How are you meditating?
INFJs and Meditation -- A Negative Aspect?
Hello Fellow INFJs,
So, being in the high stress job world, working extremely long hours, and not sleeping much, I've turned to meditation to help gain energy, make myself more present minded, and to get rid of some of this anxiety.
I find myself more relaxed and able to breathe in stressful situations.
HOWEVER, I find some negative aspects as well, and I find that maybe it has to do with my INFJness:
My senses are MUCH stronger. I see things in slow motion (great for sports), notice more details, and am more sensitive to others feelings.
BUT my intuition is in hyper-drive. At work, I'm beginning to figure out who's sleeping with whom, who dislikes whom, who plans on leaving, and what people think about me. I'm also growing INCREDIBLY sensitive to body language. I am becoming so incredibly self-aware to the point that I know how I will feel about a situation before it even happens, and try to direct those feelings in a way that I desire. All of this actually leads to a more "distant" analysis and an understanding of the world that makes me feel "ignorance of being so ignorant of the world is bliss" (i.e. I already felt intuitive before and 'in the know,' but I see EVEN MORE now and my intuition feels like it's in hyperdrive).
I don't know if I like it.
Does anyone understand what the hell I'm talking about, and does anyone sympathize with this?
So, being in the high stress job world, working extremely long hours, and not sleeping much, I've turned to meditation to help gain energy, make myself more present minded, and to get rid of some of this anxiety.
I find myself more relaxed and able to breathe in stressful situations.
HOWEVER, I find some negative aspects as well, and I find that maybe it has to do with my INFJness:
My senses are MUCH stronger. I see things in slow motion (great for sports), notice more details, and am more sensitive to others feelings.
BUT my intuition is in hyper-drive. At work, I'm beginning to figure out who's sleeping with whom, who dislikes whom, who plans on leaving, and what people think about me. I'm also growing INCREDIBLY sensitive to body language. I am becoming so incredibly self-aware to the point that I know how I will feel about a situation before it even happens, and try to direct those feelings in a way that I desire. All of this actually leads to a more "distant" analysis and an understanding of the world that makes me feel "ignorance of being so ignorant of the world is bliss" (i.e. I already felt intuitive before and 'in the know,' but I see EVEN MORE now and my intuition feels like it's in hyperdrive).
I don't know if I like it.
Does anyone understand what the hell I'm talking about, and does anyone sympathize with this?
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
This is fairly normal sounding to me. When you meditate, you are getting towards peace for yourself. Once the problems within are addressed, it makes sense that you would be (EVEN) more susceptible to other people and how they are feeling.
I take off all external sounds (ex: AC, my computer, my phone). I light some incense, and I sit on the floor on a pillow. I sit up straight with my legs crossed and eyes closed, slow down my breathing and take deeper breaths. I try to focus my mind on my breathing and smelling the incense, but I'm not too worried if my mind travels. I try to be as objective as possible to whatever my mind travels to. When I beginning growing a bit restless (I'm up to about 15-20 minutes now), I end my practice and get up VERY slowly (and sometimes, just go right to bed because I'm pretty tired after all that).How are you meditating?
I think I should try meditating like this too. The brain needs alone time but never gets any.I take off all external sounds (ex: AC, my computer, my phone). I light some incense, and I sit on the floor on a pillow. I sit up straight with my legs crossed and eyes closed, slow down my breathing and take deeper breaths. I try to focus my mind on my breathing and smelling the incense, but I'm not too worried if my mind travels. I try to be as objective as possible to whatever my mind travels to. When I beginning growing a bit restless (I'm up to about 15-20 minutes now), I end my practice and get up VERY slowly (and sometimes, just go right to bed because I'm pretty tired after all that).
Look for something within you that doesn't change ever, has never changed, and is a witness to your dreams when you sleep. Keep searching. Focus your mind on that.I take off all external sounds (ex: AC, my computer, my phone). I light some incense, and I sit on the floor on a pillow. I sit up straight with my legs crossed and eyes closed, slow down my breathing and take deeper breaths. I try to focus my mind on my breathing and smelling the incense, but I'm not too worried if my mind travels. I try to be as objective as possible to whatever my mind travels to. When I beginning growing a bit restless (I'm up to about 15-20 minutes now), I end my practice and get up VERY slowly (and sometimes, just go right to bed because I'm pretty tired after all that).
Seems like this creates a good opportunity for managing how you respond to your own intuition. You could learn a lot through this in a way that you may not have had the opportunity to otherwise. It doesn't have to be a negative by-product. Just gotta stick it in the oven and bake it.
*edit*
I have also given meditation a go. I didn't get very far with it before I got distracted by new aims, but when I did utilize it, it allowed me to calm myself on many occasions. Adjusting my breathing and mental focus has become my default solution when my anxiety is running rampant.
I think perhaps it worked well for me because it gave me a solution to pursue, instead of feeling powerless. Losing control is very upsetting to me. Feeling as though I've regained some of that control gives me an immediate sense of, "Things will be alright, even if this right now is awful."
But I never felt like my intuition was heightened in the process. I just felt clarity. Being able to see what is in front of me again, and not being in some fuzzy place in my head is a great relief. If anything, I feel as though meditating balances out my intuition when I do it. It puts me in the world again, where I can admire it, and not feel like I'm at a great distance from myself. Not feel like I'm in some far off place shouting to be heard by myself on the other side of the distance.
*edit*
I have also given meditation a go. I didn't get very far with it before I got distracted by new aims, but when I did utilize it, it allowed me to calm myself on many occasions. Adjusting my breathing and mental focus has become my default solution when my anxiety is running rampant.
