Wow Vimal, your experience has been SO rich!

I love your inquiry about both the expansiveness and connectedness felt in meditation, as well as the closing down observed after eating noodles. Its so interesting how both states, if you like, are part of our experience and the way that food or lack of can facilitate or amplify these! I totally resonate.

I find if I get hungry before my eating window opens I may have water and that often helps. I may also brush my teeth, another strategy. Some people drink hot herbal teas, which helps a lot. For me, exercising in the morning is ideal and time passes quickly. At times, I may experience the 'pulling down feeling' you mention because of hunger. In my experience, this is psychological hunger. It may not be in yours though. Emotional hunger is sudden and feels VERY urgent, it is also linked to specific cravings and it is also accompanied with distorted feelings. Not sure if this offers any ideas. When I have felt it and when I have summoned the courage to be with it, it always shifted to other discoveries, one of them being expansiveness.

Another thing that has helped me and others with hunger is to know that there is scientific research out there showing that humans never needed three meals per day. We are 'designed' if you like to fast. So, our system will take a bit of time to adjust to what it is supposed to 'do' as opposed to what it has been conditioned to 'do', like eat so much.

Some ways to avoid physical hunger during the fasting window is the eating window to be rich in high (good) fats, protein and carb plant foods. Examples include Nuts, avocados, chia, hemp and flax seeds, legumes combined with grains and liquids like rich smoothies. All these are high caloric nutrient dense foods and smoothies are a great way to have many calories in a very easy way. Larger meals is also a good option. Some suggest eating a snack before going to bed, which is also worth exploring if you feel it.

I find your working with this karmic process very inspiring!

Today morning i was able to bring the experience of settling down and opening space for what wanted happen. I usually look for what i want to do creatively when I'm at home. This actually opened up this familiar karmic experience but in a much more intensity. Within the experience there was full control of my intellect.

:)

Aspasia