Posted by John Davis on March 30, 1999 at 09:11:04:
In Reply to: Re: still working posted by lc bob on March 29, 1999 at 19:25:15:
>>2. i'm ending my cluster/cycle (how does one know when this happens? it's been posted that they stop >>abruptly, gradually, hit & miss, by intensity change, by period
>>change ... how does one know?? ... anyway, i still get the shadows - and this cycle has gone unabated >>since august ... thought i was chronic ... what is UP?!)
Mine always seem to come to an end when my spirit was completely broken and I did not have the strength to fight it any more.
>>i believe it's not just the stress, but how we assimilate the stress - or what our reaction to
>>stress is.
You said it, brother!
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bob. Like I have said before, for me the proof is in the pudding. I am not getting them anymore, even the shadows are becoming less and less prevalant. And this is not the first time it has worked, five years ago I had begun practicing meditation regularly. A cluster episode begun, I spent some agonizing time exploring the pain and the source of the pain during my meditation and the headaches dissipated and did not return until just recently. This most recent episode is five years later after I had stopped meditating for two years and had begun drinking in the evenings to deal with stress and hurt feelings.
I have been struck by the many comments about the number of possible factors involved , and I believe this may be right. But in the end, if we are suffering from the same ridiculus pain there must be a single physical link.
Oh yeah, in an unrelated note, don't try hypervenilation, my speculation as to why meditation works is just that. But I believe it is probably a combination the biofeedback that results from paying attention to what is going on, the RELAXED NATURAL breathing, and the relaxation of the body that results, not any specific type of breathing exercise.