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RE: Did I almost reach jhana? I got scared...

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There's no way I could be near jhana, right? This has to be all in my head?

I've only been meditating on a regular schedule for 2 weeks, though I have been reading about it for years. Just now, after about 30minutes into my session, I had a new and somewhat frightening experience.I felt my concentration on my breath getting stronger and deeper. Then for a couple seconds I started to feel an overwhelming feeling throughout my body. It wasn't bliss, but perhaps it could have been if I let it. Instead, I got scared and felt anxiety and fear. Then I was too confused and weirded out to continue the session so I ended it, and here I am typing this post up.

This has never happened to me. I'm usually a very grounded person so I am kind of shocked that I experienced fear. I thought I would embrace that experience, not be fearful of it. One of the main reason I started meditating again was because I wanted to experience something out of the ordinary, and now I am being fearful of it...

What do you guys think happened to me? Can it really be a glimpse into jhana? Or is it something that my head decided to make up?

It also occurred to me that it would be extremely beneficial to me to have a teacher. What is the best way to find a teacher who is knowledgable about jhana? I am in the bay area in cali if that helps.

RE: Did I almost reach jhana? I got scared...
Answer
10/18/14 9:57 AM as a reply to rich r a.
Leigh Brasington is a knowledgeable jhana teacher. I highly recommend his retreats. You can ask him questions about your practice during the interviews.

RE: Did I almost reach jhana? I got scared...
Answer
10/18/14 10:16 AM as a reply to rich r a.
rich r a:
I've only been meditating on a regular schedule for 2 weeks... is it something that my head decided to make up?

Is thinking you've entered a jhana something your head decided to make up? Sure sounds like it.

rich r a:
It also occurred to me that it would be extremely beneficial to me to have a teacher. What is the best way to find a teacher who is knowledgable about jhana? I am in the bay area in cali if that helps.

Shaila Catherine is in Mountain View. She trained with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw and has written a few books on the subject. You might try to attend her weekly sits.

RE: Did I almost reach jhana? I got scared...
Answer
10/18/14 11:34 AM as a reply to rich r a.
What was this strange feeling like?  Jhana is exceedingly pleasant, IME, emoticon but piti is described in a number of strange ways in the progress of insight, which might be startling if you aren't expecting it.

RE: Did I almost reach jhana? I got scared...
Answer
10/19/14 1:46 AM as a reply to Not Tao.
It felt like a split second of possible ego-loss, and my body got some strange physical sensations.. like heat and chills or something, followed by fear of wtf is happening to me.

I experienced it again and decided to embrace it this time and it was fine actually! I probably overreacted because I never experienced any intense feelings from meditation before.

Thanks for the teacher recommendations. I will check them out. If anyone has any more, especially closer to SF or oakland, I would appreciate that too!

RE: Did I almost reach jhana? I got scared...
Answer
10/19/14 7:32 AM as a reply to rich r a.
What do you mean by ego loss? Not to interrogate you, or anything, haha. People use these kinds of terms for everything under the sun, so I'm curious about what it means for you. emoticon