Am I Doing It Wrong?

[Ouroboros]

I'm having some frustrations trying to do the really simple NEW stuff. Like the exercise where you swirl the secondary chakras in your thumb joints and big toe joints, for instance. I can focus on the general area, but I can't seem to focus on a point small enough to where I could move that focus around in circles. Also, any time moving my focus around is involved, I keep reading in the book about back-and-forth times in the seconds, but to move my focus from the base of my thumb to my shoulder seems to take like 15 seconds...am I trying too hard, or expecting too much in the way of physical sensations?

Maybe it would help to explain exactly what I'm doing. When I shift awareness to my thumb for instance, I try to sort of center my consciousness around the thumb...focus on what the thumb is feeling and try to shut everything else out. When it comes to moving that around though, it gets really hard. I can focus like that on my elbow, but when I try to do a gradual movement between the two, it's like I can't feel ANYTHING in between them. I'm trying to focus on the physical sensations at every spot I focus on, and unless it's like a joint area or a hand or foot, I can't feel any physical sensations there unless I actually touch it! It's of course easier when "highlighting," but the second I stop actually physically tracing the path, I lose it. This is why I'm thinking I'm going about this all the wrong way.

Is it as simple as going "okay, what WOULD it feel like if I traced from here to here" and then "imagining" that sensation actually occurring? The most I've felt as far as "energy movement" when trying these exercises is a barely perceptible warmth, mostly in the hands and feet. I feel like I should be feeling something a little more significant than that if I were doing it right.

[Korpo]

What are you actually asking - how to trace?

First of all, it takes varying degrees of practice to work for different people. If you cannot feel anything but actual energy centers / energy gates (joints), your sensitivity might need more training.

Every time people ask "Am I trying to hard? Am I expecting too much?" chances are they do.

Why do you "shut anything else out"? Energy work is not an exercise in suppression, but in becoming aware. Focusing gently on something does not require something else to be shut off. Only a gentle focus is relaxed. This is not about willpower. This about developing sensitivity. The harder you force, the less energy will actually run.

Try the "flicking exercise". Focus for example on the wrist, then the elbow (immediately afterward), the wrist, the elbow. Continue for a time switching your awareness between the points without any intermediate tracing. See if that after a reasonable time (let's say more than five minutes) creates sensations in your lower arm - for example warmth, but others are possible, too.

Take good care,
Oliver

[Ouroboros]

Sorry, I suppose I wasn't all that clear. I was mainly asking about whether the fundamental way I was approaching energy work was mistaken, which from your reply it appears to be so. When I have a few moments to myself I'm gonna try what you suggested, and see what happens.

[CFTraveler]

Is it as simple as going "okay, what WOULD it feel like if I traced from here to here" and then "imagining" that sensation actually occurring?

I would say it's as simple as thinking "I'm brushing my leg from here to here" and see what you feel.

The most I've felt as far as "energy movement" when trying these exercises is a barely perceptible warmth, mostly in the hands and feet.

That sounds okay. A slight tingling or just 'awareness of the area' is ok too.

I feel like I should be feeling something a little more significant than that if I were doing it right.

Not necessarily- sometimes you feel more than other times, and differently in different body parts.

[Ouroboros]

Okay, update time! I scaled back on the amount of mental energy I was using on trying to force the whole body awareness thing and immediately I got better results. In fact, I can now pretty much instantly become aware of those secondary chakras in my thumbs and toes (which is kind of a cool feeling...in fact, I've kind of been idly stimulating them as I type this for the heck of it). I moved on to the first awareness hands exercise with the legs, and I think I may have identified already some blocks in my left leg...the way they felt was kind of like stones in a stream; the energy would just flow around them instead of through. I'm much more confident now and am hoping to progress much more quickly through the preparatory stages of NEW. Thanks for your responses, Korpo and CF.

[CFTraveler]

Yay! You're welcome.

[ButterflyWoman]

I've kind of been idly stimulating them as I type this for the heck of it

I do that, too. Mostly the toes/feet, but sometimes other areas, as well. One of the things I like about NEW is that you don't have to go into a deep trance or anything. Once you get the hang of it and the feel of it, you can do it in all kinds of situations.

[Korpo]

Okay, update time! I scaled back on the amount of mental energy I was using on trying to force the whole body awareness thing and immediately I got better results. In fact, I can now pretty much instantly become aware of those secondary chakras in my thumbs and toes (which is kind of a cool feeling...in fact, I've kind of been idly stimulating them as I type this for the heck of it). I moved on to the first awareness hands exercise with the legs, and I think I may have identified already some blocks in my left leg...the way they felt was kind of like stones in a stream; the energy would just flow around them instead of through.

This is excellent progress! Give each exercise its time to work and this will keep on happening.

Further good success,
Oliver

[Ouroboros]

I started doing some of the stimulation exercises tonight; I did the toes, soles, and legs. I noticed some pretty interesting things while I was doing it.

First of all, as RB suggests, the sensations in my feet after doing the sole exercises were pretty obvious. Definitely the most obvious sensations I've had so far (I can still feel random tingle and warm spots!) Secondly, I've had a kind of tightness in my head and temples (specifically what I assume to be my crown chakra and secondary centers in the temples). While doing the energy work in my feet and legs, I kind of felt the tightness go through some changes...at one point, it almost felt like the tight points in my temples were starting to melt. The tightness is still there, though. (Possible blockages? Or just a headache? )

Also, I started feeling a little dizzy shortly after I stopped...and even now I'm feeling a little woozy, as well as having random energy sensations throughout my body. This sure is some interesting stuff! Can't wait to do the arm and hand exercises tomorrow!

[Korpo]

Tightness = blockage. Blockages are often the reason for many headaches with me.

Oliver