-Certain, My Breathing Ceases

[Disabled Not Broken]

About 30 minutes into meditation, my 'waking consciousness' is gone.

 

Recollection of 'anything', is almost work to pull back

[sometimes, more difficult than others: i.e., around Full Moon]

 

If I am doing a deliberate practice, I can follow it with no problem

 

But if I am not following a 'self-imposed, guided direction, [NeiDan],... within 30 minutes, I am completely 'far off'

 

Approx. 20 minutes into my meditation, & My breathing, as it slows down, is practically not even noticeable...

 

My pulse is extremely faint as well...

 

Add another 10 minutes into that, and breathing is gone

 

Sometimes, I can 'view myself' from outside, very faint recall, and there is no breathing, none. [this conscious stir then pulls me back]

 

Upon coming back from [Delta/Theta?] Alpha to Beta - there is just 'darkness', as if I am pulling back from being unconscious

 

Sometimes, I will feel a deep throbbing in my head, pulsing [no pain, ever]

 

There is no 'blueness' nor 'redness' to my skin/complexion after a mirror check.

 

I am not out of breathe, no heart palpitations, etc

 

My wife is a Registered Nurse, and also can reach high altered states, but nothing close to what I achieve - and it is worrying her...

 

I just say "if I appear dead, hide my body for a few days before the morgue is called"

 

Should she actually 'test' to see if I am not breathing, upon entering my 'aura-space', I 'feel it', & it starts to stir me, which of course, disturbs the breathing cessation

 

[i am not sleeping lol]

 

I know Yogis can do this, and shamans, etc.,

 

But before I classify myself as such [want to separate this from an ego stroke]...

 

Anyone else experience this for a long stretch?

 

I'm not talking for a couple of minutes - I am talking for a substantial amount of time that medical science would deem 'brain dead' from lack of oxygen

 

[i don't want to involve physician lab rat tests, etc]

 

Hoping for some feedback

Edited July 28, 2012 by Disabled Not Broken

[Pai_Mei]

[Disabled Not Broken]

[ChiDragon]

About 30 minutes into meditation, my 'waking consciousness' is gone.

 

Approx. 20 minutes into my meditation, & My breathing, as it slows down, is practically not even noticeable...

 

Sometimes, I can 'view myself' from outside, very faint recall, and there is no breathing, none. [this conscious stir then pulls me back]

 

I just say "if I appear dead, hide my body for a few days before the morgue is called"

 

Should she actually 'test' to see if I am not breathing, upon entering my 'aura-space', I 'feel it', & it starts to stir me, which of course, disturbs the breathing cessation

 

I'm not talking for a couple of minutes - I am talking for a substantial amount of time that medical science would deem 'brain dead' from lack of oxygen

 

Hoping for some feedback

 

What you have described is similar to what I had read in the Chinese Taoist description. It is the highest realm that one can be achieved in Chi Kung meditation.

 

Congratulations........

Edited July 28, 2012 by ChiDragon

[Disabled Not Broken]

What you have described is similar to what I had read in the Chinese Taoist description. It is the highest realm that one can be achieved in Chi Kung meditation.

 

Congratulations........

I'M SHOWING THIS TO MY WIFE!

[everseeking]

I'M SHOWING THIS TO MY WIFE!

 

DnB-- I love your posts! I haven't posted here in a long time, I pissed some people off I think, because I started getting visitors checking me out at night. I've been lurking here for several years though.

 

As for the breathing, I have experienced the very beginning of ceasing the breath. I only mention it because for me it is a natural phenomenon; I have done very little ' mediation', but can easily extend my breath to one per minute. I read once in a book by B.K. Frantzis that there were great health benefits from this- I have to wonder though, what this means that I can do it so easily.

 

I've tested my ability to alter my heart rate, and can naturally alter it by about 10 bpm or more, up or down. Thus being without the valsalva. I just ' drop' or 'raise' inside, I dont really know words for it.

 

When Im alone in a quiet place, I've been able to stop my breath briefly, the 'thought' that "people have to breath" caused me to take a breath, though I felt no urgency what so ever.

 

It reminds me of a documentary about sun gazing, 'Eat The Sun' I think, and the loss of appetite and supposed lack of need for food.

 

I suppose I have my mother to thank for any of this natural ability Ive held onto, she's always supported me. We used to play the number game, I got pretty good at guessing the right number.

 

 

Anyway, I'd be curious to see what your blood oxygen and end tidal CO2 are when you are in that state. But I wouldn't worry, some of us are just where we are with this stuff, 'science' be damned!

 

Thanks for reading:-)

Edited July 28, 2012 by everseeking

[suninmyeyes]

[Pai_Mei]

Yes, Suninmyeyes raised a very important point here. It depends on your level of awareness...I know this state also under the name "false emptyness". It is pretty much like a hibernation state. As Suninmyeyes said, some Yogis deliberately cultivate such stages but these are all lower-level samadhi-states. I personally had similar experiences for some time when I would close my eyes and then open them and an hour was gone and it had felt like a second.

[konchog uma]

regarding the article by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, here is a link to the entire article

 

http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2005/emay05/sam.shtml

 

thank you SIME

[Disabled Not Broken]

DnB-- I love your posts! I haven't posted here in a long time, I pissed some people off I think, because I started getting visitors checking me out at night. I've been lurking here for several years though.

 

As for the breathing, I have experienced the very beginning of ceasing the breath. I only mention it because for me it is a natural phenomenon; I have done very little ' mediation', but can easily extend my breath to one per minute. I read once in a book by B.K. Frantzis that there were great health benefits from this- I have to wonder though, what this means that I can do it so easily.

 

I've tested my ability to alter my heart rate, and can naturally alter it by about 10 bpm or more, up or down. Thus being without the valsalva. I just ' drop' or 'raise' inside, I dont really know words for it.

 

When Im alone in a quiet place, I've been able to stop my breath briefly, the 'thought' that "people have to breath" caused me to take a breath, though I felt no urgency what so ever.

 

It reminds me of a documentary about sun gazing, 'Eat The Sun' I think, and the loss of appetite and supposed lack of need for food.

 

I suppose I have my mother to thank for any of this natural ability Ive held onto, she's always supported me. We used to play the number game, I got pretty good at guessing the right number.

 

 

Anyway, I'd be curious to see what your blood oxygen and end tidal CO2 are when you are in that state. But I wouldn't worry, some of us are just where we are with this stuff, 'science' be damned!

 

Thanks for reading:-)

 

Thank you for the kind words

I seen ''Eat the Sun'' and have done sun-gazing-- kept it up for awhile, but I started thinking it might not be healthy to pursue it for much longer, as I was going for about 15 minutes and my body wanted more.

I feel the same benefits from visualizing looking at the sun- which is a technique gazers do on cloudy days

 

I only eat once, daily, anyway- so anymore and I might disappear lol

 

B.K. Frantzis has some good books

 

Congrats on your success!

 

...& night visitors? If you want to talk, privately, Email me

 

Thanks and welcome back!

[Disabled Not Broken]

Hi DNB,

Are you full of awarness and knowledge upon return from such meditations?

Becouse if not it could be something I recall my teacher mentioning -- suspended animation.

It happens even to yogis that have many expiriences and are able to enter real samadhis. He also mentioned that this is easily and often for deep state of realisation and meditation.

Some yogis take upon practise of jada samadhi and manage to spend long time under ground and similar feats.

 

Here is a part of the article by Swami Satyananda on samadhis which is interesting:

 

'Trance, ecstasy or suspension of consciousness is not samadhi. Samadhi is sublime equanimity. There are many wrong notions about samadhi. According to some, samadhi is a state where one's body becomes petrified and looks like a stone. The pulse rate slows down and the metabolic process stops. Suspended animation is the greatest science which has been mastered and perfected by Indian yogis, but it is not samadhi. In the state of suspended animation, or jada samadhi, there is no awareness or knowledge. The stock of subconscious or subliminal impressions remains unexhausted and dormant.

