1st Jhana is AMAZING! - Strong Anti-depressant-Dopamine Effect Explanation

[ardacigin]

Hey folks. I'm really excited about what happened to me these last few days.

 Recently due to my 4 hour long mindfulness sessions, I've started to experience jhanas. These are absorption flow states in meditation. There are 8 specific altered states called jhanas in the Buddhist literature. Don't be scared. The first one is absolutely doable by commited practitioners.

But remember: Jhanas only start to occur AFTER access concentration. 

Access Concentration: High stability of attention to the meditation object which results in with very little distractions and dullness. A sense of effortlessness arises.

Stage 7+ TMI practitioner can easily do access concentration almost every time they sit on the cushion with relative ease.

That is what I've been doing. But that is not really producing a strong anti-depressant-dopamine effect. I was never a jhana person. I'm totally fine doing painful SDS sits and transcending pain and reducing suffering.

 But at the same time, I was experiencing WAAY too much aversion to meditate for 4+ hours a day. Constant pain and boredom create an obstacle on the path. I don't care how much of a spiritual strength you have. All the marathon monks who are doing crazy long SDS sits have not only mastered these jhanas but they have transcended them with multiple awakenings. So don't underestimate the power of jhanic states. Masters are doing these all the time. This is how joy is cultivated. 

I've realized that what Culadasa regards as 'Piti' - joy and pleasantness is not a strong part of my practice. Leigh also has an ENTIRE book about this topic called: 'The Right Concentration: A guide to Jhanas' - This is amazing supplement book to TMI by the way.

So the problem is: I'm concentrated but I can't infuse my body with rapture and joy similar to when a depressed person takes a strong dose of SSRI. What do I do? That is where jhanas come in.

After dropping into the first Jhana 3 days in a row using some very basic instructions, I had to talk about it there briefly for people who want to do it as well. This is NOT something a beginner can do. But you don't have to spend 40 years in a cave to do it as well. So relax. Again, if you are stage 5-6-7 in TMI, then you are absolutely ready to master the first jhana. 

Here is my claim: I can conclude that if you can drop into the first jhana deeply and maintain that depth in daily life, there will be virtually no difference if you've taken a good dose of Xanax and an anti-depressant like Paxera.  Not only you are calm due to samatha practice but your whole body and mind is infused with joy and happiness to a radical degree due to the 1st jhana.

And let me remind you that there are 7 more jhanas  But the first one is enough to create a dopamine effect so strong that it rivals anti-depressants like Paxera.

Here are the step by step instructions:

1- Get to access concentration with the breath. You don't have to get to effortlessness or no-mind too deeply. Just get to a place where mind wandering no longer occurs. Breath is primary and your attention no longer alternates. Expand the awareness to the body as always once this occurs. That is necessary for the 1st jhana.

2- Now this is VERY important. Completely let go of the breath. Let the breath sensations stay in awareness in the background. Move your attention to a pleasant sensation in your body. Awareness will cover the breath, the external sights and sounds.

If there are no perceptible pleasant sensation, there 2 great antidotes:

- Smile. Don't underestimate this. A fake smile will turn into a real one by the time you are in access concentration. This is BY FAR the most effective method for me to generate pleasant sensations. Don't judge it before trying it.

- Stop putting the body in uncomfortable postures. Lay down if you have to. Use pillows. This is the number 1 rule if you want to practice jhanas: You CANNOT train the nervous system for jhanas if you are experiencing a lot of physical discomfort and pain. Period. So take a break from your painful SDS sits and look for the joy and happiness in the body. Do shorter sessions if you have to. 

Pleasant sensation will usually arise in 4 places: (Although it can arise literally anywhere)

- Around and at the top of the head (This is where it occurs in me the most strongly)

- Heart and chest area

- Hand area.

- Whole body as a whole.

Someone who is skilled in 1st jhana can experience pleasure and happiness in all 4 locations at the same time. So keep that in mind. It doesn't have to be just one location.

3- Maintain stable attention on the pleasent sensations and wait for it to evolve to rapture, bliss and meditative joy.

This is the most deceptive stage.

If you desire for it to occur, it won't happen.

If you have a craving for a psychedelic experience, it won't happen.

If you still concentrate on the breath, it won't happen.

Just maintain attention the pleasent sensations without expectations and craving and then all of a sudden, you'll drop into the first jhana. 

This is not rare. This is not luck-based. If you could come to the 3rd step and did everything as instructed, you'll get to first jhana. You just have to have enough concentration to turn that subtle pleasant sensation into a full blown SSRI effect. And you have to maintain detachment and non-craving at the last phase.

If nothing else works in the last stage, don't be frustrated.

My best tip for step 3 is to take it easy and actually do a walking meditation. Or simply talk to someone. Read a book. Do all this with mindfulness. Why?

The idea is to put your attention elsewhere to create relaxed diligence. You are likely tensing too much mentally for a jhana to occur. Even if your body is relaxed, there is still craving on a deep unconscious level. What works for me is to do daily activities and just as my tension dissipates, there it is, SSRI effect is coming very strongly. It just arises without me forcing anything. I'm talking to my brother and all of a sudden, joy and rapture infuse my body very strongly. 

And I can maintain this with relative consistency for most of the day. 

This is mind-blowing for me. I never could imagine jhanas could be SO intense and effective as SSRIs. If someone told me that this was possible to do all day and turn this into a baseline with meditation, I'd have practiced with more diligence and discipline. 

