Is it common...?

[Piper]

to experience some emotional upheaval after beginning to listen to lifeflow 10? I've been listening to lifeflow 10 for five days, and i seem to be experiencing some heightened anxiety (I have social anxiety anyway, but it seemed to be progressing) amongst some other negative emotions. I've also been having some very negative dreams, or at least the dreams aren't immediately negative, but the feeling i get from them is very angsty.

Before starting the lifeflow cd's, I'd been meditating without the assistance of any tapes or anything like that and i found myself feeling blissful after those, and able to deal with stresses a lot better.

So, is it common to experience some discord during the first few sessions of lifeflow10?

Thank you for any responses.

Take care
xxxxx

[maya32608]

Hey Piper,

I'm kinda new at this too but I've been reading a lot about brainwave entrainment in general and from what I've heard, the answer is a definite YES, it is common to experience periods of "overwhelm." The general wisdom is to try your best to let it be okay, and just witness with detached curiosity, like "hmmm... that's interesting... there I am feeling anxious."

The theory that I've heard is that brainwave entrainment pushes the mind and clears out inner gunk and sometimes that's unpleasant. The people who have been doing this for a long time often say that they actually bear these periods of overwhelm with a bit of excited anticipation because even though it's uncomfortable, they know that once it passes, they will be operating at a newer, higher level, more capable of processing stressors more easily, without losing their serenity.

From my limited experience, I can say that these comments ring true. I went through a very short period of overwhelm and it passed. I continue to improve steadily with brainwave entrainment meditation.

In the past when I feel overwhelmed I would go into deadend coping strategies, over eating, alcohol, etc. Not so much anymore.

The more you can just witness yourself through the experience, and don't deny or fight it, the better your results will be, just witness it like you're watching somebody else. And try to think about it in a positive way... you are quickly processing out the unhelpful feelings of anxiety and you will feel much better more of the time once this phase is over. Really, this is a great OPPORUNITY. If you can just watch with awareness, you will advance. If you go into unconscious coping behaviors, you may not make much progress, so it's an opportunity, a choice to stay stuck or jump ahead.

Hope this helps.

peace

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by Piper

So, is it common to experience some discord during the first few sessions of lifeflow10?

Hi Piper,

In short, yes, it's normal to experience all sorts of things when meditating and using Lifeflow, not just on LF10, but possibly at all levels (it will differ from level to level, from person to person, and from meditation session to meditation session).

As we practice mediation/lifeflow, the mind becomes still and the thoughts and distractions we have that normally cover up our issues/emotions etc. are released and those issues and emotions come into our awareness more easily. Rather than consider this to be an issue in itself, we should take it as a positive opportunity to start to recognise what our issues are and take steps to deal with them. Often, dealing with them can be simply (I say simply, but how simple will depend on the person) a case of choosing to let go of the issue. Everyone is different and dealing with issues will be a personal journey, but one that you can be supported with by people who've also experienced going through this type of thing.

Stick with it and keep us posted how you're getting on. If you have a read around the forums, you'll find other members who've gone through many things and you may find some useful advice on their threads.

Hugs

Giles

[Edwin]

I agree with everything said above.

I would like to add, if the upheaval becomes too violent for you, or more than you can handle, keep meditating, but bring back the time you meditate.

For instance, instead of 20 minute sessions, go back to 10 minute sessions until the pressure deminishes.

You can slowly build up the meditation time when you feel you are up to it again.

[Itlandm]

I should point out that LifeFlow is generally less likely to cause upheaval than programs that start with delta waves from day one. The first couple levels of LifeFlow induce brainwave states that should be familiar from deep relaxation and on the path to falling asleep each night. Most people find these states pleasant or even pleasurable, although they don't usually last this long. Of course, some of us harbor a deep-seated suspicion that anything that feels really good must be illegal, immoral or at least fattening...

Anyway, if you get stuck in this and it is just too creepy, you can always do shorter sessions or even take a break from LifeFlow and just do ordinary meditation for a while. New neurons typically take a couple weeks to grow out, so if worst comes to worst you can always come back then and see if your brain hasn't adjusted to the new experience. It is not a race to get to level 1 after all.

