I have been meditating for a few years and did the ten day Goenka retreat about a year ago.  I am a Dharma Orphan I live in northern Montana the nearest sangha to me is two hundred miles away.  My question is for me when a Nimitta arises my eyes start what feels like a rythmic involuntary blinking even though they are closed which is very distracting.  Any advice on what to do to solidify the Nimitta would be appreciated I try to shift my attention to the center but often the blinking is so distracting that I lose it.  Thanks in advance for any advice.
Don

howdy don and welcome,
can you say why you think this blinking IS nimitta?  what are you practicing? concentration?  what's your goal?

I'm not certain he's saying that the blinking is a nimitta. He said, "when a nimitta arises my eyes start ... blinking." Gramatically, at least, he is differentiating between the nimitta arising and the eye blinking. 

What he is asking is: what can he do to experience the nimitta without the distraction of the blinking occurring. And for that, I'm e ot certain there is an answer beyond increasing mindfulness (sati) to the point that the unconscious mechanism which may causing the blinking stops. Or beyond just allowing the blinking to become part of the practice and not be distracted by it.

In the matter of the second instance, one would make the blinking an object of concentration and simply observe it to see what it does. Eventually, it should subside. But rather than becoming distracted, one needs to cultivate equanimity toward the phenomenon, then return attention to the nimitta.

The followup question about what is the immediate goal of seeking the nimitta is a good question to ask regarding the meditator's comprehension of why he is seeking the nimitta in the first place, just to verify his understanding since we do not know him or what he has been instructed to do.

I am working on concentration right now trying to work up the Jhannic arc.  After the first 8-10 minutes of meditation I feel a distinct change in state what I think of as dropping down into good meditation.  A little while later I will see luminesent purple that recedes and coaleses into a disk that is usally a cream color that is when the eye blinking starts.
Don

Don,

It may be that subconsciously you are reacting to the purple luminescence that coalesces into a disk which then triggers the eye blinking. In that instance, the second of my comments would apply, that is applying equanimity to the event of the arising of the nimitta. Apparently, you become subconsciously excited when the nimitta arises which can then be a cause for the eye blinking. Just keep focusing on the breath (or whatever you are focusing on to allow the nimitta to arise). That takes establishing sati and equanimity over that occurrence. 

In peace,
Ian

Hi Don,

Are your eyes opening and closing, in other words,can you can feel the lids moving (and maybe see an external image flash or maybe not if they don't open much), or is the image of the nimitta fading in and out?

             

eyes doing strange things early on, tensing, following objects, blinking, fluttering, and the like, is common early stuff

it is stage dependent and goes away with time and practice

just keep at it, putting attention on the colors and not worrying about the rest, particularly whatever the eyes do

might check out www.firekasina.org for a bit more

enjoy

Thanks for all the advice I will just keep at it.
Don