Hmm... if you actually put some thought into it, you’d probably realize certain past events have hit you harder than you care to admit. Or maybe they haven't.
I can give you my take... I've been wrestling with all sorts of limiting beliefs and baggage that kept me stuck for years. I tried meditation and specific breathing techniques—the kind designed to bypass the conscious mind and scrub the subconscious clean. I even went through regression therapy, which shed light on a lot of things, including the core issues I was fighting.
Now... as much as it helped, it wasn't all sunshine. Working on the subconscious without involving the analytical mind—without any actual processing—can get messy when all that suppressed junk starts surfacing. Honestly, after the regression, I felt incredibly strange; it took forever to digest the new info, but that wasn't even the worst part. It gave me a completely different perspective on life, time, people, and problems—both mine and everyone else's. Which was great, except I got pretty lost in it all. The world started looking... weird. In a way, I lost my grip on the "reality" we're all supposed to function in. Plus, I had no idea what to do with the experience or how to heal the raw wound that was blocking me. Neither the regression practitioner nor the people teaching the breathing and meditation techniques gave me anything intellectually satisfying—it was mostly just, "keep practicing." Who knows what would've happened if I had? I got too lost in it and eventually just quit.
The other thing I should mention is bioenergy therapy. While I was feeling that lost, I started sessions with someone close to me, and that actually brought me back down to earth. I did 11 sessions—about 45 minutes each—once a week. But the best part was what happened *between* them. Around the second or third session, my head finally cleared. As time passed, I became more aware of the fears and beliefs holding me back, rearranging my past experiences... It worked almost like psychotherapy, except I was doing the work solo. It felt like actual therapy sessions; a problem would just pop into my head out of nowhere—triggered by daily life—and I'd analyze it, look at it from a new angle, and clear it out. Every day, I felt myself getting stronger. I built up my confidence and finally dumped the old garbage. A lot of stuff I’d totally forgotten resurfaced, too. For me, personally, that was the real path to freedom.
My dear friends... Have you ever found yourselves in a position where you simply can't bring yourselves to hold a grudge? Where you realize certain people have treated you quite poorly, yet you feel no anger toward them whatsoever... No resentment, no bitterness... just nothing. I am curious to know how healthy that actually is... and if it's even a good thing at all...??
It’s perfectly fine, provided it isn't just surface-level. Some people act like nothing gets under their skin—and they honestly believe they're fine—but they're really just bottling it all up until it manifests as something physical, like heart disease or something equally nasty. That's way worse than having an occasional outburst.
But truly being able to let everything go—body and soul—without holding onto resentment? That's pretty much peak existence.
That's a separate issue entirely: whether we should put up with being mistreated long-term just because we aren't angry or because we think we love the person.
slymaker9 said:I'll use this song by the Rolling Stones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8G1n_-uxKY to pose a question: does any single individual have the right—or even the capacity—to declare someone else's life, including their own, as wasted or a failure?
What actually defines a wasted life? Is it the man who lived as a coward but successfully raised three children? Is it the person struggling with laziness or addiction, unable to overcome their own weaknesses? Or perhaps the one who spent their years living under a veil of delusions? Does such a judgment belong to no one? If it belongs to someone, what specific metrics or criteria should be used to judge?🤷
Everyone can judge themselves—whether they missed the mark or not—but you can't really "fail" at life itself. To "hit" life, all you have to do is... exist. Be born, live, move on. That's it. Missing a specific purpose is a completely different story. Once you realize you've taken a wrong turn on the path you wanted to follow, you just pivot back.
We can sit here all day debating our own criteria for whether someone else failed, but at the end of the day, they're the only ones qualified to make that call.
briskraven28 said:You’re right—it isn't just about a lack of knowledge. Ignorance persists because people refuse to learn... and they refuse to learn so they can have someone to be intolerant toward. That intolerance provides a sense of identity—because if they actually realized how little they knew, they might lose their footing entirely.
👍
Then there’s that whole "this is who I am" thing—along with the desperate need for everyone else to be exactly like them. If someone else is perfectly normal but doesn't act like me, then suddenly I'm the one who isn't. If we disagree, one of us has to be wrong. And obviously, my take is always the right one. 😬
It's all so complicated... until you realize everyone is just looking through their own lens and can only offer their own perspective. The most important part is acknowledging that other people have eyes too—and letting them express what they see through theirs.
