Bhoolea bhatkea

Gskler ji..........I think it is the very early stage that you are describing, especially when the jap itself begins to separate from breath.
I remembered about describing this to myself ''as if trying to catch a bird/hen and it keeps runining/jumping forward out of your grasp''

With what you describe, it also highlights the fact that simran stages don't have to run in any specific step by step order. For eg. you may hear naad before you taste amrit or vice versa.

From just my personal understanding and practice, I can only tell you the little I know.
In my experience and from what you are saying, certain chakras can begin to activate and awaken completely at random!
It seems your throat has began to awaken.
Now, with the approach and methods of saas graas,- saas saas- that some of us have used,.... I can only advise that you should take your dhyian down to navel area and do more saas saas..........I say this because....I think you should be putting more dhyian into the dhun and listening.

gurbani says ""dhun mein dhyan, dhyaan mein Jaaniya" ..............and then only by 'listening'...will the naad begin to manifest. Also, when you really put the dhyian on listening, then next steps will spontaneously begin to come to you at ease.

I strongly advise to not get lost and trapped into the mindset of ''Oh what shall I do next...or maybe I'm doing it all wrong."....attitude.....because I have fallen down this path many times !
Just keep the PYAAR for the satguru and beg him with love to lead the way.
Jap and immerse in the simran whilst listening. Listen and listen to your jap with dhyian and you will begin to go more internal and start hearing the sounds that will catch you by surprise. Acknowledge this as the Satguru, telling you that he is listening.

With what you are experiencing and describing;Be grateful, because he has already confirmed to you that HE is doing the Jap within you!!
because gurbani says

ਸਰਗੁਨ ਨਿਰਗੁਨ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਸੁੰਨ ਸਮਾਧੀ ਆਪਿ ॥
Sargun nirgun nirankār sunn samāḏẖī āp.
He possesses all qualities; He transcends all qualities; He is the Formless Lord. He Himself is in Primal Samaadhi.

ਆਪਨ ਕੀਆ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਫਿਰਿ ਜਾਪਿ ॥੧॥
Āpan kī▫ā nānkā āpe hī fir jāp. ||1||
Through His Creation, O Nanak, He meditates on Himself. ||1||

Dear Ragmala,
you must bear in mind, that since we have left our Father´s House, Sach Khand, we have been collecting dirt on our souls. And this has been since countless aeons....

So do you really think or anybody that with some time given to simran, one can wash all of one´s huge filth?

The mind has been wandering since then, not even for a second it has stopped to rest ... it is continously runnig outside in the maya powered by the 5 vikars ... so however one´s strong efforts maybe in bhakti, believe it, we by ourselves, can never ever reach or have any spiritual achievements...

So then what to do?

Leave yourself as "kookar" at His Door without wavering .... It is by the water of His Daya Meher, that we can be washed and become pure paviter.

You see, when you say it seems you have gotten no where ..... remove away even those thoughts, because in that way, we are not totally given in His Dhyan, as we are still conscoius of ourselves of not having seeing or feeling anything ....

In His bhakti, we have to behead ourselves, not literally, but, means to be motionless, mindless ..... then when the haume, or I /me vanishes with His Simran, only He remains.... and then we shall have His Darshan.

Sat Sree Akal.

Meditation Is Not What You Think!

You want to attain a state of happiness that is free from all pains and miseries. Yet you constantly live with fears, concerns, strain, and struggle. Why? Because you do not live in the moment, you are not fully present and aware. Your inner and outer conflicts prevent you from dealing with the situations that come before you and living in harmony with those who are close to you. These conflicts keep you from accomplishing the tasks that you have placed before yourself.

Meditation is not what you think, for it is beyond thinking.
Meditation is a definite process for resolving conflicts. It is the simple and exact process of becoming aware of who you are. It is learning to know yourself as you really are. Meditation is a practice of gently freeing yourself from the worries that gnaw at you, so that you can be free and respond to the needs of the moment, and experience the joy of being fully present. Meditation is not what you think, for it is beyond thinking. You do not meditate on your problems in order to solve them, but through meditation you see through the problems you have set up for yourself.

The World Within
Meditation is a practical means for calming yourself, for letting go of your biases and seeing what is, openly and clearly. It is a way of training the mind so that you are not distracted and caught up in its endless churning. Meditation teaches you to systematically explore your inner dimensions. It is a system of commitment, not commandment. You are committing to yourself, to your path, and to the goal of knowing yourself.

Meditation is not a ritual belonging to any particular religion, culture, or group. It is a method of knowing the one reality from which all religions spring. For example, the Bible clearly says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Learning how to be still is the method of meditation. And if you meditate regularly you will find that you have become more calm, yet alert to what is needed in the present moment.

Most people associate calmness with passivity, but the peace that meditation brings releases energy. Worry and preoccupation dissipate your strength. Meditation frees the energy that has been bound in your mental discord so that you can apply yourself one-pointedly to whatever you decide to do. Meditation will lead your mind to become more concentrated, so that you can fully focus on whatever you choose. Because of this, those who meditate will learn almost anything more easily and more quickly.

From childhood onward, you are taught to examine and understand things in the external world, but nobody teaches you to look within and understand the mind and its various states. All of your training has been to know the outer world, and to become skillful at manipulating the external world for your own benefit. But unless you learn to know yourself, whatever you do in the external world will not produce the results you want. If a tire is out of balance, no matter how wonderfully it was designed in other respects, it will not function properly. Unless you achieve inner balance, no matter how much you know about performing in the outer world, you will fall short of your goals. Meditation is the means of achieving this inner balance.

Those who have examined the objects of the external world understand their transitory nature and know that life has more to give. Then they start searching within themselves and conducting “inner research.” Meditation is a systematic technique of inner research. It is like a ladder with many rungs which finally leads to the roof, and from there one can see the vast horizon all around.

