Hello.  Newish to meditation - 6 months or so - and very new to the site.  I'm currently sitting with my breath and noting as best I can, around an hour per day.  A question... Recently, while sitting, I've been experiencing falshes of heat - particularly around my face - along with a buzzing in my ears, with some very subtle feelings of being high - I've got 18 years clean and sober btw - with none of the negatives. This happens about 50% of the times I sit. Can anybody tell me what I might be experiencing?  Is this common?  Where on the progress of insight might this be?  Truthfully, I'm a bit weirded out.  Thanks for any help!

It sounds like beggining of arising and passing away stage.

Thanks, Paul.  I appreciate you taking the time to respond.  I'll do some more reading, and keep ascertaining my experiences. and keep your opinin in mind.  TY, Again, Dan 

I experienced something similar when I started meditating.  It was probably around the 6 month mark or later, I started to feel like I was entering altered states that reminded me of sensations and feelings I felt a long time ago when high.  It also felt a bit apprehensive when this happened, but learned it was normal, nothing to fear, and kept going.

I'm a little further on than you, but by no means at the level of mastery of many on this forum.

From my newish perspective ... I agree, it all sounds good, and as expected. Later you can work with some of these things as meditation objects, but for now simply noting these phenomena and staying with the breath will likely be best ... depending on how far you have come in your first six months.  You could maybe do with a local teacher, or modern meditation manual, to help you navigate these stages.