@
ncbeareatingman I appreciate the tips man! I’ll try to get more sleep and if that doesn’t work I might do some of the things you recommended. I’ve already tried melatonin, but it gives me a “hangover” so I try to avoid it. The other stuff sounds potentially worth trying out though.
Meditation day 32:
32 minutes focus.
Last obligational day for the challenge. And that’s interesting, because it’s been the most interesting. It’s been the first one where I continued past the obligated time and it was simply because I wholeheartedly wanted to for some reason. My body suddenly felt pleasant, like some kind of subtle storm had passed or something.
It just suddenly felt pleasant to keep going right at the end when I was getting ready to get up. It was a mediocre seeming session until right about that point and now I’d say it was probably my best session in recent memory by far.
I wonder if I’m actually doing good but I’m comparing my results to an imagined ideal (of where I want to be or where I feel like I SHOULD be) and coming up short. Damn just noticing how I feel great after that session.
Another thing. I’m noticing that the emergent entity of trauma brain fog is still there, just more translucent and harder to notice. It’s still there and still holding me back. I suddenly had a click where I was like “oh, what I’m experiencing is a ghost of what it used to be, but it’s still there, and still holding me back”. It’s like I’m encased in a layer of trauma that’s keeping me from expressing naturally, but the “me” deep down is mostly healthy now. It’s like a cow that’s kept docile by putting I into an enclosure with an electric fence.
I’m about 2 weeks-ish into Stage 0 so far, and there’s actually a lot happening, but it just feels normal. Like I suddenly realized my body language, attitude, etc. was all different without me noticing. I just feel like normal me. Noticing people starting to treat me different in different contexts, especially strangers. I had a waitress assume I was the “group leader” today even though I wasn’t even the one paying lol.
I also had a cashier randomly say I looked “zen” while I was waiting in line, which could be noise, or it could be AM7 stuff. I was mostly focusing on relaxing and letting go of my lingering insecurities while waiting. I definitely feel more comfortable in public, but also more insecure paradoxically. I feel like it’s partly me working on stuff, partly just that becoming more “visible” or “high status” triggers insecurity, and the fear of becoming a target.