Meditation will lead you to a state of inner joy. You think that pleasure comes from your contact with the objects of the world, but there is an inner and finer joy that you have not yet tasted. Those who have been researchers in the external world, who have examined its pleasures and joys, discover that the highest of all joys is meditation, and this joy leads to that eternal joy called samadhi. Such great ones like to keep their eyes partially closed, looking into the innermost light that shines within this frame of life.

Meditation will give you a tranquil mind. Meditation will make you aware of the reality deep within. Meditation will make you fearless; meditation will make you calm; meditation will make you gentle; meditation will make you loving; meditation will give you freedom from fear; meditation will lead you to the state of inner joy. If you understand these goals and want to meditate, then it will help you, but if you are expecting to become rich through meditation, then don’t do it.

Full Attention
Meditation is not a difficult task that you must force upon yourself; once you experience that inner joy you will spontaneously want to meditate as much as you now look forward to outer pleasures. Nevertheless, it is very helpful to establish a routine to your meditative practice. Just as you eat at certain times of the day, and look forward to eating as those times approach, so too, by developing the habit of meditating at the same time each day your whole being—your body, breath, and mind—will look forward to meditating at that time. You should sit down every day at exactly the same time. Establish a specific time for your practice and do your practice every day at that time.

The first thing you have to learn is to be still.
The first thing you have to learn is to be still. This process begins with physical stillness. According to the tradition that we follow, the asana, or meditative posture, is carefully selected according to your nature and capacity, and you are guided by a competent teacher to keep your head, neck, and trunk straight. After choosing a sitting posture, good students learn to become accomplished in it.

After accomplishing stillness with the help of the meditative posture, you will become aware of obstacles arising from muscle twitching, tremors occurring in various parts of the body, shaking, and itching. These obstacles arise because the body has never been trained to be still. We are trained to move in the external world faster and faster, but nobody trains us to remain still. To learn this stillness, you should form a regular habit, and to form this habit you should learn to be regular and punctual, practicing the same posture at the same time and at the same place every day until the body stops rebelling against the discipline given to it. This step, though basic, is important and should not be ignored. Otherwise, you will not be able to reap the fruits of meditation and your efforts will be wasted.

You should find a simple, uncluttered, quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Sit on the floor with a cushion under you or in a firm chair, with your back straight and your eyes closed. Then bring your awareness slowly down through your body, allowing all of the muscles to relax except those that are supporting your head, neck, and back. Take your time and enjoy the process of letting go of the tension in your body. Meditation is the art and science of letting go, and this letting go begins with the body and then progresses to thoughts.

Once the body is relaxed and at peace, bring your awareness to your breath. Notice which part of your lungs are being exercised as you breathe. If you are breathing primarily with your chest you will not be able to relax. Let your breathing come primarily through the movement of the diaphragm. Continue to observe your breath without trying to control it. At first the breath may be irregular, but gradually it will become smooth and even, without pauses and jerks.

Meditation is a process of giving your full attention to whatever object you have chosen. In this case you are choosing to be aware of the breath. Allow yourself to experience your breathing in an open and accepting way. Do not judge or attempt to control or change it. Open yourself so fully that eventually there is no distinction between you and the breathing. In this process many thoughts will arise in your mind: “Am I doing this right? When will this be over? My nostril is clogged—should I get up and blow my nose before I continue? Perhaps I should have closed the window. I forgot to make an important call. My neck hurts.” Hundreds of thoughts may come before you and each thought will call forth some further response: a judgment, an action, an interest in pursuing the thought further, an attempt to get rid of the thought.

At this point, if you simply remain aware of this process instead of reacting to the thought, you will become aware of how restless your mind is. It tosses and turns like you do on a night when you cannot fall asleep. But that is only a problem when you identify with the mind and react to the various thoughts it throws at you. If you do, you will be caught in a never-ending whirlwind of restless activity. But if you simply attend to those thoughts when they arise, without reacting, or if you react and attend to the reaction, then they cannot really disturb you. Remember—it is not the thoughts that disturb you, but your reaction to them. It is not a sound that disturbs your meditation, but your reaction to it.

Meditation is very simple. It is simply attending. You can begin by attending to your breath, and then if a thought comes, attend to it, notice it, be open to it—and it will pass. Then you can come back to the breath. Your normal response is to react to all your thoughts, and this keeps you ever busy in a sea of confusion. Meditation teaches you to attend to what is taking place within without reacting, and this makes all the difference. It brings you freedom from the mind and its meandering. And in this freedom you begin to experience who you are, distinct from your mental turmoil. You experience inner joy and contentment, you experience relief and inner relaxation, and you find a respite from the tumult of your life. You have given yourself an inner vacation.

The Foundation for Peace
This inner vacation is not a retreat from the world but the foundation for finding inner peace. You must also learn to apply the principle of attending in your worldly activities so that you can apply yourself in the world more effectively. Through practicing meditation you can learn to be open to what comes before you in the world and give it your full attention.

Ordinarily, you react to the experiences that come before you in the world in much the same way that you react to your thoughts. If someone says something negative to you, you become upset or depressed. If you lose something, you react emotionally. Your mood depends on what comes before you and, as a result, your life is like a roller coaster ride. You react before you have fully experienced what you are reacting to; what you see or hear immediately pushes a button. You interpret that according to your expectations, fears, prejudices, or resistances. You short-circuit the experience, and thus you limit yourself to one or two conditioned responses. You give up your ability to respond to a situation openly and creatively.

But if you apply the principle of meditation to experiences that come before you, you can fully attend to what is taking place. You can attend to your initial reaction without reacting to your reaction: “Oh, look at how threatened I feel by that.” You need not deny your reaction. Let yourself be open to experiencing it and it will move through you and allow other spontaneous responses to also come forward, so that you can select the one that is most helpful in that particular situation.

In this way meditation is very therapeutic. It not only leads to inner balance and stability, it also exposes your inner complexes, your immaturities, your unproductive reflexes and habits. Instead of living in these and acting them out, they are brought to your awareness and you can give them your full attention. Only then will they be cleared.