I'm in a really happy place. I feel AMAZING. I'm even feeling a lot of joy and happiness RIGHT NOW as I'm writing this. This is incredible.

I highly recommend following these instructions if you feel ready to experience jhanas.

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by ardacigin

[Maya_0]

Nice! I'm so glad you got to experience a jhana!

I've been trying to attain these lately, but I feel certain issues are preventing me. For one, I experience pain from my posture after 30 minutes. The other issue seems that I don't switch to concentrating on a pleasant sensation in the body, but rather just continue concentrating on the breath.

I've gotten close, I think. Dozens of times I've gotten to the point where my mind "lights up" as if I'm looking at the sun behind my eyelids, and there is a really sweet cool happiness that infuses my mind. Whatever pain and discomfort I feel in my legs is suppressed. It feels as though I want to stay there forever.

I believe this is only access concentration though. Or maybe jhana light? It's hard for me to tell since I haven't explored the territory much.

It has left me very curious of what a real jhana feels like. I hope to continue trying to get into the jhanas during next few days. 

May I ask you what length of sitting time it took you to get into it?

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by Maya_0

[ardacigin]

19 minutes ago, Maya_0 said:

I've been trying to attain these lately, but I feel certain issues are preventing me. For one, I experience pain from my posture after 30 minutes. The other issue seems that I don't switch to concentrating on a pleasant sensation in the body, but rather just continue concentrating on the breath.

Remember the rule: You can't experience any jhana if you have pain in the body. So just drop that posture altogether. I personally can manage dullness so I literally lay down for a 5-15 mins until the pain goes away and continue the meditation like that until I increase the joy. 

For the sitting posture, use pillows as back support. Do the 'recline' posture where the body is straight but at a 110% sort of angle rather than a full erect and uncomfortable 90% angle. Leigh and Culadasa actually both recommend doing this posture for jhana practice. It must be alert but also not uncomfortable.

19 minutes ago, Maya_0 said:

The other issue seems that I don't switch to concentrating on a pleasant sensation in the body, but rather just continue concentrating on the breath.

This was my problem as well. In fact, for close to a year, I haven't experienced the 1st jhana simply because I've concentrated on the breath with TMI so much. I didn't think jhanas would be THIS amazing and powerful. 

Culadasa is always saying 'Your body and mind must be infused with joy and tranquility'

Yeah, I got the tranquility but there is no joy. 

Well, now I understand why. His instructions on the first jhana are essential.

Drop the attention on the breath. And then focus on the pleasent sensations. Don't completely throw it out. Keep the breath in awareness. So that is why awareness muscles need some extra training and this is what makes jhanas slightly challenging. Stage 5-6 must be minimum and awareness should be stable prior to attempting a jhana.

Don't be afraid to drop the breath. Once I did that, jhana arised fairly quickly.  But I had to smile for a while until the pleasent sensation arised. So I recommend that a lot as well.

19 minutes ago, Maya_0 said:

It has left me very curious of what a real jhana feels like. I hope to continue trying to get into the jhanas during next few days.

Jhana feels like taking a strong anti-depressant. It is not subtle AT ALL. I can now understand why people are addicted to anti-depressants. This is amazing stuff. I've never experienced this much meditative joy and happiness in all my meditation career. My mind is literally experiencing a dopamine rush as I'm writing this.

It is kind of distracting as well. The joy becomes too overwhelming and I want to stop meditating and go talk to someone about it. This is insane.

19 minutes ago, Maya_0 said:

I believe this is only access concentration though.

It sounds like a good level of  equanimity. But joy and jhanas are different. If you are unsure, it is probably not a jhana since this is not something you can miss. It is not subtle.

19 minutes ago, Maya_0 said:

May I ask you what length of sitting time it took you to get into it?

Jhana experiences started after my latest 4 hour mindfulness session. I had a report of it here: 

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by ardacigin

[Maya_0]

@ardacigin Hey, I'm thankful for your pointers! I'll give them a try. Specifically, using a pillow to give some back support and dropping my focus from the breath to the pleasant sensation.

Another issue I have is tuning into a pleasant physical sensation. Access concentration only usually generates a pleasant feeling in my mind, not any noticable physical body sensations. I only feel a mental pleasure, not somatic pleasant sensations. I take it that the mental pleasure I feel is not a conducive object to switch my focus to when I drop the breath?

 

 

[ardacigin]

1 hour ago, Maya_0 said:

Another issue I have is tuning into a pleasant physical sensation. Access concentration only usually generates a pleasant feeling in my mind, not any noticable physical body sensations. I only feel a mental pleasure, not somatic pleasant sensations. I take it that the mental pleasure I feel is not a conducive object to switch my focus to when I drop the breath?

Mental pleasure has a corresponding physical sensation. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to be aware of its existence. Now like I said: Smiling or remembering a happy moment from the past or present (like getting your first video game console etc.) will help get some pleasurable sensation in the body. 

If there is none, just focus on that pleasant sensation around your head space after access concentration. Keep in mind that you not only need to cultivate stable attention to this subtle sensation but also awareness of the body as a whole while breath is on the background, very subtle. 

With time and more practice, this will create rapture and joy. Sufficient awareness development is ESSENTIAL. Just concentration to the breath will not be enough for a jhana. You should get more comfortable with introspective awareness. With body awareness with the breath so that you can work on cultivating pleasant sensations that eventually leads to rapture, joy and first jhana. 

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by ardacigin