Strange hallucinations

ShiftPlusOne

I was meditating last night, then I feel a sudden urge to open my eyes. Opposite of where I was sitting was a cupboard with some stuff on the top. One of the thing on the top was a plastic bag which contained something. Instead of seeing the bag, I saw it morphing into a snake and slithering away. This happened over the period of a couple of seconds. I felt my heart start pumping quicker. I stood up and went to take a closer look. Sure enough it was just the bag, still there as it has always been. I thought "that was strange" and went back to meditating.

Another time I felt like I was being torn apart by dogs for some reason. Again, my heart started pumping quickly, it felt real and I opened my eyes.

Other times I feel some other sort of presence in the room very similar to what you'd feel if you've ever experienced sleep paralysis. However there's no sleep paralysis involved, no REM, no paralysis... no sleep.

I have never hallucinated before in my life, so this is really strange for me.

Does this happen to anyone else? What's all that about? Mara, perhaps?

IronRabbit

At times in past my hands have felt fleshless as if skeletal and strange shapes have loomed defying description. I think this is a good sign in your practice that mind is being calmed. The natural reaction from mind is to get something going, figure out a problem, identify an object, or provide a problem or vision to fulfill its need to find solutions. Now when such things occur when sitting I smile at the antics of mind trying to get everything revved up and invite mind back as an old friend to the present moment and the breath. Don't invest these occurrences with too much importance just bring mind back like a beloved puppy to the paper on the floor - he will learn........

ShiftPlusOne

Thanks for the reply.

zidangus

Maybe not similar to your experiences but when I meditate, I usually do so open eyed, and this results in the objects of my meditation, be it a statue of the Buddha or a candle, also morphing into some pretty weird shapes and objects. I usually blink and its all back to normal. I have to say it has never upset me or made my heart beat faster as I know its a consequence, and indeed an indication that I am succeeding in concentrating single pointedly on the object I am meditating on. So I stay calm throughout it and try to keep concentrating on the breath.


Metta to all sentient beings

Lexical

I'm not sure, I am new here and have a lot to learn. I guess I have meditated over the years, but I didn't all it mediation- I would sit quietly and try to still my mind, or do visualizations of peaceful places, etc...

I have had strange occurances in my life though. I am not sure why. I am not sure if they meet the criteria for hallucinations, but I have seen things out of the corner of my eyes and smelled things/tasted things that couldn't have been there, and also felt insects crawling on me (probably a side effect of medication and also sleep deprivation).

The mind is capable of producing a lot of strange sensations, and what is reality, anyway? Also, when a person meditates I have read that their brain waves change, become close to what one experiences when in a trance or near sleep (like lucide dreaming) so you may have experienced something like a hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucination, possibly?

Brandon

sounds like your mind in bored and looking for entertainment. just my opinion though.

lightwithin

The book I learned meditation from ("Meditation Now Or Never" by Steve Hagen), warns about this kind of thing and explicitly says that hallucinations during meditation are just "mental static" and should be dealt with as such.

No worries, it's just your mind firing randomly while it's starting to finally "settle". As long as you don't make a big deal out of these occurrences and come back again to your meditation object (the breath or whatever else), you should be OK.

TreeLuvr87

lightwithin wrote: »

The book I learned meditation from ("Meditation Now Or Never" by Steve Hagen), warns about this kind of thing and explicitly says that hallucinations during meditation are just "mental static" and should be dealt with as such.

No worries, it's just your mind firing randomly while it's starting to finally "settle". As long as you don't make a big deal out of these occurrences and come back again to your meditation object (the breath or whatever else), you should be OK.

HEY LIGHT!!!!!!!

OP, I was going to go along these same lines. When you're meditating, you're changing the way your brain is currently functioning by calming it down. Your brain is used to constantly perceiving and placing labels and judgments on what it perceives. So when you change the way it's working, then the way it perceives can easily change too.

If the hallucinations bring you fear then see that fear, be with it, and let it pass like everything else during meditation. Otherwise, just have a little giggle at it. Our brains are super weird.

Alfonso

ShiftPlusOne wrote: »

I was meditating last night, then I feel a sudden urge to open my eyes. Opposite of where I was sitting was a cupboard with some stuff on the top. One of the thing on the top was a plastic bag which contained something. Instead of seeing the bag, I saw it morphing into a snake and slithering away. This happened over the period of a couple of seconds. I felt my heart start pumping quicker. I stood up and went to take a closer look. Sure enough it was just the bag, still there as it has always been. I thought "that was strange" and went back to meditating.

Another time I felt like I was being torn apart by dogs for some reason. Again, my heart started pumping quickly, it felt real and I opened my eyes.

Other times I feel some other sort of presence in the room very similar to what you'd feel if you've ever experienced sleep paralysis. However there's no sleep paralysis involved, no REM, no paralysis... no sleep.

I have never hallucinated before in my life, so this is really strange for me.

Does this happen to anyone else? What's all that about? Mara, perhaps?

With this kind of experiences you should go directly to your teacher, it may be connected with winds movements inside your body, it may be even positive (or negative), who knows? It is not necessarily especial; try not to be distracted by this kind of experiences.
It is hard to say, specially in a forum.
Then again, go to your teacher; that's my counsel from heart.

ShiftPlusOne

Thanks again for the replies and suggestions, everyone.