vision during meditation

[Sylvia1982]

I have vision of full moon with hazy clouds just inch above my right part of the head. Any one, would like to tell me more abou this please.

Thank You

[mettajoey]

Hi Sylvia,
It sounds like you are noticing a full moon with hazy clouds just inch above the right part of your head. 

"Don't stare at the moon!", Bruce Lee Enter the Dragon.

Just notice and don't attach.

Metta,
Joey

[Quardamon]

Hello Sylvia1982,

Did you have this while body-scanning? If so, I would just notice and go to the next part scanning. That is also what the instructions of Goenka say, is it not?
(So basically, I agree with Mettajoey.)

Welcome to the forum.

Quardamon

[Vivek]

Hi Sylvia,
 
 Are you wanting to figure out the meaning of the vision? If so, could you let go of wanting to figure it out, and accept it as it is, and move on? It may be something significant, it may not. It doesn't matter. Move on. Return to the awareness of sensations.

[Sylvia1982]

Yes. I agree with observe and let go.. But my years of practise.. I feel I have not improved

[Andrew]

Hi Sylvia,

Being the internet it is hard to understand where a person is coming from with one line responses. Perhaps in person you would have said this last post with a despondent tone? I can only assume that I would be feeling like that if many years had not changed anything.

The beauty of the internet and forums like this one is you have a lot of freedom to say what you are thinking without having to feel self conscious or intimidated, after all we are just words on the screen to each other.

This forum is about supporting others who are meditators in their efforts to see real changes in there experience of the world. You sound like you could use some support. When you say many years, what has your practice mostly been like? Do you get a lot of visions of the moon like this?

The first thing that came to mind when you mentioned the moon was what in concentration practices is called a 'nimitta' or a mental product of deep concentration.

There are alot of instructions regarding using nimitta to deepen concetration, but I'm not the one to give it, not really my experience. Ajahn Brahm has some great info on using them.

http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php/The_Basic_Method_of_Meditation_by_Ajahn_Brahmavamso

all the best to you Sylvia.

Andrew

[Stefan]

I have vision of full moon with hazy clouds just inch above my right part of the head. Any one, would like to tell me more abou this please.

Do you have this vision repeatedly?

[Sylvia1982]

I have had this vision few times. It could simply be nimitta experience

I started meditating in the tradition of Goenka Jee five years ago and like I mentioned I have attended numeorus retreats and sit daily. From the beginning I have had difficulty scanning the body may be due to countless sankharas and lately have been practising full body awareness. This is when I get these visions.

There is no doubt Vipassana has helped me and contributed positive aspects in my life. But being unable to scan the body after such a long period of time I wonder if I am practising it wrongly at the same time abandoning goenka jee s method and switching to full body awareness techique worries me because it could be mixing two different techniques.

[Andrew]

Hi Sylvia,

From the sounds of it you are more naturally inclined to full body awareness.

Everyone is different.

If you are finding that you are indeed getting very concentrated and nimitta is arising easily for you, then I would assume 'tranquillity' is your natural path.

Despite the instructions not to mix practices, there is no harm in assessing the results and making changes based on your experience. If you find that concentration is naturally arising, then use that. Plenty of people are better suited to tranquility training as taught by jhana meditators. I'm not one of them, despite my efforts over the years, but it does seem like a peaceful path for those who can land it.

5 years is a long time, and the natural resistance to scanning may be for a good reason, as you have assess your 'countless sankharas' will indeed make looking at any one of them difficult.

Do you trust your intuition that something needs to change? It is easy to get confused with all the info out there, but the basic similarity in all techniques is awareness of the 'here and now' and should be assessed using the level of change that is effected off the cushion.

When it comes down to it, all the paths that work come back down to unbinding, freedom, contentment, and happiness without conditions.

[meditation_novice]

Hi Sylvia,
I practice Goenka for more than a years or so and after i shift "naturally" to the all body awareness. I was also worried about mixing technique but few months after this changed happens I read a DhammaTalk from Ajhan Chah (I don't remember where, sorry...) and he said that after sometime this shift can come naturally but is good sometime to scan the body... this is roughly what i remember)
Since then, I continue to scan the body but not during all the sitting. (2 or 3 times in 50min sitting but i do not scan in every day)
Last word, trust your intuition...
Hope this help

Meditation_novice (and for a long time)
PS : apologise for my english...

[Sylvia1982]

Thank You all for your advise.

I like the Goenka approach to Vipassana maybe because this was my first. But I will continue with full body awareness technique and when I feel I am able to sacn the whole body without difficulty I might switch to the orgininal technique or the one thats suits me.....

[Vivek]

Your English is just fine, MN.

[Stefan]

... and when full moon is out again ... just observe ... 

[mettajoey]

I can certainly understand Sylvia's reluctance to step outside Goenka's instruction.  Especially, if he has done any of the longer retreats (and wants to do any more) which requires that you use only Goenka's vipassana techniques.

I noticed recently that I had an an objection to mixing techniques which stemmed in part from my Goenka retreat.  My Qigong practice and vipassana sits were blending well together except for my reluctance to allow them to do so...  After meeting with my old counselor who initially led me to the Buddhist path and voicing my confusion he quite openly and enthusiastically encouraged the mixing of techniques and explained that's the path to even better results.  If you think about it, most high-level teachers use their own interpretation and mix of techniques which worked for them.

This is good news for me considering my usual openness and interests in Qigong, vipassana and now Tibetan somatic practices.

[Matthew]

....
When it comes down to it, all the paths that work come back down to unbinding, freedom, contentment, and happiness without conditions.

Nicely put.