Patient Practice
Competent teachers instruct students in how to be free from external influences and how to follow the primary steps, so that the body, senses, and mind are prepared for meditative experiences. If the preliminaries are ignored, then students may waste years and years hallucinating and fantasizing, simply feeding their egos and not attaining any deeper experiences.

But there is one serious problem. Modern students are like children who plant seeds in the evening and early the next morning wake up and start digging up the seeds to see what has happened. Of course, nothing has happened; the seeds are still there so the child covers them up again and pours water on them. Then, in the afternoon, the child wants to examine the seeds again. Let the seeds of your practice grow; give your practice some time to develop.

It takes time to see results; be gentle with yourself.
Have patience and do your practice systematically. Every action has a reaction. It is not possible for you to do meditation and not receive benefits. You may not notice those benefits now, but slowly and gradually you are storing the samskaras (impressions) in the unconscious mind that will help you later. If you sow a seed today, you don’t reap the fruit tomorrow, but eventually you will. It takes time to see results; be gentle with yourself.

Meditation means gently fathoming all the levels of yourself, one level after another. Be honest with yourself. Don’t care what others say about their experiences—keep your mind focused on your goal. It is your own mind that does not allow you to meditate, and your untrained mind is like a garbage disposal. To work with your mind, you’ll have to be patient, you’ll have to work gradually with yourself.

I sometimes hear students say, “I have not attained anything; I have been doing meditation for thirteen years!” Are you sure that you have been doing meditation? Or did you sit and sleep or dream or think? For thirteen years you have been thinking about many other things in the name of meditation; you think about your work and your boyfriend or girlfriend. You sat for all those years in meditation but you did not really meditate, and then you complain that nothing has happened to you. Do not give your mind space to wander when you meditate, but go step by step in the process. Train yourself. First, pay attention to your posture. Learn to sit correctly. Do your practice systematically. Then work to eliminate the mental and emotional obstacles.

If meditators probe the inner levels of their being, exploring the unknown dimensions of interior life, and if they have learned a systematic and scientific method that can lead them to the next state of experience, then they can go beyond all the levels of their unconscious mind and establish themselves in their essential nature.

Soundless Sound
During deep meditation, the ancient sages heard certain sounds called mantras. In the Bible, it is said that those who have an ear to hear will hear. When the mind becomes attuned, it is capable of hearing the voice of the unknown. The sounds that are heard in such a state do not belong to any particular language, religion, or tradition. According to our tradition, which is a meditative tradition more than five thousand years old, mantra and meditation are inseparable, like the two sides of a coin.

All the existing spiritual traditions of the world use a syllable, a sound, a word or set of words, called a mantra, as a bridge for crossing the mire of delusion and reaching the other shore of life. Mantra setu is that practice which helps the meditator make the mind one-pointed and inward, and then finally leads to the center of consciousness, the deep recesses of eternal silence where peace, happiness, and bliss reside.

There are sounds that are created by the external world and heard by the ears, and sounds heard in deep meditation. The latter is called anahata nada, the unstruck sound. Inner sounds, which are heard in deep meditation by the sages, do not vibrate in exactly the same way as sound vibrates in the external world. They have a leading quality. They lead the meditator toward the center of silence within. The following simile can help in understanding this: Imagine that you are standing on the bank of a river and you hear the current as it flows. If you follow the river upstream, you will come to its origin. There, you will find that there is no sound. In the same way, a mantra leads the mind to the silence within. That state is called “soundless sound.”

The mantra imparted by a teacher to a student is like a prescription given to a patient. There are innumerable sounds, each with a different effect. The teacher must understand which best suits a particular student, according to his or her attitudes, emotions, desires, and habits.

A mantra has four bodies or koshas (sheaths). First, as a word, it has a meaning; another more subtle form is its feeling; still more subtle is a presence, a deep intense and constant awareness of it; and the fourth or most subtle level of the mantra is soundless sound.

Many students continue repeating or muttering their mantra throughout their entire life, but never attain a state of ajapa japa—that state of constant awareness without any effort. These students strengthen their awareness, but meditate on the gross level only.

Those who go beyond this stage use special mantras that do not obstruct and disturb the flow of breath, but help regulate the breath and lead to a state in which the breath flows through both nostrils equally. In this state the breath and mind function in complete harmony and create a joyous state of mind. When students attain this state, the mind is voluntarily disconnected from the dissipation of the senses. Then they have to deal with the thoughts coming forward from the unconscious mind, that vast reservoir in which we have stored all the impressions of our lifetime. The mantra helps one to go beyond this process, creating a new groove in the mind, and the mind then begins to spontaneously flow into the groove created by the mantra. Finally, when the mind becomes concentrated, one-pointed, and inward, it peers into the latent part of the unconscious, and there, sooner or later, it finds a glittering light. Mantra is the means. Meditation is the method.

In my own practice I sit down and observe my whole being listening to the mantra. I do not remember the mantra or repeat the mantra mentally. Instead I make my whole being an ear to hear the mantra, and the mantra is coming from everywhere. This will not happen to you immediately in meditation, but when you have attained or accomplished something, it will. Then, even if you do not want to do your mantra, it is not possible to avoid it. Even if you decide that you do not want to remember the mantra, it will not be possible. Finally, even the mantra does not exist; only the purpose for which you repeat the mantra is there; you are there. The mantra might still be there, but it exists as an experience that overwhelms your whole being, and is not separate from you.

The mantra might still be there, but it exists as an experience that overwhelms your whole being, and is not separate from you.
The most important role mantra plays is during the transition period that every human being will experience. A dying person’s senses do not function properly. He gradually loses the sense of sight, the tongue mumbles words that cannot be understood by others, and he is unable to express the mind’s thoughts in speech or actions. This painful and pitiable situation frightens the mind of a non-meditator. But if one remembers the mantra for a long time in such a state of loneliness, the mantra begins to lead him, and this miserable period of loneliness and agony is over. The mantra becomes his leader. Only one thought pattern is strengthened by remembering the mantra, and when it is firmly established it leads the individual to his abode of peace, happiness, and bliss.

