Meditation Experience Guidance
Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 9:59 am
Hi guys.
I just want to share one of my recent experiences with meditation, since I do not have a teacher and hope that perhaps someone in these forums can give me some guidance. I meditate twice a day, based on the anapanasati sutta, once in the morning and once in the evening after work, normally for around one hour each time. I try to keep this up regularly, i.e. 5-6 days per week and have been doing it for a few months now.
I just want to relate the way I go about my practice and what I experienced (I keep a journal of my meditations as I find this allows me to focus and remember the various things I find that I do wrong or correct) and would appreciate if anyone has any suggestions or insights they can offer.
The other day while sitting down to meditate I affirmed to myself that the way to progress is through a firm attention and unwavering will in going deeper into the path. I close my eyes and relax the body. I notice the blackness of my closed eyelids and place the attention in front of me, always focusing of the feeling as the breath passes in and out at the point of contact with the nostrils.
Began by counting the breaths and firmly let go of any distracting thoughts that arose. I recognise what they are and what hindrance they correspond to and I let them go, bringing the attention firmly back to the breath. Once momentary piti arises (tingles in various parts of the body) regularly as I go through a few cycles of breath, I proceed to concentrate on a long breath (in and out). The in breath revitalises the body, while the out breath "relaxes" it. I do not verbalise that it is a long breath, but as I focus on the point of contact, I am "aware" of the length of the breath.
Again once piti develops and becomes more stable at this point I proceed with the same but for the short breath. The distracting thoughts are less in number at this point, and I start to realise that when my attention is firm on the breath, there is an absence of hindrances, which in turn brings about piti. Whereas at the beginning it was a few tingles on different parts of the body, it is now more vibrant, with more of an "after-effect" if that makes sense. The image I can give to describe the feeling is when a wave touches the sand on a shore, and then retreats leaving the sand it touched wet though the wave has now gone.
Once I feel that this is stable I focus on the whole breath. I find that this is just a slight change in awareness of the breath. Whereas before I was aware of the length, now I watch it somewhat more "deeply", observing each breath fully. The breath becomes less coarse at this point and more subtle as time goes on.
Just as an aside, even though I feel piti in the body throughout my sitting, I do not let it distort my concentration. I am aware of it, and enjoy the sensations, yet my focus remains on the point of contact.
From this point on when the breath becomes more subtle I then breath in and out while tranquilising the bodily formations. I see this as a form of letting go. Letting go of thoughts, emotions, and especially control. I am aware of the pleasant feelings yet I am focused on observing the breath while letting go of any form of control I have over it. At this point piti became very strong. My body became erect, I smiled and pleasant feelings were sweeping over me to such an extent that certain parts of the body became tense. As I realised this I brought the attention gently back to the breath and told my self to let go of everything and trust in the experience.
Suddenly as all my awareness was being flooded with pleasure and joy, everything changed. I was sitting and my mind just felt, "expanded" and "bright" if that makes sense. I felt a deep sense of peace, serenity and joy. The body was completely relaxed, the breath was very subtle and the mind was just aware. I don't know how else to describe it. Nothing could ruin that moment and no thought could or did enter it. I just knew that that is what it was. It was like being pumped with such intense emotions that become extremely overwhelming and then this transforms into the peacefulness of a calm lake. I was aware of it and felt that I could stay there for hours. It was just beautiful.
Two days after that experience I still feel extremely happy and at peace. I just want to know what the experience was and if anyone has had anything similar? Is my practice correct? Should I try and attain the state again? Are there things I am doing wrong or correct? Any sort of guidance is appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Robert
I just want to share one of my recent experiences with meditation, since I do not have a teacher and hope that perhaps someone in these forums can give me some guidance. I meditate twice a day, based on the anapanasati sutta, once in the morning and once in the evening after work, normally for around one hour each time. I try to keep this up regularly, i.e. 5-6 days per week and have been doing it for a few months now.
I just want to relate the way I go about my practice and what I experienced (I keep a journal of my meditations as I find this allows me to focus and remember the various things I find that I do wrong or correct) and would appreciate if anyone has any suggestions or insights they can offer.
The other day while sitting down to meditate I affirmed to myself that the way to progress is through a firm attention and unwavering will in going deeper into the path. I close my eyes and relax the body. I notice the blackness of my closed eyelids and place the attention in front of me, always focusing of the feeling as the breath passes in and out at the point of contact with the nostrils.
Began by counting the breaths and firmly let go of any distracting thoughts that arose. I recognise what they are and what hindrance they correspond to and I let them go, bringing the attention firmly back to the breath. Once momentary piti arises (tingles in various parts of the body) regularly as I go through a few cycles of breath, I proceed to concentrate on a long breath (in and out). The in breath revitalises the body, while the out breath "relaxes" it. I do not verbalise that it is a long breath, but as I focus on the point of contact, I am "aware" of the length of the breath.
Again once piti develops and becomes more stable at this point I proceed with the same but for the short breath. The distracting thoughts are less in number at this point, and I start to realise that when my attention is firm on the breath, there is an absence of hindrances, which in turn brings about piti. Whereas at the beginning it was a few tingles on different parts of the body, it is now more vibrant, with more of an "after-effect" if that makes sense. The image I can give to describe the feeling is when a wave touches the sand on a shore, and then retreats leaving the sand it touched wet though the wave has now gone.
Once I feel that this is stable I focus on the whole breath. I find that this is just a slight change in awareness of the breath. Whereas before I was aware of the length, now I watch it somewhat more "deeply", observing each breath fully. The breath becomes less coarse at this point and more subtle as time goes on.
Just as an aside, even though I feel piti in the body throughout my sitting, I do not let it distort my concentration. I am aware of it, and enjoy the sensations, yet my focus remains on the point of contact.
From this point on when the breath becomes more subtle I then breath in and out while tranquilising the bodily formations. I see this as a form of letting go. Letting go of thoughts, emotions, and especially control. I am aware of the pleasant feelings yet I am focused on observing the breath while letting go of any form of control I have over it. At this point piti became very strong. My body became erect, I smiled and pleasant feelings were sweeping over me to such an extent that certain parts of the body became tense. As I realised this I brought the attention gently back to the breath and told my self to let go of everything and trust in the experience.
Suddenly as all my awareness was being flooded with pleasure and joy, everything changed. I was sitting and my mind just felt, "expanded" and "bright" if that makes sense. I felt a deep sense of peace, serenity and joy. The body was completely relaxed, the breath was very subtle and the mind was just aware. I don't know how else to describe it. Nothing could ruin that moment and no thought could or did enter it. I just knew that that is what it was. It was like being pumped with such intense emotions that become extremely overwhelming and then this transforms into the peacefulness of a calm lake. I was aware of it and felt that I could stay there for hours. It was just beautiful.
Two days after that experience I still feel extremely happy and at peace. I just want to know what the experience was and if anyone has had anything similar? Is my practice correct? Should I try and attain the state again? Are there things I am doing wrong or correct? Any sort of guidance is appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Robert