Conventional mind afraid of the nimitta?

[Michael]

Hello, friends,

Over the past several months, in addition to my OCD seeming to kick into overdrive (backstory here:http://fruitofthecontemplativelife.org/forum/index.php/topic,1365.0.html), I've been noticing vertigo and extreme spaciness happening on and off throughout the day. On one occasion it seemed related to sleep deprivation. But then I noticed that it happened immediately after meditation. And yesterday, after spending most of the morning in a dark, anxious and obsessive state, I found that attention to the breath was surprisingly easy and close at hand. It felt like a room I could step into. I didn't experience prolonged sustain of attention, but the room was always right there, easy to get back to, and I could see how it might intensify into an inner light. It made me wonder if people have a difficult time with their practice when the nimitta is taking shape very slowly and their conventional mind doesn't know what's happening.

Anyone thoughts on this?

[Alexander]

I think Rougeleader may be able to assist you here. I have not experienced this myself but I recall Jeff discussing the meditation-induced vertigo and dizziness. He also has some comments elsewhere on the luminous spheres (nimitta).

[Jhanananda]

I have come to realize there is another source of vertigo that I experience. I have found air pollution can produce vertigo for me, so it is possible air pollution could be causing vertigo for others, so I closely track air quality and I have found I need air quality to be exceptional for me or I can experience vertigo, or on occasion I can collapse unconscious. So, try tracking air quality to see if it is causal in your vertigo and consider buying an air purifier.