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RHenriksen,

You would really benefit reading the book as it's discusses elevated mental state of flow and transcendence due to activities like martial arts.

This book also discusses flow among special forces troops as in SEALs among others.

My trying to discuss "flow" wouldn't be eloquent enough to pass muster, but when you read the book it'll become understandable.

Start by looking at some of the reviews of "Stealing Fire" by Steven Kotler to see if it's for you.

Some of it is about extreme athletes (like wing suit people) and getting into the zone so much like...honestly gotta read the book...

Abraham wrote:WTR,

Pain control is something I could also use.

Without sounding (I hope) like I'm whining, I live in a world of pain daily.

Can't say I've gotten used to it, but I manage it without anything more than one meloxicam nsaid daily. Frankly, it doesn't afford me much pain control, but sure a little. I'm not going to take opioids, though I did for a bit. However, I still do plenty of physical effort and when I do there's little pain, but when I stop, the pain parade marches...move a certain way and wham...Alright enough of my whinging.

I wish I could meditate. But everytime I try to relax I end up getting more frustrated because I'm thinking hard how not to think about anything at that particular moment which in turn makes me think even more and now I feel headache coming up

I'm just high strung individual. My wife says so.

Somehow though, I've never been on any meds, my bp reading during last check up was 119/70 with pulse of 67. All lab results came in the perfect mid range. Don't know how but I'm thanking Him for the mercy.

I know many people who medicate as often as they can. Oh, wait you said meditate, yes I do. Prayer is a powerful means of meditation. I can also slow down my heart rate and have acquired the ability to completely relax. This has greatly benefited me but I also realize it is through the will of God that He has enabled me to do this, because it was in great need.

As a Christian, I do specifically have a prayer life; but I also have a mediation life. As is often the case though, they overlap. Meditation leads to prayer for me. So I understand the difference between the two, but in practical application in my life, I seldom make a distinction between them in terms of how I aportion my time between them.

I suffered from severe insomnia for many years. I refused to take any form of sleep aid. A roommate started reading a book about deliberately having an out of body experience and was trying do so. I would spend hours laying awake trying to sleep anyway, so I asked him what the method consisted of. It started out with meditation. Well, I never had an out of body experience, but I found out how to get to sleep. It took time and practice, but the amount of time it would take me to get to sleep went from about an hour (which was a huge improvement over being up all night) to about 10 minutes over the course of a month or two. After a time, I no longer had problems sleeping with or without meditating.

It's been many years now, but I remember the method being to clear your mind by visualizing a blank piece of paper. Then slowly raise the line of your vision until it feels like you are looking out of the top of your head. Then relax each part of your body, starting with your toes and working all the way up to your head, slowly and methodically. That's about what I can remember, and I'm sure there are better methods. Still, I would very much encourage you to try meditation for your insomnia, and to stick with it. It probably won't be an instant fix, but it should help with time and practice. Hope this helps.

Thank you Lucas.