Hi Everyone,
Here's the background: I've spent about 5 months total (5 - 6 hours a day) doing Metta practice (or what I thought was Metta). I would repeat the loving phrases ("May you be happy" etc). Focus on the sensation in the chest. Notice that a warm feeling appears in the chest. Once the feeling appears, I would drop the phrases and just focus on the feeling. 

Maybe I was actually doing FIre Meditation?

After the first month or so of this, I got to a point where every time I focused on the chest, the warm feeling would arise and I would focus on it (no loving phrases needed). The warm feeling didn't feel particularly loving to me (it just felt warm), but I thought this was metta so I just went with it. I even play around with spreading the warm sensation to other body parts like the belly, back, and head. I would also try to radiate it out in all directions in space. 

I'm sorry to say, I also mixed mushrooms with this practice and meditated on the warm feeling while I was tripping (on several occasions).

Now, the warm feeling would come up really easily if my attention even flickers to the chest or belly. And a lot of time, it would come up all on it's own. Sometimes, I would get uncomfortably hot. And it would come up when I do other meditation practices. 

I'm starting to get really worried that it will keep getting stronger and stronger and out of control. I've tried not meditating at all for a while, but it will still come up. 

I've tried other meditation objects like sound and sights to draw attention away from the heat, but my skills with them is not great so attention tends to get pulled back to the chest and belly. Right now, I'm trying to keep my attention focused on the feet all the time, and hope that the heat will die down over time. This helps a little, but it will still come up throughout the day.

The heat seems to get stronger as the day progresses, suggesting that it's building momentum and will deepen and get stronger as the days and months pass. 

Does anyone have any experience with this?

What would you recommend I do?

Thank you for your suggestions!

Yes, I have had this, or actually, I have this. For me, it started as a result of concentration, and then I used it as an object of concentration, and then it took off by itself in a Kundalini-type way. For a while, it got intense. It was too much. I would have to cool my chest with a damp cloth and/or walk outside in the winter with my coat and shirt open. It wasn't just psychological either. Other people could feel it with their hands. It was genuinely hot. It was quite freaky.

Over a few months, it calmed down and I learned to modulate it. It's mostly around my heart or in my belly, but I can spread it around further if I want. It's not a problem. In fact, it's a nice upgrade. It's a reminder that comes on its own while I am meditating or just while I am lying in bed or sitting around. It's kind of like ET's chest glowing when friends are near. This sounds hokey, but it also tends to show up after significant insights. I can also turn it on at will. I have used it for mundane things like warming up on a ski lift or when caught in the rain. I actually have the warm glow in my chest as I write this, because I'm thinking about it. But after those first few months, it never reached uncomfortable levels, or was anything other than pleasant. 

I looked into it and it seems most likely that it is brown fat being activated by neurotransmitters. It happens in daily life when people are in very emotional situations, which is why we have expressions like "warms my heart" and "hearts glowing with pride." For most people it's rare, but it seems that mediation practices can activate the system responsible, either temporarily or semi-permanently. I've had it for five years now. 

My advice, which may be wrong for you, because I'm only basing it on my own experience and a little internet research, is not to worry about it. If you pay a lot of attention to it, it does tend to grow. If it gets distracting, maybe go for a walk. I guess I would suggest thinking about it like a pet. But don't try to teach it any tricks, or at least not until you are really comfortable with it. It's important to treat "energy systems" with respect. I don't really believe in "energy systems" but I still treat them with respect. I have heard reports of people having considerable difficulties with related things, but never with heat. Still, respect. 

I think that, for many people, it's temporary, so don't get attached to it either. 

Had something similar years ago, caused by essentially accidental tummo practise, and later fire kasina. Something I found useful was to use visualization to bring it back the other way. Get concentrated and then imagine yourself sitting on a block of ice in the arctic. Not uncomfortable, just cool. Imagine the coolness flowing through you just like you did with the warmth. Third jhana can also have a nice cooling feeling, like you're submerged in a calm and cool lake. As a side note, it can be interesting to notice during this sort of practise that cold and heat are very similar from a sensation perspective. What's the difference?

Like Martin mentioned, it's temporary. It also can't really hurt you, so just notice whatever sensations arise and treat it like any other obstacle in meditation. Hope this helps.

Yes, this sounds like the spiritual heat generated during Tummo practice. It is not a bad thing, Tibetan's and Martin use it to warm up in the cold. It is Kundalini and there are secret Tibetan practices that will allow you to control/direct this spiritual heat. I recommend discussing this with a teacher qualified to teach Tummo. My teacher is Peter McEwin, and I recommend him. Have you tried meditating in the cold, might be a fun experience for you.

Wow, thank you for sharing! I makes me feel better to hear that you consider this a good thing.

You mentioned that you can turn it on at will. Can you also turn it off at will too? One of the reasons I'm freaked out by it is I don't seem to have control over it (other than by focusing on the chest to turn the heat on or focusing away from the chest and waiting for it to fade away).

I assume you still meditate on it. Does it continue to get stronger? Or has it pretty much stayed the same?

I know the heat can feel nice during the winter, but doesn't it get uncomfortable during the summer when it's already so hot outside?

​​​​​​​Thank you!

Thanks for the reply! Yes, I've done some reading into fire kasina practice and heard that you can get out of balance and feel really hot. I've tried doing some water meditation to balance it out like focusing on the sight and sound of running water. I only did a little of it but it did seem to have a cooling effect. I'll have to try the one you recommend. 

Also, I have been able to generate a feeling of subtle joy in my head. And that joy does feel somewhat cool. I think in 3rd Jhana, you basically spread this joy all over your body right?