I think perhaps it worked well for me because it gave me a solution to pursue, instead of feeling powerless. Losing control is very upsetting to me. Feeling as though I've regained some of that control gives me an immediate sense of, "Things will be alright, even if this right now is awful."
But I never felt like my intuition was heightened in the process. I just felt clarity. Being able to see what is in front of me again, and not being in some fuzzy place in my head is a great relief. If anything, I feel as though meditating balances out my intuition when I do it. It puts me in the world again, where I can admire it, and not feel like I'm at a great distance from myself. Not feel like I'm in some far off place shouting to be heard by myself on the other side of the distance.
Try taking up cittanupassana, basically observe your mind in relation to the defilements and maintain a degree of heedfulness throughout the day. Meditation is a complex process, it does sensitize you to a variety of phenomena, which in turn demands that you cultivate a stronger capacity of self-regulation to maintain your composure. The path of progress is through, not backing off.
I find the same thing happens when I meditate, but I don't meditate often so I never really picked up on it. I feel like it's not necessarily bad in the long run, you just have to learn to control it perhaps? Idk. But yeah, I know what you mean.Hello Fellow INFJs,
So, being in the high stress job world, working extremely long hours, and not sleeping much, I've turned to meditation to help gain energy, make myself more present minded, and to get rid of some of this anxiety.
I find myself more relaxed and able to breathe in stressful situations.
HOWEVER, I find some negative aspects as well, and I find that maybe it has to do with my INFJness:
My senses are MUCH stronger. I see things in slow motion (great for sports), notice more details, and am more sensitive to others feelings.
BUT my intuition is in hyper-drive. At work, I'm beginning to figure out who's sleeping with whom, who dislikes whom, who plans on leaving, and what people think about me. I'm also growing INCREDIBLY sensitive to body language. I am becoming so incredibly self-aware to the point that I know how I will feel about a situation before it even happens, and try to direct those feelings in a way that I desire. All of this actually leads to a more "distant" analysis and an understanding of the world that makes me feel "ignorance of being so ignorant of the world is bliss" (i.e. I already felt intuitive before and 'in the know,' but I see EVEN MORE now and my intuition feels like it's in hyperdrive).
I don't know if I like it.
Does anyone understand what the hell I'm talking about, and does anyone sympathize with this?
"Try taking up cittanupassana, basically observe your mind in relation to the defilements and maintain a degree of heedfulness throughout the day."
A great suggestion. Personally I might replace "a degree of" with "a whole truckload of", but basically I agree this might genuinely be helpful for you.
When you describe your practice of meditation, it remains unclear to me what happens for you when your attention wanders away from the breath or the incense. The way you put it - in terms of following it wherever it travels to - I'm afraid I'm not immediately sure I appreciate the difference between meditation as you put it and, say, daydreaming or just sitting down and having a think about things. Both of these pastimes are enjoyable and helpful, especially for INFJs, to a certain degree; the distinction I might be tempted to draw from my own experience might be that meditation is more of an exercise in developing concentration skills (with incidental benefits about relaxation and keeling calmer sometimes).
As practice deepens, the defilements become more subtle. As you begin to walk away from confusing the mind with "me and mine", it will try and offer you sweeter and more subtly tempting distractions to suit and support the ego - the "i-bias" as master Myokyo-ni used to say. All thoughts are defilements, produced from the Three Fires of greed, selfishness, and ignorance. Whatever thought it is which arises, be aware that it is only a thought. Step away from grasping onto thoughts that encourage the narrative "this is me, this is mine". All your thoughts, all your observations, all your insights, all your details and confusions - all of it is effervescent and ephemeral.
It would probably be interesting for you to have a look around and see if there are any meditation centres near you which it might interest you to attend. Mostly it would be easier to talk to experienced people there face-to-face, because at least potentially the way forward for you is more experience-related than INFJ-related, at least in my limited impression and experience.
Hope things work out here for you, thanks for your time.
A great suggestion. Personally I might replace "a degree of" with "a whole truckload of", but basically I agree this might genuinely be helpful for you.
When you describe your practice of meditation, it remains unclear to me what happens for you when your attention wanders away from the breath or the incense. The way you put it - in terms of following it wherever it travels to - I'm afraid I'm not immediately sure I appreciate the difference between meditation as you put it and, say, daydreaming or just sitting down and having a think about things. Both of these pastimes are enjoyable and helpful, especially for INFJs, to a certain degree; the distinction I might be tempted to draw from my own experience might be that meditation is more of an exercise in developing concentration skills (with incidental benefits about relaxation and keeling calmer sometimes).
As practice deepens, the defilements become more subtle. As you begin to walk away from confusing the mind with "me and mine", it will try and offer you sweeter and more subtly tempting distractions to suit and support the ego - the "i-bias" as master Myokyo-ni used to say. All thoughts are defilements, produced from the Three Fires of greed, selfishness, and ignorance. Whatever thought it is which arises, be aware that it is only a thought. Step away from grasping onto thoughts that encourage the narrative "this is me, this is mine". All your thoughts, all your observations, all your insights, all your details and confusions - all of it is effervescent and ephemeral.
It would probably be interesting for you to have a look around and see if there are any meditation centres near you which it might interest you to attend. Mostly it would be easier to talk to experienced people there face-to-face, because at least potentially the way forward for you is more experience-related than INFJ-related, at least in my limited impression and experience.
Hope things work out here for you, thanks for your time.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
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