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Meditation is a bit scary...

vixthenomadvixthenomad
edited August 2011 in Meditation
I think I picked up the knack of meditation fairly quickly; I am able to bring my mind to the breath and just be, in the present moment, and feel that pure, unassuming awareness. The problem I have is that it's scary to be in this state. It's as if I'm so used to having a mind full of static that internal silence unnerves me. It feels good for a minute or so and then I start to feel adrift and vulnerable.

Has anyone else ever experienced this and if you managed to overcome it, how?

Comments

  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited August 2011
    continue meditating

    turn the mind to have accepting awareness of the fear & unnerving quality (until the unnerving quality loses its energy due to its transience)

    this is not easy to do but is the heroic way to overcome it

    otherwise, join a meditation group & meditate with others, so you can settle into meditation in a more gradual & supportive manner

    best wishes
  • ittybittybatittybittybat
    Yeah, keep meditating. It all gets better with practice. At first it might be scary, but after a while you will get used to the feeling. :)
  • AMHAMH
    I think that if is is scary and not all unicorns and butterflies that you are doing it right. The popular notion that you will be peacefull and happy and content with anything that happens all the time during life or meditation is actually not such a good thing. Nothing really changes except that we change our perception, and that is kinda scary
  • santhisouksanthisouk Veteran
    It's just your "self" testing you since you put yourself to the test. Meditation is sorta like a test sometimes. This is when you let your mind be the boss instead of trying to boss your mind. When you find the balance, your mind will not question itself so often. :)
  • hermitwinhermitwin Veteran
    dont kid yourself.
    meditation is not that easy.
    how long can you maintain awareness of your breath without
    thoughts coming to your mind?
    the whole purpose of meditation is to train ourself
    to accept the present moment.
    to be ok with it, no matter what.
    you are either deluding yourself or you have very good
    meditation karma.
    all the best.
    I think I picked up the knack of meditation fairly quickly; I am able to bring my mind to the breath and just be, in the present moment, and feel that pure, unassuming awareness. The problem I have is that it's scary to be in this state. It's as if I'm so used to having a mind full of static that internal silence unnerves me. It feels good for a minute or so and then I start to feel adrift and vulnerable.

    Has anyone else ever experienced this and if you managed to overcome it, how?
  • vixthenomadvixthenomad
    dont kid yourself.
    meditation is not that easy.
    how long can you maintain awareness of your breath without
    thoughts coming to your mind?
    the whole purpose of meditation is to train ourself
    to accept the present moment.
    to be ok with it, no matter what.
    you are either deluding yourself or you have very good
    meditation karma.
    all the best.
    I can keep it (the lack of thought) going for about 5 minutes at present, I think. But the passage of time doesn't seem that important whilst meditating, really.

    As for deluding myself - yes, I've been doing it all my life and I'm tired of it. That's precisely why I am following this path - to get to the reality behind the delusion that is life on this earth.

    I am not claiming to have it all figured out - that's why I posted about the fear aspect in the first place. Just that I am able to reach the thought-free place, and that it wasn't as much of a struggle as I thought it was going to be. That's all.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited August 2011
    ...I am able to reach the thought-free place...
    this is good fortune. well done :)

    if we have sincerity towards our life & about the dhamma, with a genuine aspiration to learn & be free from suffering, we will progress

    be unconcerned with those who project their own practise upon others


  • not1not2not1not2 Veteran
    May I ask what type of meditation you are practicing? Concentration (Samatha) meditation, such as breath counting, is different than Insight (Vipassana) meditation and even different than Shikantaza (just sitting in Zen).
  • kayward2011kayward2011
    is there a way to turn it off, my mind never stops. I could be reading the most amazing book and my mind wanders its terrible. I am dsypraxic and my short term memory is weak, i dunno if this impacts, as l am constantly renewing things in my mind to keep them there and now l want to be able to turn them off!! insomina due to the inability to switch off my mind is driving me mad. I think this is the root of my fear of meditation and my stalling in making tracks up that road! x
  • SpacelessSpaceless
    ...I am able to reach the thought-free place...
    this is good fortune. well done :)

    if we have sincerity towards our life & about the dhamma, with a genuine aspiration to learn & be free from suffering, we will progress

    be unconcerned with those who project their own practise upon others
    Precisely - well done vixthenomad :thumbsup:
    Your fear is due to the clinging of the deluded aggregates. Take it as ordinary on that thought-free place. If you do worry, go for a group meditation or monastery where there is venerables etc there to help you while you are in thought-free for long period.
  • vixthenomadvixthenomad
    edited August 2011
    @kayward2011 - are you receiving help for the dyspraxia?

    Oh, and thanks, all, for the insights. Meditation last night was less scary.
  • vixthenomadvixthenomad
    May I ask what type of meditation you are practicing? Concentration (Samatha) meditation, such as breath counting, is different than Insight (Vipassana) meditation and even different than Shikantaza (just sitting in Zen).
    Just focusing on the breath as it is taking place - I don't know what the proper name for that is, but I spoke to a Buddhist teacher at my local centre and that is how she advised to do it.
  • kayward2011kayward2011
    @vixthenomad i am in the form of study support for university not much else can be done!
  • vixthenomadvixthenomad
    @kayward2011 - as an ADHD person you have my full sympathy!
  • kayward2011kayward2011
    @vixthenomad I was quite relieved when i found out, at 37 i have struggled with the basic things like driving (i dont drive i failed in a manual...typically brit here, so have to do it in an automatic) and l always thought of myself as stupid, it was only when a lecturer at uni pointed out that my written work doesnt match how i vocalise. Then 2 months later i have a conditon, in particular my short term and working memory!! it explains sooo much about my life and it that way its been good to know and find ways to adapt. I went through 3 years of a degree in psychology, i managed a lower second class and l am about to start another degree in nursing, it was i have always wanted to do but it means more now as its a second chance to get my degree with lots of support both in person with a study buddy and technology to aid my learning!! onward and upward!

    2011 has been an amazing year upto now, l am getting to know me and ditching the facade i had become!
  • vixthenomadvixthenomad
    @kayward 2011 - I've PMed you. :)

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