Please tell me what is going on...

Bluetop · April 1st, 2013, 02:24

Hello all,

I recently discovered the forum and have been using Lifeflow for around 2 months now. I did 45 days on Lifeflow 10 and I'm now on Lifeflow 9. The main thing that I've noticed is having bad dreams most nights generally involving people from the past which I didn't have the most pleasant of times with. I'm currently on 20mg citalopram for anxiety and depression but these dreams only really started happening when I started Lifeflow. Most of the time, they are very vivid or if not, I wake up knowing I had a bad dream in the night. Can anyone enlighten me as to why this is happening?

I just continue with it anyway with my only criteria being to do my 40 mins a day like a routine task such as having a shower.

Thanks

pollyanna · April 1st, 2013, 12:36

Originally Posted by Bluetop

Hello all,

I recently discovered the forum and have been using Lifeflow for around 2 months now. I did 45 days on Lifeflow 10 and I'm now on Lifeflow 9. The main thing that I've noticed is having bad dreams most nights generally involving people from the past which I didn't have the most pleasant of times with. I'm currently on 20mg citalopram for anxiety and depression but these dreams only really started happening when I started Lifeflow. Most of the time, they are very vivid or if not, I wake up knowing I had a bad dream in the night. Can anyone enlighten me as to why this is happening?

I just continue with it anyway with my only criteria being to do my 40 mins a day like a routine task such as having a shower.

Thanks

Hi Bluetop and welcome to the community

Dreams can sometimes be attributed to deep supressed emotions and meditation brings these emotions to the surface, giving you the opportunity to release them.

I am not prone to having bad dreams, however, throughout my life I have had a few bad dreams where I have woken up in a state of fear or upset and before learning to meditate, I just accepted this as normal.

After meditating for some time I had a bad dream and woke up with a dreadful feeling as though I was paralysed with fear. It was about 4:30 in the morning and as I was about to shake it off and appreciate that it was only a dream, I realized this was an opportunity to observe and release.

I closed my eyes again, welcomed the sensation in my body and just observed it with curiosity. After what seemed like about 20 minutes for the sensation to move slowly down my spine and disappear. When the sensation had gone I knew something big had been released.

That night I learned that I could observe anything I experienced - it's just a great release process. I had a few more dreams after that (all different and all dealing with different emotions) and I just welcomed and observed, knowing I was letting go of things that have restricted me in the past. For me, observing the sensations from the first dream were the worst, probably because our minds struggle to hold onto and suppress these emotions.

Now, I believe, through learning how to observe and release emotions that had imprisoned me, my mind became freed up, allowing me to be more happy and peaceful, more creative, focused and able to find solutions easily.

Here's something you maybe could try in your daily life which will help prepare you to observe. The next time you are about to react with a negative emotion like fear, frustration, anger or hurt to something or someone, just stop and notice the physical sensation which always accompanies this - it may be a tightness in your shoulders, a knot in your stomach or a lump in your throat - Focus on the physical sensation, not the thoughts. Just accept the physical sensation, unemotionally and as you observe it, with simple curiosity, you should find it will simply dissolve. This may take a few minutes or a little while longer.

Once you realise how you can do this you will find it to be a very freeing experience.

I hope this is of help and wish you an abundance of peace and joy

P.S. You could also try meditating with LifeFlow for a shorter period for awhile. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes a day may be enough for you for now

Bluetop · April 2nd, 2013, 16:11

Originally Posted by pollyanna

Hi Bluetop and welcome to the community

Dreams can sometimes be attributed to deep supressed emotions and meditation brings these emotions to the surface, giving you the opportunity to release them.

I am not prone to having bad dreams, however, throughout my life I have had a few bad dreams where I have woken up in a state of fear or upset and before learning to meditate, I just accepted this as normal.

After meditating for some time I had a bad dream and woke up with a dreadful feeling as though I was paralysed with fear. It was about 4:30 in the morning and as I was about to shake it off and appreciate that it was only a dream, I realized this was an opportunity to observe and release.

