Unsteady sensation during samatha

The cultivation of calm or tranquility and the development of concentration
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umop_3pisdn
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Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by umop_3pisdn »

Today I had a peculiar sensation nearing the end of my hour of anapanasati, what I perceived as a gradual unfolding of 'enstatic' phenomenon eventually resulted in a sensation that my body was swaying in some way, though perhaps not in such a gross sense, but it felt a little like dizziness which made me a bit uneasy of if I was maintaining my equilibrium and naturally undermined some of the tranquility that I had developed. I've had other peculiar bodily sensations before and I've never placed much significance on them, and indeed that isn't my intention now, but rather those others weren't nearly so intrusive, and I raise this question because it seemed like an obstacle and one I'm not sure how to approach should it occur again. I am not sure if it was due to dullness, or poor core body strength revealing a genuine instability with the gradual falling away of the grosser features of awareness, or whatever. While I found that being mindful of the sensation reduced my feelings of disorientation, that then means that I was no longer attending to the breath. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what might be happening? My session otherwise felt like it had the directionality that samatha 'should' have, and what I mean by that is that I probably observed the process go further than I ever have before, but while many other times I've felt the beginnings of what I must assume was piti, there wasn't much of that this time at all.
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Ben
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Re: Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by Ben »

greetings upside down,
It appears to me that you are just becoming increasingly more sensitive to sensations you were previously not so aware of.
It is potentially another distractions so if, or when, it happens again: maintain your awareness on the object of meditation.
kind regards,

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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umop_3pisdn
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Re: Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by umop_3pisdn »

Thank you, Ben, that rings true to me. If it does occur again it will be a challenge to divert my awareness from it, but I suppose that isn't a bad thing!
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Ben
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Re: Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by Ben »

Hi Upside Down
No, its not a bad thing.
There in lies the training. Its dealing with hindrances head-on that we overcome them.
Wishing you the very best with your practice.
with metta,

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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mikenz66
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Re: Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi U.
umop_3pisdn wrote: I am not sure if it was due to dullness, or poor core body strength revealing a genuine instability with the gradual falling away of the grosser features of awareness, or whatever.
While I found that being mindful of the sensation reduced my feelings of disorientation, that then means that I was no longer attending to the breath.
As I've said on other threads I get swaying happening if I lose mindfulness and energy.
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.ph ... 37#p196816" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The style I practice, I'd go with being mindful of the swaying, but increasing your mindfulness on the meditation object, as Ben suggests, should achieve the same thing.

:anjali:
Mike
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reflection
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Re: Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by reflection »

When the senses don't get a lot of stimiles, they do things like this. Especially the sense of the position of the body: One can feel to be floating, sinking into the ground, leaning over, swaying, etc. This is very normal. Usually it only happens ocasionally and it'll not be a constant factor in your meditation, so no need to worry about it.
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tiltbillings
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Re: Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by tiltbillings »

reflection wrote:When the senses don't get a lot of stimiles, they do things like this. Especially the sense of the position of the body: One can feel to be floating, sinking into the ground, leaning over, swaying, etc. This is very normal. Usually it only happens ocasionally and it'll not be a constant factor in your meditation, so no need to worry about it.
These sensations can actually be rather fun to play with, doing loop-to-loops and other such things, though one probably should not play with these odd sensations too much.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

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reflection
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Re: Unsteady sensation during samatha

Post by reflection »

Yup.
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