questions about doing my meditation

[armankhosro]

Hi, I started this topic for asking questions about me (Arman) and Khosro (my friend).

So we started our first meditation session today, as Matthew recommended in previous topic. Khosro have a question about his sitting.

Khosro:
So I did as you said and started meditation after waking up, running and showering. After a few seconds, I felt as two hands grabbed my head from sides and pushing it. Then I felt as my awareness has moved forward and I lost awareness of everything (room, ...), although I could put my attention back to my room or environment. And I felt as something is rotating me around my spine, then I started to spin around that, and this feeling is the same feeling that I had two years ago in my last sitting and I heard a voice which made me scared and that was why I wanted to continue practicing with a teacher. Although today I have not heard any voice and I felt fine but I was just spinning! And in the end my attention was moved to above my head.

What should I do? should I continue? what do you recommend?

Thanks a lot

[Quardamon]

Dear Khosro,

It is good that you tell about this, so that you can get some feedback.
earlier you posted something about psychedelics. I have no experience with them, but I suppose that meditation can call up experiences and fears from those times. So, be gentle with yourself. If you really want to stop your meditation after 5 minutes, do that. Next time it may be different.
The feeling of something rotating around your spine and ending above your head may be an indication of kundalini energy. Kundalini is a proces that has its own dynamic. I try to stay away from it. Anyway it is good to build a lot of trust and quiet and equinamity when you have to face these things, also if you want to slow down the Kundalini process.

As for the feeling that hands grabbed your head: That is comparable to feelings that I can have in a meditation (in the last months). I never lost awareness.
There is a few things that I could think of as an image of what is going on. They may have to do little with meditation, and some may have little to do with you. So sit down, relax, and see what you can do with one of these pictures:
1. Taking spychedelics is a way to manipulate. You did that at some time. You did that to understand something about reality, I understood. "Manipulating" litterally means: "Taking into your hands". Now some energy of friendly jinn takes your head into his hands and manipulates it. So the thing that you did, you feel now from the other side: you are the one that is manipulated. That is unpleasant. And it does not bring understanding. The manipulating of reality does not bring you awareness of the truth. In fact, it takes away your awareness.
So that is picture number 1. (I hate psychedelics, so maybe I am unfair.)
2. Meditation can open someone up to a wider reality. It is supposed to do so step by step, as someone grows in the ability to handle that. I hope that this picture number 2 seams farfetched to you and that you regard it as nonsens. But it is this:
The moment you are posting this, it is 9-11: it is the anniversary of the attack on the world trade center in New York. It is a time, that a lot of hatred against muslims and mistrust against Iran is sent into the world. You, as a beginning meditator are not supposed to pick up those vibrations. To know them from the news is enough. So if this is the case - I mean, if you pick up thes vibrations - , you can call upon Allah, or the world order, or angels or whatever - I hope not not insult someone - and ask: "Please, you can put on my plate what I need to digest, but do not put more on my plate than I can handle." That in itself is not meditaion, and it is certainly not vipassana, but it is legitimate. It is certainly not wrong to aks for help. It is not wrong to ask for help from humans, and it is not wrong to ask for help from angles. What angles are is a question for later. (Even hard-core buddhists that think that gods and angles and jinns are an illusion will agree that trust does exist, and is needed on the path.)
3. This one I forgot, and it is late in my local time, so i go to bed.

I hope this helps. And also if it does not help, I hope to hear it.

Be well,

Quardamon

[armankhosro]

Quardamon, My friend, I partially agree with your first sentences but I have gotten my answer for using psychedelics and practicing meditation, and I don't want to compare psychedelic experience with meditation practice, cause they are a completely different and also this website is related to meditation and I want to continue in this subject only. Also my meditation experience 2 years ago, was without having any psychedelic experience, so this could not be the reason.

anyway, thank you for your attention.

[Matthew]

for Khosro,

The main point here is to be gentle with yourself. Start small and work from there. Take baby steps.

There needs to be no force in your meditation. Relaxation of the body on each in and outbreath is a small conscious effort but not forced. Attention on the body is a small conscious effort but not forced. All thoughts, feelings and perceptions are treated equally. Do not get engged with them - stand back and watch.

If twenty minutes is too much to start with then start with 5 minutes and do it a few times a day.

I agree with Quardamon that this sounds like a build up of energy so also look at your life with genuine self honesty and ask if things are out of balance elsewhere. Are you eating a good rounded diet? Are you sleeping enough? Are you living a life full of lies? All these and more can build up energy in your bodymind that is released in meditation.

Relax, be gentle and mindful at the same time, and take it slowly.

EDIT: Oh - and try meditating with eyes open - you are less likely to lose it in the ways you have described.

Matthew

[jeepneyko]

Hi! I've been meditating for years now and I havn't asked anyone this one because I'm not even bothered by it. I just hope this is the right forum to ask:

Whenever I sit (meditate), after about 20 or 30 minutes, by body begins to perspire, but only the part covered by clothes which is mostly my upper body. Whether it is in cold or hot place/ weather, this goes the same.

Is it ok? What is it anyway?

Background: i just breathe naturally, i never force anything whether breathing or awareness of the body or of the senses. Even if i open my eyes and start to sit (to meditate) this happens all the same. i usually sit for about an hour or more (if i dont have any pressing thing to do).