Thursday, April 10, 2008

Meditation

A very peaceful meditation this morning. Usually, when I am as busy as I am this week--with reading, with interviews and preparations for my next "Art of Outrage" podcast, and with the other writing chores that preoccupy me--my mind is all over the place; trying to find directions, trying to find solutions, trying to find words... This morning, though, I was unusually successful in finding and maintaining focus and concentration. And at the end, I was rewarded with a curious sensation that I cannot remember having felt before: all the molecules in my body seemed to start swimming apart and at the same time to merge with everything around it, leaving me with the sensation of pure energy. I have felt that sense of the contours of the body melting before, when the distinction between self and other simply disappears; but never, that I can recall, this sense of swirling, almost dizzying energy. And I notice that the feeling persists, even fifteen minutes after meditation.

I have been reading a manuscript on the concept of "becoming" by Than Geoff these past few days, and just yesterday came upon a section on the jhanas--the states of deepening experience in meditation; and I wonder whether this was one of the jhanas I was experiencing--or whether my mind was fantasizing such an experience, based on the reading? It was by all means a very pleasant experience, and one that I will watch for in the future. I should also go back into the text today, to see whether it corresponds with anything I read with less than full attention.

3 comments:

The Geezers said...

Interesting experience, it sounds like. I'd hazard an opinion that it was a legitimate experience resulting from deepening meditation rather than some kind of fantasy. I don't think you would have had the lingering effects, otherwise.

Katherine said...

Interesting indeed. Particularly the sensation of the contours of the body melting.

August

Anand said...

I definitely like your expression of "sensation of the contours of the body melting" That is a very vivid expression.

Another story from Ajaan Fuang:

A young nurse practiced meditation with Ajaan Fuang several days running, and finally asked him one day, "Why wasn't today's session as good as yesterday's?"

He answered: "Meditating is like wearing clothes. Today you wear white, tomorrow red, yellow, blue, whatever. You have to keep changing. You can't wear the same set of clothes all the time. So whatever color you're wearing, just be aware of it. Don't get depressed or excited about it."