The Art of Joyful Living
So never give up! Accept meditation as a part of your life, just as you eat, sleep, and do other things; make it your goal to have a calm mind, to have a one-pointed mind, to have a tranquil mind. Do not give that up. Meditation leaves a clear indication on your heart, which is reflected on your face. When people speak to me, I can easily tell whether or not they meditate or are even capable of meditation. Their face is the index of their heart.

You can attain the highest state of samadhi through meditation. Then you are here, yet there; you live in the world, yet above; you include all, and exclude none. When the day arrives that every man, woman, and child practices meditation, we will all attain the next step of civilization and realize the unity in all. Liberation can be attained here and now, and that experience is the ultimate goal of human life.

If it's not feasible to do meditations during activites then you can also try to do mini meditations before an after your activities.

Just do several seconds of mental silence, or conscious breaths or focused simran. And insert these into as many intervals as possible, through out the day.

yeh man....Don't waste time-->  "Just Do It"
I've spent countless hours deciding when to fit in some time to sit and meditate. Everyday for the past couple of years, I usually wake up and plan the day mentally in terms of when I will later sit down and meditate. I even got into a habit of making the bed and arranging the pillows so that I could come back in the afternoon and sit straight down into simran....as you know, some thing always comes up and then I would go back into bedroom later and be disappointed,.. and like everyone else, I would then plan to better the next day..and so on...
Nowadays, I do attempt it many times throughout the day and especially if I'm on my own and not talking to someone.....walking...on the bus...in the gym...in fact I've probably had more fruitful and sweet amrit sessions whilst sat in the gym steam room!... doing a cardio workout is also a fantastic way to just close your eyes(or just fix your gaze) and do saas saas from the stomach up. 
 

@CuriousSeeker@HisServant
you can try any kind of yoga that is more accessible for you. Most of the core components are the same except for the active fitness yoga workouts which are physically demanding.
There is no measurement of benefits in terms of time. It all depends on dedication and kirpa. Spiritual efforts and results NEVER depend on quantity. However, physical results do and when your physical thann starts align then the  sukham sareer will find it easier to follow
Going online to do yoga is never the same. I only noticed the physical significance of sangat energy in  yoga class environments. Everyone directs their inner energies towards the same goals and you begin to realise that you can reach heights and levels that you thought you never would!!  If you try the same thing at home in front of a screen, then it just won't happen I'm afraid.
 
Bhagat Kabir ji says-
ਮਨ  ਹੀ  ਮਨ  ਸਿਉ  ਕਹੈ  ਕਬੀਰਾ  ਮਨ  ਸਾ  ਮਿਲਿਆ  ਨ  ਕੋਇ  ॥੩੨॥
Man hī man si▫o kahai kabīrā man sā mili▫ā na ko▫e. ||32||
Only the mind can deal with the mind; says Kabeer, I have not met anything like the mind. ||32||
The MIND is the ONLY part of ourselves that can cure and fix itself.
All you have to do is hold it still. Practice holding it still. 
Great heights are only reached when we hold that stillness that is instigated by a hold of breath. Just think that in every sport or event where a player takes the vital shot for a goal, he holds his breath momentarily for that instant. When a basketball player leaps to dunk,... soccer player swings his leg..., snooker player takes a strike....etc..  They all hold the breath for that instant moment. This involuntary and subconscious action is us trying to 'hold' the mind. Somehow, the auto-response knows that mind will be steady and fully focused when held and holding the breath will help.
Heights are only achieved when you 'hold'. The darshan of waheguru only happens when you can 'hold' and exit thru the dasam.  Therefore, I can say that taking part in activity that involves you holding breath-mind to achieve full focus for a goal, is also going to be helping stabilize your mind.  In this regard, You realise the meditative component in sports and especially in skills like sniper target shooting where they have to be so steady prior to holding their breath at the moment of the vital shot.
 
             

You should start writing a book veer ji !  And keep adding your experiences. Publish it when you feel you have reached the destination.

Yeh, the sound of insects, crickets or chirping are some of the activating sounds that you hear earlier. Some people have reported buzzing as well.
These sounds are all very subtle sounds that happen when the chakras are aligning.
The unique beauty of gurmantar jap is that they will align in order automatically, as compared to how yoga likes using different mantras for each chakra.......The end goal is still the same.
However, as far as I understand, with gurmantar jap it is important to keep the techniques described as per saas graas and saas saas.....so that the dhun is from the area of navel up towards mouth..
With this combination of techniques along with gurmantar, the rising of the sukhmana- which is a straight and central nadi going all the way up, will begin.


You have to keep reminding yourself to try and ignore them and keep the focus on gurmantar.
Don't get caught up with the sounds...just take them as signals, and say to yourself "OK..that was crickets I heard, now I shall continue moving on"
Then try and forget that instance and bring focus back on to jap.
Sometimes the sounds can be just occasional instances, other times they may continue and continue, and then other times you don't even realize that they are in the background, until your dhian comes off the jap towards the end of your session.

Just continue with this self-discipline and it shouldn't be long until the anhad naad begins to appear.

These types of sounds in my encounters appear to come from the ear drums. As you do more simran I believe the act of doing more abhyaas verbally and moving the jaw applies further subtle pressure on the ears which change the types of sounds you hear. Furthermore your hearing becomes more refined and you begin to pick up other sound frequencies.

With the Anhad sounds I experienced they were very loud and distinct that when you hear them they will startle you the first time you hear them. When I heard them they appeared to be coming from near the head but not directly in the ear like the pressure cooker whistle you describe. It's like someone is playing an instrument directly next to you, either behind you or directly into your ear but not touching it.

