Sensations experience during practice

[Flolfolil]

Is there any description for what different ones mean? Scientific or energetic explanations welcome, i would like both.

 

For example, what does it mean when a part of my body turns cold, or hot, or numb, or tingly. These are all very different feelings, and i think there has got to be some reason that they each individually occur.

[idiot_stimpy]

A lot of people will not explain the 'whys' of different sensations during meditation, as there is a great danger that the person will become fixated on replicating the sensations and believe these are the fruit of the path.

 

These sensations come and go, but what never leaves and never changes?

[Flolfolil]

i don't care about replicating sensations, i care about knowledge and understanding. i wont die if i don't get an answer, but i would like one

[dwai]

Is there any description for what different ones mean? Scientific or energetic explanations welcome, i would like both.

 

For example, what does it mean when a part of my body turns cold, or hot, or numb, or tingly. These are all very different feelings, and i think there has got to be some reason that they each individually occur.

 

No reason in my opinion. That is how your brain interprets the experience. If you are practicing energetics, the sensations can vary from heat, cold, electric, pressure, waves etc. Since we are so used to the sensory experiences, our brain interprets these sensations as such. The energetics can also make you feel happy, sad, etc. As in sensations, thus in emotions...

 

imho..also, after practice matures, we might stop feeling sensations altogether (for various periods of time). The sensations usually happen when channels open up.

Edited December 7, 2012 by dwai

[Flolfolil]

our brain interprets these sensations as such. The energetics can also make you feel happy, sad, etc. As in sensations, thus in emotions...

 

yes but even then, this "energy" is causing chemical happenings in your brain that produce this happiness. Also, how can a feeling that i have never had before be just my minds way of interpreting it if i have never felt anything like that before?

[Aaron]

I've had so many strange experiences meditating, I couldn't even mention them all. What others have said is true, you shouldn't focus on them, address them and let them go. Now, with that said, I will try and shed some light on why these experiences happen, at least as I believe them to.

 

We like to believe that meditation accesses a part of our psyche that we normally don't use, well that's not true, in fact it accesses a part of the brain we use throughout the day. When we take a long drive and can't remember most of the trip, we've accessed that part of the psyche. When we dream, we've accessed that part of the psyche. When we suddenly realize someone has been talking to us, we were accessing that part of the psyche. The truth is that we access this part of the psyche more often than we know, but we don't consciously access it. This part of the psyche has many uses, it helps to regulate our response to pain for instance, but it also helps us to process enormous amounts of information that we can't possibly pay attention to, now when you start paying attention to that, weird things happen, sometimes really weird.

 

Well this is the crux, you can focus on the weird, or you can focus on your practice. I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with your practice, but I do know what I try to accomplish, which is developing a deeper insight into the self. Now these transient sensations aren't the self, but rather what the self experiences, so focusing on them can distract you, but also they may be distracting you on purpose. In other words a part of you is sending a signal to take a break from what you're doing. When something weird happens, there is nothing wrong with stopping then and there and addressing it, but trying to repeat it may not be the best idea, because you're just repeating what your psyche is telling you not too, sort of like picking at a scab. Don't pick the scab, look at it, know it's there and let it heal. At least that's how I view it, I'm sure others will give you advice in this regard as well. I hope you find what you need, not necessarily what you want.

 

Aaron

Edited December 7, 2012 by Aaron

[hydrogen]

Not all sensations are bad. Some are very pleasant. I try to "tune" in to this kind of sensation, magenify it and spread to my whole body.

 

Actually I believe those sensations are always present, we're just not sensetive enough to pick up the signal.

 

Maybe the good yogi can get bliss anytime they want. I think tibetan_ice in this forum claimed he could do it as well.

[Flolfolil]

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with your practice

 

knowledge of the self AND the body. i seek to unify the cosmic truth with verifiable science that can easily be related in words. If i can't explain something, i don't know it well enough.

 

i don't need the "don't cling to sensations" talk. i don't care for it. i GET that sensations will come and go and not to want them or not want them. i get that by wanting to understand them, i am clinging in a way. This is my decision, and my path. i want to understand this type of thing. So anyone telling me to let it go can just not bother, i wont willingly be blissfully ignorant of anything.

