I recently started meditating. I noticed recently that I have been seeing flashing faces. These are not images of people I recognize. They only flash vaguely then disappear. Today I saw an image of a lotus and an eye - very fleetingly. Then it disappeared. My whole body was warm after the meditation. What does this mean?
—Sheetal, Australia
Dear Sheetal,
In true meditation we direct our energy away from our body and our senses, bringing that energy inward and upward, concentrating it at the point between the eyebrows, the spiritual eye.
As our energy becomes more interiorized we may experience glimpses of the Divine Presence which may be associated with divine qualities of peace, calmness, joy, love, light, sound, power or wisdom. We may experience a particular divine image such as Krishna or Christ or we may see the spiritual eye, a circular blue field surrounded by a golden ring with a white five pointed star in the center.
Whenever we touch into this higher consciousness we have a sense of profound upliftment and stillness; there is nothing vague, dull, confusing, or unsettling in this state. New meditators and even experienced meditators may see from time to time visual images which do not have their source in higher consciousness but may arise from lower parts of our consciousness including dream-like images.
Until we have at least some experience with higher consciousness we can be confused by these images. The best test of whether your experience comes from higher consciousness is whether the experience is associated with a divine quality as noted above. If you are given such images consider them strong spiritual encouragement to keep up your meditation practice.
Bring your concentration to a focus on the divine image and rest there. Initially these images from higher consciousness, also called superconsciousness, are often brief. Do not expect to have them with every meditation. There are many more steps to take to reach the point of living in higher consciousness throughout your life.
The only thought I have about ‘whole body warm after meditation’ is that you were likely deeply relaxed. Deep relaxation is necessary for deep meditation.
It is best to use a meditation technique during your meditation practice. A technique will help you direct your energy and attention to higher realities and away from lower or subconsciousness mental wanderings. If you would like to learn more about the meditation techniques offered by Paramhansa Yogananda there is a simple technique that you can learn as an excellent starting point.
Many Blessings,
Nayaswami Mukti