 

Samadhi does not merely mean a state of steady posture and total unconsciousness. A person who has been able to make the conscious and subconscious forces dormant is really commendable, but that has nothing to do with yoga and the ordinary person. If the state does not exhaust muscular, emotional and mental tensions, if it does not bestow peace, power and enlightenment, if it does not remove your complexes, conflicts, schizophrenia, psychological disorders etc., it is not samadhi.

 

What is samadhi then? Can everyone achieve samadhi? Is samadhi total awareness or complete forgetfulness? In samadhi are we conscious or unconscious? Is samadhi total suspension, forgetfulness, unconsciousness, total inertia, or is it absolute consciousness, total awareness? The mind is a bundle of mental patterns of awareness. When every pattern of awareness has been rejected and annihilated, what remains is the ultimate form of consciousness. Here peace is experienced within.'

 

 

And if it is a deep state of meditation or chi kung, than as previous poster mentioned body massage is the thing to do to bring you back to physical.

 

Anyway it is interesting to read your vibrant contributions so far on TTB.

 

Thank you for your encouraging words

 

When I am "gone", I see flashes of people, places, that I have never seen in my waking conscious 'memory'.

 

Sometimes visions [prophetic and a couple of cases of confirmed 'time travel'... but never any instances of bi-location]...

 

Most times, like I am just glimpsing people in their daily mundane activities.

 

My Rottweiler is usually sleeping, and he cries in his sleep, which this might be causing. I believe this because in the past I have inadvertently appeared in others dreams in my household during my mediations.

I have a Ball Python in my Temple, where I do my meditations, ritual work, etc,. and he is most active during this time, though prior he is curled up

 

... So I grok, something is definitely going on

 

Most of the time, it is like suspended animation.

Immediately after regaining Beta state, my joints/knuckles/spine/neck [etc.,] all pop, as if I have been sleeping 8 hours

[Disabled Not Broken]

Thank you Tao Bums, for all the Insights

The Full Moon is coming up in a few days, and this is when it is usually strongest.

 

Now that I know this is common, for some, it helps eases minds - though my wife has seen me do some very weird stuff over the years lol

[deci belle]

Wonderful!! It's good to ascertain experiences but don't be too ready to sound the trumpets (to yourself, in terms of inner subtlties) because "the spoils of war are lost in celebration".

 

It is a good indication, but it's not that big a deal~ that's not meant in a negative way at all!! Just keep it up without harboring any kind of expectations. There's a whole world of wonderful mystery to explore

[Jetsun]

Master Nan Huai Chin talks about this is his book The Anapa Chi conversations with Peter Senge, which is a good book worth checking out.

[Christian]

About 30 minutes into meditation, my 'waking consciousness' is gone.

 

Hoping for some feedback

 

Your experiences will only lead to more confusion and suffering.

[joeblast]

 

Anyone else experience this for a long stretch?

 

I've had similar-ish phenomena from longevity breathing; breaths over a minute long I am not really able to feel sensation of breath (or to be more explicit, not feeling any air move through the passageways)...heart rate etc need to drop low enough for those things to happen otherwise the cranial nerve feedback loops engage and simply present a 'glass floor' that is damn near impossible to pass through otherwise. I described here and here about the some of the resultant effects that coherently and harmoniously arranged energetics are able to produce that go on to sustain the body while "the breath" transitions into something more along the lines of respiration, subtle though the difference may be it gets to be substantial when you really start peeling back layers of the onion. As such I hesitate to use the word "breathless' since it tends to imply retention of breath, which IME is a very different thing than bringing all of the body's processes below certain thresholds where neural activity and resultant feedback-cascades drop to a very low, attenuated state. In such a state one experiences no hypoxia because respiration is still taking place, deep and "breathless" though it may be. Dont attach or worry, so long as you are maintaining awareness with this you'll be fine, your body isnt going to just shut down on you, its not like you're consciously trying to leave it behind or something.

[joeblast]

I tend to leave such things for standing practice, since its relatively more active anyway. A good deep abdominal breath naturally primes the organs so I tend to not spend a lot of time in seated meditation on that aspect. For bones I love the white skeleton, in fact master Nan Huai Chin said that tremendous progress can be achieved by just that and anapana. But anyway, 'utter and complete stillness' doesnt focus on those things, it is mostly harmonious anapana. The focus of your awareness determines - 'actuates', if you want to consider another term - the practice on an experiential level, which is why it is so important to maintain awareness even when in 'utter and complete stillness'; for awareness is part and parcel of and not productively separable, imho. Separate the two and you wind up with the 'dead tree Zen' that master Nan has also mentioned. Pay too much attention to the priming of organs, sinews, cavities, bones and such, and such things ('feeling out' via the neural pathways') generate neural activity that ostensibly promulgates manifestation of thought-stream-energy on some level. Not that there isnt benefit to doing such things in practice, there absolutely is, but part of 'strategy' and 'protocol' dictates that certain things should be determined ahead of time with regard to the progression of a meditation session. Even if one's intention is to simply sit and let whatever may arise, arise - that is still a 'strategy.' Feeling out that stuff is awesome and beneficial, no doubt - but haha...I dont recall who said this, but basically all methods are unsustainable and are to be dropped eventually. (Even if it is in a waxing/waning context.)

[Disabled Not Broken]

Wonderful!! It's good to ascertain experiences but don't be too ready to sound the trumpets (to yourself, in terms of inner subtlties) because "the spoils of war are lost in celebration".

 

It is a good indication, but it's not that big a deal~ that's not meant in a negative way at all!! Just keep it up without harboring any kind of expectations. There's a whole world of wonderful mystery to explore

Thank you, and yes- I see it all, as diversions

 

My goals are higher reaching

[Disabled Not Broken]

I've had similar-ish phenomena from longevity breathing; breaths over a minute long I am not really able to feel sensation of breath (or to be more explicit, not feeling any air move through the passageways)...heart rate etc need to drop low enough for those things to happen otherwise the cranial nerve feedback loops engage and simply present a 'glass floor' that is damn near impossible to pass through otherwise. I described here and here about the some of the resultant effects that coherently and harmoniously arranged energetics are able to produce that go on to sustain the body while "the breath" transitions into something more along the lines of respiration, subtle though the difference may be it gets to be substantial when you really start peeling back layers of the onion. As such I hesitate to use the word "breathless' since it tends to imply retention of breath, which IME is a very different thing than bringing all of the body's processes below certain thresholds where neural activity and resultant feedback-cascades drop to a very low, attenuated state. In such a state one experiences no hypoxia because respiration is still taking place, deep and "breathless" though it may be. Dont attach or worry, so long as you are maintaining awareness with this you'll be fine, your body isnt going to just shut down on you, its not like you're consciously trying to leave it behind or something.

 

I tend to leave such things for standing practice, since its relatively more active anyway. A good deep abdominal breath naturally primes the organs so I tend to not spend a lot of time in seated meditation on that aspect. For bones I love the white skeleton, in fact master Nan Huai Chin said that tremendous progress can be achieved by just that and anapana. But anyway, 'utter and complete stillness' doesnt focus on those things, it is mostly harmonious anapana. The focus of your awareness determines - 'actuates', if you want to consider another term - the practice on an experiential level, which is why it is so important to maintain awareness even when in 'utter and complete stillness'; for awareness is part and parcel of and not productively separable, imho. Separate the two and you wind up with the 'dead tree Zen' that master Nan has also mentioned. Pay too much attention to the priming of organs, sinews, cavities, bones and such, and such things ('feeling out' via the neural pathways') generate neural activity that ostensibly promulgates manifestation of thought-stream-energy on some level. Not that there isnt benefit to doing such things in practice, there absolutely is, but part of 'strategy' and 'protocol' dictates that certain things should be determined ahead of time with regard to the progression of a meditation session. Even if one's intention is to simply sit and let whatever may arise, arise - that is still a 'strategy.' Feeling out that stuff is awesome and beneficial, no doubt - but haha...I dont recall who said this, but basically all methods are unsustainable and are to be dropped eventually. (Even if it is in a waxing/waning context.)