Eventually the sounds should come from the trikuti region. It has been a long time since I've experienced the strong ones but the memory is extremely vivid and how I long to have a encounter with them again :-(

HisServant, you're doing what was taught by our Gurus; most of the people tend to ignore all the real-teaching, inner working and just focus on outer bana, superiority complex and put everything in a box; they even place the Religion (a.k.a God as per them) in a box.
All I want to say is:
- Just ignore these kind of people and carry on.
- Do NOT let you teacher mind jump and engage in debate because neither they are going to change nor you. In-fact, it is a journey that everyone has to traverse himself/herself.
- Do NOT explain anything, just don't let them ruin your flow and peace of mind.

If you've got all the material privileges  and still feel empty, even to the point that you 'loose interest' in sikhi/god etc i personally see it as a good sign a wave which you must ride, if you really want god..from someone who comes through a lot of hardships and now benefiting from fruits of the material world i would defiantly say without doubt i felt closer to god in those bad times, in fact i sometimes feel i want to go back into hard times to feel the thirst for maharaj/god/vaheguru...as long as you get regular meals and have a secure home to rest your head, count this as a big blessing, really big...thats all we need.. nothing else...its your individual khed so you may or may not find another in your shoes....in low times you can really go deep in yourself, so again i reiterate its a blessing, its not always a case of feeling good via dyaan its also a combination of vairaag  from lonliness, down feeling etc..
remember you are not feeling low..so who is??

Can personally speak to the ups and downs bro.  Initially the peaks are and valleys are more extreme, but with time and steady effort they become smaller and smaller, and a more of a steady state is attained.  Key is self reflection/inquiry and and understanding the causes of the valleys, and not making the same mistake twice.  Also I know this said alot and people have different views, but a sincere ardaas to Guru maharaj ji goes a long way.  The mind likes to play tricks and the entices of maya are always attempting to pull, only way to rise above is with effort and his grace.

Very good. These all seem like cultivating signs and you need to continue with this cultivation. 
I'm afraid you wont get much guidance or help from nowadays gyanees, sants..etc.. especially the ones present in the public eye.     It's sad that they can't explain or advise on your encounters, and even more frustrating when they can't confirm what you may be trying to explain.   On the other hand, I can try confirm if I understand some underlying phenomena in line with my comprehending and gyaan.   I can give some guidance and pointers based on practical sikhi, but you have to remember that experiences are unique for all of us and can't be identical or they wouldn't be "experiences".  Therefore, please understand, it's only what I know and think!..... it's not concrete, and you shouldn't take it for granted. 
 
Buzzing sounds and many other sounds are preliminary to Anhad.  Gradually increasing and changing is also a positive sign.   I can't say whether you are hearing anhad or not. I may be able to help you identify anhad using similar approach to what a gurmukh used when confirming my queries.(can only pm this)
 
That part is a little tricky because these things happen before you can even acknowledge them, and then our mind tries to get us to slow down so that it can try understand and take in what's happening,...but then this itself disturbs your dhyiaan, and you end up disconnecting.
It's not astral projection as such and don't go around reading too much stuff because this area is not described properly anywhere because there is a huge overlap of different types of phenomena. In practice, we are not interested in this astral projection that you may read about because it is mostly of lower frequencies and weighted down to the lower planes.  
What we as Sikhs are interested in is "consciousness's expansion" .  To expand your consciousness and raise it's frequency so that the whole universal Gobind is pargat within your very self. - I'm not just talking play of words here,..because if you can take your focus within and inwards such that your mind's dhyian is nowhere outside your body (in thought and process),.. then you will find, the more you introspect and start concentrating your consciousness into a pinhole like dot. So tiny and like a point getting so microscopically small that you wanna feel your whole consciousness fully concentrated inside it,... then the whole ginormous universe will begin to reveal itself inside you!   ........Bhagat Pipa says...
ਜੋ  ਬ੍ਰਹਮੰਡੇ  ਸੋਈ  ਪਿੰਡੇ  ਜੋ  ਖੋਜੈ  ਸੋ  ਪਾਵੈ  ॥
Jo barahmanḏe so▫ī pinde jo kẖojai so pāvai.
The One who pervades the Universe also dwells in the body; whoever seeks Him, finds Him there.
ਪੀਪਾ  ਪ੍ਰਣਵੈ  ਪਰਮ  ਤਤੁ  ਹੈ  ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ  ਹੋਇ  ਲਖਾਵੈ  ॥੨॥੩॥
Pīpā paraṇvai param ṯaṯ hai saṯgur ho▫e lakẖāvai. ||2||3||
Peepaa prays, the Lord is the supreme essence; He reveals Himself through the True Guru. ||2||3||
(Who is the Satgur? ..and where is he? .... These answers should also start to reveal themselves in time)
 
Guru Arjan dev ji says.......
ਮੇਰੈ ਮਨਿ ਬਾਸਿਬੋ ਗੁਰ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ॥
Merai man bāsibo gur gobinḏ.
The Guru, the Lord of the Universe, dwells within my mind.
 
 
Very Good, just LISTEN. Listening to the sound is the key. Pictures are maya and divert thoughts and mind too easily. Ok at beginning stages as long as the sevak know not to get attached and learns to dissociate his consciousness once the murti/ picture has helped stabilise it.
 
Flashes, yes, but don't let them flash you!  Stay in sehaj, calm and go with natural effortless flow. Only effort should be the longing and urge of joining consciousness in union with Gobind.
Sunn is a stage of Samadhi.  I haven' had too much experience, so I can't really justify my explanaions, but you shouldn't get diverted in a belief that you are in this state of sunn. When consciousness or surti tries to rise and vibrate at higher levels but the body is not yet ready, then many people start passing out, or even getting thrown about from their inner energy eruptions, or they experience feelings of numbness and detachment from body. Again, not to be confused with sunn. Sunn samdhi is a state of super awareness whilst at the same time you are in a complete ''nothingness'.  That's what I understand and make of it, but I'm hoping that someday I can explain it much better with a stronger basis.
My guess is that it's your physical body trying to align itself for the atma to ascend..   We are MInd, body and soul.
As the nadis try and open at a faster rate than what our body is ready for. Then because the  body has had a lifetime of tampering and energy blockages,..we start to  experience these physical disruptions. It's like the subtle/sukham sareer being ready, but the physical sareer being a hindrance.
  I recommend overall control in well-being, maintaining posture .etc. steps to keep energy flowing uniformly and balanced,... try some gentle yoga breathings,asanas  etc..
 
