Has anybody here struggled with anhedonia?

[OpalE]

https://www.webmd.com/depression/what-is-anhedonia

Anhedonia is the lack of ability to feel pleasure and is heavily associated with depression.

It seems I'm going through it lately and I was wondering if anybody else here has any experience with anhedonia?

If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice?

i've hit this particular wall many times, and seen those around me struggle with it as well.

I'm convinced that, at it's root, this is a result of a disconnect with one's own higher self and one's own 'true desires and direction.'

The most common causes of this disconnect (as far as I am capable of perceiving atm) are:

  -  surrender to a will other than your own, a will who's imposed limitations prevent the ability to even see a workable path towards the higher self's 'directional urges' (?guidance?) and desires.  this seems to result in an overwhelming sense of futility, hopelessness, frustration, and depression regarding the experience of life in general.

  -  having gone through powerful experiences that have not been processed and integrated into one's own being, causing something like a buildup of psychic or mental 'clutter' that clouds the connection with the higher self (or what is referred to in the Ra material as one's "guidance system").  this seems to cause a sort of 'autopilot mode,' where one moves around in a state of low-energy confusion and reacts impulsively (if at all), without feeling much of a personal connection to one's own actions and reactions.

i think one of these (or both) is probably the culprit behind your desire to immerse yourself in distraction.


The solution (at least for me), is a fairly simple technique i've been practicing since my teens, without realizing (until fairly recently) that the practice is heavily suggested within the L/L material:

 -  point your focus of attention inward, towards the central part of self that is already One with Creator.  (hold the attention in that direction, even if it appears to be dark at first ... i'm fairly certain that such initial darkness is the manifestation of such 'psychic clutter,' or the commands and desires of an imposing will).

 -  relax (especially the muscles and focus of the eyes, and any tightness in the torso/abdomen).  deep breathe, increasingly slowly, releasing tension (while still directing attention towards the 'core of one's own being').

 -  using whatever medium available to attempt a dialogue with the core self.  (i started with pen and pad, which was only mildly effective; my hand simply could not keep up with my thoughts.  if you have learned to type to the point of muscle memory, typing in a text file is particularly effective; if not, speaking into a voice recorder works well -- tho at first you still have to overcome the social blocks and filters that are generally attached to speech.)

    just 'dump' whatever's in the mind out into the medium, still pointing the attention toward the center of self and vaguely expecting a response.  don't attempt to screen or filter what comes out, even if it's shocking or appalling.

 -  continue this until either:  1) the flow stops and a sudden shift in consciousness occurs, at which point some revelations should suddenly surface, or 2) a 'presence' is suddenly felt and begins responding through you, at which point a direct question-and-answer session can be begun with the presence.


this presence will eventually 'set you back upon your path,' or reveal what stands blocking the path you have already chosen.


I'm going to post this in a moment, in case i don't finish my second intended step (which is a second post with a few examples of this technique from the L/L materials), but first i feel a need to address something i understand significantly less:

I find both your name and profile pic interesting in regard to the situation you address in this thread.

More than once, in the presence of two people who appeared 'possessed' (for lack of a better term), i've seen a specific and clear vision:

A phoenix, in the process of its fiery rebirth, (which i intuitively knew to refer to myself at that moment), flanked by two beings -- one on either side (which i intuitively knew to refer to the two people in my immediate physical vicinity).

The beings were humanoid, with the heads of ants (minus the antennas), very straight backs.  The arms had an extra joint, causing them to resemble those of a praying mantis when relaxed.  The "thighs" were incredibly long, bringing the knees above where the nipples would be on the chest (if they had had any, which they didn't) when standing straight and erect.

They each had something like a lasso around the phoenix, and weird ecstatic expressions on their faces.  Intuition said that they were syphoning off the energy that was flooding into the phoenix for the purpose of completing its transformation.  Though the source of this energy (into which the phoenix was directly connected), the speed of the syphon and the speed of the transfer from source to phoenix were perfectly matched, so that the transformation was effectively frozen in a state just before completion.

I do not know the relevance of this vision to you or your plight, but i felt the need to hand it to you.

That's it, for now.  If all goes as intended, there will shortly be another post below with the examples from L/L.