And yes, you're right, sometimes when the heat comes up, I can't tell if it's really hot or really cold. So maybe I can even re-interpret the heat as cool. 

Thanks for the reply! I think in Tummo, the heat is actually real heat. In my case, I think it's more in the mind. I tried to measure it with a device and there doesn't seem to be a real temperature change. 

But I'll have to research more into Tummo to see. It's good to know there are options. 

Do Tummo practitioners ever have the problem of not being able to turn off the heat?

Or does the heat ever just come up on its own? 

What happens when you do Tummo when the weather is already really hot? Thank you!

I am a Tummo newby. I'm not qualified to give you in depth answers, but can tell you my experience. I have had no issues with the tummo practice in warm weather, as the heat generation has only come up when it's been needed. It has never come up on its own and when I am done with meditation it sticks around briefly, like how you'd generate heat from a long run in the cold. I can not generate heat at every session, but the longer the meditation session and the colder it is, the more warmth I've felt. Tummo is not just for heat generation, it is a completion practice and can lead you to awakening. A component of the practice is working with the prana and kundalini, and dispelling problems that can develop with both. People that are having issues with uncontrolled kundalini, should benefit from this practice, and this is why I recommended it to you.

When doing fire kasina I sometimes got a little overheated. Switching to blue kasina for a while usually helped to balance things out, very calming. Focusing on the water element sounds like a good method as well, whatever works.



Third is about letting go of any remaining physical bliss, and letting mental bliss mellow until it's more of a calm happiness. It's like the higher intensity of the first two jhanas has already peaked and now you're rolling downhill or comfortably sinking under water and just relaxing into peacefulness. Like the blue kasina mentioned above, it helps that inner fire to lower in intensity and balance out.



Just what I was pointing at. And yes, experimenting like that can be very fruitful. Deconstruct all the things, and then play with the parts lol.

If nothing else is working, you could also try Sitali, or "taco breathing". Lots of info online, goes by many names.

Regarding whether Tummo etc. is "real" or not, at lower levels it may not seem to be, but it absolutely can cause actual increases in core body temperature.

"You mentioned that you can turn it on at will. Can you also turn it off at will too? One of the reasons I'm freaked out by it is I don't seem to have control over it (other than by focusing on the chest to turn the heat on or focusing away from the chest and waiting for it to fade away)."

No, I can't control it just as I like. And this may be the greatest benefit. It's a reminder that things are happening in our minds and bodies that we don't have control over. This is actually the way that it is all the time, for all the things that go on in our minds and bodies, like thoughts and sensations.  But because of the way are minds are set up, we don't notice this most of the time. There is sort of a cloaking mechanism that makes the things that are happening look intentional. When heat starts appearing and doing its own thing, it's freaky because it's new and so we haven't developed a cloaking mechanism for it. This is actually the principle behind a lot of meditative insight: we see what was hidden before. 

That said, another basic principle of the mind and body is that things occur due to causes and conditions. So, while we cannot control things, we can set about changing the conditions so that other things like heat in the body change. It's a bit like raising plants. You cannot control them, but you can set the conditions so that they develop in certain ways. And you are already doing this. Focusing on the chest to turn the heat on or focusing away from the chest and waiting for it to fade away is essentially all there is. You can get better at it but it's always going to be like tending an actual fire, which you can blow on or let go out. 

"I assume you still meditate on it. Does it continue to get stronger? Or has it pretty much stayed the same?"

I don't really meditate on it. It's more of a background thing. After peaking in the first few months, I haven't encouraged it to grow particularly strong. 

"I know the heat can feel nice during the winter, but doesn't it get uncomfortable during the summer when it's already so hot outside?"

I worried about the exact same thing when it started (which was in the winter). It was never a problem. At the end of the day, it's just a sensation. 

Thank you so much! That helps a lot. 

Yes happened to me at the beginning with fire kasina. I eventually turned to the jhana ladder for my shamatha base and then now to shikentaza. Equinamity is a good skill to learn for these in my opinion.

​​​​​​​I probably should also say I tried other means like grounding to earth, black tourmaline, water kasina but none of those methods worked for me as well as internal energy transmutation. Eventually you will probably need the same skills for other things anyway.

Thank you very much! Can you elaborate more on what you mean by "internal energy transmutation"? Any specific techniques, books, or resources you can recommend?

I am able to bring up a feeling of joy in my head. It's subtle, but I was thinking maybe I can develop that joy and then try to re-intercept/transform all that heat energy into joy or something more positive. 

​​​​​​​And I assume you no longer have this heat problem? Thank you!

There are many ways to do this transmutation or alchemy.

The most common one on this site is the Theravada jhana ladder. You slowly transmute the energy stage by stage from coarse rapture to fine equinamity. 

The other ways are to circulate it for example the microcosmic orbit on secret of the golden flower. This is the Daoist method.

The one I like most these days is the vital breath of the mouth from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad third Brahmana of the first book. It's easily found online.

Generally you have to figure out how to manipulate the energy in your body.

Zen shikentaza relax to the max also works but that is like DIY sit down and figure it out yourself.

​​​​​​​Phenomenologically it will feel like raising vibrations or relaxing body tension. Once you get the mental move it generalizes to a lot of different things like learning how to unfold origami.

​​​​​​​The heat problem is actually a benefit. In the Six Yogas of Naropa it's called tummo. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad it's called the Agnirasa or fire essence or fire rapture or vital breath of the mouth.

I think eventually you will start preferring subtle stuff so even transmutation will be too much effort. The poem Ozymandias captures the vibe of this method

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias

​​​​​​​Or you could try the patience prajnaparamita from the Diamond sutra. Basically just marinate in patience.