State of Immaterial Domain through Sleep Meditation

[Naman]

I shud have mentioned, it happened when i was feeling very sleepy in my meditation so i just laid down n continued meditation.. And then i didn knw when sleep took over and next time when i got conscious it was in astral world (sleep paralysis state). These experiences happen when in meditation u manage to get to a point where body is numb and then u lie down continue like this, u shudnt move ur body and u shud drift into sleep without knwing that u did. I mean if ur too conscious sleep wont happen, and if u give in to thots andd sleep prematurely (in which u consciously give up meditation and choose to sleep) then also sleep paralysis wont happen.
Now that is about going there thru sleep, which is still not the true "yogic" way. Thats what i believe cause this thing u cant repeat at will.
Otherway is going there thru meditation only. Where u dont lose consciousness, thats like how Jhananada says, switiching over from 4th jhana to the transition state, which i experienced in past 2,3 times. So i m not at a stage where i can do it thru Jhanas directly.. Thats why im sticking to my meditation this time and achieve that ability to willfully go there. In my experience, when in meditation the already very faint breath which signifies 4th Jhana , stops effortlessly which will be accompanied by effacing of sense, u can go obe. So like Jeffrey says after reaching in 4th Jhana we cant do much but sit more n more in that state and let next state come. Practice is the only thing we can do.

[Jhanananda]

I just had the longest and lucid obe ever ! Funny thing was i kept trying to get out of my body but as soon as i will start it my rest of the body wud come off but it will be stuck at in my head area... And i wud lose consciousness fall bck again in body..

Surprisingly this time it didn end after one try.. I didn wake up in physical again,, so i re tried... Again n again.. I was able to "wake up" to the degree i wasnt able to in past.. Uk bring in more conscious.. That fight is exactly like how u r trying to remain awake in meditation when u r feeling sleepy haha.. So for few times i wud just make my hands go thru nearby wall and my legs n head..

This situation is typical of the beginning OOBE practitioner.  It is caused by too much cognition active at the time of the OOBE.  What one has to do is develop awareness beyond cognition, then moving in and out of body, and through the immaterial domains becomes second nature.

But i was not able to cross cause this time i felt this extreme blissfull sensation which i have felt earlier, while crossing concrete or matter in general,, but this time it was intense., to the point it felt like jolt of electric bliss..

You will find that if you just focus your attention upon the bliss factors that you will make tremendous progress as a mystic.

So i cudnt make it go thru all the way.. And then at the last it was getting ugly though.. In the last try, i kindof got stuck midway,, ( now only its occuring to.me that it was paralysis state: my mind tried to.panic there and even imagine horrible entities around me but i didn let those thots overcome cause it also occured that its not wise. Cause i have had bad expriences in past for thinking negative? ) it felt like i got stuck in some sheet or layer of water which was not allowing me get out of my body,,, and then i tried to wake up in physical by remembering everything i cud think of hahaha omg it literally felt like i m stuck forever. I even started thinking my people wud make take me.to hospital where my physical body will be lying in coma for idk how long time... And i wud try to recall the sensation of breath, sensation of boundary of physical body.. I was even breathing fast to make physical breath more noticeable.. But i didn realize that time that it wasnt my phsyical breath, but just a lucid sensation... Anyways so after few seconds of extreme efforts.. I kind of accepted it ( my equanimity helped alot,.which have improved alot over past few months, otherwise ik how intense a negative thot can become) so then after a second or so.. I woke up in physical again... But im just curious to knw that does sleep paralysis always ends on its own ? If u happen to get "locked" in it andim even recalling one more such incidence of past, where i felt im.inside my body and somehow my eyeballs r rolled back( that cud be cause i was not able to open my astral eyes) and i wud try again n again.. And it felt like forever and i tried for few mintues and when i stopped trying, i woke up on my own in physical.

In my experience the OOBEs always end on their own, so it is doubtful that anyone could get "stuck" in the immaterial domains, or half in and half out of the body.

With experience you will get more comfortable with the OOBE.

What exactly causes the OOBE? Is it the body being motionless for long periods of time, or the still mind? As when I meditate I move up and down the first 3 jhanas the whole time and nothing happens.

If you recall the OOBE is the next layer in depth below the 4th jhana.  So, for facility with the OOBE one will find mastery to the depth of the 4th makes it all work better.  It is otherwise driven by developing consciousness separate from the other cognitive processes.

I shud have mentioned, it happened when i was feeling very sleepy in my meditation so i just laid down n continued meditation.. And then i didn knw when sleep took over and next time when i got conscious it was in astral world (sleep paralysis state). These experiences happen when in meditation u manage to get to a point where body is numb and then u lie down continue like this, u shudnt move ur body and u shud drift into sleep without knwing that u did. I mean if ur too conscious sleep wont happen, and if u give in to thots andd sleep prematurely (in which u consciously give up meditation and choose to sleep) then also sleep paralysis wont happen.
Now that is about going there thru sleep, which is still not the true "yogic" way. Thats what i believe cause this thing u cant repeat at will.
Otherway is going there thru meditation only. Where u dont lose consciousness, thats like how Jhananada says, switiching over from 4th jhana to the transition state, which i experienced in past 2,3 times. So i m not at a stage where i can do it thru Jhanas directly.. Thats why im sticking to my meditation this time and achieve that ability to willfully go there. In my experience, when in meditation the already very faint breath which signifies 4th Jhana , stops effortlessly which will be accompanied by effacing of sense, u can go obe. So like Jeffrey says after reaching in 4th Jhana we cant do much but sit more n more in that state and let next state come. Practice is the only thing we can do.

