Stress/Hypertension

[Stookie]

This seems to be a subject not talked much about. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

For the past month or so I've started the Monroe Gateway series. I've been doing a lot of practice of focus 10. In the manual that comes with it, it explains that emotional swings can occur in your regular life due to "energy movements" (if that's what you want to call them) from the exercises, and says they should level off on their own.  Well, things that used to kind of tick me off, now REALLY P*SS ME OFF. It can be hard to calm down, and I've even been experiencing some chest pains from hypertension. Should I keep going with the exercises and see if it levels out, or should I take a break? Maybe they're not related, but I have a feeling it is.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing?  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Stook

P.S. - My experiences in focus 10 have been GREAT! It's the rest of my life that's getting to me.

[Vvid1012]

Something thats always good for stress is exercise.  Hitt'n the bag, running, or whatever.  It keeps the energy flow.

[Stookie]

Thanks. I was an avid bike-rider, but lately traffic has gotten so bad and I've came so close to getting hit by cars that I had to stop.

I started this thread yesterday, and here's what happened today:

I only work with one other person during the week, so when we butt heads, things can get stressful. Well, I've been doing some the REBAL (resonant energy balloon) exercise on the Monroe CD, where you create a balloon of energy around your body. They say to try to expand it around other people and situations in your daily life, and see what results. Since work has been stressful lately, I meditated before I came in, and expanded my REBAL before entering the door. Immediately, my co-worker says "I decided to take the day off today. It's all yours." My stress level went through the roof. Man, did we have an argument. He left, and I'm stuck with it by myself, both of us p*ssed.

It seems like every time I try to expand my REBAL, stuff like this this happens. I started OBE practice because I felt I needed a "change" or "something more".  I wanted to make my life and relationships better. I'm confused.  Could it be that this "butting-of-heads" is just a crummy first step in towards a better path, or am I doing something terribly wrong? I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this kind of thing, or is it just me?

[one_each]

Runlola is right on target here.

First thing to remember is that it is not the Monroe tapes that are causing the problem, they are just the way you chose to start.  If you had studied under a guru instead, the same things would happen.  I'll see if I can help you understand what is going on.

Your life was headed in one direction when you started these exercises.  That is a change, no doubt about it.  With any change, good or bad, some parts of you (including your mind) resist it.  That resistance shows up as stress.  The harder you push the changes, the more stress enters your life.

You can keep pushing for the changes and just deal with the stress until it becomes too much.  However, you would do much better to find a balance between the changes you are making and the stress in your life.  What I would suggest is slowing down your exercises.  Instead of doing them daily, skip a day every now and then until the stress becomes more manageable.  Don't worry if you have to take it down to once a week even.  After the stress level drops, you can add more until you can handle it everyday.  Just take it slow and easy, you have a whole lifetime to work on this.

[Stookie]

Thanks guys

This period lasted about 2-3 weeks, and I just dealt with it and continued my exercises, and I came through all the better. (However, the chest pains were awful).

Now I feel fairly balanced and mentally clear. The people I work with have mentioned that I seem to be in better moods than they are used to seeing me in.  I also sleep better than I ever did and have had many new unexpected experiences come into my life. My outside life is changing, but I can see it's an outcome of my inner life changes.

[one_each]

Awesome!  The trick now is to keep your life in balance with your inner life.