Donna Phillips said:There is someone in my own life who has caused me so much harm that I truly cannot forgive them. And no, I can't say what I'm thinking directly to their face. I simply know they wouldn't grasp why their lifelong behavior was so damaging. But even though I have never offered forgiveness, I have managed to rid myself of the rage, the fury, and the sorrow; or perhaps, maybe there is still a bit of it left within me. 🙄
Forgiving someone doesn't mean you have to stay in that relationship and let them keep hurting you—whatever the situation is. It doesn't matter if they actually understand what they did; all that matters is getting that weight off your own back. Sure, some residue probably remains... but if you've truly moved past the negative emotions, then you've forgiven them. Even if you don't call it that. Maybe "letting go" is a better way to put it. As long as you're okay, that's what counts.
And one more thing... there's a massive difference between forgiving and tolerating what happened. For certain things, it isn't right to excuse the person and act like nothing happened—but you still need to forgive them just to find your own peace.
Paul Morales3 said:How do you actually forgive someone after they've hurt you?
I’m talking about the heavy stuff here, not just petty grievances. We all carry some kind of deep-seated resentment—whether it's toward a spouse, a parent, a friend, or ultimately, ourselves. So, let's keep this discussion broad.
I’ll lay out a few steps that I find helpful, and then you guys can jump in with your own thoughts or corrections.
1) You have to purge the physical sensation of it—the pain, the grief, the rage. Cry, scream, break a plate if you have to... just get it out.
2) Try to internalize the fact that it wasn't your fault, and perhaps realize that you should actually feel some pity for them because of how they chose to act toward you.
3) Once you accept that, you pull yourself out of the depression, learn the lesson from the experience, promise yourself you won't let it happen again, and try to see the silver lining... theoretically, forgiveness and moving on should follow. But that’s where the real struggle starts.
Because how can you ever truly know if you’ve forgiven someone when, deep down, you’re still holding onto that grudge?
How do you live with that weight?
Personally, I tend to hold onto the idea that everything in life eventually comes back around. In that sense, I don't really go looking for revenge.😁
If you want any kind of spiritual peace, forgiving others and yourself is one of the most vital steps you can take. So, for that reason, let's hear it...
If you feel total peace when you think about them or run into them—if remembering what you supposedly "forgave" doesn't shake you at all—then you've done it. If it still leaves a bitter taste, you've got more work to do. You'll know when you can view it like a patch of weeds on a sidewalk: you see it's there, but it doesn't affect you.
Not to mention that sense of relief when it finally happens... it's like a 50-pound weight being lifted off your shoulders, or a gray curtain finally pulling back.
Forgiveness is a vital stepping stone for any kind of personal growth.
Betty Harris15 said:Yeah... solid advice. I tried that once... my whole goal was looking hot for this guy, but he ended up marrying someone else. Now, food is my only true friend.
You set a goal that’s completely out of your control. As you just found out, that usually backfires. Better targets would be: wanting to be fit for a wedding or a high school reunion, fitting into that one sexy bikini, aiming for legs like Dema Moora, or just wanting to feel good in a tight tank top—basically, wanting to squeeze back into those jeans from five years ago. Even making a bet on something you actually care about—whether it's money or something personal—tends to work better.
Jerry Morales4 said:I’d suggest looking into Emotional Freedom Techniques everywhere . Maybe it could help you tackle those cravings for sweets or whatever else is causing weight gain. It might actually solve the issue. Or perhaps it could address the sadness, since I was just reading about what you've been going through.
It's like Bog sent you! I can vouch for this too—it’s phenomenal. Honestly, the only thing stopping you from reaching your goal is the fear of actually succeeding. Some people prefer living with phobias or issues like binge eating because it's familiar; they find that more comfortable than facing something new and unknown. Real change takes guts, but that's a conversation for another day.
As for those specific food cravings—if you stick to five smaller meals a day, they won't hit nearly as hard. Besides, who says you can't have a pizza or some burgers once a month, or a few pieces of chocolate or ice cream a week? Just actually enjoy it—no guilt allowed—and eat it mindfully so you satisfy the craving quickly.
For everything else, find a different way to vent that negative energy. Try belly dancing, hitting the gym, running with the dog, or even gardening—anything besides sitting around and eating. If you pick something physical, you'll kill two birds with one stone.