A very slight pulsation is felt at the navel because this is where it all begins. This is where the energy stimulates and pumps up as to awaken the kundalini below.
I personally recommend that you try the "rom rom" jugtees and simran techniques that are on the meditation thread. I reckon that once rom rom gets activated and nadis are all japping spontaneously without effort, then your sukham energies will flow much more freely. You should be able to get into deep meditation within seconds to minutes of sitting down.
 
Don't assume that all I've written is all you need to do and sikhi is about physical japna itself..  You won't actually progress until you start to learn(Sikh) about your own lessons in life. 
Remember, you took birth to come and learn these lessons in this lifetime.  After so many janam-janam, this was to be the lifetime where you wanted to get the 1st hand darshan of akaal purakh. To wipe your paaps from janam-janam and to clean that slate so as to see the Lord's reflection.. 
Bhagat Ravidaas says....

ਬਹੁਤ  ਜਨਮ  ਬਿਛੁਰੇ  ਥੇ  ਮਾਧਉ  ਇਹੁ  ਜਨਮੁ  ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਰੇ  ਲੇਖੇ  ॥
Bahuṯ janam bicẖẖure the māḏẖa▫o ih janam ṯumĥāre lekẖe.
For so many incarnations, I have been separated from You, Lord; I dedicate this life to You.
ਕਹਿ  ਰਵਿਦਾਸ  ਆਸ  ਲਗਿ  ਜੀਵਉ  ਚਿਰ  ਭਇਓ  ਦਰਸਨੁ  ਦੇਖੇ  ॥੨॥੧॥
Kahi Raviḏās ās lag jīva▫o cẖir bẖa▫i▫o ḏarsan ḏekẖe. ||2||1||
Says Ravi Daas: placing my hopes in You, I live; it is so long since I have gazed upon the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. ||2||1|| 
These lessons, with events, encounters..etc. will begin to unfold once you start making spiritual progress.  It is different for everyone and it involves numerous stages of learning and gaining intuitive gyaan.
You should begin to get urges and thoughts to want to make changes in your jeevan jaach. You will want to do things or live in such simple ways that you would have never dreamed of previously. This is what you have to give attention and focus to and these will become the major steps towards realisation and hopefully, enlightenment.
You gotta really dig within and find yourself. Ive come across a few abyassees at simran camps that got too pre-occupied in the goal to open dasam duar and ignored the need for following hukam to change jeevan jach. (I've done this myself, so I know!)  ...You end up falling victim to ego. 
Ego will continue to fool us until the very last steps. They say that the last of the dhoots that we completely strip off before merging in sachkhand is Ahankar.  So keeping doing reality checks and watching your own back for your own ego trying to play you. It is too smart and you have to imagine it as being the split personality of yourself.
 
 
Welcome to the forum,  hope it encourages and helps build more positive strength for bhagti...
 
Waheguru
 
 

I think I know what you mean.
 
This love is a very powerful thing. When this mindset lasts for a few days, a lot of extraordinary things begin to happen. ie even as of now, just cherishing each breath is very intoxicating. It's a feeling that cannot be described, its as if the entire body is tasting some sort of "sweetness". When just closing the eyes and sitting in silence - it feels as if energy is just radiating through every part of the body. The vibrations arise but with the breath, another type of tingling sensation arises as well. It's very hard to describe. 
 
It's a very selfless love where there is no desire to receive. But you know this energy will continue to build the more you express this emotion of love. Experiences come and go just like thoughts (and thoughts come and go just like clouds in the sky). No desire to associate with anything. Everything just is as it is. There is a desire to express nothing but love even to the people who I've had bad experiences with. 
 
Within the mind, everything begins to drop. Every idea of identity, religion, relationship and attachment begins to fade. The world is seen through the eyes of a witness or perceiver (if those words are appropriate). The mind literally feels like its dissolving. 

Good stuff.
Experiencing the universal central point in any duality is the key to spiritual attainment.
Our complete existence is about this and all schools and faiths, have this is common theme that is often not understood. 
Two opposites that can exist in equal harmony and the points where they merge are where the divine Truth exists.
The Yin and Yang symbol is an example since it shows black/white. The line where there is neither black or white, is the sacred truth. Same goes for khanda with miri piri. The line of Truth is the central sharp blade edge on which a Sikh aims to be walking. Walking on this very thin line is walking in hukam..
Black/white, Day/Night, Positive/Negative, Yes/No, North/South, Good/Evil, Still/Moving...etc.    is operating constantly in all existence. 
If we were to look really deeply into all these aspects, we would be able to understand the sacred advait(non-dual).
The above video made me realize that amrit vela is also a time that will be peaking with divine non-dual energy. Angelic and perfect time to wash our mind's filth.
 
 

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh,
This thread has very valuable and eye opening information. May waheguru give us strength to do jaap of naam. 1🙏🙏🙏

It is always amazing when simple threads spontaneously turn into a weath of great spiritual knowledge, sharing the universal truthes, cross-referencing via different sources leading to One Truth.

Waheguru ...

Excellent stuff Sukrit ji

Some very valuable information is there.
Whilst reading, It reminded me about the importance gurbani places on the 9 gates/openings and the 10th hidden dwar.
It is very much believed that the soul leaves the body through any of the 9 openings at death and people with sixth sense have witnessed this and sometimes even a physical incident occurs at the same time such as discharge from mouth, nose, feces... ears....

However, Guru Nanak ji has strongly advised the sikh to open the hidden 10th gate.... Seriously, we should work at making sure we leave via that hidden door and not any of the nine.


Also below is a very good foreign video about the jamdoots coming to get you and what happens.
I first saw it at a sikh camp because the depiction is very close to what gurbani says....and there are nearly 400 tuks that talk about the jamdoots--->and remember Gurbani is the Truth!

