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Recurring Phenomena While Meditating
I've noticed some recurring things that happen while I meditate, these don't happen every time but they happen often. The first is movement (the second is also movement but it is different), I feel like I'm swaying back and forth or like I'm on a boat. The second is a movement inside, this is hard to explain, it feels kind of like an earthquake in my head and my head, moving rapidly until it centers about halfway between my belly button and my chest (come to think of it I believe that's where my solar plexus is?). One other thing that happened a few days ago was that I looked in my mirror and didn't recognize myself, well I recognized myself, but not as myself, more like a friend (if that makes any sense). I'm not really asking a question rather sharing my experiences but I would love to here your thought and or any type of similar experiences. Thanks for your time 
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One thing that many Buddhist texts do not mention is the energy work. Energy work is common in many meditation systems in other traditions (gongfu, Taoist and Indian internal alchemy) and it is also to be found in Tibetan tantra methods. This energy is "wind" and heat (tummo) in Tibetan, qi in Chinese systems, and tapas in Indian systems.
I worked at a Chinese restaurant for a number of years. The owner was a very hardworking Taiwanese man who was also a taiji adept. I would often watch him as he worked late into the night, seemingly with access to an endless energy supply. One night in particular, it was near closing and we were still very busy (he made and prepped almost every dish in this place) and as I waited for him to complete some meal, he paused. He closed his eyes and stood there for a moment.
Swaying.
I knew exactly what that was, as I had asked him about my swaying while doing the neidan breathing exercises in which he instructed me. He was gathering energy to overcome his tiredness.
Anyway, yeah. I have experienced at least a taste of this swaying. In fact, I would describe one of my most memorable experiences with the swaying thus:
I felt like a long length of seaweed rooted to the bottom of the sea, swaying back and forth with the subtle movements of the ocean, a tiny channel carrying breath to me from the surface air far above. It was a quite peaceful and timeless feeling.
I think it must be a definite sign that you have achieved a very supple alignment of the spine.
At first I would sway little by little as i observe my breath, my head seems to spin, yet it is extremely crisp and clear... and it just seems to dissolve into this blissful euphoria. One would even liken it to sitting right there in a world filled with bright light. Then my breaths would just seem like i'm taking in blissful emotions that seem somewhat like love and compassion, but yet has that tinge of calmness... somewhat in the middle.
I feel like i can feel the "aura"/"feeling" of a person right after meditation as well, and a sense of unity with the world. Rarely, I do experience slightly psychic phenomena, and I've been told that it is normal.
Anyone with a similar experience as mine? (:
Can you explain the question?
Buddha bless,
Conrad.
Your body uses your eyes to locate itself, the sensation of gravity, your ears (much more than you may think).
When you concentrate, all of your attention is on one object, at one place. So your senses eventually receive no attention whatsoever.
(even if your eyes are open and you are meditating on an object, you will clearly realize the extremely narrow tunnel vision).
So your body does not know where it is in space. hence the feeling of floatiness etc... Very much like what happen to people who experience sound proof rooms. They usually have trouble maintaining balance and feel weird. But with meditation, it's even far more obvious since pretty much all of the senses used for spacial awareness are affected.
The Eighth Jhana is called "The Base of Neither Perception nor Non-perception". It is quite difficult to discuss because there is very little to discuss. Perception refers to the categorizing, naming function of the mind. Hence in this state there is very little recognition of what's happening, yet one is also not totally unaware of what's happening. It is a very peaceful, restful state and has the ability to recharge a tired mind. It is entered from the Seventh Jhana by letting go of all the outward, infinite expanse and coming to rest in what seems to be a very natural calm quiet place. The mind seems to know a lot more about how to find this space than can be verbalized.
The question is, has anyone experienced it?
_/\_
Yes indeed, but I am not sure what I actually experienced therefore I asked about it.
However my former Vajrayana teacher said to me not to to attach any importance to experiences but to just keep practising, so I wouldn't worry too much.
.
I might have experienced something like that. Fifteen years ago -- I had a lot of good reasons to be down, emotionally. I read the Tao Te Ching, and there was a line in there... something like, "He who cannot learn to let go of desire will never feel his heart unclench."
I don't remember it, exactly; but it struck me. I wondered if I could do that. I set down the books, leaned back in the beanbag, and just did it. And for fifteen minutes, "I" didn't exist. Traffic drove by on the hill; birds made birdsong outside; I wasn't asleep at all; but I didn't exist.
Then I came out of it. It was amazingly refreshing.
I've tried to repeat it, every now and then, but it hasn't happened again. I think I really needed it at that time.
I don't know at all if this qualifies as what you're talking about; but it's what happened.
Buddha bless,
Conrad.
It happened to me, but like you I can't seem to repeat it. I want to repeat it too.
It's a little hard to tell what *any* of them mean. It reminds me of the (so-called) levels of hypnotic trance, tho.
Buddha bless,
Conrad.
For example, OBEs or astral projection/sometimes even clairvoyance exist during/after rarely deep meditations on some days. Been told that these are in fact side-effects which are merely distractions. Waiving distractions is a very hard thing indeed.