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freak out
I have been practicing meditation for about a week now, and every time I do it is a new and uplifting experience, completely different to the last. I feel like I'm scraping another layer of dust from my long abandoned mind and discovering new depths.
Last night I attended my first meditation class at my local Buddhism centre and couldn't wait to meditate with others under the guidance of someone experienced.
We talked about Metta and began our meditation by wishing ourselves well, wishing ourselves happiness and wishing an end to our own suffering. It went on, but after I started trying to 'love myself' I burst into tears, came out in a cold sweat, and had what I can only describe as a small break down. I kept it quiet and I don't think anybody but the teacher noticed.
After that I couldn't get back into it, and every time I tried I just started crying again. It was horrible! But afterwards I felt like I had unearthed something, and when I meditated first thing this morning my mind felt much clearer than it has before.
Has anybody else experienced or know of somebody who has experienced such a sudden emotional reaction when meditating?
Last night I attended my first meditation class at my local Buddhism centre and couldn't wait to meditate with others under the guidance of someone experienced.
We talked about Metta and began our meditation by wishing ourselves well, wishing ourselves happiness and wishing an end to our own suffering. It went on, but after I started trying to 'love myself' I burst into tears, came out in a cold sweat, and had what I can only describe as a small break down. I kept it quiet and I don't think anybody but the teacher noticed.
After that I couldn't get back into it, and every time I tried I just started crying again. It was horrible! But afterwards I felt like I had unearthed something, and when I meditated first thing this morning my mind felt much clearer than it has before.
Has anybody else experienced or know of somebody who has experienced such a sudden emotional reaction when meditating?
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Comments
Namaste
Namaste
Cheers, Thomas
Well done!
Many people cry in retreats, even sometime for reasons you just cannot think of... you just feel like crying, letting it all out, and it is good.
we didn't even know there was anything like this to let out, but once you begin to meditate, you scratch the protective shell that you have been building to cover and hide whats inside, and you begin to see whats truly inside of you.
don't worry too much about it. Things that were building up inside are being released. this is good.
If I may offer a piece of advice - I experienced similar things at the beginning of my practice (about 6 months ago). The bliss and the bubbling up of emotions. One thing that I wasn't prepared for though was, what I call, the end of the honeymoon phase. I had come to expect the great feelings from meditation, and when they started to subside and I began to feel restless, bored and agitated when I meditated, it was startling and discouraging. But I realized that I had fallen into a bit of a trap and became too attached to the good feelings.
If this doesn't happen to you, that's wonderful. If it does, stick with it, accept it, and keep going.
best -
twaitsfan
Yes and yes
Yes, I have. I've nearly cried a couple of times in class, and once practicing at home I did burst into tears.
I'm not usually a particularly expressive person, however, so partly I think it's the mental relaxation allowing stuff I've held onto out. I've certainly read that it can sometimes happen during meditation, so I wasn't too freaked out by it.