Is this Nimitta?

I was raised a Christian. I'm not longer a Christian, but I hold onto Spirituality. I find I can relate to Buddhism very much, because it explains similiar experiences I've had.

When I was 14 years old, I began to meditate upon what I called God, setting my mind firmly and continually on this. When I first begun this I saw a circle of redish/orange light in the darkness of the mind's eye, which appeared as a sun in the darkness. It would sit in my mind's eye without any effort. The first time I experienced this I remained in a peaceful and blissful state for a few months.

The first time I saw this I was 14, and now I'm 32. I find in my hardest times of life, I will see this sun, which now appears to be rising over a Lake. In hard times, this image arises, sometimes unexpectedly. Whenever I see this sun in the mind's eye, I'll see such love and compassion that I'll cry, sometimes for a half an hour straight. When I see this sun, I feel as if I'm beholding virtue and love itself, from which all virtue comes. I see nothing and everything in that, as if in a clear see-through glass.

Is this image of the Rising Sun a Nimitta, as spoken about in Buddhism?

I was raised a Christian. I'm not longer a Christian, but I hold onto Spirituality. I find I can relate to Buddhism very much, because it explains similiar experiences I've had.

When I was 14 years old, I began to meditate upon what I called God, setting my mind firmly and continually on this. When I first begun this I saw a circle of redish/orange light in the darkness of the mind's eye, which appeared as a sun in the darkness. It would sit in my mind's eye without any effort. The first time I experienced this I remained in a peaceful and blissful state for a few months.

The first time I saw this I was 14, and now I'm 32. I find in my hardest times of life, I will see this sun, which now appears to be rising over a Lake. In hard times, this image arises, sometimes unexpectedly. Whenever I see this sun in the mind's eye, I'll see such love and compassion that I'll cry, sometimes for a half an hour straight. When I see this sun, I feel as if I'm beholding virtue and love itself, from which all virtue comes. I see nothing and everything in that, as if in a clear see-through glass.

Is this image of the Rising Sun a Nimitta, as spoken about in Buddhism?

Could be.

Don't get hung up on it.
It's just a passing picture.... see it, be aware, acknowledge, accept, and continue.
if you permit it to halt you in your tracks - then that's always where you'll halt.
Let it be a propulsion, not a stumbling block.
Don't ponder it, or try to figure it out.
Let it be, and let it go.....

Whether it is or not has no effect on its effect on you...

Do you feel that you need this sun in order to feel compassion and love? what would happen if it went away in your meditation? Would you still be able to cope? would the tears still be there?

It's not something I try to see. It usually hits me out of nowhere, when stressed or going through hard times. It suddenly appears, and the love and compassion that raditates out of this image, in the mind's eye, causes me to cry, even if I try not to. Within the light of that sun, it's as if I see Buddha, Jesus, and all that's virtue, love, and compassion, yet I don't see any forms, except the golden light of that sun.

This has happened to me a few dozen times in my life, mostly at the hardest times. It started when I first began meditating at 14, in which I set my mind firmly upon the essence of God being; this resulted in deep peace and many times bliss. I was just curious if this is the "sign/nimitta" mentioned of in Buddhism. I'm not craving it, just wondering what exactly this is.

Have a read on Ajahn Brahm's description:

Nimitta means "a sign," here a mental sign. This is a real object in the landscape of the mind (citta) and when it appears for the first time it is extremely strange. One simply has not experienced anything like it before. Nevertheless, the mental activity called perception searches through its memory bank of life experiences for something even a little bit similar in order to supply a description to the mind. For most meditators, this disembodied beauty, this mental joy, is perceived as a beautiful light. It is not a light. The eyes are closed and the sight consciousness has long been turned off. It is the mind consciousness freed for the first time from the world of the five senses. It is like the full moon, here standing for the radiant mind, coming out from behind the clouds, here standing for the world of the five senses. It is the mind manifesting, but for most it is perceived as a light, because this imperfect description is the best that perception can offer.

http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebmed080.htm

@amida - strive less to understand what exactly it is and strive more to accept it as it is - you sharing it is a wonderful gift to the world - perhaps your not understanding what it is, is the catalyst for you to share it?

If you search your heart, is there something there that may be a desire to cling to it / to understand it beyond what it is? If there is, try to let that go and see what happens.

Things will arise in your mind, both mundane and exceptional - all are welcome to come and go as they please.