Hi there,
I haven't been practicing meditation for long time so as I go I am experiencing 'stages' but I'm not quite sure how I am progressing.
I am practicing Buddhist Theravada mediation. I concentrate on the breath. I try to focus on the present moment. Think about throwing my past and my future as heavy luggage. Then continue focusing on breath as it naturally comes. The monkey mind relaxes and I let things go. After of few days meditating I can come very fast to the beautiful breath.
It has been only twice that my breath stopped, I guess completely. But I recognized that it stopped and went back to previous stages.
During one meditation I think that I experienced my first nimitta or the image of the mind. It was just like a couple of lights flashing in first and suddenly a bright 'eye' shape light came to the middle very bright. It was very powerful. I got very excited by the recognition of it as a nimitta and knowing I was in public I decided to come out of meditation. This happened only after 2 weeks of meditating each day for about 10/15 min. This first nimitta (I think) came after only 10 min.
After this experience I continued with my meditation but not so regularly. I was rather blocked in my progression because I wanted in a way to see the nimitta again.
After a 3 weeks break, I came back to regular daily meditation last week. I stopped wanting to see a nimitta. I tried to meditate as much as I could. One day even three times. I did around 1 hour each time. I meditated before going to bed, which I think now it was not a brilliant idea because I was very awake after and could not sleep. The last day I meditated I did not experience a nimitta. I only felt energy flowing or unfolding, like...coming from the center and opening my head from the center to the sides. The breath was stopping at some points and then coming back again. I felt a stronger energy concentration in the middle of my eyes. Like pressure. Then I felt loads of 'happiness' or bliss and slowly I started to have a smile as huge that I thought I could drip saliva. I didn't go further and decided to come out. Could that has been a first Jhana without nimitta? No idea.
I do not know whether a nimitta 'have to' arrive after the breath stops and before entering the first Jhana, whether a nimitta has to be this bright eye-shape or it could be mild waves and not this colorful images people talk about. I do not know whether I enter a first Jhana and this bliss was Piti Sukka.
I'm just a new learner and need some comments. Will be very helpful if anyone replies in a very down to hearth way.
With Metta,
Lulu
