Feeling adrenaline and other hormones?

Caro, modified 8 Years ago at 7/14/15 1:24 PM
Created 8 Years ago at 7/14/15 1:22 PM

Feeling adrenaline and other hormones?

Posts: 91 Join Date: 5/10/15 Recent Posts
Hi all,
I was wondering about something: During vipassana meditation recently, from time to time I noticed "small pushes of energy" around my heart and moving with my breath. It wasn´t something that I could easily associate with an emotion, so I just labelled it "energy". However, I faintly remembered somebody here (maybe Ian And, but I couldn´t find that post again) recently posting something along the lines that he identified a similar phenomena as taking note of adrenaline (if I remember correctly). That caught my attention. When I hear a loud, startling sound, sometimes even the meditation bell, I shortly notice a similar "feeling/energy" in larger parts of my body. Funnily enough sometimes in the side of the body where the sound came from. At the same time, when reading about the jhanas recently, I came across articles explaining jhanic states as hormone induced (e.g. here and here). Personally, I had also just labelled the physical joy of 1st jhana, as "energy" without a clear understanding of what I meant with that or how else to call it. At the same time, there does seem to be things going on inside my body which are much more subtle than the reactions to startling sounds or perception of 1st jhana, e.g. a sense of energy moving inside and outside the body during Qi Gong.
Any thoughts on this? Would that imply that all / most / some of what one may call energy, is hormones moving through the body? Or is it hormones for the more coarse perceptions and something like "energy" (whatever that is) for the more subtle ones?
I´m really curious to understand this, so any thoughts are much appreciated.
Paul Smith, modified 8 Years ago at 7/17/15 8:22 AM
Created 8 Years ago at 7/17/15 8:22 AM

RE: Feeling adrenaline and other hormones?

Posts: 109 Join Date: 5/9/15 Recent Posts
I feel a surge of tingling / itching sensation spreading through my body when I'm exposed to something I fear, or generally a "stressor". I attribute that feeling to adrenaline.

I feel a different kind of sensation spreading through my body like a wave, when I drink a protein shake after fasting for over 24h. Maybe it's insulin?

In order to test your hypothesis, I'd observe the speed of spreading. If it's something in your blood, then it should be synchronised with the beating of your heart.
Caro, modified 8 Years ago at 7/19/15 1:02 PM
Created 8 Years ago at 7/19/15 1:01 PM

RE: Feeling adrenaline and other hormones?

Posts: 91 Join Date: 5/10/15 Recent Posts
In order to test your hypothesis, I'd observe the speed of spreading. If it's something in your blood, then it should be synchronised with the beating of your heart.
That´s a good point. So far it has felt like moving with the breath. But then again, the breath probably also doesn´t move through the body, but oxygen-enriched blood. I think that I am missing a lot of what is really happening as I am not sensitive enough. In any case, will continue to observe - and when I find the time, I´ll also try to find some information on what science has to say on this...
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Linda ”Polly Ester” Ö, modified 5 Years ago at 2/26/19 10:28 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 2/26/19 10:28 AM

RE: Feeling adrenaline and other hormones?

Posts: 7134 Join Date: 12/8/18 Recent Posts
This is an old thread, but I’m glad somebody brought it up. This article http://www.leighb.com/jhananeuro.htm explains what I have been wondering lately. I have noticed these different substances and how they have been pumped out regularly in some states, in different proportions. Good to know what it is.

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