There is no permanent hell as such, but if you end up in this kind of place...you don't leave until you realise and awaken to all your wrongs and this also includes emotional attachment to maya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=n8olHQMlBJo

It's not exactly a transition period,... this is about love and attachment and not every soul experiences this.
Some say that it's about 10 days or so...and some say that it's the 40 days..............But it's one of the main reasons why we shouldn't mourn and beg for the deceased to come back. ....You have to let them move on.

If the mourners and the person passed away show too much 'moh' such that it's energy overpowers the other energies, then the soul can get stuck/trapped/confused in this astral zone here and be unable to move on until it realizes.
I often see theses scenarios on that ''long island medium show'.
These souls don't have a strong inner light, so then they don't experience the stronger pull towards the light.
Your father on the other hand, felt the love and power of the light, which is why he would have moved on, and that riddi siddi long island medium, wouldn't be able to contact him!


The 'transition period', like I said, is not experienced by everyone. The bad souls, who the jamdoots come and get don't get such transition zones or feel any light.
The jiva's with a strong light energy within their souls can get the opportunity to clarify and sort out a few loose ends with loved ones. It's as if they have this extra earned energy that can only be used in this realm or left behind.. The car alarm's going off was your father's earth realm energy being left amongst us before he made his definite move towards the light direction.
So that energy got dissipated amongst vehicle electronics and it would probably have been the last physical incident of some sort of presence or may be something else may have occurred as well around that few hours time period.
It's quite common to experience lights blowing, power surges and sometimes even unfinished ardaas of donation that may have been 'sukhiyo' before the death, can make surprise appearances!
This way the person goes with their lekha without any unresolved karams left.

I dont know about that.... I believe there is a transition period before you come back. And I also believe that its possible to interact with this world. I have two *personal* stories which seem to suggest this:

1. I already mentioned I have had numerous out of body experiences in my life, so I networked with others who also had same experiences. One of my friends did an experiment while 'out'. He went towards his computer and waved his *hand* through the tower. He really didn't expect anything to happen but when he was back in physical and went to turn on the computer, he had corrupted the hard drive. It was as if a large chunk had been erased. This suggests a definite electromagnetic connection between the physical and nonphysical realities. It also makes sense, since many of the sounds encountered during separation and return from out of body experiences are described to be like static, or rushing, electrical like sounds. It means that recently departed may be able to somehow interact with electronic devices... which leads me to #2

2. When my own Father died, the day of the funeral we were all leaving the hall where the wake was, and outside the building waiting to go to the funeral at the Church (he was Catholic). As they wheeled him around the corner in the casket, the lights and car alarm on the limousine started going haywire... and nobody was standing anywhere near it. Then when we got home, My Mother and I found a message left on the answering machine. It was pretty garbled up, but I was able to clear most of it. The machine was not a tape machine, it was digital so it could not have been a bad tape and we tried to do the *69 thing where it tells you the last number that called. The last number came up as a call we had received in that morning... long before that message was left. Another strange thing was that the bird my Mother had was chirping in the background. The only way the bird could have been on there is if someone clicked the 'memo' button and left a message right at the machine itself. But.... nobody was there as we were all at the funeral! The message itself gets clearer in the second half, and some of the things blew me away:
One thing was "Remember the LIGHT. Remember the life we had. I can hear you, don't worry if I'm alright, I'm ok. I can hear you, I'm sorry that we couldn't do more, but I'm not cold or tired. Remember. Do not doubt. Remember your faith. Remember"

Now he didnt say Catholic faith... he said faith. And a word he didnt really use before... light. Remember the light.

Now I had been alone the previous day, and I was saying out loud... I need to know you are ok because I am having doubts. I need to know you are still 'somewhere' - so it was very eerie hearing 'I can hear you, don't worry if I am alright, I m ok" as you can well imagine!

This is also how I KNOW it was not a prank that someone did. Because I said those things while I was completely alone in the house!!!

This is only a tiny bit of the over 2 min long message by the way! I clipped it so you can hear exactly this spot.
"Remember the LIGHT. Remember the life we had. I can hear you, don't worry if I'm alright, I'm ok. I can hear you, I'm sorry that we couldn't do more, but I'm not cold or tired. Remember. Do not doubt. Remember your faith. Remember"
message1.mp3

Thank you Lucky veer for sharing your experiences, opinions. It really is motivating and confirms the reality after death again and again.
Mind often forgets , but posts from fellow sikhs serve as a good reminder

Interesting!
Some of you may be aware that I had experienced a NDE and was in a coma for nearly a month...but I don't go into details on an open forum.
This guy was talking about it just after a year... but in all honesty...it takes more than a few years to put all the pieces together and understand it.

I can usually comprehend the genuine NDE descriptions,so I will give my opinion on this one....and it is fairly genuine, except that I think he hasn't fully understood and realized yet !

My opinion is that he did come from one of the heavenly realms before his life on earth.
The fact, that in this life, he rejected God, the power, the divine...... is why he was susceptible to all the darker and negative energies which accounted for his numerous illnesses.

The easiest way to think of how these energies work is to think of your 'SOUL' or God energy as that which exists as a white light.
The more attached to God and the more God realized ---->>then the brighter and stronger the energy of this white light.

Stronger white light in a body---->>>makes the body less susceptible to energies of dark light... this also means poot, pret, jantar mantar, curses, black magic...and all that.... are less likely to affect such body.

Then on the other hand, if a person has hardly any white divine light in them---->>> then, their bodies are more likely to be consumed by the darker and depriving energies of ill health, disease, depression...and even suicide.

Think of "GU-RU"...from darkness to light !


He witnessed the Cosmic arrangement and from what he was trying to explain as really fast travel--->>>was about the real ''interstellar'' cosmic shift through light years of space in no concept of time!... 5th dimension!
This is how "Gobind"-(Lord of the Universe)....shows you what your existence really is.
It is tailored for each individual, which is why, No two experiences are ever exactly the same !.... OR they wouldn't be called experiences.

