i have been practicing meditation for about 2 weeks now in my tai kyoko ken class but i dont seem to be feeling this ki.I was wondering what exactly should i be feeling while meditateing?

thanx for your answers:)

Please do not try to "feel" anything. attachment to what you think you should feel or what others tell you you should feel wil get you nowhere except lost. I had a teacher tell me i was to see a blue flame. I spent inumerable hours wondering wht was wrong with me.

watching your conditioned mind and breaking the grip is all we "seek". "we lack nothing", except the power to lift the veil and see within. take one perfect breath and be there.

^gassho^

When I started meditating I didn't know that I was suppose to 'feel' anything because of the way I was taught. It actually scared me a bit and I stopped meditating until I could figure out what happend to me durning meditation when out of no where I started vibrating and pulsating and feeling what I could only describe as a cold flame flickering up through my body. Then when I went back to meditating I waited for it to happen and it never did again until I realized it was because I was anticipating it and couldn't calm my mind.

I'm new to this.. but from what I've grasped so far.... do not try to feel anything... do not try to dismiss any feelings... just let feelings and sensations come and go as they please. As they come and go, experience them. Some questions you may want to be asking yourself is "What am I experiencing? What sensations does this bring about? How is this affecting me?"

Begin by bringing focus to your breathing... be very relaxed and focus on absolute nothingness until one of these feelings or sensations arise. If you ever lose focus, then return the attention to your breathing.

I hoped that helped some.

Well I have some experience in meditation. When I meditate I feel my body go numb first my legs than upper body than head. it's like you can't move them but you realy can. Then I just focus on my breathing and thats all for however long I meditate. Sometimes my mind combats over issues at school or with morals ect. It depends on your focus. Me being a christian can also focus on God and pray.

That whole thing with going numb is like your body falling asleep. i feel this web thing just travel up(I think Its just me though). you might not feel this but for me my mind kinda detaches itself and I fall into a breathing pattern. Then my mind is just all there is it's like a controled dream just thinking. It's kinda hard to describe.

I wanted to add a note to the bringing focus to your breathing. Its not just that you are focussing on that you ARE breathing but what sensations come from each breath. The feeling of the air passing through your nasal passage down your throat into your lungs and the feeling of your lungs expanding your belly and moving your organs around and gradually feeling all of these things and more occurring at the same time.

There's different forms of meditation. Focusing on the breath, focusing on nothing, etc. etc. www.buddhanet.net, www.yogabasics.com, or http://www.meditationcenter.com/offer the best explanations in my opinion. It's not about feeling or accomplishing anything. It's about relaxing, quieting the mind and stripping away the layers of cr_p that we accumulate.

a big sigh?

And long ones at that

Am I being made fun of?

No. The thread has simply wandered a bit...two members having a dialogue. Part of the zen flow around here.

Thanks Harlan. Maybe stripping away the layers of cr_p that we accumulate wasn't the best way of putting it. I don't meditate as often as I'd like to. However, after I do meditate I feel refreshed, relaxed, calm and my mind is clear and quiet. That's the goal for me. That's what I feel and it feels great.