[idiot_stimpy]

Ok from my limited research, it could be the Chi channels opening up.

 

You may find the energy vibration to be very heavy, and then after persistent practice, the energy getting more and more fine.

 

This could be the energy system refining itself. Then when it becomes so pure, it is like infinite space.

 

 

I am not even sure on this myself, so I don't want to misguide you. Please use your own logic and reason.

[deci belle]

Beyond the reasons for your experiences, Flo, these will only serve to satisfy your intellectual identity. I myself have wondered what is happening, but never in as base terms as you seem to be conceiving. I can say that only in retrospect, after many years of correct practice (not my practice!! haha!!), one is then able to look back with a degree of experiential objectivity and see what of it matters. This is in terms of the body of awareness viewed as an object of the human mentality.

 

i seek to unify the cosmic truth with verifiable science that can easily be related in words. If i can't explain something, i don't know it well enough.

 

If you can't explain something, you haven't gone beyond yourself to see the causeless. Only when you yourself have gone beyond words, not in terms of understanding, but in terms of inconceivable nonorigination, will you see the fallacy of intellect and how far short it falls in terms of cosmic truth, which I will refer to as the mystery of selfless nonoriginated aware energy.

 

Do question widely and deeply, just as your are, but do be careful not to miss out on the inherent incipience of mystery upon mystery secreting by virtue of your own unborn miraculously aware mind.

 

In the final analysis, one can only hope to conjure vague descriptions of experiential aware (non)being of the cosmos… as for explanations~ fugetaboudit.❤

[GreytoWhite]

Western science has still yet to find many endogenous compounds for known receptor types. You could be switching between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, you could be experiencing endogenous cannabinoid receptor stimulation or even fascial awareness. Also the brain is always susceptible to its own programming who knows exactly what is going on in these instances.

[Flolfolil]

i get it i get it i get it i get it. i already said i understand the it detracting from "real spiritual progress"

 

The reason i want to know these things is because if i don't, then people who i am trying to tell about these things that don't believe in anything spiritual will actually know what i am speaking of. If i don't know these things, it is impossible to relate my experiences to other people. i get it, can we please get past the argument i keep saying i am trying specifically to avoid. Thanks in advance

[ShenLung]

Ok, by way of explanation for someone who is not doing energetic practice you might start by asking if they have ever had a headache. The brain does not have any pain receptors, yet it interprets information indicating a problem in this area as a sensation of pain, pressure, or both. The body does not have any neurological receptors that detect subtle energies, either, yet a person can feel them when they practice. Perhaps this is simply the brain attempting to interpret this information into a sensation that can be physically experienced in the same way.

[hydrogen]

Flolfolil, don't let the naysayers discourage you. If that's your interest and you're willing to spend your time life to figure it out, go for it.

 

Currently nobody knows.

 

You asked a caveman to explain how the airplane fly. Of course you'd get blank stares and "smart" advices.

 

The human body is the most advanced techonology there is. It represent billlions of years hard work, man power and technology. It contains all the stars and galaxies in the whole universe. All the knowledge, that our current race of "human" have, is the just the reverse engineering of the previous race's accomplishment.

 

I believe there are seven layer of management in our body (I got this by myself before knowing it's been taught by many esoteric teachings). Our current technology can only work with the first layer. So any model we come up with is only an approximation.

 

You might not get the answer this life time. But we have to start somewhere.

 

First, let assume the human body is built with solid engineering principles. The current science already know that our body is a electrical control system. I suspect there is a wireless communication channel inside our body as well. Mabye the Chinese meridian channel is the wireless channel.

 

When you exercise the eletrical components, the eletrical charge, overheating may trigger the cooling system to protect the components.

 

I have no idea. You may have to study, research and experiment yourself.

 

Good luck.

[Flolfolil]

Now i'm thinking radio waves and interference from outside the body, maybe our own mind produced waves reaching the affected area and shaking off the previous waves?

