When I have a fear or a worry or a recurring negative state that my intellect cannot process to my satisfaction, I "reach out" with my intent. I use my intent to push the negative state out of my mind, away from my intellect and being. I focus the intensity of my intent and let the state go with the full expectation that when it reenters my mind it will be solved or easier to solve. This method works like magic. I can't believe I've lived a good portion of my life without this understanding. Ultimately, living in fear and ego instead of love and harmony is a choice. It's all about your intent.

Any thoughts?

From my own personal perspective, I also can do this push, though I have always viewed it as if Im still missing some understanding or some change(maybe something as simple as just re-wire the physiological firings), since if I was in a state of pure calmness, I would only observe these states in others, without letting them come to me at all. On the other hand I do see your point also that its a choice. We choose a path, and what that path may hold of experience, will also affect what emotions in us will be enhanced or reduced, and how clear we can see past the masks we and others wear.

I guess I've been doing a bit of the opposite lately. I just try to be very aware of the emotional state I'm in and just accept it as it is while moving on to hopefully "better" thoughts which can lead to better states. i.e. I don't resist the way I'm feeling with a push - I accept it and use a pull of better thoughts which leads to better feelings.

That's the idea anyway - implementing it all the time is tough because you have to be very present in the moment. It's still 'reaching out' like you said, but I think in a different way.

It's sort of like meditation. You don't meditate by pushing out the thoughts you are currently experiencing, you just accept whatever you are currently experiencing and focus on something else.

_________________
Mike

I can relate to the above. As I'm sure you understand, growth is not a singular path. The way that you mention might help one develop more equanimity. What I'm talking about is more along the lines of getting rid of or conquering your worries or fears.

Interesting, I don't think I have tried the method you speak of. For worries and fears I usually just try to face them head on. In a sense I push the fear away while dealing with the situation, and then it is generally easier the next time. I am not sure if that is similar to what you're saying.

_________________
Mike

The "method" I am description is simply using your intent. No intellectualizing. You just use your intent and forget about it or you take a more active approach and very consciously use your intent as a guide. You'll either get an insight that helps you overcome the fear on an intellectual level and/or the fear will simply be reduced. Your intent is like the perfect guide, your intellect is really secondary in this.

If I did understand you right, and the way I approach what I think your talking about, is sorta either letting the emotion get the better of you, or "push" and let go. The way I view it, its still a head on approach (at least for me), but in the end you either choose to let it overwhelm you, or you interpetate, accept, change and push the state away and move along your choosen path. If that made any sense. At least what you wrote resonated with me in this way, and in the "wholeness" of the push, its still some sort of clarity, and its not the same as denying the impulses/emotions that may come. Think acceptance needs to be a part of it, but you still need your intent to push at it. For me again, this is linked very much to how we often are programmed, and therefore its a neccesisty. You know, Pavlov and his dogs, conditioning and such.

Advaita - can you give an example of a fears or set of fears you released using this method?

Also curious to know, did you release these fears just during the meditation/intent session and felt free after that, and they didn't show back up in your life?

I'm questioning because I've had experiences too where I intended the fear to go away while I was in my home and felt free of it, but then testing it in the "real world" it shows back up.

From my own experience, tackling deep-seated, long-held fears is a gradual process. A one-off "treatment" is unlikely to be effective. I am finding that these fears can (and should, I think) be dealt with as they arise. If you are able to reach a meditative state whilst in an everyday, waking situation (which comes with practise, and involves parallel-processing), then when the fear arises, address it with your intent with that part of your awareness outside PMR. "Addressing" it involves more than just wishing it away. Be aware of its true illusory (ego-based) nature within your awareness of the bigger picture. When you practise this as and when the fear arises (as well as away from it, if you wish, in a normal meditative state), and keep at it, then each time the fear will have less hold over you, and will diminish to a very great degree with time. Persistence is important, any time you allow the fear to manifest unchallenged in this way, it regains strength. This has certainly been my own experience with some very old personal fears, and I have been very pleased with results.

It is also the case that the more an awareness of the bigger picture (as in MBT) is inwardly grasped, the weaker become a whole range of personal fears, almost automatically.

Arthur

_________________
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

That is a personal question. A lot of fear is simply irrational and therefore hard to describe. The mind full of fear is messy. It's not always easy to pinpoint a specific fear or worry. I can say my overall well being has improved beyond my expectations.

If you're asking specifically about social anxiety, I deal with that to some extent but I not confronted with it often enough to say I really have a problem to overcome. I have never had any problem with a fear coming up again in the "real world". I think everyone is different. I understand myself well enough so that that isn't a problem.

My experience and understanding is that fear and ego cannot be pushed or sent away with intent alone. Having an intent to grow is a good thing no doubt. However, fear and ego do not vanish in an instant because we choose for them to go away (not that I know of anyway). Consider a 7 year old standing up in a room and saying, "from now on, I choose to be and adult!". He may do very well at carrying out his actions like an adult. People might even take note of his high level of maturity. At the core though he is still a 7 year old. At some point he will realize that all of the experiences that occur before adulthood are the key ingredient to becoming an adult.

Maybe a bad analogy, but the point is that direct experience is key. So the point of the "game" is not necessarily to just be evolved, but to experience the process of evolution - of growth toward love. We are already as "advanced" as AUM - we are AUM. We are here (as a piece of AUM) for the novel experience of trying to grow up within a unique set of limitations and rules. That is the point and the way in which AUM (we, all-that-is...) continues to evolve.

Having said that, we can get tastes what it is to be AUM - free of our current limitations, fears, and ego. It would be unique and perhaps beneficial to experience the process of being able to push away fear. So I would say that it is certainly possible, but unique.

As Tom has said, "There is no free lunch".

Just my thoughts.

_________________
-"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find... you get what you need"

To add...

I like to think of fear and ego as a tool of consciousness to help itself evolve more efficiently. We shouldn't be trying to get rid of having fear and ego, or push them aside, but rather learn to conquer them...with love, and understanding.

_________________
I eat ego's for breakfast!
Sincerely, Ego.

You are misunderstanding me I think. When I wrote "push fear away" I didn't mean it literally. I was describing a technique. Think are of your intent like a prayer. "Please god, lessen this fear for me or show me a way out". "God" answers the prayer through your intent. This feels like you are pushing the fear away but when it reappears it is lessened. The more will power you bring to dissolving excessive ego the easier it is, in my experience. Wallowing in ego is ultimately a choice then.



I think the above is incorrect. Fear and ego (meaning their over-extensions) are merely the baggage of evolution. Nothing more. Our experience as conscious interactive beings is (essentially) virtual but AUM itself is not virtual. AUM is real and its evolution is non-arbitrary and we are apart of its evolution. I think your mistake is in thinking our simulated experience is totally "programmed" in an arbitrary way, therefore fear ego must have some greater purpose in the simulation. It is just baggage. That is my understanding anyway.

I think I see better what you are saying now Advaita. You are approaching it in a similar way as healing perhaps. For example, I might visualize the black spot on the person's body turning white (healthy). Once is not enough though. I must do this multiple times and with good focus for it to make some difference. Even then, it might not resolve the issue, but it will likely help. Maybe along the lines of visualization even. I can visualize myself winning the tournament over and over enough times and with enough focus that... next thing I know, I am actually winning the tournament. Or similar to prayer as you have suggested. Is that more along the lines of what you are saying?

_________________
-"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find... you get what you need"

Yes, you understand. It's like healing except without visualizing. I think visualizing is just a crutch. You just concentrate on the idea of healing yourself in this case.