Meditation Rookie

One of my previous posts explains my experiences with religion. I haven't really made a post yet about how I came to terms with what I actually currently believe in yet because I've noticed that it's changed a lot from when I first became agnostic to what my beliefs are now and it continues to change even to this day. I hate saying that I would never believe in certain things but for now this is what I believe in. 

As I started learning about the difference between spirituality and religion I began opening my mind to many other theories. During this time that I began doubting the existence of a God more heavily than I did before, I read a book called Synchrodestiny by Deepak Chopra. It really opened up my mind about theories on coincidences and made me realise just how much there is out there that I believe in. Suddenly the fear of consequences of not believing in a God disappeared. I gradually came to the conclusion that there must be some sort of energy which I now describe as a universal energy that we choose to let in to our spirit which then enriches our soul and everyday lives. (In his book he describes something similar as the 'nonlocal universal energy'.) 

As stress and anxiety continued to build up within me I slowly began to practicing yoga. A lot of people assume it's just for health and fitness benefits but for me, just doing the sun salutation every morning relieves a LOT of stress and anxiety from my every day life and it started making me enthusiastic in my hobbies once again. Inevitably, I started learning about meditation later on as well. When I first did it properly I must admit, it freaked me out a lot once I started opening up my '3rd eye'. I was beginning to go into a state of paralysis which I forced myself out of before going further. I pushed the idea of practicing such a thing away for a while due to fear.

I started taking meditation more seriously lately because of family issues that reappeared from the first few months since I started university. It has been a lot more effective combined with sun salutations, particularly during sunrise- probably because of the extra release of hormones. So far, I've been practicing it based on Jainism as some of the meaning of the mantras have really drawn me in and it has been a good follow up from Synchrodestiny. At first I practiced it rigorously,  doing meditation after every sun salutation in the morning and then every night. I find now that it's not necessary that I do it this much as my problems have finally eased out and I'm ok to even do neither for a day or two. Now when I open my 3rd eye, I see images and colours. It's now a really fascinating experience now that I've gotten into it.

I still pay attention to my spirit and if it's tainted badly e.g. when I sense my ego is growing too big. Chopra explains in his book that every emotion comes from either pain or pleasure so I explore my state of mind this way. I feel so at peace after because I am then able to explain why I feel such a way and am able to rationalise things whereas before, this was never possible for me. (This is probably the biggest thing that being part of an organised religion never taught me and it's easier to believe that I'm in control of my outcomes rather than relying entirely on an external force.) Although I now find that I'm more intuitive and sensitive, my other chakras seem to be growing weaker so it will be something that I will be working on later...maybe something I will update on my blog in the future.

Body Piercings as Spiritual Therapy

There are many beliefs and practices of piercings. Some of which are associated with spiritual beliefs or awakening of the consciousness. I discovered this a while ago (just before I got my ears pierced) when my mum was telling me how body piercings can be dangerous because of them disrupting the natural flow of Qi (pronounced chee) in the body- which in turn can affect your emotional and physical well being. I was very skeptical of this statement at first so thought I would investigate it myself. Turns out she was right to some extent. The downside to this topic (as with a lot of things) is that there are a lot of contradicting views for both sides of the argument.

A lot of acupuncturists will agree that body piercings give the same effect as acupuncture, the only difference being that the effects don't go away until you remove the piercing. This is probably why my mum was so against me getting any piercing done. (She has acupuncture done on herself for her disability so she is well aware of the effects that it can result in.) Those who practice it believe that silver metals repel energy and gold ones attract it to the specific area that it is punctured. With this in mind I considered it could potentially be something you can use to your own advantage and not necessarily be a bad thing.

People are known to get particular body piercings on a specific body part by impulse. These areas just happen to be the acupuncture points where they are needed the most at the time. (e.g. places that relieve anxiety). I later discovered that places where it's considered completely safe to get piercings, where Qi/waves of attraction/illusionary energy is not disrupted, are the ear lobes and the left side of the nose. This is interesting because it just so happens to be the places where most people get piercings. (Some evidence that suggest that it boosts it.) Getting the left side of the nose pierced is also a common practice in Hindi women as it is believed that it ensures a smooth pregnancy and menstrual cycle. Other places on the body other than the nose and ears are overall considered 'unsafe' concerning Qi because of the organs that the nerves are linked to. (Click here for a list of these.) Research has also shown that people who often get piercings are more prone to stress and anxiety. From this, it seems likely that we may naturally feel a spiritual draw or connection to body piercings.

After having done all this research I decided I would get my ears pierced and nothing else because I'd always wanted them done since I was little. When my mum saw them she didn't freak out but made sure that I didn't pierce into any meridians (pathways that Qi flows through). I then reassured her that I wouldn't ever get any other piercings because at the time, I honestly wasn't appealed at all of this idea.

Strangely enough I had a dream several months later where I got my tongue pierced and ever since waking from this dream I felt an unexplained spiritual draw to this idea. I thought it was weird and out of character because I used to say how I would never get my tongue pierced but on the same day that I went to town after that dream I felt a very strong impulse to immediately get it done. I didn't on that day because I tried to rationalise with myself. Instead I waited a month or two but this feeling never went away. I told very few people (only about 2) that I've been thinking about it as well because I wanted to ensure that it was my decision alone that wasn't influenced by others.

My tongue piercing was finally done on 13th March and I've never felt so emotionally and spiritually at peace ever since. It could also be because of the control I now feel I have over my life or the fact that I did something that initially scared me so much that I now feel I can do anything with little worry. (Especially since how I was still completely up for it when they said they wouldn't numb it.) I think this was my first step to follow my gut without hesitation and I now find myself to doing this more often in my everyday life. Of course, acupuncturists would say that it's my health that is very gradually being affected but I'm vegan and I regularly exercise so I'm really not worrying about that right now.

From my experience I think everyone reacts to piercings and even acupuncture differently. Some people get piercings that are continuously rejected by the body whereas other people get loads done with little problem. I think it's the same thing when looking at it in a spiritual way. Not only does everyone have different problems but the effects that piercings can have on you on a spiritual level can vary greatly with impact and from positive to negative.