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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!