This is correct, I found that the sleepiness phase in deep meditation tends to precede the OOBE, so early on I took to laying down meditation at this point, which took me right out of the body.  So, I find regular lying down meditation it critical for developing the OOBE.

[Naman]

Im finding that a feeling of loneliness and attachment is breaching my mind without any reason, whenever i allow myself to get close to some person.... And i shud mention that otherwise i dont have any such issues.. Infact I always wanted to be alone and do my practice, but whenever i come in contact with such people ( people who get attached to me) i feel all this undesirable baseless emotions creeping in. What is it? Is it my own unresolved emotions from past lives ? Or is it that those people r dumping their karma and emotions in me ? Is it ever possible to balance this thing, to be among Such people and not take in their negativity? Or we as a yogi always should maintain distance from people ?

[Sam Lim]

Nobody can dump their karma on somebody else. As a contemplative, one  would be more sensitive or should I say more emphatic. Therefore, one should always reach the stage of equanimity so as not to be affected by somebody else's energy. Nevertheless, even a seasoned contemplative might get affected sometimes. So, it's best to avoid them if possible.

[Jhanananda]

We here have found that regular deep meditation practice develops the other superior attainments (maha-phala).  One of those superior attainments (maha-phala) is insight.  An aspect of insight is becoming aware of the psychological state of others.  So, sometimes it is difficult to determine what psychological state is yours, or that of others.

It was not until I spent a great deal of time camping in the wilderness, far from cities, when I realized that the emotions that I was experiencing were the emotions of the herd, and were not mine.  So, spending more time in the wilderness might help you decipher what is your emotional content, and what belong to the herd.

Spending a great deal of time in the wilderness cultivating deep meditation also allows one to develop equanimity, which means one can reside in an ocean of evil without being tainted by it.  However, one will find that returning to the wilderness regularly is needed to restore one's depth in meditation, and the other superior attainments (maha-phala).

[Naman]

Thanks for the reply. Ill try and find some alone time. The thing is this was more persisting emotion i felt, and it was getting hard to ignore it  by considering it as someone else's.

[Naman]

Nobody can dump their karma on somebody else. As a contemplative, one  would be more sensitive or should I say more emphatic. Therefore, one should always reach the stage of equanimity so as not to be affected by somebody else's energy. Nevertheless, even a seasoned contemplative might get affected sometimes. So, it's best to avoid them if possible.

Yes im finding that when i remain passive and dont get involved with them in anyways including emotions, i feel normal again.. I wud like to mention that these r the emotions from my own past which r common to the person im relating to, does this mean that those impressions r not resolved yet ? Or its solely from the other person. Cause if its just a product of my mind then i can do away with neglecting people and rather focus on working on my own mind. This is such an impression, which u cant knw if its there unless u come in contact with some person and if u do then u r not sure if its coming from them :/

[Jhanananda]

We must always look inside and own our part in emotional entanglements. When we have fully developed equanimity, then we no longer become emotional entangled with others.

[Naman]

Thanks for the reply.
I wanted to ask what u plan on doing once ur tenure in earth is over ?  I always think abt resting in the final state but sometimes my mind is okay with it and sometimes there is huge resistance, like it feels that i m not done yet. How was it for u before and now? did u find any change of heart in deciding what u will do after this life overtime ?

[Jhanananda]

I will become everything and nothing.

[Alexander]

I will become everything and nothing.

 :)

[Cal]

I will become everything and nothing.

This hit me, Jeff. It honestly brought tears to my eyes. It is such a powerful reminder, thank you.

[Naman]

I will become everything and nothing.

What people say abt "mahasamadhi" i.e. when u become everything after dropping body that its a place of no return. Whats ur view ? Maybe its no return for those who dont want to return, but then again who controls the desires that rise in mind.

And as far as my practice is going, i experience obes occasionally where im mostly not able detach from my body. However i havent yet experienced obes without the lapse of consciousness i.e. consciously coming n going out of body. In your experience how long did it take to reach the capability of doing obes at will (conscious in n out of body) from the point where i stand nowadays?
Thanks for all the suppport. And yes i hope ur health gets better.

[Jhanananda]

What people say abt "mahasamadhi" i.e. when u become everything after dropping body that its a place of no return. Whats ur view ? Maybe its no return for those who dont want to return, but then again who controls the desires that rise in mind.

When there are no desires one is not compelled to return to material existence; however, such a one also has the intention of the benefit of others, so one may return for such a reason.

And as far as my practice is going, i experience obes occasionally where im mostly not able detach from my body. However i havent yet experienced obes without the lapse of consciousness i.e. consciously coming n going out of body. In your experience how long did it take to reach the capability of doing obes at will (conscious in n out of body) from the point where i stand nowadays?
Thanks for all the suppport. And yes i hope ur health gets better.

It took me about 6 months of dedicated contemplative life, and discipline to gain 24-7 lucidity.  That was about 43 years ago. I still have it.