found.

Things for me lately have gotten so loud. This loud ringing never stops.

I have given up on my pursuits of Samadhi and welcome Jhana. I cannot function in this world with equanimity, and without it the dreams are too much, so I gave it up.

I hope everyone had Happy Holidays.

Jhanon

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #22 on: January 02, 2015, 12:37:57 AM »
Cal, it is so heart-warming to see you posting. And I just want to say, that I think it's a good idea to take time away from the sangha from time to time. It helps us forge our own path to enlightenment. Not all of us will experience the same life just because we are mystics. And I think on here we often feel condemned.

But look at the Buddha. Yeah, he had a rough go of it. But he mostly enjoyed the peace of the wilderness. Or Rumi, who maintained a marriage and if I remember accurately, he was supported financially by government as a scholar.

Jhanananda

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Re: Unpleasant Dreams and Sudden Hesitancy to Continue Rigorous Meditation
« Reply #23 on: January 02, 2015, 01:43:48 AM »

I have often thought that if those who become mystics only knew the trouble it would make in their lives, then they would not take up the path, but each of us also find so much consolation in the religious experience that we all we line up for crucifixion if necessary.

Well, I agree with this.

I have given up on my pursuits of Samadhi and welcome Jhana. I cannot function in this world with equanimity, and without it the dreams are too much, so I gave it up.

I hope everyone had Happy Holidays.
Well, jhana is the Buddha's definition of samadhi.  And, samadhi was he Buddha's term for the 8th fold of his Noble Eightfold Path.
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