Just remember: as long as a problem causes you stress, you’re always going to reach for something to dull that feeling. The only permanent fix is changing how you think—basically, how you perceive things. But until then, you've got plenty of effective tools at your disposal.
Jeremy Alvarez5 said:Alright, here we go. This thread is basically about the intersection of mental illness and religion—so half psychology, half theology. I guess I wonder if any actual scientists have ever dared to dig into whether specific types of mental disorders correlate with specific religions. Like, has anyone actually published data showing that a certain percentage of people with a particular condition belong to a certain faith?
It seems pretty clear that religion can be a really effective tool when helping people recover from addiction. You see it in those communities where they combine intense physical labor with prayer and deep religious conviction...
I’m honestly fascinated by this whole topic. I’d be super grateful for any thoughts you guys have, or even just some links or book recommendations if you know of anything good out there.
So, looking at Carl Gustav Jung, born in 1875, who went to boarding school in San Francisco, studied medicine, worked at a psychiatric hospital, taught at a university, and ran his own private practice. He had that whole complicated relationship with Sigmund Freud 🙂, developed his theories on personality, traveled around studying the traditions, history, and rituals of various tribes across Africa, the Americas, and India. He wrote about twenty books, including "Answer to job" [referring to the biblical figure, not a career job], and passed away in 1961. Interestingly, once he hit his 80s, he started working with a biographer who mentioned in her preface that he truly believed religious conviction plays a vital role in treating mental illness.
That leads me to my big question: if faith is so crucial for healing, could it also be a deciding factor in how these conditions develop in the first place?
Three, two, one... let's hear it!
PS
Since Jeremy Alvarez5 managed to kick off that discussion on suicide over in the philosophy section, which naturally flowed into spirituality and psychology, I was thinking it would be cool if this thread eventually made its way over there too. Ideally, I'd love to see this become a sort of grand tour through philosophy, religion, and spirituality—maybe even ending up in the history section down the road. Personally, I jump between all those subforums, but since some of the most interesting people I talk to here only tend to post where they feel most comfortable 🙂, maybe the mods could encourage them more? Maybe give them more space to speak up, share photos, or even memes and debates 😢. That way, I won't have to feel like a nuisance by reposting the same topic across every single board under different titles and trying to twist things to suit my own agenda, which—if I'm being honest—is something I tend to do. 🙂 Cheers to the hardworking moderators. 🙏 😍
It could be—just as it might not be essential for healing. I'm sure there are atheists out there who have managed mental health struggles their own way. Religion can certainly help if you find solace in it, but it isn't a requirement.
On the flip side, extreme religious fervor can definitely trigger psychological issues—there are plenty of ways that happens. Personally, I think anything accepted blindly, without any doubt or common sense, is harmful. And honestly, people prone to that kind of blind faith are often showing signs of instability right from the start.
There’s no way to measure "religiosity," so finding data that links specific faiths to certain illness rates seems pretty unreliable to me. You could attend Mass every single day and stay perfectly sane, or you could take one trip to India and come back completely unhinged. Everyone has their own limits.
I'd also point to things like "killing for God" or historical inquisitions—does being a criminal automatically make someone mentally ill?
Maybe it’s just some shallow joke—kind of like what you just said, He-Man.
It kind of brings to mind King Arthur’s sword, where only one specific person could pull it from the stone... maybe Thompson sees himself as that guy, the one who can single-handedly save us all. From what, exactly? 🤷
Alex Patel96 said:Do you ever feel like people just don't get you? For me, it’s a weird one: while everyone else seems to think I’m overachieving, the people who constantly underestimate me are actually my own parents. I guess it's not that uncommon, though. Even when there's plenty of objective proof that I've earned respect, they still manage to overlook it. Anyone else dealing with this kind of stuff?😠
Same here... I remember one time during a job interview process, I ended up being listed second—purely because of some stupid alphabetical order. Basically, someone else and I were both top candidates, but since my last name fell later in the alphabet, I was ranked second. And instead of my wonderful parents being happy that I actually landed the job (since we both got hired), they just poked at it... ugh, "well, you were only second." They said it with that tone of "see, I knew you weren't all that"... 🙄
Just tune it out and move on. At the end of the day, you're the only one who truly knows your worth. Some parents just don't know how to show affection—they can't even love properly because nobody ever showed them how. It's not really an excuse, but you don't have much choice but to accept them as they are. You just have to start loving yourself, even if it's tough when those old wounds run deep.
The thing is, kids (especially little ones) see their parents as god—like their entire universe. For obvious reasons. Everything they say feels like the absolute, undeniable truth. But once you grow up, you realize that's not quite right. They're just people, flawed just like the rest of us. You accept it and stop letting it get to you. Easier said than done, sure, but it's worth the effort.
amberraven9 said:So, we talked. It wasn't an easy conversation to have, mostly because she kept treating my concerns like I was just being annoying, constantly pivoting to a new topic. I told her straight up that I’m worried. Her response? She says she’s perfectly happy this way. She isn't reaching out to friends anymore because, according to her, they either drain her energy or they're too wrapped up in their own drama. She mentioned checking in with a few people here and there, but claims nobody has the time to actually grab a drink or hang out. No matter how hard I try to dig deeper, she shuts it down. She has one friend she visits for coffee occasionally, but they usually just stay in, since that friend doesn't really go out much either. That's the extent of it. Every time I try to address the real issue, she deflects and moves on to something else. Honestly, I'm at a loss. She insists there's nothing to worry about. But I’m worried. If she won't even go for a walk with me, she isn't going anywhere at all, and that doesn't seem right to me. It's rare for her to leave the house unless we're together. We just see things through completely different lenses.
I mean, it’s her life—fair enough, right? It probably doesn't feel great when she tells you (or used to tell you) to just live your own life. Look, I get that she should probably be more social, but we all hit those phases where we just aren't on the same wavelength as everyone else. There's likely a solid reason why her current circle isn't working for her... maybe they're constantly venting about health issues or whatever. Maybe she's between jobs, feeling less useful lately, or just stuck in a rut. That talk you need to have should really be more along the lines of, "Mom, what do *you* actually want? What's bothering you? How are you feeling? Why? What's missing from your friendships?" Maybe she just feels older and wants to step back... or maybe she's looking for the attention she isn't getting from her current friends. Or, honestly, maybe she goes out plenty but complains to you just to get a little extra attention or to keep you closer. I could go on forever here—you know her better than anyone—so just think back to when this all started and try to spot the root cause. And don't force the conversation if she's not feeling it. If she changes the subject, let it go and try again in a few days.
Zachary Mendoza2 said:feralhound55, men are quite straightforward, especially when compared to your mindset if his responses to this thread are any indication. For instance, a man will attempt to view a relationship with you objectively, even if it isn't easy for him. To illustrate the scale: a connection might evolve from casual dating into a relationship that breaks apart after, say, three months. During that window, a man might wonder "what exactly are we?" during moments of crisis or insecurity—certainly at least twice, once while dating and again before the breakup. You, however, will question the nature of the relationship with every single gesture, every text, every ambiguity, and even every clear statement. Before sex, after sex, before that specific call he owes you, while waiting for the call, while stressing about waiting for the call, while stressing about the stress of waiting for the call, during the call itself, after the call, and so on.😵 From a male perspective, I would argue that ambiguity exists primarily in a woman's mind. Colorka explained the principle of when a man's messages are truly ambiguous. Compared to the complexity of your world, such instances are extremely rare.
Like I said—that particular mindset disappeared right around the time I hit adulthood.
For instance, they’ll try to look at a relationship objectively, even if it isn't easy. To give you an idea of scale: a relationship might evolve from casual dating into something serious that crashes after, say, three months. During that time, a guy might wonder "what are we actually doing?" during moments of crisis or doubt—surely at least twice, once while dating and once before the breakup. But you? You'll be questioning the nature of the relationship with every single gesture, every text, every ambiguity, and even every unambiguous moment. Before sex, after sex, before that one phone call he's supposed to make, while waiting for the call, while stressing about waiting for the call, while stressing about stressing about waiting for the call, during the call, after the call, and so on and so forth... 😵 From a guy's perspective, most of that "ambiguity" is just living in a woman's head. Color has already explained what happens when a man's messages are actually ambiguous. Compared to the sheer volume of your internal drama, that's a rare occurrence.
