I have a few questions I would like to ask to the forum and I hope I will get some good information in return and perhaps help others along their path to self-realization.
I am a thinking man and a skeptic. Most of all I have learned to leave energy and the topics there of alone. But recently I have learned from using a heart rate monitor that my feelings are not what I thought they were. Let me explain. I have begun using a heart rate monitor to gauge my physical exercise outside but I decided to use it to discover whether my heart rate increase while I have certain feelings of panic or fear. I have recognized that my heart does increase during certain times and not during others. I am lead to believe by this evidence that there is more to my feelings than just physiological events in the body, but mental events in the mind. How could this be without a energy body or pranic sheath.
So my first question to the forum is could anywhere give a detailed description of the ideal feelings one attempts to cultivate during pranayama? Basically I would like to know whether or not The sensation I feel while meditation are simple bodily hallucinations, prana, or emotional feedback( as some may call it) or a combination of all three. If I can eliminate one of the three I would be very pleased.
The second question Id like to ask is: does anyone know of any neuroscience researchers or book published that speak about pranayama and the brain. How breathing affects emotion, heart rate, and frontal lobe activity.
My final question is would anyone have advice for a person who is beginning pranayama and is seeking pure yogic self-realization ( that the sages speak of). I have had wonderful experiences and for a lack of a better explanation – have had a swami commit me to his teaching telepathically. He has taught me a great many things to be sure, but it is unquestionably difficult to use these findings as valid and reliable guidelines for my goal. It is nice that he helps, but the manner in which he does leaves me wanting. So really I cant expect you to believe this occurrence ever happened but hope some of you have had similar experiences. What I can tell you that might lead to you sort of understanding is my first meeting of the swami in person. There is a BAPS Swaminarayan 5 minutes form my house where I went one day during a trouble time in my life to pray and ask for help. I was determined to speak to a wiseman, and there he was( I have never seen them outside since that time). He sat almost like he was waiting for me and I climbed the stairs of the temple to where he was. I stopped and looked down. Wjhen I looked up he was stairing at me where he then threw his garment over his shoulder covering his chest from the hot sun.
I said," may we speak?"
He simply nodded and I proceeded to walk forward. Then he telepathically said, “that’s far enough.” I was so determined to speak to him I didn’t think twice about the experience just shrugged it off as typical in a world I have never been in before.
I spoke plainly," I am troubled," as I broke down nearly to tears. We exchanged thoughts as he became aware of those thoughts that were troubling me – as all things begin as thought( I wont disclose that information as it is not important).
Finally one last thing he said to me telepathically was said and is what I wanted to bring to this forums attention. He said," I can not help you, you can help yourself."
I sat looking at the floor for a moment and had the insight," I can do it myself." I had so much confidence in that affirmation that I knew it came from the swami because I had not felt like that since wrestling in high school.
Finally after a brief moment of complete silence in thought and in voice he said, good bye sir," and I left directing my attention towards my goals to succeed. This was 7 years ago and to this day he still visits me and teaches me things internally, but this event is unmistakable evidence to me of a world that is outside the bounds of where science is now but is growing towards understanding recently in the past 10 years.
Any help from this forum in compiling evidence and confidence in the art of pranayama would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading this!