Satisfaction Meditation, Complex Regional Pleasure Syndrome & Self-Enquiry Spin

[ardacigin]

Hey everyone! We are going to make it practical in this post. 

Recently, I've been researching this very debilitating disease called 'CRPS - Complex Regional Pain Syndrome' - an immune system disorder where the autonomic nervous system constantly sends pain signals in muscles and organs without any physical origin even after whatever injury had occured is fully healed. 

Imagine your body is constantly generating 'you've been hit with a car' pain signals 24/7 everyday, long after your surgery is over. And it slowly goes whole body even if the pain starts small in a certain location like your legs. 

Since this is a disease of a mental origin (primarily), I've realized that what I've been experiencing in my practice can in very broad strokes as 'Complex Regional Pleasure Syndrome'. Obviously, this is made up but its exact mechanisms are occurring in my body with pleasure, joy, tranquility and equanimity rather than pain. This is basically the same mechanism that occurs in any form of satisfaction or jhana practices.

The good news is that I've figured out how to systematically practice this and understood why it will eventually be successful if you stick with it. 

Well, to be honest, Shinzen already taught this in a video. I'd just regurgitate the same instruction. However, I feel it is inadequate in some ways. So I'll add my commentary for successful execution right below it. Watch the 2nd part as well.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abRaPYjb6mA

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u41_dSjKGtA

1st insight: This 'Focus on Positive' technique works because you train 2 different circuits in consciousness. Both are important.

- Consciously generating sensations of pleasure, pain, neutrality with forming intentions. (This is under-developed in 'Just observe what happens' sort of techniques.)

- Consciously utilizing observation with monstrous levels of equanimity and eliminating the observer leading to non-duality.

2nd insight: Whatever feeling tones - neutral, pleasure, pain -  you focus on intentionally, makes it easier and deeper for the next exact moment to experience the same feeling tone.

That is why, as Shinzen eludes to, attend with your consciousness the subtlest forms of pleasurable sensations in your body and train your mind to stay with it.

Regardless of how small and subtle that pleasure might be, intending to stay with it will condition the mind into this vicious positive feedback loop where it will slowly grow and grow until it is felt in each cm of your body.

This consciousness feature called 'positive feedback loop on feeling tones' is how any form of satisfaction meditation or jhanas are effective in the first place. 

In other words, do not attend to (ignore and reduce) the painful sensations and voluntarily attempt to stay with & amplify the subtlest of pleasure and relaxation. If agitation and painful sensations arise, relax fully. In fact, drop your posture and lay down to minimize pain from postural reasons. Your entire focus should be satisfaction and pleasant sensations on this particular way of working until you develop enough equanimity.

Not only this will build stable attention and concentration, it will eventually build equanimity, tranquility, full body pleasure and joy. This will enable you to work with pain. In fact, this brings us to the 3rd insight.

3rd insight: 

In one of Culadasa's interview, I've heard that he got so skilled at this that he was naturally down-regulating any pain sense percepts and consciously amplify pleasurable sense percepts as a result of his practice.

So much so that even when he had a painful and serious back condition at some point, he naturally down-regulated the pain so much that he realized he couldnt stand up after a sit without getting physical support. He wasn't consciously experiencing the suffering from the painful sensations at all. I'm sure his doctor would be pretty shocked

Anyways, this is the process it occurs with this positive feel technique Shinzen teaches as well. Eventually, your ability to down-regulate pain and amplify pleasure will increase due to monstrous levels of equanimity you'll generate as time goes on. 

I've just down-regulated the pain of cross-legged posture so much that it spun into pleasure-ish sensations and turned on 10x equanimity as a result. 

4rth insight:

You'll practice self-enquiry and ask 'Who am I?' in this heightened state of joy, tranquility, satisfaction and equanimity. And boom!

Then you'll see how dry insight is so frustrating. The investigation of reality at this state of consciousness is multiple times deep and effective compared to normal non-meditative sober consciousness.

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That's it for now. Hope this helps. I plan to do a long 3 hour SDS sit soon to put these skills into test once I integrate these insights a little more. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Let me know youe thoughts.

Much love,

Arda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Consilience]

Thank you for the updates sir! Looking forward to future breakdowns of how practice is going  

 

[TripleFly]

Thanks. This is something that I am really into! 

It seems to me that this is the deepest work there is.  Since it will completely transform your sense of self and esteem and how you relate to life.

Maybe you will like my post about the satisfaction meditation too! 

 

[ardacigin]

19 hours ago, TripleFly said:

Thanks. This is something that I am really into! 

It seems to me that this is the deepest work there is.  Since it will completely transform your sense of self and esteem and how you relate to life.

Maybe you will like my post about the satisfaction meditation too! 

I'd actually regard what I've explained here as a beginner-level practice, nowhere near as deep as what is possible.

I really liked your post. Loving whatever arises requires deep equanimity and insight. Keep it up and continue to share your insights with us.

Much love,

Arda

Edited August 28, 2021 by ardacigin