The bottom line: everything would be way easier and less exhausting if we overanalyzed and judged less, and... well... lived more? As my signature says (thanks, teacher). And maybe focus on our own actions instead of dissecting a partner's, like that circle user pointed out.
🤣 Well, here we are... I dropped this under psychology for debate. If this were my own mess to deal with, I would’ve posted it straight to the FBI and written it in the first person. Honestly, I stopped asking "what the poet meant" years ago—it's just easier that way. Still, I find myself spending way too much time at coffee shops trying to decode messages like the ones I mentioned. Even though I keep telling my girlfriends that there aren't any hidden meanings... that things are usually pretty straightforward. But hey, it's not exactly polite to tell someone that things aren't turning out the way they hoped, right? So, after getting a bit of pushback, I started wondering if I overplayed my hand by claiming men are truly that simple—at least when it comes to this stuff. Anyway, thanks—I see we're all in agreement that they are indeed simple, certainly nothing more complex than women. And this whole "decoding" thing? It usually stems from being unhappy with how things are going or other personal stuff, like a lack of self-esteem and all that.
I’m with slypuma17 on this, but there’s also a psychological component to weight gain—it’s essentially a defense mechanism. Check out the "emotional eater" thread if you want a deep dive. Even if your calorie intake isn't high, your body might just be hoarding reserves as a way to protect itself. If anyone actually knows the science behind this, please weigh in—I don't want to pretend I'm an expert in territory I haven't mastered.
A buddy of mine put it perfectly yesterday—any diet you can't sustain for the rest of your life is a bad one. So, find a rhythm you can actually live with. Maybe stop eating three hours before bed (some people swear by nothing after 6 PM). Or just track your calories—you don't need to be perfect, but finding a standard calorie tracker online and being mindful goes a long way.
Peter Phillips32 said:That isn't some kind of "cleansing" or "exhaling" emotions; it's just you overemphasizing things and viewing everything through one narrow lens. Just shift your perception and you won't feel this desperate need for these emotional outlets—all that "crying like a maniac, or laughing, or just crying from happiness" nonsense.
Well, that is exactly what changing your perception looks like.
What goes in has to come out eventually—this is a perfectly fine way to do it.
Men usually claim they’re simple—no hidden agendas, no expectations for us to be mind readers...
Meanwhile, women spend hours over coffee with their girlfriends trying to decode what they think are cryptic signals. Like, say, him not calling the day after a date. God forbid. Or right after sex.
Or maybe he’s avoiding certain topics. Is he spiraling about his job security during this recession? Or does he just find me boring?
Or he heads straight home after hooking up instead of staying the night. Maybe he has an early meeting and doesn't want to wake me. Or maybe he just doesn't care.
"I can't get into relationships." Is that actually code for "I can't fall for you, but you're great for casual hookups"?
Or the classic: "My life is just really complicated right now, I'll reach out once things settle down." Okay, that's pretty transparent. Or is it? Because sometimes those guys in "complicated situations" work overtime to maintain contact and convince you they haven't lost interest...
So, are men actually sending mixed signals, or are we just refusing to see the obvious? Or is it truly all just a blur? Here's my latest attempt at untangling the eternal mystery of male-female misunderstandings—take it or leave it.
Materialistic? Sure, my body is material. But what's a body actually made of? About 70% water. So, logically speaking, I should just be flowing all over the place. 😉 Moving on... The body is made of molecules, which are made of atoms. Atoms consist of a nucleus and electrons orbiting that nucleus—all within empty space. We're talking about "empty space" on the scale of a football stadium compared to a tiny matchbox (the nucleus/matter). That "empty space" is energy. Which leads us to the conclusion that humans aren't actually material at all. Or, as someone once pithily put it, we don't really exist. 😉
So yeah, science basically backs up the idea that we’re spiritual beings having a physical experience.
I used to get those same thoughts when I was just a kid—staring up at the sky, wondering where the edge of that endless black void actually was. It’s heavy stuff for a little girl. Back then, whenever I tried to sit still and meditate—or just drift off into deep thought, whatever you want to call it—it would absolutely wreck me. Every single time. There’d be this moment where everything just... transcends. It floods you. You feel like you're expanding to fill the whole universe and shrinking down to nothing all at once. It’s overwhelming. Honestly, it felt like my tiny little mind was just collapsing under the weight of it all.All I can really recall is that sheer, gut-wrenching terror. There was this... I don't know, this "ceiling" or some kind of upper limit, and it felt like I was just fading away. Like I was disappearing right in front of my own eyes..
