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[LetEmFly]

Hey, My names Mike. I'm 18 and from California. I'm self employed got my own place and now deep in California's biggest industry.

Back in the day my father, ex blackbelt, would meditate. He often told me stories about his experiences. The one I remember most had to be the his out of body experience. He had been counting his breath regularly for months and then one day while he was walking outside late at night it hit him. He was in an entirely different place. It was a light glowing blue he claimed and there was this strange shining bell. Understandably, it freaked him a bit and he snapped back to earth. I think he stopped meditating after that.

Anyways, so I guess that was to tell ya that I have had the thought of meditating passed onto me. So fast forward to 09. I got a few books from him. Namely this one real good one. I think it was called A meditator's guidebook written by Ram Das. It was a real good expansive book I enjoyed reading it. So not too much much later I ended up getting some real bad poison oak. So being stuck at home I ended up meditating for a solid week. I continued meditating on and off before and after that. So I will share with you a few experiences I had...I will try and tell them in order as well.

Well my first experience happened I think roughly after a week of on and off meditation and just getting the basics down. This session was a bit different I managed to meditate longer than normal - the sun was still up albeit starting to get low in the sky but plenty of light in the room. So I really was deep in my Self for the first time. Then all of a sudden I felt a sudden buildup of energy/excitement. It came surging up from I guess you would say my stomach and erupted into an uncontrollable and spontaneous laugh. The laugh was accompanied by an incredible just fulfillment and ease. It was probably the happiest moment in my life so far. Don't get me wrong I tried to stay focused and keep going but this energy was just too strong so after I realized I couldn't stop it I tried to hold onto it and the harder I tried to hold onto it the more it eluded me. This whole event was no more than 6-8 seconds. When I looked around though it was dark the sun was setting.

My second experience I was able to keep going though. I meditate with my eyes closed. After about 10 minutes I'm guessing I starting seeing visuals. I can only describe it like a swirling energy. Think of it like if you looked at a lightbulb and then closed your eyes. Except the afterimage didn't flash and it started to swirl and flow. I've had this happen twice to be precise. The flow is always yellow and always circles about. The more focused I am seemingly the more expansive and moving the flow is in my vision. Now the first time I had this happen I was trying to mediate with my eyes open in a very very dimly lit room. After focusing for about 10 minutes the flow started circling and passing through my center of view. The second time I was meditating in my bathroom with all doors closed and all lights off eyes shut like normal and it start happening as well.

My third experience was during the times when I had poison oak and was meditating for a week on regularly many times a day. I started trying to meditate laying down. I thought I could relax better although the literary sources said I shouldn't citing I might fall asleep. However, I find myself very focused while meditating. But It was before I was going to sleep so I planned on just meditating myself to sleep haha. The craziest thing happened to me then that really surprised me. I don't dream or well I don't remember my dreams. Like maybe I'll dream a dozen times a year maybe less. I used to dream more when I was a kid. Anyways, I started dreaming and I was asleep yet awake at the same time, I knew it too. I think the term is called lucid dreaming. It was great. Everything that I did in the dream I could feel while laying down. Like when I was running in the dream I felt my feet hitting the ground as if I really was running. The dreams were the most vivid and intense dreams I have ever had in my 18 years of life. I think this experience really made an imprint on me because it lasted for so long. I was dreaming for awhile. This happened a couple night in a row. Then all of a sudden it stopped happening but I started waking up at 2-4 am instead of the regular 6 am. When I woke up I felt great ready to kick some ass haha. At the time I was doing construction work so sleeping less and feeling more rejuvenated was a huge change.

I ended up stopping my regular meditation at the time. It was interupted by drinking, smoking, and some wild nights.

Fast forward to 2010 almost present. I was laying down trying to go to sleep. Started meditating because hey calms you down you can sleep easier too. Then all of a sudden I started getting a tingling in my hands. It felt kinda like the tingling you feel when your bones are growing, if anyone knows what I'm talking about. It started off like that. So I kept my focus because when I have new experiences I really like to see where they go. So as I kept focusing on my breath the tingling steady increased. So much so that it seemed to quadruple in effect and I could only describe it as if I had a thousand bees vibrating in my hands. It had started around my knuckles/palm but had quickly spread throughout my entire hand. My hands were also resting on my stomach so they were shaped around it almost like a r ya know? So it reached a point where I had to look at my hands. So I opened my eyes and brought my hands in to have a look see. I tried to straighten them and was actually having a hard time. It was like they didn't want to bend straight. Almost as they were stiff but I felt more like they were resisting me - especially my thumb it was the last finger to straighten. So by now I'm totally awake not meditating and it started subsiding quickly after doing some hand stretches. So that was pretty recent...

What else can I say about myself and meditation. Uhh...I find myself not meditating for much more than 30 minute periods. I feel though that if I did say like 2 hours or so. I don't even know what would happen probably nothing. but if I meditated 2 hours regularly I can't even predict what I would experience. When I meditate it is always with eyes closed and I focus on the feel of my breath passing through my nose. I can't sit lotus style or half lotus too uncomfortable. I feel sitting in a chair is just not good either. I try to sit indian style cross legged with my back propped against something. However, I like laying down on a bed and going at it the best because I think I can relax the most. Oh and everytime I always feel a pressure in between my eyes. My pops always used to talk about that third eye as well hah.

As for meditating as a whole it has increased my overall happiness and quieted my very troublesome overthinking mind.

Any advice, comments, similar experiences. Hope someone has soemthin to say and I didn't just type all that for nothing I mean damn my hand is falling asleep haha...

Mike