Everyday Mindfulness

Hi all!

Today something really odd occurred. I was doing a 25 minute mindfulness meditation (focusing on my belly), and I had a first time experience. Maybe about 10 minutes into it, i had this feeling like my consciousness went "up" (It's hard to explain!). I starting perceiving bright orange/red colors. Then, I got very intense feelings of euphoria all throughout my body. My breath became extremely rhythmic and deep. I could feel my heart beat strongly. It felt amazing, but was also terrifying and I almost stopped the meditation because I was so overwhelmed. I didn't know what was happening and I felt very out of control. I have never done hard drugs, but It may have been a similar feeling. I was able to center myself again on my breath and after some time (could have been minutes or seconds...I have no idea) the euphoric feelings went away. It was sort of difficult to maintain my concentration after that, because my mind kept going back to what had just happened. Has anybody experienced anything like this before? What does it mean and what should I do if it happens again??

Hi there.
Meditation can be very powerful and it's not unusual for intense, euphoric experiences to occur.
I can imagine that such an experience can be unsettling if you're unprepared for it.
I guess the mindful approach would be to accept, without judgment, whatever is arising during meditation, including feelings of euphoria, and the fear that it triggered, without giving too much thought to what it "means" or to how you might react if it occurs again. In other words, just allow it to be.
Do you think that's possible?
Your reaction to it is very interesting. Many people, after experiencing something like that, would be asking themselves, "How do I get that feeling back?" Something tells me that you are already dealing with it mindfully, in a sense, in that you're simply curious about it, rather than striving to have it back.
All good things,
Jon, Hove

Gidday lucid mind,
What you have experienced is quite normal, in fact research into the practice will show similiar experiences in a range of different meditative disciplines. Hence the idea of transendental meditation, literally to transcend the confines of your earthly form. Sounds very ethereal but it isn't, no more so than an exercise high, or the buzz one feels when falling in love.
It is a demonstration that your practice is working, something to affirm the value of doing it and a motivator to continue. If you keep going like this you just may find youself looking forward to your daily practice.
There is one potential pot hole after having had such experience, no doubt repeated all over this forum, and that would be to be aware of expecting it to happen. The disappointment created when it doesn't is destructive to belief and persistence in the practice.
If you are doing it and are genuine in your practice you are winning.
Keep in mind the yin and yang of it all. We couldn't fully appreciate a nice day without some experience of a dreary one. Though a pleasant experience its just a bonus, not the point of the excercise.
Good luck,

David

Jon and David,

Thank you both so much for your insightful answers! It's good to know that this was a relatively common/expected occurrence. I really have been going into my meditation practice with the intent to let all experience be as it is, so striving for this feeling again hasn't been an issue yet. Most of the time I am sitting through quite uncomfortable feelings actually (lots of stress in life right now), so it's helping me practice the art of acceptance

Hi about 18 months ago I had a very similar experience so would like to know more to compare mine. I had done some forgiveness exercises whilst in meditation laying down, then fell into a light sleep, all of a sudden I felt a traveling up experience with luminescent orange light and saw the thousand petal lotus, it was like a journey of consciousness very strange, as I tried to focus on the petals they became kinda like clouds and my vision went micros to macros, overwhelmed with amazement I became aware of my breath gasped and came round. I’ve meditated for many years but was trying new methods. It certainly was not a dream or “of the mind” ie thought and was the most profound thing I have experienced. I had been doing a lot of yoga and trying going veggie at the time and it nearly happened again a few times recently. Simelar to how people explain the tunnel of light but it was not a tunnel as such. Very real.
I have asked many yogis what they thought but all they say is “I’m very lucky and on the right track”?

Interesting. But I'm not sure what you or the yogis mean by 'on the right track'.
Are you expecting to experiencing this again?
It's simply an experience. Like all experiences (blissful, indifferent, negative/difficult), it comes and then it goes. Don't hang on to it. Let it go.
Mindfulness is about being with what is, right now, in this moment. Not hanging on to an experience that has come and gone, nor hoping to repeat that experience in the future.
Mindfulness is not a permanent state that we strive for. Neither is 'enlightenment' for that matter, despite what we read about the great Indian sages and suchlike.
All things must pass. Notice THAT.
Cheers,
Jon

I know this is an old thread but wanted to respond to Zenstudent as I had a similar experience with forgiveness. I wouldn’t actually call it a meditation, I was doing a release type of exercise involving forgiveness of a very painful experience in my life at that time. I was laying down. The shifting “up” feeling came over me very dramatically in the middle of it, along with the sensation of soft fuzzy gold light and the most intense euphoria I ever experienced. It lasted quite a long time from my perspective. It was a very transformative experience for me and I’ve always been grateful for it.