YOU CONTAIN A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE, BROTHER!

AS ALWAYS - THANK YOU!

[Diamond Spectrum]

It ceases for me in practice as my awareness of the transition space between inhalation and exhalation open up, this accompanies the elongation of the entire breathing cycle, and a profound level of awareness as an "equilibrium" is reached. I consider this state as a kind of super natural suspension to be cherished and cultivated, it is a window into many realms and is a significant signpost in meditation. It's here the classics describe "true breathing"

[Sifu ReL]

About 30 minutes into meditation, my 'waking consciousness' is gone.

 

Recollection of 'anything', is almost work to pull back

[sometimes, more difficult than others: i.e., around Full Moon]

 

If I am doing a deliberate practice, I can follow it with no problem

 

But if I am not following a 'self-imposed, guided direction, [NeiDan],... within 30 minutes, I am completely 'far off'

 

Approx. 20 minutes into my meditation, & My breathing, as it slows down, is practically not even noticeable...

 

My pulse is extremely faint as well...

 

Add another 10 minutes into that, and breathing is gone

 

Sometimes, I can 'view myself' from outside, very faint recall, and there is no breathing, none. [this conscious stir then pulls me back]

 

Upon coming back from [Delta/Theta?] Alpha to Beta - there is just 'darkness', as if I am pulling back from being unconscious

 

Sometimes, I will feel a deep throbbing in my head, pulsing [no pain, ever]

 

There is no 'blueness' nor 'redness' to my skin/complexion after a mirror check.

 

I am not out of breathe, no heart palpitations, etc

 

My wife is a Registered Nurse, and also can reach high altered states, but nothing close to what I achieve - and it is worrying her...

 

I just say "if I appear dead, hide my body for a few days before the morgue is called"

 

Should she actually 'test' to see if I am not breathing, upon entering my 'aura-space', I 'feel it', & it starts to stir me, which of course, disturbs the breathing cessation

 

[i am not sleeping lol]

 

I know Yogis can do this, and shamans, etc.,

 

But before I classify myself as such [want to separate this from an ego stroke]...

 

Anyone else experience this for a long stretch?

 

I'm not talking for a couple of minutes - I am talking for a substantial amount of time that medical science would deem 'brain dead' from lack of oxygen

 

[i don't want to involve physician lab rat tests, etc]

 

Hoping for some feedback

 

thats awsome you achieved that level...and its not a ego stroke to be Glad that you did.

 

Keep up the good Progress!!

[Tibetan_Ice]

About 30 minutes into meditation, my 'waking consciousness' is gone.

 

Recollection of 'anything', is almost work to pull back

[sometimes, more difficult than others: i.e., around Full Moon]

 

If I am doing a deliberate practice, I can follow it with no problem

 

But if I am not following a 'self-imposed, guided direction, [NeiDan],... within 30 minutes, I am completely 'far off'

 

Approx. 20 minutes into my meditation, & My breathing, as it slows down, is practically not even noticeable...

 

My pulse is extremely faint as well...

Add another 10 minutes into that, and breathing is gone

 

Sometimes, I can 'view myself' from outside, very faint recall, and there is no breathing, none. [this conscious stir then pulls me back]

 

Upon coming back from [Delta/Theta?] Alpha to Beta - there is just 'darkness', as if I am pulling back from being unconscious

 

Sometimes, I will feel a deep throbbing in my head, pulsing [no pain, ever]

 

There is no 'blueness' nor 'redness' to my skin/complexion after a mirror check.

 

I am not out of breathe, no heart palpitations, etc

 

My wife is a Registered Nurse, and also can reach high altered states, but nothing close to what I achieve - and it is worrying her...

 

I just say "if I appear dead, hide my body for a few days before the morgue is called"

 

Should she actually 'test' to see if I am not breathing, upon entering my 'aura-space', I 'feel it', & it starts to stir me, which of course, disturbs the breathing cessation

 

[i am not sleeping lol]

 

I know Yogis can do this, and shamans, etc.,

 

But before I classify myself as such [want to separate this from an ego stroke]...

 

Anyone else experience this for a long stretch?

 

I'm not talking for a couple of minutes - I am talking for a substantial amount of time that medical science would deem 'brain dead' from lack of oxygen

 

[i don't want to involve physician lab rat tests, etc]

 

Hoping for some feedback

 

Hi DNB

I would reassess this state if I were you, since you say that you still have a pulse.

 

The true breathless state, as denoted by Yogananda Paramhansa Yogi is characterized by the heart stopping. I first learned about that in the SRF lessons many years ago.

 

Here is some more information:

link: http://home.pages.at/gawd/english/on_your_wings/truekriyapranayama.htm

As an immediate result of advanced true Kriya Pranayama resulting in cessation of your physical breathing, your heart may slow more and more and finally will stop to beat. during this minutes from your last breath until your last beat of your heart the amount of prana flowing through you is increasing more and more and you start to truly awake. your awareness is increasing and -

the amount of Love flowing through you is beyond any description. Joy will fill all parts of your being, consciousness and you are absolutely sure that you now are soon going to God. time is dissolve and the only thing in mind is Love and God. Once you have reached a point of breathlessness and heart-arrest you soon start to be fully one with your soul - all in your kutashta.

 

So, the next time you are in the breathless state, have your wife take your pulse..

 

Oh, and the kutashta is the third eye..

 

TI

[Diamond Spectrum]

Very good stuff right here on longevity breathing.

[Disabled Not Broken]

So, the next time you are in the breathless state, have your wife take your pulse..

 

 

Should she actually 'test' to see if I am not breathing, upon entering my 'aura-space', I 'feel it', & it starts to stir me, which of course, disturbs the breathing cessation

 

[Tibetan_Ice]

Should she actually 'test' to see if I am not breathing, upon entering my 'aura-space', I 'feel it', & it starts to stir me, which of course, disturbs the breathing cessation

 

Hi,

I thought of that. What you would need is a pulse monitor watch that records a history.

 

Actually, the fact that your wife disturbs you in this state is an indication that you have not reached the breathless state that is known as Nirvikalpa Samadhi. For if you had, someone could pinch your leg and you wouldn't know it.

 

link: http://www.kriya.org/soulculture__7.3.php

 

In the early 1950's, some doctors and scientists went to India to see Baba's samadhi state. They convened in the Calcutta home of a disciple, and they brought some medical equipment to test Baba. When Baba returned to body consciousness, they had a tape recorder ready and wanted him to explain the experience of samadhi. Baba could not. As I was saying earlier, the experience was like the enjoyment of food by dumb man. Again, Baba went into the samadhi state. The scientists wanted to pinch Baba's thigh to see if he could tell, but Baba was not aware. At that time, he had no sense of body. When he came back, they again asked Baba about his experience. He described some light, golden-colored light, then could say nothing more.

 

Samadhi is a state of being that cannot really be expressed in words. However, if one desires some theoretical knowledge, there are seven steps of samadhi before reaching nirvikalpa samadhi, when there is no pulse, no breath, and complete cessation of physical activities. We depend upon nature; we depend upon air, breath, and sky; we depend on food. During samadhi, one is free from nature's five elements, and he is merged in God. But, before going to that nirvikalpa samadhi, one crosses the six states until reaching the seventh: nirvikalpa samadhi.

 

That is not to say that the state you are reaching isn't good, or an indication of progress. That is another discussion. There are many states that one can fall into, ones without vivid clarity, that are just a waste of time and can actually be detrimental if repeated regularily.

 

My purpose here is just to clarify..

 

TI