And then there was Heat, Tummo, and some sense of satisfaction.

            So, it was on the Ist of October, 2025, when on the outbreath, there was .... a bit of a surprise, maybe a wee bit of fright. Something is happening which is a little unexpected and you feel yourself pulling back as if a fire had suddenly ignited in front of you. Wow! What the fuck!

            It made me think of the passage in a book by Alexandra David-Neel where you talks about raising inner heat to dry something off. I can't remember what. She said, I think, there there was nothing sacred about inner heat and you could use it to do what she was doing, which wasn't something sacred either.

            It's like a wavy wind of heat roiling and rolling up your body. A few years ago, my mentor, when we were discussing doing these meditations, asked me if I was scared. I thought this was a very odd question to ask, but I understood what she meant when this incident occurred. I can't say this heat stuff was something I was in control of.

            Once, probably about twenty years ago, there was something weird happening on the outbreath of vase breathing, and my arms would shake a bit and I'd wonder if I was going to have a fit. I felt that I had  to be careful for a while, and it passed.

             I'm being careful now. They tell you not to force it. I wouldn't dream of forcing this! I'm going on a three week retreat soon and I'll see how it all goes then.

            Two interesting things about this. One is that it occurred at dusk. They say the best times to meditate are at dawn and dust because the air goes evenly up both nostrils then and, it seems, that's what the meditations are trying to do anyway.

              The other is that I haven't given up cannabis and alcohol. A dose of cannabis coffee I ingest most days was coming on when this thing occurred. 

               I always contended that you didn't have to be a saint. And I'm just your usual Joe. I'm not even a proper Buddhist. I could call myself a humanist, or a super-humanist, or a pantheist, though I don't think there's much difference between pantheism and buddhism.

                Most of my meditations are done in the morning and afternoon. Milarepa says in the 100,000 Seongs that "in the evening there was always tummo". I heard once that the "fire element" was more pronounced in the evening. Well, during this upcoming retreat, I might find out if that's true!!

                 The photo is of where my mentor lives. I'll be going back there with her this weekend coming. Beaumont, here we come!