[Piper]

Omg! I'm overwhelmed (in a good way ;D) with all of the responses i've gotten. Thank you guys for taking the time to answer me

There was one night after a session when i started to have a lot of negative thoughts and it didn't matter how hard i tried to think of something else, i'd always see the negative side of it. It was almost as though i couldn't control my thoughts. This hasn't occured again though, thankfully.

I'm glad to hear that i can take all of this emotional discord positively.
I listened to lifeflow10 again last night and felt a stitch better afterwards (It's my 6th session), although i still had the disturbing dreams to contend with. But knowing that i can work with these subconscious feelings to better myself does make having them a lot more bearable. It's also nice to know that the lifeflow is working. I've had experiences with other brainwave entertainment and never experienced such blatant effects.

I will definately look into shortening the sessions if it becomes a little too much for me, and just taking a detatched approach to some of the feelings that arise.

I've been in therapy and i am aware of what some of my issues are. It's the learning how to cope with them, and purging myself of them that seems to be the challenge. Hopefully, the meditation can assist me with this.

Once again, thanks for your advice.

Take care
xxxxxxxxxxx

[maya32608]

You're quite welcome, it feels good to help.

For me, intellectually knowing about my"issues" was not all that helpful in making positive change. Maybe a little, but not much. What was helpful for me was deep meditation (which comes much quicker with BWE technology). It helps you increase your awareness and greater awareness through witnessing that character you think you are, that set of behaviors, thoughts, etc, allows the unuseful stuff to fade away and fills you instead with love, compassion, and joy. Don't ask me why, I don't know why. Sitting in the seat of the witness and watching yourself with real awareness is the MAGIC that results in REAL POSITIVE CHANGE. You really don't even have to understand intellectually what's going on, you'll begin to act intuitively in your best interest. The parts of your mind that interfere with your innate happiness, compassion, love, will be cleared away in the light of consciousness. Wow! What a concept! I've experienced this personally to some degree, and it blows my mind, literally!

[pollyanna]

Hi there Piper, it's so heartwarming to read through the helpful replies you have received. As each person improves their lives through meditation and entrainment and then becomes able to offer help and assistance to newcomers makes the community such a resourceful and wonderful place to visit.

As you mention particular dreams I would like to add a little extra because I have let go of some very deeply suppressed emotions through three particular dreams I had where I awoke with an overwhelming feeling of fear and dread.

I have experienced these feelings occasionally when I have woken from a dream in the past, before LF and meditation, although I didn't understand that I could do anything about it then and so I probably just cuddled up to my husband and thanked God it was only a dream.

THEN I LEARNED HOW TO OBSERVE AND LET GO - WHAT A BLESSING

Because I had practised accepting and observing the sensations and feelings within my body through day to day life, when I felt hurt or angry, I learned to deal with situations more and more consciously.

So when I woke up with the first bad dream, I realized this was an opportunity to observe the feelings and sensations that were taking place in my body. I felt literally paralysed with fear and it really took great courage to just curiously watch and accept these feelings.

I remember clearly thinking - what if this feeling that seems to be moving down my spine paralyses me. It took about ten minutes for it to go I think but it seemed a long time.

When it had gone I knew that I had released some deep suppressed emotions that dealt with abandonment and betrayal. It was so important to me that I got up (it was 5 a.m.) and wrote about the dream filling 3 pages of A4 paper.

When the other two dreams occurred I knew to do the same with them.

Here's a link to another post I made a long time ago regarding the dreams:-

Letting go

I hope this is of help and wish you much peace, joy and letting go

[Piper]

Thanks so much Maya and Polly You guys are legends.

If i'm being honest with myself, i'm actually starting to enjoy these dreams, no matter how emotionally turbulent they are. There were some nights where i'd have a black night (dreamless sleep), but since starting LF, i seem to dream every night. (although they say that we do dream every night, but just don't remember)

I'm now finding myself looking forward to whatever comes my way whilst dreaming and then waking up to decipher the dream's content. I've gotten so many ideas for stories as well, which is great since i love to write.

Pollyanna, thanks for sharing your experiences. I'm a lot better at coping with stresses now, angsty feelings. The only feeling that is really caustic for me is boredom. I just can't deal with it. It makes me feel trapped etc, so i'm hoping to get this cleared up too. I'll definately be checking out the 'letting go' link.

Thanks.

Take care
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[olmate]

Great question and fantastic answers. It explains pretty much what I am feeling at present too. Thanks again.