 

This is good, if i can't get proven facts i'll go for speculation

[joeblast]

Sounds like you need to pick up a copy of the Yellow Emperor's classic The problem is you are asking for identification and causation for signals amidst a HUGE amount of noise. Ergo it is difficult to separate the signals from the noise...reliably. Not only that, there can be various causes for what may seem to be exactly the same phenomena. For example, numb and tingly can manifest because of incorrect alignment and resultant nerve pinch/suppression - and it may also manifest because you've attenuated an entire chain of neural events that precipitate the range of feeling there. If I sleep on my arm wrong, my hand might go numb - but my hand may also feel like a balloon as events cross over from the state of sensitivity to the state of neural attenuation before bodily sensation drops altogether.

[Flolfolil]

Sounds like you need to pick up a copy of the Yellow Emperor's classic

 

Damn, when my boyfriend and i moved to arizona from california we left books behind, this was one of those books X_X

[Jetsun]

The book "Tao and Longevity" by Nan Huai Chin explains most of the common sensations and things that come up through practice.

[Jeff]

Is there any description for what different ones mean? Scientific or energetic explanations welcome, i would like both.

 

For example, what does it mean when a part of my body turns cold, or hot, or numb, or tingly. These are all very different feelings, and i think there has got to be some reason that they each individually occur.

 

The changes are usually associated with becoming aware of the energy body. In the early stages, your "mind" tends to translate the feelings of energy into things that you can understand. Feelings of hot/cold are often first (in being noticed). Tingly (or simple vibrations) is usually a more advanced step. You are probably noticing it when your mind is quieter (or moments of shock/awe). Tingly means feeling it moving, numbness in an area of tingles, usually means an issue/obstruction in the energy body.

 

[Flolfolil]

It seems like i first noticed numbness in the ldt. Then i got pressure, then warm and cold. Some shaking. Then tingly. Now occasionally i start shaking in some part of the body more intensely

[oildrops]

Numbness = energy from overheated gonad channel creating a dissonance wave in your ego multiverse

Pressure = giardia

Warm = bosonic string obstructions / cosmic inflation

Cold = probably need some new socks

Shaking = possible reaction to salsa / merengue spirits trying to break through your energy field and make your hips gyrate. Just go with it

[Bum Grasshopper]

In the new Kunlun book, Max explains what is happening during the process, and the sensations that may accompany them. He also quotes his 'Tao Brother' who is a doctor that gives some technical insight to what is going on.

[Jeff]

It seems like i first noticed numbness in the ldt. Then i got pressure, then warm and cold. Some shaking. Then tingly. Now occasionally i start shaking in some part of the body more intensely

 

As everyone has said, it is all very common. As the "clarity" grows, it becomes easier to associate all of the feelings. Many even develop an "internal sight" to see it. The ldt is a very common point to start noticing stuff. Just try not to focus on it and keep up your meditation/practices.

 

 

p.s. For me, cold was "inward" energy flow and hot was "outward".

[Isimsiz Biri]

There is a certain practice called Shen Zheng Gong (SZG). For men, it requires celibacy for 120 days. The vibrations at the end of 120 days are really strong, such that, the very first time, if you are sitting on a stool, you may easily fall down. Again, I am not making David Verdesi's advertisement, please do not misunderstand. I evaluate SZG as unnecessary if you will not practice Neigong of Lei Shan Dao which has health risks. I just wanted mention the vibrations, since it is the subject.

Edited December 7, 2012 by Recep Ivedik

[Aaron]

knowledge of the self AND the body. i seek to unify the cosmic truth with verifiable science that can easily be related in words. If i can't explain something, i don't know it well enough.

 

i don't need the "don't cling to sensations" talk. i don't care for it. i GET that sensations will come and go and not to want them or not want them. i get that by wanting to understand them, i am clinging in a way. This is my decision, and my path. i want to understand this type of thing. So anyone telling me to let it go can just not bother, i wont willingly be blissfully ignorant of anything.

 

That's great. If that's what you want to do, more power to you. I'm a firm believer that people should practice as they choose and not as others instruct them to. I hope you find what you need.

 

Aaron