I haven't really felt that kind of warmth you're talking about... nor have I felt that fear. Not personally, anyway.
Look, before I even got to what I was talking about, there’s been this constant pattern. These "flashes" of insight I mentioned? They don't just happen in a vacuum. Every single time, they come with this intense, full-body hair standing on end. I mean, literally every single hair on my body. It's wild. It’s phrased in such a way that I honestly don't know if I can stomach it every single time. It’s actually kind of a trip—that paralyzing, bone-chilling sensation. You can basically dial it up or down whenever you want. It’s all about whether you just lean into it and let it take over, or if you decide to pull the emergency brake and bolt the second you feel that frantic, galloping grip starting to tighten. Once I feel like I'm losing the reins, I'm out.
Another weird thing is happening to me. Every single time those "flashes of inspiration" hit, I get this intense, overwhelming scent of pine—like a heavy Mediterranean mix of pine needles and wild herbs. I'm not even kidding. And on top of that? This total emotional rollercoaster hits out of nowhere. Just a massive wave of random feelings that have absolutely nothing to do with what's actually happening. It's bizarre. Sometimes it’s this heavy, gut-wrenching sadness that I can’t even put into words—like I’m mourning something I can’t quite remember, but the feeling is right there, hovering on the tip of my tongue. Other times, it’s this weird, sudden surge of euphoria. Most days? It’s just a messy, exhausting cocktail of both hitting me at once.
Honestly, I’ve reached a point where I can just ignore those emotional outbursts. I don't give them any weight at all—not even bothering to wonder what's triggering them. I just let them vent and run their course. They eventually pass on their own. They’re just sitting there on the sidelines, really. They don't actually contribute anything to the experience—they're nothing more than emotional background noise.
Look, I’d argue they aren't exactly harmless. They definitely have the potential to emotionally drain you—to just completely suck the life out of a person until there's nothing left. Honestly? I feel like we just need to cut them off at the root and stop giving them the time of day. Which, let’s be real, isn't exactly a difficult task. I feel like he’d spiral pretty fast. One minute you're curious, and the next, you're just drowning in this pointless, heavy melancholy mixed with that weird, hollow euphoria. It’s dangerous. As soon as you start "peering" in that direction—really letting yourself look—you’re basically finished. You just lose yourself in it.
It’s all fine and easy on paper, you know? You feel totally in control right up until you actually start digging around in their business. Once you start poking at them, you’re gonna get tangled up like a fly in a web... or you'll just lose your damn mind, like Odysseus went stir-crazy listening to those sirens.
I’m guessing we’re talking about those subconscious impressions—those half-baked memories and weird mental cobwebs that only surface once you’ve pushed your brain to the absolute limit. It’s like when you finally stop fighting and let the walls of your own understanding crumble. Your mind just keeps shoving itself forward, desperately trying to wrap its head around the concept of infinity... and failing, obviously.
Honestly? This whole "spontaneous meditation" or contemplation thing... if it actually happened to me, I’d be absolutely losing my mind. Just thinking about it makes me anxious. I just keep thinking... what if something actually happened? What if something finally arrived that was bigger than me? Something so massive it just floods everything—expanding my whole existence while simultaneously crushing it down. I’m talking about that kind of overwhelming force that would just shatter my tiny little mind. Honestly, I don't know if I could even handle it.....
Honestly, what you’re talking about hits home for me too. It doesn't matter how much experience I claim to have; I still get stuck in that same endless loop. It's exhausting. It happens to me all the time—just getting swept away, no matter what I’m actually doing. Whether I'm just sitting there staring at a wall, trying to find some inner peace, or actually focusing on a task... it doesn't matter. As long as I've managed to get even a little bit calm or centered, that's when it hits. It's like the moment I finally find my footing, everything just pulls me under again. I wouldn't call it something you need to be afraid of. Honestly, I don't see the panic. The first time I ever dealt with something like that, I was just a kid. I remember lying there in bed, shivering under a mountain of blankets, feeling like my brain was melting from a fever. That's when it hit me. Back then, it was honestly driving me insane. Pure, unadulterated panic. But eventually? The fear just... evaporated. It happens. Sometimes I just let it happen. I stop fighting and let that sensory expansion—that weird perceptual shift where everything suddenly feels too big or too tight—just swallow me whole. There’s no warning sign, no pattern to it. It hits whenever it wants, triggered by absolutely nothing in particular. One minute I'm fine, the next, the walls are breathing. No rules. Just happens.
