r/mindfulnessmeditation

A few days ago I posted about discovering Shikantaza and how I was gonna push myself to be disciplined and practice more. Over the last few days, I’ve been practicing a few times a day—some sessions are pretty chill and feel good, others not so much, but I’ve been learning to let go of that annoying frustration when things don't go super well...Today was a really, really good day. It clicked most of the time, and tonight I've got this amazing feeling, like my mind is all "loose." It’s like it’s been stuck inside a tight shoebox my whole life, and today I finally managed to open it up or loosen the box a bit. Hard to put into words, just a solid sense of mental comfort.

Curious - with eyes closed during meditation, do you look at the point of sensation you are trying to focus on (eg: nostril entry point) or do they just stay subtle and relaxed almost like looking downwards?
I am also finding, that I tend to also almost look in the middle, between my eyebrows.
Not a very experienced meditator so I am keen to hear your thoughts and experiences on this.
Thank you

Hey everyone,

I’ve been practicing concentration meditation right before going to sleep, and it’s starting to cause some really strange and intense issues with my sleep. I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this or knows how to fix it.

Two main things are happening:

1. Horror / Strange Dreams: As soon as I drift off after meditating, I start having very vivid, bizarre, and scary dreams. They are intense enough that I keep waking up right in the middle of the night directly from these nightmares.
2. Reduced Sleep (But High Energy): My total sleep time has dropped down to only 5 or 6 hours a night. The weird part is that when I wake up, I don’t feel tired or sleepy at all—I feel completely awake and alert.

I’m glad I don’t feel exhausted, but waking up in a panic from horror dreams in the middle of the night is getting exhausting.

Has anyone else dealt with intense subconscious release or hyper-awareness from doing concentration work at bedtime? Should I switch to a different practice at night (like a body scan), or just change the timing of my concentration sessions?

Would love any advice or insights from long-time practitioners. Thanks!

what is meditation, how does it feel like, what you think in it what you try to do in it what is happening in that body and mind, for a long time I thought it a way to stop thinking and have control over your thoughts and emotions , but it turns out there is much more to it, so tell me what you actually feel to meditate right.