I'm not sure what it was.
ste20man
New
Hi. This is my first post.
I had an experience. As far as I can tell, Buddhism seems to be close to it as anything I have heard of.
I was intensely focusing on a thought when I just decided to let it go. I decided that I should not worry, I decided to let every thought and worry go. Immediately I was taken into a realm of infinite pure conscious energy. There was no time or distance, only love. There was another conscious, separate and yet part of the whole that interacted with me. It was the greatest experience of my life.
After wondering where my body was I slid back into my physical form.
What's happened to me? What was that place?
It is God. It is the universal field, I know that in my bones.
Have you been there too? What does it mean to you.
How do I get back?
Thanks for your time :-)
Comments
Well, Buddhists in general don't subscribe to God, as such, but then, first of all, I guess we would have to define what - or who - God is, and as far as I can remember, everyone's interpretation is completely different, so if you want to call it God - if you seek to familiarise the experience and make it recognisable in a way that brings you comfort and reassurance, then feel free.
Sometimes experiences like that defy description or labelling.
They are what they are.
Everyone has had an experience of some kind, and no one's experience is better - or worse - than any other.
They're all astounding, they all have an impact to a certain level;
maybe what you went through was the Sublime appreciation of Universal Consciousness.
Maybe it was a level of Emptiness which of course, encapsulates everything.
How do you get back?
You probably don't.
Not to that exact spot, exact space exact experience.
You may achieve something like it, or something greater or lesser than....
But back to that?
Quit trying.
Trying is a sure-fire way of failing.
It's like trying to squeeze water.
welcome to the forum, by the way.
it is an experience with sensitivity which is part of the Buddha nature which is the qualities of an awakened mind.
Sensitivity is well being and responsiveness. It does not increase or decrease it is always here. And it is nowhere.
You experienced a nyam which is a powerful experience of sensitivity. (or could be spaciousness or clarity or all three)
But the thing is that it is an experience and is subject to decay. Whereas the nature of mind of sensitivity is always there and is indestructible.
The experience does not belong to you. Here now gone later.
@ste20man -- First of all, welcome and I hope you find something useful here.
There are many ways to address the topic you try to pinpoint. It may have blown your socks off much as it has, in other permutations, for others. I prefer to keep it simple ... yes, it's the most extraordinary thing ever AND there is nothing unusual about it at all.
My own mind puts it this way: Everyone is advertising to themselves all the time, dropping hint after hint after hint, suggesting that what is advertised is well worth the effort that discipline requires. It may have been no effort at all to enter, but in order to integrate this wildly lovely experience, everyone needs to develop the muscles that have been neglected. Meditation is a good muscle builder, though if you imagine you are meditating FOR something or for SOMETHING ELSE, the effort will be wasted.
When I reported a similar -- similar but not the same -- experience to my then-Zen-teacher, he said tersely, "Forget about it!" It was like being punched in the nose. No one forgets such an experience ... and it is first-class advertising, a come-hither invitation that can inspire a more diligent practice ... trying, trying, trying until you're all "tried" out.
To the extent that you are inclined to follow up on your own advertising -- your own expression of what was never missing -- then I think it is worth noting that wonder and astonishment are good warning signs.
Who could be astonished by a shoe lace? And, simultaneously, who could help but be wonder-struck by a shoe lace?
Best wishes and again, welcome.
Each to his own. I have an overwhelming feeling when I am listening to a discourse, to simply shut down and enjoy. Its like when you have a course book you need to read and don't want to, sleep is oh so sweet. Meditation can be like an escape and if that's what someone needs that's ok. I think I need to be very fresh to meditate. I can only manage it once week to take one hour out and do nothing. Its always rewarding because the stillness of the body results in some very nice sensations which don't stay but atleast make me want to come back to it again and sit longer. But I know for sure there will be times when unpleasant feelings will also arise. For myself I foresee an encounter with darkness. Which is why it is good to go slow, be with the sangha and also develop knowledge through the dhamma. No need to rush. As they say when the student is ready the master will come.
Nothing. Or rather no you. When there is no you . . . something else. You experienced something else.
Perhaps. One way of putting it.
Been there, got t-shirt. Another day beyond 'meaning' . . .
Welcome.
I would say what I did was shift focus as awareness. Then it became like I was watching existence. Not living it anymore.
No me and other, no outside or inside. Just one field.
I've heard it been said that your consciousness expands from believing itself to be the body/mind but to incorporate everything. That gives it the godly feeling.
Some call it god, (universal consciousness) I would avoid names though. Labels create a distance.
People also wake up in different ways, some gradual. Some explosive. (From what I can gather)
I had an initial experience about a year ago that shook me so much I can't look at reality the same anymore. That level of experiencing has never returned. But things have changed since.
What you learnt from the experience is useful. Don't try and recapture the experience. The link is to let go... Of everything... Including the experience(which is now a thought)
I would say welcome to the path!!! You will never be the same again. In a good way
(Discaimer) - I'm learning all the time, my advice could be wrong. I'm just talking from where I'm standing right now
Congratulations on your experience
I'm not much of an ascetic, I tend to think it's OK to look forward to having such an experience as long as one doesn't come to DEPEND on them or get all disappointed and resentful if they don't happen. Hold on loosely.
IMO these are 'human' experiences. They are not specific to any religion. When Christians have that experience, they believe it must be God or Jesus, Muslims believe it is Allah, or a pagan attributes it to one of their deities. I tend to think it's something less 'specialized' than that. I've had one real zinger, spontaneously, and there wasn't a God or a deva in sight
just that falling away of what limits my awareness to this here body and this here life circumstances. It is deeply moving and definitely sacred.
Sometimes it's simply a matter of finding a religion or ideology that resonates with your experience. That's how it was and is for me and Buddhism. I'm not a religious Buddhist, but the folks, the goals of folks, and the way I've directly experienced benefit is what makes me call myself Buddhist if I have to call myself anything at all.
This contains two aspects familiar to dharma hounds:
We can not guarantee success unless you devote a few decades to meditation. So if nothing better to do . . .
http://m.wikihow.com/Meditate
Thank you all for your comments, you have really helped.
It has been really interesting to read what you have written. I will look into Buddhism more now as your replies really interest me. Thanks again, I hope that I will post another thread at some point in the future. All the best, Ste.
I hope you find your way. Buddhism is not the only way. It is however especially in the West focussed around the potential to reside increasingly in the kind of experience you feel was important. This is done through emphasis on stillness and letting go of the 'monkey mind' that wants to attach to god, Dukkha, pleasure, esteem, wisdom, physical being etc.
I will also suggest to you that the importance of the spiritual way should not be underestimated. You describe it 'as the greatest experience of my life'. Then by all means possible it would seem worth 'pursuing'. Good luck