Feeling of falling during meditation

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
Observing
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Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by Observing »

Is this a common experience during sitting meditation? It happened last night and startled me and took my breath away. I literally felt like I was suddenly falling through the air.
SarathW
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by SarathW »

Yes, it is a common experience.
Keep your eyes open if you want to avoid this.
This is sort of you are going to a sleep mode.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Observing
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by Observing »

SarathW wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:08 am Yes, it is a common experience.
Keep your eyes open if you want to avoid this.
This is sort of you are going to a sleep mode.
I did not feel like I was falling asleep, but I was very relaxed. I only do sitting meditation with my eyes closed.
SarathW
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by SarathW »

Observing wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:09 am
SarathW wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:08 am Yes, it is a common experience.
Keep your eyes open if you want to avoid this.
This is sort of you are going to a sleep mode.
I did not feel like I was falling asleep, but I was very relaxed. I only do sitting meditation with my eyes closed.
Try to experience the same with your eyes open.
I think we use vision to keep our bodies open.
Similar things happen when you are disorented.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
DiamondNgXZ
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by DiamondNgXZ »

Observing wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:56 am Is this a common experience during sitting meditation? It happened last night and startled me and took my breath away. I literally felt like I was suddenly falling through the air.
Just keep observing next time it comes up. A good opportunity to experience free fall without spending a lot of money on space shuttles, roller coster, or risking life in an elevator with strings cut.

Logically assure yourself that you're totally safe in your room, earthquake feels different. So just enjoy the sensation. Observe without craving or aversion. See where that fear comes from, if any fear arises. See the impermanence of the sensation. See the perception changes very strangely and wonderfully, not within your control. This way you can see perception is not self. Come back to the meditation object afterwards.
Inedible
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by Inedible »

You might want to try books and forums about astral projection. If you want to do something with it other than wait for it to stop, I mean.
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frank k
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by frank k »

Observing wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:56 am Is this a common experience during sitting meditation? It happened last night and startled me and took my breath away. I literally felt like I was suddenly falling through the air.
There's a stage meditators go through where the energy channel that runs down from the head towards the belly, when it first starts to open up, it can feel like you're falling. My experience was it felt like I suddenly dropped into a large hole. This happened a few times, but as the energy channel opens up wider and smooths out, transition smoothes out, and the feeling of falling doesn't happen again. The process smoothes out, and after enough time you maybe only feel a little twitch in the body, or the finger, and no feeling of falling.

So you might be describing that.

Most people doing sitting meditation will just feel like there's an energy blockage, a mass in their chest that energy doesn't pass through. Of course that will just feel "normal", and you won't realize a blockage is a blockage until you've experienced what it feels like after the blockage melts away. Most people won't know it because they don't put in enough time into meditation to melt it enough, and they're also indulging in 5 cords of sensual pleasure that increase the energetic blockages (too much sex, too much eating, not enough sleep, etc.). It's just like becoming a millionaire, you have to save more money than you spend.

Taoists describe the process of entering what I would map to second jhana, as the consciousness, normally located in the head area, suddenly drops into a cavity between the belly and heart. So you can see how that would cause a feeling of falling.
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auto
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by auto »

frank k wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:12 am ..
I have had that experience too couple times at the beginning, when mentally concentrating on the meaning of calm. If i would have described this experience at that time, i wouldn't mention the concentration.
frank k wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:12 am There's a stage meditators go through where the energy channel that runs down from the head towards the belly, when it first starts to open up, it can feel like you're falling. My experience was it felt like I suddenly dropped into a large hole. This happened a few times, but as the energy channel opens up wider and smooths out, transition smoothes out, and the feeling of falling doesn't happen again. The process smoothes out, and after enough time you maybe only feel a little twitch in the body, or the finger, and no feeling of falling.
I can agree what you say. Whereas you don't mention what comes next when the process have smoothed out, only specified the smoothed out part.
frank k wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:12 am Most people doing sitting meditation will just feel like there's an energy blockage, a mass in their chest that energy doesn't pass through. Of course that will just feel "normal", and you won't realize a blockage is a blockage until you've experienced what it feels like after the blockage melts away. Most people won't know it because they don't put in enough time into meditation to melt it enough, and they're also indulging in 5 cords of sensual pleasure that increase the energetic blockages (too much sex, too much eating, not enough sleep, etc.). It's just like becoming a millionaire, you have to save more money than you spend.
i think here you describe the part when you are with the smoothing out stage where you keep on clearing blockages. I think initiating next stage requires stillness, not moving the body.
frank k wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:12 am Taoists describe the process of entering what I would map to second jhana, as the consciousness, normally located in the head area, suddenly drops into a cavity between the belly and heart. So you can see how that would cause a feeling of falling.
That is the fruit of second stage. The falling you describe at the beginning is not this stage.
Third stage concentrates on the feeling in belly and accessing thighs, legs..

