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Summary of Question:	Pressure In And Out Of Meditation
Category:	Meditation
Date Posted:	Monday, 7/29/2002 9:32 PM MDT

Sometimes I feel a pressure pushing in on the top of my head at various times during the day. Actually, it feels like it's pushing more on the top of my brain. I also feel it around the 'third eye' center, sometimes at the same time as the pressure on my head, sometimes not. What does this mean? Is it dangerous in anyway? How do I get it to stop or deal with it as it is annoying at times? It doesn't seem to be related to anything, although I've read that meditation can cause it. Is it something that I should talk to my doctor about?

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Sat Siri Akal.

When you meditate, you are exercising your brain in a way that you don't normally use, and sometimes sensations can happen. This is perfectly normal. Different societies and cultures have ascribed these sensations to different things, but the key to remember is that the changes you go through when you meditate are experiential in nature, and you can relax into the experience of it.

Now, the Guru talks about the Tenth Gate. I don't have an exact reference for you, but Guru writes that there are nine openings in the body, and then the Tenth Gate, which is hidden. The Tenth Gate is a yogic reference and it refers to the place on the top of the head that was the "soft" spot when you were a baby. As you meditate, this "hidden gate" begins to open. The hardness that developed as a child becomes soft again and, as this gate opens, you begin to perceive reality in a different way. Meditation is both an experiential and physical process - understand that your body will go through physiological changes as you progress in your study/practice of meditation. What happens when the Tenth Gate opens? The spot on the top of your head may feel itchy, or tingly or it may have a burning sensation. This is actually where your turban comes in very handy, from an experiential point of view. When the Tenth Gate opens, it is very sensitive and direct sunlight can irritate it and cause it to close up again. So the turban provides a protection for your head during the day to keep that gate open.

If you want to fully understand what's happening at the top of your head, go to the Guru and read up on all the references you can find about the Tenth Gate. This will guide you to understand what's going on better.

As for the Third Eye. Well - you know - it got that name for a reason. Again, meditation changes you on a physical level as well as a spiritual/emotional/mental one. What's happening there? Best way to describe it, using modern scientific language, is that science tells us we have two hemispheres of the brain and most people are dominated in their personality/skills/talents by either the left side of the brain or the right side of the brain. Meditation gives us a self-training where we begin to use both sides of the brain equally, in balance, harmony and communication. When you come from both hemispheres equally, science calls this coming from the "central" brain - and people who are "center" dominant are rare. They can call equally on the skills of either hemisphere and, in the communication between those hemispheres, they begin to think and act intuitively, not just logically or creatively. The central brain, the frontal lobe, is where the two sides meet and you begin to physically experience that part of your brain differently as the two hemispheres come into balance.

OK - for what it's worth. I hope this has been helpful to you. Keep meditating and let us know if you have any other questions.

Sincerely,

GPK