Expert: Bodhicitta - 9/2/2007

Question
Hi, My name is Brian. I'm 40 and have been studying religion and mysticism for most of my life (since I was 10 or so). I am pursuing the knowledge behind the obvious 'front end' of spiritual understanding.

I am in the practice of maintaining a 'meditative state' during my everyday life.

Recently, I've managed to come to a point where I continually return to this relaxed, open place and I spend a lot of time there.

More and more, every time I come back to this center, I get a feeling in my head like something is trying to crawl out the top. I hear cracking and snapping inside my brain (not painful at all, it feels good) and a gradual 'loosening' of something up there that feels like something clogged up.

Do you know what is going on?

Thanks,
Brian

Answer
Dear Brian
Thanks for your question.

The first thing I usually say to people is in order to practise meditation it is necessary to find a good teacher who will
teach you meditation and importantly  to whom you can go
back to regularly to review together where your meditation is going.There are different types of teacher listed in traditional texts. In India the search and testing of
a Guru is perhaps the most part of a spiritual search.
In the West this is seen as problematic in various ways.
Nevertheless we would only go for golf lessons from someone
who didn't demonstrate a mastery of the game of golf - so
why don't we apply the same criterion to meditation?

I usually do not give answers to specific meditation questions, as to do so would deny you that special relationship with a teacher.

However I could make one or two general comments.
First a 'caveat meditator'
If you experience physical problems or changes in your
body you can not account for I would tell you always to
consult your doctor. It might turn out to be unnecessary, but it is a good precaution. Also it could be seen as part
of the Western steps in investigating meditation.


However during meditation many things happen in the realm
where body and mind meet. Sensations of hot, cold, tension
released , all sorts of physical sensations.  These things
happen for a while and then disappear as mysteriously as they came. What should we do about them? Well the traditions
tells us we ignore them. To pay special attention to them
would be to build our ego up - the opposite of what
meditation is trying to do.

I wish you well Brian.

Bodhicitta