Also the first stage occurs again every time after death consciousness(where citta objects dissolve) and then by arousing life where the sense organs and their objects are dependent on what it took to arouse the life becomes the old kamma what are to be restrained(things done before first stage). And then as you describe this stage doesn't occur by falling - process smooths out, but it is still this same stage, hence the concentration what should be mentioned, instead of falling there are meanings or the perception born things.
bpallister
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by bpallister »

i have gotten this occasionally but i get it more often when i'm in a light sleep, like just drifting off to sleep.
TRobinson465
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by TRobinson465 »

This is a common experience. Just ignore it and continue observing your object of meditation. Itll eventually go away. This has happened to me many times. If you try to stop or interrupt it like opening your eyes it doesnt do anything for your progress. The falling sensation is a normal stage from what ive seen and if you just keep doing what your doing the stage will pass. Just let it be.
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Aloka
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by Aloka »

I always do sitting meditation outdoors, with eyes lightly open and focused gently towards the tip of the nose (as taught when I practiced Vajrayana) and I never have that sort of problem.

:anjali:
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bodom
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by bodom »

Ajahn Chah called it " hitting an air pocket".
On one occasion, a diligent lay meditator asked him about her practice:

“Sometimes my mind becomes very concentrated, but there tend to be moments when suddenly my head bobs up and down. It’s like I’m nodding, but I’m aware, there’s mindfulness there. What is that called?”

"It’s called hitting an air pocket. When you go up in a plane, that’s what happens."
Also from Bhante G:
PROBLEM 3: ODD SENSATIONS

People experience all manner of varied phenomena in meditation. Some people get itches. Others feel tingling, deep relaxation, a feeling of lightness, or a floating sensation. You may feel yourself growing or shrinking or rising up in the air. Beginners often get quite excited over such sensations. Don’t worry, you are not likely to levitate any time soon. As relaxation sets in, the nervous system simply begins to pass sensory signals more efficiently. Large amounts of previously blocked sensory data can pour through, giving rise to all kinds of unique sensations. It does not signify anything in particular. It is just sensation. So simply employ the normal technique. Watch it come up and watch it pass away. Don’t get involved.
:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
auto
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by auto »

TRobinson465 wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 2:47 am This is a common experience. Just ignore it and continue observing your object of meditation. Itll eventually go away. This has happened to me many times. If you try to stop or interrupt it like opening your eyes it doesnt do anything for your progress. The falling sensation is a normal stage from what ive seen and if you just keep doing what your doing the stage will pass. Just let it be.
It lasts a moment and the conditions can be set to happen it again immediately after. And that's pretty much it, I guess if can't fabricate it, one will experience it over and over again and is a common experience of failure.
Being able to fabricate what is "just passing", is what stops them. As you say, it is passing away, yet it seem to be coming back again(common experience), so you are not surpassing that phase or stage and prolly haven't touched the skill of fabrication due no good instructions or pointers that it is viable option tho its only possible after seeing it arising before you would note it happening.
edit: i'm trolling.
Last edited by auto on Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
auto
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by auto »

bodom wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 1:40 pm ..
why remove feedback of comments made, is that not allowed(to give feedback)?
might want to read from visuddhimagga how meditation objects are received?
auto
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Re: Feeling of falling during meditation

Post by auto »

bpallister wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 1:31 am i have gotten this occasionally but i get it more often when i'm in a light sleep, like just drifting off to sleep.
You could get that sensation on a rollercoaster or virtual reality too i guess. Meditation is a broad enough to include some weirdly induced phenomena to then write them off as insignificant.
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