He said that wherever he was, "in this valley"... he felt comfortable and at home to say!....... that's because he had come from there originally, which means he was already out of lakh chaurasi before birth! (not sure if some of you will get this...can explain later)

Basically, the only way that he could move up from any of those heavens to sachkhand.. was by taking birth as a human again.... and from some of the heaven loks, you can actually do this by choice or will.

Human birth-existence, means---->>> live out or bhog your karams,, which are basically the weight that hold you into a realm.

However, his denial and complete lack of dharam (one of the four padaraths)----->>> predisposed him to the darker energies of ill-being and ill health.

But the biggie for him was the Blessing of GRACE and KIRPA by Akaal Purakh..........so that he got another chance to complete his duties.
This is HUKAM--->>>None of us can ever explain how or why.


This is what happens when you get thrown back into lack chaurasi again......the jamdoots come and club you with the iron dhandey, tie you up in shackles and lead you away as Kabirji says in gurbani.
You see, this guy was already out of the lack chaurasi from his previous janam, which is why he went straight into some lower/middle heaven lok--->>>since, he cam from there originally.

The other point is that as Guru Tegh Bahadurji describes...."This janam and life is just like a dream, when we wake up(which is when we die),-->> we realize that none of this life was real."

If you just imagine that when you are in a dream---->>It all seems quite real when you are in it...the people,.....the interactions,.... everything.... will seem like a reality in the dream state...... But, when you wake up-->>You realize that it wasn't real after all,.... it was just a dream, and now you are in the reality...dam-gotta getup in 30 mins and go to work
In the same manner,.... Death is like the waking up from this matrix illusion.


A reason why there is a difference within NDE descriptions is,.. because it depends on what and where you were from in previous janams.
Lakh chaurasi is the complete universal cycle and then there are all the heaven loks that go from lower to higher realms but there are some levels after which you cannot ascend unless you have human birth.

The ascension within realms can happen, but this is in the ones where jamdoots take you, where you have to realize, learn and accept all your dark wrongdoings.
So for eg,, you may end up in the dark pit of where all the murderer jivas are.... You will enjoy their company until you realise, accept and learn your own shortcomings and sin of murdering.....in doing so, you will be able to rise above the rest, as your inner light will get brighter.... then you move on to the next lessons.....and so on.....


The MAIN point that I can stress is that, when a soul jiva is in this Human Life form---->>> This is it's only chance to jap, meditate, get the one-pointed awareness......so that it can go straight --->>> Sachkhand.
The Direct one way plane ticket that Guru Nanak Ji has taught us-->>Nanak naam jahaz hai


In the Video, Mr Jaswal has got some idea about his mind-no thoughts-...etc...because he mentioned it a few times....But he hasn't quite said that he has deciphered the message that he must Jap and meditate. This is why he was given the second chance.


As I stated above, I don't go into details about my NDE on an open forum, but I can tell you all that the main message and duty that I came back for was ...Jap, Simran ..and bhagti on His Name.
That was the ONLY thing I knew I had to do but I had never done it previously. In fact, I was never even spiritually inclined in any way.........so it took me a couple of years to work out how to get going and do bhagti.


The Dhan/Wealth of Naam is only carried forward from this realm of human life.

Sat Sri Akaal

The mind has to be stilled and purified via the gurmantar and has to pass through the following stages before it becomes pure and merges back into Waheguru
1.Many Thoughts and Desires
2. Gurmantar / Mantra (Only taking 1 thought with focused dhyan on this)
3. No Thoughts (Pure Still Mind)
4. Anhad Bani starts so then dhyan/focus is put on this shabad
5. Multiple shabads become one sound (aka Naam) by listening to which you eventually merge back to the Ultimate Truth. This is stage where it is said that God resides in the Mind.
 
har har nit karahi rasnaa kahi-aa kachhoo na jaanee.
They may continually chant, 'Har, Har' with their tongues, but they do not know what they are saying.
chit jin kaa hir la-i-aa maa-i-aa bolan pa-ay ravaanee.
Their consciousness is lured by Maya (mind is wondering and not focusing on the Sound of the Jaap); they are just reciting mechanically.
 
banDhan torh charan kamal drirh-aa-ay ayk sabad liv laa-ee.
Shattering the bonds, the Guru implants the Lord's lotus feet within, and lovingly attunes us to the One Word of the Shabad.
(915)
anDh koop bikhi-aa tay kaadhi-o saach sabad ban aa-ee.
He has lifted me up, and pulled me out of the deep, dark pit of sin; I am attuned to the True Shabad.

manoo-aa asthir sabday raataa ayhaa karnee saaree.
Imbued with the Shabad, his mind becomes steady and stable; this is the most excellent action.
bayd baad na pakhand a-oDhoo gurmukh sabad beechaaree.
This true hermit does not enter into religious debates or hypocrisy; the Gurmukh contemplates the Shabad.
gurmukh jog kamaavai a-oDhoo jat sat sabad veechaaree.
The Gurmukh practices Yoga - he is the true hermit; he practices abstinence and truth, and contemplates the Shabad.
sabad marai man maaray a-oDhoo jog jugat veechaaree.
One who dies in the Shabad and conquers his mind is the true hermit; he understands the Way of Yoga.
 
siv nagree meh aasan baisai gur sabdee jog paa-ee.
Sitting in Yogic postures in the City of God, through the Word of the Guru's Shabad, you shall find Yoga.
(909-14)
Dhaatur baajee sabad nivaaray naam vasai man aa-ee.
Restrain your restless wanderings through the Shabad, and the Naam will come to dwell in your mind.
bhagat janaa kee ootam banee jug jug rahee samaa-ee.
The Bani (Anhad Bani), the Word of the humble devotee is the most sublime and exalted; it prevails throughout the ages.
(909-19)
banee laagai so gat paa-ay sabday sach samaa-ee.
One who is committed to this Bani (Anhad Bani) is emancipated, and through the Shabad, merges in Truth.