Feeling lost, reaching to the physical

[Leilah]

As I fall asleep, I find myself feeling as if I am about to lose it completely. I don't mean that I'm about to fall asleep, but rather that I am going to get lost...somewhere. It usually happens when the blackness behind my closed eyes become more prominent and my physical senses start to dim. It is then that this feeling overtakes me and I desperately try to reach back to... physical reality? I'm simply trying to figure out what this is and why I feel so panicky when it starts happening.

Does anyone else feel like this when your meditating/phasing/going to sleep??

[CFTraveler]

Something like that (not that) happened to me when I was younger- I was laying on the ground, at night, looking at the stars, then I focused on a star, pondering how far it was, you know, the usual stuff one thinks when looking at stars, when suddenly I had a very intense feeling of being on the surface of the earth, and all that space in front (instead of top) of me, and I had this feeling that I was going to fall off the surface of the earth and into space- the feeling was so intense that it became fear, so sudden and unexpected that I had to stop looking, sit up and reorient myself.  This happened when I was 12 or 13 (lots of stuff happened on this time period) and I have gone out on purpose to see if I could recreate that sensation to no avail.

Maybe you were on the verge of a projection and felt that 'falling sensation' that trance sometimes brings, and translated it into feelings of your 'self' falling- maybe you're ripe for a 'peak' experience and your 'ego' is fearing it.  Of course, I don't really know what I'm talking about. :dont-know:

[Stevo]

It's simply a feeling of disorientation. Consider the concequences if you can't hear, see, or feel. You'd probably fall over. That lack of balance is what you're experiencing. I feel it too, and all you do is get used to it. Don't be afraid, relax, and let it happen.

Although I can tell you, for the longest time your senses will ignite the moment you start feeling it. The sensation is different, so all your nerves will be alert. Just get used to it, make it boring, and don't think about it.

[Stookie]

I've experienced something similar several times during meditation. I'll reach a point where I feel very disconnected from everything, like my whole life is on another planet millions of miles away. The first couple of times was accompanied with a feeling of panic. It's very dissassociative. I think Frank the hypnotist has a name for it.

[Giselle]

I can compare this feeling to an experience I had while scuba diving.  We were about 80 feet down and the water was murky, when all of a sudden I didn't see anyone else around, including my diving buddy.  It was the most "alone" feeling I have ever had...just me in endless dark water.  Thankfully, just as panic hit me, I looked up and saw my diving buddy...grinning from ear to ear and waving at me.  Good thing I didn't have a harpoon or something with me....

Giselle

[Meg]

Leilah - I think I know what you mean. I'm not real experienced with trance states, and I get something like this feeling often when I (try to)meditate. I feel almost like a sense of vertigo, disorientation, as Stevo said. It makes me feel kinda queasy in the belly, and a little panicky. A fear of the void. I find, though , if I bear with it, I can break through to the other side, which is quite pleasant. Also, if I visualise myself filling up with each breath, it takes the focus off the "falling into nothingness" feeling.

Meg x

[Leilah]

I suppose dissociation is a good word for it.

Meg, you described it perfectly.

This morning I experienced it again and instead of "reaching back to the physical" I decided to stick through it. It felt like I was being pulled downwards into the...void... and I found myself momentarily within it. Then I must have snapped back to the physical(?) or something because I started to endure some rather strong vibrations in my head.

Lately it seems like I've been very physical when such things occur.  :think:

[Mat_Hanson]

when suddenly I had a very intense feeling of being on the surface of the earth, and all that space in front (instead of top) of me

I once also had this feeling a few months ago.... i was staring at the stars, one time we stopped in the middle of nowhere (outback qld, australia) on the way to townsville... and as I was looking at the stars its like I had a strong realisation about how small I was in the grand scale of things, and I felt like I was in really wide open spaces and sorta looking at the earth from orbit. It was a really strange yet enlightening feeling...