I hope we’re actually talking about the same thing here; That sensation where you feel like your body has been stretched out for miles—like your arms or legs (and all those other limbs 😉) feel like they're miles away from your face, yet at the exact same time, in this way that's almost impossible to put into words, they're right "there," under your nose. Literally. It's like you've shrunk down to some impossible microscopic size inside your own head, and suddenly your body feels massive and distant, even though you can still feel it sitting "right there." It's this incredibly disorienting macro-micro perception of your own physical self, just infinitely stretched out through space... (I know, I sound like a total nutcase, but I'm hoping we're on the same page experientially)
I've noticed that the more I lean into it (really diving into that perceptual shrinking...), my breathing starts to slow down on its own—almost to the point where it's barely happening. It seems like this spatial "expansion," or rather this internal shrinking within the body, is definitely tied to breath control... at least for me, I can use breathing to crank that sensation up even more.
To be honest, I see it more as a perceptual quirk than some profound spiritual breakthrough. It's something that piques my curiosity when it happens spontaneously, but deep down, it doesn't have enough weight to actually touch my soul.
🙂
First off, thanks for sharing—my experiences are pretty much identical, even if the paths taken were different.
Regarding the above... your assumption is solid; it really is just something buried inside you surfacing. But it isn't a bad thing—it's a cleansing, an "exhalation" of emotions. You can ignore them, but try letting them happen just once... I experience all sorts of emotions during certain processes, and it's been explained to me that I should just let them flow and keep going, and the feelings will come out. Whether it's crying like a baby, laughing, or just weeping from happiness. I don't fight it; I know it won't last forever and I'll feel better once it's all out of me. It's always like that. A few minutes of crying and I'm a new person. Literally washed clean on the inside. Try it if you want, it's great. And there's no shame in crying. 😉 It's not something that's going to drag you down or keep you depressed for days—don't worry—and neither will the positive, euphoric states. In the end, all that's left is peace.
Anonymous said:Sometimes I can’t help but feel like life would be a lot easier if I were just more ruthless. But honestly? That’s just not who I am, and I don't know how to function in an environment like that. Even when I’m surrounded by people who seem well-meaning on the surface—even though we all know deep down they’re total snakes—I still give them the benefit of the doubt until they eventually stab me in the back. When they do, I just end up feeling disappointed, angry, and heartbroken, wondering how this keeps happening to me. I truly love genuine, good people, but they tend to live in their own little bubbles. Nowadays, if you actually want to build a meaningful life and surround yourself with decent human beings, it feels like you have to fight through a gauntlet of chaos just to establish a sense of security and independence.
I’m curious to hear from you guys: how have you structured your lives to find peace? More importantly, how do you navigate around the materialists, the egoists, and those selfish power-trippers with warped values who seem to hold all the cards?
Once I realized I didn't want to be a total jerk, I decided to be a good person. Then I figured out I wasn't actually being kind enough to myself—I was just taking crap from everyone else and hurting my own well-being. So, I built up some self-confidence, and honestly, life's much better now.
Like Jane said, nobody can do anything to you unless you give them permission. And regarding that whole "everything is sliding downhill" feeling... there are ways to handle it.
For your own sake... try living without expectations. Just observe things, and stop comparing yourself to others. Instead of asking, "Is this person as generous as I am?"—just ask, "Who is this person, really?"
I remember having those same thoughts when I was a kid—just staring up and wondering where the edge of that endless black void actually was. But whenever I tried to just sit there and meditate (or even just contemplate life), it would get overwhelming. There was this sensation of being completely overtaken by something much larger than myself; it felt like I was expanding and shrinking all at once, making my little mind feel like it was just collapsing. All I really recall is that sense of fear and this intense "warmth" that made it feel like I was simply fading away.
Glad you pointed out the bolded part... that's normal, right? Is that how it's supposed to go? That sensation used to scare me too, but now I just let it happen—that's about it. Nothing really follows. Not sure if I'm explaining this well; maybe someone can tell me what's actually going on.