Mike I've never experienced anything like what you describe. The most extrordinary thing that has happened to me was during one meditation I felt, and almost audibly heard, a pop at the level of my solar plexis. This was immediately followed by a feeling of effervesence (like champagne bubbles) that rose up through my chest and spread into my head and down my arms and through my fingers. It was a curious experience but not anything as dramatic as you experienced. I once attended a class of Astral Projection, just out of curiosity. There were 2 people in the class who claimed that they were in their early teens before they became aware that not everyone could leave their bodies and fly around at will. They both had always assumed that everyone did it, like seeing or smelling or breathing. I took them at their word but after the class I was still firmly grounded in my own skin. Oh well. Bill (not Bill!)
Find what makes your heart sing…and do it! ________________________________ From: mike brown <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, August 2, 2012 12:40:43 PM Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Chan and zen ED, I've found the post where I initially wrote about my experience. I've found since that first experience that I can enter the first jhana by meditating onmetta. In fact, I was once reading a book about metta when I entered into it! Here's the original post from 12 April 2011: >>Bill!, Actually, it's difficult to find a place where to begin. If you remember, I recently wrote about an experience that was responsible for me discovering Zen. Just to recap, I had a very lucid and long-lasting kensho followed by another long-lasting period of intense bliss and kundalini type phenonema. Of course, I wasn't concerned with the latter experience so much and intuitively grasped the importance of the insight gained thru kensho (hence falling into Zen and not kundalini or mysticism etc). I've had a number of such experiences (both kinds) since, but this weekend was quite different altogether. The first day of the retreat was rather so-so as I couldn't quite get into the 'groove' and I was also missing my girlfriend quite acutely: being 'in the moment' was hell as it made me even more aware of the separation (please don't anyone tell me what I should or shouldn't do - I know full well what was happening). Anyway, from about midday until lights out, I was aware of a kind of 'fluttering' in my solar plexus area (which I put down to maybe being a mild emotional reaction to being separated from my girlfriend). The morning of the second day everything changed. I could sit very comfortably and found myself going into samadhi effortlessly. The fluttering in the solar plexus had now taken on a yellowish-green colour in my mind's eye and seemed to be rotating. Then after about 6 or 7 hours meditating (remember that there are 11 hours of meditating a day on a Vipassana retreat) my heart stopped (as an actual fact, I don't know), my breathing was suspended (I really thought for a split second I was going to die right there on the cushion!) and an explosion of green and yellow filled my chest and shot up my throat and exploded in a white firework that filled my head cavity. At the same time my body/mind felt like it was vibrating like it was a struck gong. All pain and discomfort vanished (I'd been sitting motionless for almost an hour when this occured) and an intense bliss took over. Now, I've had many experiences on the cushion that could easily be put down to visual/audial hallucinations from meditating, but this was quite different because I've never had much regard for things like chi and chakras before. After doing a little bit of research since I got home I've discovered that the solar plexus chakra is indeed symbolised as green and yellow and an irregular heart rhythm is a precursor to its opening. Also, when it does open the event I just described (travelling up the spine and 'flowering' in the head - or 'ajna' chakra) occurs. I've only discovered this information after the event. So, what to do about it? Part of me still has that 'just move on with it - it's just more makyo', but another part of me is thinking that it couldn't just be a coincidence that I had the exact same sensations described in kundalini literature. Well, if anyone's still reading this far, there you go. I'd love to hear some feedback about this (but please, I know about makyo and its pitfalls). Thanks. Mike<< Mike ________________________________ From: ED <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, 2 August 2012, 16:26 Subject: [Zen] Re: Chan and zen Mike, What events or practices precipitated the incident of the 'opening of your heart chakra'? --ED --- In [email protected], mike brown <uerusuboyo@...> wrote: > > Anthony, > > Don't get me wrong, I love the insights and wisdom of the awakened Zen masters, but I now choose to follow the Vipassana path. Ultimately, of course, all these rafts will be discarded, but I'm still paddling. > > > I think it's possible for anyone in a daily activity to accidently hit upon a jhanic state, like I did (the chances would be something like winning the lotto), but usually it's more conducive if they were concentrating intently on something (which is why it happens to Zen practioners who have no idea, or interest, in such a mind state). To the former person it would be labelled as a mystical experience. To the latter it would be mayko. > > If you are talking about insight meditation (Vipassana) per se, then a teacher would say to stay with the feeling in the heart region for a moment, observe what is happening, and then move away. Is the sensation pleasant? Is it a solid 'block' of sensation or is it made up of many different, more subtle, sensations? Is it fleeting? Does it make you want to attach to the sensation? Does it arise and pass like other sensations? etc. The insights are more important that than the experience itself. In metta (loving-kindness) meditation ,however, absolutely no problem to sit with the sensation of the Heart Chakra opening and sharing that with the world. There is a feeling of a vortex of energy in this area and I think that is recognised in Buddhism, hence the old dichotomy in the translation of shin - mind or heart? > > Mike