I closed my eyes again, welcomed the sensation in my body and just observed it with curiosity. After what seemed like about 20 minutes for the sensation to move slowly down my spine and disappear. When the sensation had gone I knew something big had been released.

That night I learned that I could observe anything I experienced - it's just a great release process. I had a few more dreams after that (all different and all dealing with different emotions) and I just welcomed and observed, knowing I was letting go of things that have restricted me in the past. For me, observing the sensations from the first dream were the worst, probably because our minds struggle to hold onto and suppress these emotions.

Now, I believe, through learning how to observe and release emotions that had imprisoned me, my mind became freed up, allowing me to be more happy and peaceful, more creative, focused and able to find solutions easily.

Here's something you maybe could try in your daily life which will help prepare you to observe. The next time you are about to react with a negative emotion like fear, frustration, anger or hurt to something or someone, just stop and notice the physical sensation which always accompanies this - it may be a tightness in your shoulders, a knot in your stomach or a lump in your throat - Focus on the physical sensation, not the thoughts. Just accept the physical sensation, unemotionally and as you observe it, with simple curiosity, you should find it will simply dissolve. This may take a few minutes or a little while longer.

Once you realise how you can do this you will find it to be a very freeing experience.

I hope this is of help and wish you an abundance of peace and joy

P.S. You could also try meditating with LifeFlow for a shorter period for awhile. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes a day may be enough for you for now

Hi Pollyanna,

Many thanks for your reply. With regards to the dreams, it doesn't necessarily wake me up in the night, but the next morning I'm able to remember it very vividly and realise that it wasn't so pleasant. Although one night, I did wake up in the middle of the night after a nasty one and I suddenly felt a huge sense of relaxation, like a huge release.

In terms of observing, I remember doing a little bit of this which you mention when I was looking into the Sedona Method although I settled into Level 10 quite easily with only bad dreams.

What would be the benefits of just doing say 10 or 20 mins compared to 40 mins? The dreams are something I can cope with and I don't have to much overwhelm during the day. Just feel low now and again.

pollyanna · April 3rd, 2013, 15:22

Hi Bluetop,

if you are happy with 40 minutes then continue the same. I personally love my 40 minutes. On the other hand, some prefer to begin with shorter times and gradually increase their meditation time. The benefits of meditation are cumulative and it's far more important to be consistant on a daily basis than it is to do longer times a couple of times a week.

When you occasionally feel down, notice what feeling/sensation accompanies this and accept it, then curiously observe the sensation and see if it dwindles away.

What type of meditation technique are you using and are you noticing any benefits in your daily life e.g. feeling calmer?

Look forward to hearing your reply and wish you much peace and joy

Bluetop · April 6th, 2013, 02:59

Originally Posted by pollyanna

Hi Bluetop,

if you are happy with 40 minutes then continue the same. I personally love my 40 minutes. On the other hand, some prefer to begin with shorter times and gradually increase their meditation time. The benefits of meditation are cumulative and it's far more important to be consistant on a daily basis than it is to do longer times a couple of times a week.

When you occasionally feel down, notice what feeling/sensation accompanies this and accept it, then curiously observe the sensation and see if it dwindles away.

What type of meditation technique are you using and are you noticing any benefits in your daily life e.g. feeling calmer?

Look forward to hearing your reply and wish you much peace and joy

Initially when I started on Lifeflow 10 I was just listening to it just for relaxation. A few weeks in I decided to just focus on my breath through my nose for the 40 min duration. Sometimes I seem to be just thinking most of the time and have to bring myself back the breathing, whilst other times, it's a bit easier.

In terms of daily benefits, I felt more towards doing the end of Lifeflow 10 feeling more happier and calmer. Moving to this next level, I've felt a little bit heavy and low at times like I mentioned. Sometimes the feelings can be quite strong and too overwhelming to welcome it. If it is to overwhelming, I just seem to go for a lie down and fall asleep. It's funny because if I do Lifeflow in the day time, I just seem to fall asleep, but if I do not just before bedtime, I'm fine. Perhaps it will take me a bit longer to get used to this level :-)