Comment from Harryd
Time: March 13, 2007, 1:11 pm

I have just done my first meditation and it felt strange I also seem to now be buzzing with energy. does this mean its working?

Comment from Naiya
Time: March 23, 2007, 8:52 pm

I find that I have started to be more sensitive to my feelings and emotions in the few hours after doing this meditation, especially when I do it just before going to work. I have now been doing the mindfulness of breathing meditation for nearly 4 weeks, pretty much every day and I am noticing lots of changes within and around me.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: May 23, 2007, 9:53 pm

Harryd: sorry this reply is so late — I was in Ethiopia when you posted and hadn’t noticed that you’d asked this question.

Meditation certain does give us more energy, and there’s even a technical term for this, which is priti or piti, depending on which language you’re using. Sometimes this is experienced as tingling or just a general sense of energy. Sometimes it’s experienced as bliss.

So it’s not only normal to experience this, it’s a good sign that something is happening in the practice.

Watch out for any craving you may have to repeat this kind of experience. That kind of desire for results is the opposite of the letting go that allows priti to arise.

Also it’s best just to accept priti when it arises and not to get too excited about it! Priti needs to be balanced with calmness and mindfulness.

All the best with your practice!

Comment from Wei Hao
Time: August 29, 2007, 4:56 am

hi,i gt a question.When i first time meditated,i feel very calmed right after the meditation.After practicing a few more days,when i finished meditating,i dont feel as calmed as the first time i meditate.Is this normal?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 29, 2007, 10:43 am

Wei Hao: There can be a lot of variability in what you experience in meditation. This can be because the results change (you are actually less calm) or because you are calmer than you realize. But the fact that there is this variability is not important.

What is important is that the effort you put in to our meditation practice will have an effect on your life, whatever you feel during or immediately after your meditation.

I’ve known people (many people) who have reported that they notice no changes from their meditation practice — except that everyone else says they’re more relaxed and easier to get on with. So sometimes everyone else notices the changes apart from the person who’s changing!

Anyway, the moral of the story is just to keep practicing. Changes are taking place even if you’re not aware of them at present.

Comment from Stephen Shayler
Time: October 5, 2007, 11:19 pm

Greetings,
Ever since I read this book entitled “The Dharma of Star Wars.” which explains some of the basic concepts of Buddhism. I have tinkered with mindful breathing excercises. In many ways i find that they help a great deal in dealing with the stress of my job. The question I have for you though is how should i go about meditating in a highly distracting environment such as my ship. I find the obvious answer is to find as quiet a place as possible which is quite a challenge. I guess what i’m asking is, is there a technique to help me filter out the external distractions when i begin my meditation exercises?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: October 7, 2007, 7:24 am

Hi Stephen,

It’s always good to hear from members of the armed forces.

I’d suggest moving in the other direction and instead of seeing external noises as distractions to be filtered out see them as simply part of your experience that you’re paying attention to.

As you go into your meditation, setting up your meditation posture and relaxing the body, become aware of the sense of space, light, and sound surrounding you. Look for a sense of 360 degree awareness (look for the peripheral awareness exercise on the page that the link points to). As best you can simply accept the presence of all the sounds you hear. Treat them all just as sensations to be observed.

You can then start to notice the breath as being the sensation that is at the center of a field of awareness — as the focal point to which you return when your mind wanders.

There’s no need to see sounds and the breath as being in competition with each other — you can easily pay attention to both.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from Robert
Time: December 9, 2007, 2:50 pm

I have meditated for many years on my own. By observing my breath I can become entirely focused. However, once my thoughts are set aside and all that exists is my breathing, I begin to have dreamlike experiences. They are not worrisome or disturbing - just meaningless. In most cases, as I come back to some other level of consciousness, I do not remember what experiences were - just that they did not make sense. I do not fall asleep. I stay upright and have awareness. Can you explain for me what is happening? Is this going to lead me to greater awareness or is it taking me somewhere else?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: December 9, 2007, 3:33 pm

Hi Robert,

Those dreamlike experiences sound very much like a simple distracted state, especially given that you can’t recall what they were about and also because you describe them as meaningless. Because they’re distractions the best thing to do is to identify them as quickly as possible and simply return to the breath.

Without knowing more about the content of the dreamlike states and about how you feel towards the content it’s not possible to say exactly which kind of distraction you’re experiencing (there are five basic types) but my guess would be either that you’re engaged in some kind of mild sense-desire or that there’s a slight degree of sleepiness present and some dream imagery is bubbling up. Given that you say that the thinking doesn’t make sense I’d further guess that it’s the latter of these two that you’re experiencing.

I can’t go into detail about how to deal with this (especially since my guess may be off the mark!) but when this happens I’d suggest paying more attention to the in-breath, lifting your chin a little, and paying more attention to the breath in the upper chest, throat, and head.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from Fletcher
Time: April 7, 2008, 1:36 am

Hi, I just recently started this whole meditation thing. Is it okay that I tend to fall asleep right after, I think it has to do with the fact that I tend to lose all stress after doing this meditation.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: April 7, 2008, 5:28 am

Hi Fletcher,

So you fall asleep *right after* meditating? That’s interesting, and I don’t think it’s a problem (unless you have to go to work or something — presumably you’re meditating in the evening?).

The interesting thing is that presumably you’re falling asleep because you’re tired, and yet you’re not falling asleep during meditation, which is what commonly happens.

Often people don’t realize how tired they are until they stop “doing stuff” and start relaxing in meditation; in fact often they don’t realize how tired they are until they fall asleep.

Anyway, it’s a really good sign that you’re staying awake during meditation. As you suggest, it’s a sign that you’re relaxing and letting go of tensions.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa