Sensory Hallucinations During Meditation

[Nathanial.Dread]

I had a very interesting experience during my nightly meditation last night that I thought some Nexians might be able to shed light on.

My usual practice is to meditate for 20 minutes: I start with a Metta compassion meditation, and once that's done, move in mindfulness meditation, which I do for however long I have left. Last night, as I was going through the mindfulness phase, I felt my body begin to shrink.

Before too long, I felt as though my bod and withered up: my limbs and trunk were tiny and thin, while my mind seemed to be expanding out into some massive space. I felt like a bobble-head!

It was so bizarre that I ended up shifting position (form lotus to child's pose), just to see if the effect held, and as soon as I moved my body, the illusion was lost.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
I'm kind of excited to meditate tonight to see if it's possible to push this farther (possibly into a full OoBE?)

Blessings
~ND

 

[No Knowing]

I have finally been keeping my meditation consistent in the last year after many years of sporadic practice and it has felt deeper and deeper each time I dive in.

Physical sensations or even hallucinations are very common in meditation. Most traditional meditators would advise you to ignore them and go back to the moment. Stuff like this is often warned against because it can sidetrack one from the main goals of meditation, increasing concentration and insight.

I take a more forgiving/exploratory approach to this stuff, [more like Ram Dass' views in Grist for the Mill(highly recommended reading for intermediate meditators] and say that you should explore it and try to move deeper into it if it entices you, just don't get trapped/obsessed, or let it distract you from meditation itself. Try to treat all planes of existence equally without clinging or aversion.

I was reminded of this quote for you...

If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him.
-Linji

Meaning EVEN if you have a vision of the Buddha you should throw it aside and continue with the meditation.

Happy meditating!