Antero´s practise journal

Thanks Nikolai, I will continue pushing, whatever comes of it.

30 min of sitting after asana practise
I saw everything like through a layer of moving static. The concentration was almost nonexistent. As I widened the field of focus, I could investigate the body sensations as a whole however unclearly. Somehow the situation reminded me of an ants nest with ants crawling all over. The body felt uncomfortable with tension in the shoulders and discomfort in the back. In the end I fell into a dull trance, but continued to note.

35 min of sitting in the bus
I continued to sit in the bus. Near the end the lights went on as I visited the first Jhana for a brief moment. Then I fell back and the lights went off again.

Yesterday I talked to Kenneth and it was most inspiring and revealing. He gave very powerful teaching indeed! He also confirmed my suspicion that I went to 5th jhana when I lost the conciousness of the body sensations and found myself hovering in the blackness on the trip I described in the post number 38. Interestingly I had encountered this state once before few years back when I did pranayama and meditation on the breath.

After our chat I sat for 15 minutes only to discover that I was again riding the Jhanic Arc. I went through jhanas 1-3 and ended up in dukkha nanas. I began to feel the tingling of suspense, tesnion, itching, discomfort and a crawling sensation rising the left side of my back.

This morning I sat for 25 minutes after asana practise
I rode the Jhanic arc to the 3rd Jhana and came back to the 1st Jhana. The second ascension brought me through the dukkha nanas to the 4th Jhana, where I rested for the rest of my sitting. The mind feels clear and concentrated again, which makes me think I may have come to the Equanimity.

That's wondeful Antero. I suspected we were seeing the same things (I also didn't realize what it was until talking to Kenneth yesterday).

I've been finding it very easy to stay with equanimity since yesterday. Are you sensing the arc throughout your normal day as well?

Mumuwu, I can feel the arc only on the cushion. The energy comes and goes during the day, but I cannot sense any patterns to it.

Yes, well if the energy is coming and going I would assume the arc is going but you are only picking up the extremes of it.

During the past few days I have been exploring the territory between jhanas 1-4. At first the transition from the 3rd jhana to the 4th was gradual and I could feel some of the dukkha nanas on the way. I felt some itching, tension, crawling and uncomfortable feeling in the back. After some practise now the jhanas appear instantly without delay as I call them in order.

Yesterday to my surprise I went to the 5th jhana after abiding in the 4th for some time. Accually at first I did not realize I was moving on, until I was seeing the lightness of the 6th jhana. After the 6th, the 7th and 8th followed easily. Now I am mapping this new and exciting territory. I do not get very had jhanas, so the differences between the Arupa Jhanas are quite subtle. Need some more practise...

28.6.
As I begin to go deeper into the Arupa Jhanas, the differences between the jhanas are seen more clearly. I start ascending very slowly; building each jhana carefully and feeling the energy circulate in the lower jhanas. It takes me 30-40 minutes to go up to the 8th and descend down again. Still the difference between the 7th and 8th jhana eludes me, though I feel some change happening.

Yesterday I experimented calling the jhanas off the cushion. I closed my eyes and started jhana hopping. Then I called them in random order and they came at the speed of the thought. That was kind of cool. I opened my eyes tried the same. I had no idea it was possible to go through the jhanas with the eyes open! All this was nice, but soon came the question: what actually are the practical uses of the jhanas? I am still a bit confused about the relationship between Vipassana and Samatha Jhanas and how they relate to the Progress of Insight. Daniel Ingram writes:

'When we have gotten into the 11th ñana with sufficient acceptance and precision, one of The Three Doors arises naturally. Thus, work to understand the Three Characteristics in each of the vipassana jhanas in a way that tries to be very inclusive.'

What is actually meant by understanding 'the Three Characteristics in each of the vipassana jhanas'? Does it just mean noting everything that comes up during the jhanas?

This morning I sat for 55 minutes.
As I started to ascend the jhanic arc doing noting, the characteristic body sensations of the lower jhanas were mostly absent, as is the case nowadays. The sensations do not seem to strengthen much, even though after some time the jhanas will be getting more solid. Also the difference between the 4th and the 5th jhanas was very slight when ascending for the first time. When I got to the 6th jhana, I started to cultivate the witness by asking 'who is having this experience' and 'who am I'. The luminosity increased as I started to get the feeling of the outside observer and I felt some rising rapturous waves and the feeling of joy. It seemed like suddenly the sun had started to shine through the eyelids. I am not sure if it is recommended to continue to note when in the witness state. I did some noting in the background, though it did feel a bit awkward.

After perhaps 5-10 minutes the lights dimmed and I noticed that I had moved to the 7th jhana. As I am a bit unsure what the best course of action is, I tried doing both noting and dwelling in the witness. I visited the 8th jhana but did not stay long, as it is still a bit mystery to me. As I descended and ascended again, the jhanas were more solid, even the 5th jhana, which is normally quite soft for me. This time I nicely lost most of the feeling of the body and floated in the expanding black void.

All in all I seem to get little satisfaction from the jhanas. I think I am slowly getting some feeling of the witness state especially in the 6th jhana. During today's sitting I got the feeling of a passive outside observer looking at arising and passing of sensations, emotions and thoughts with little attachment. If I am not mistaken, this is the whole purpose of the 2nd gear practise. What I need to do is to learn to access the witness effortlessly off the cushion and stay in that state as much as possible during the day.

Hey Antero,

Are you pre or post path stream entry?

If you are post, good work!

If you are pre-path, wow, good work...but , now this is just my opinion, the jhanas become much easier post path and they can be used to further porgress to full awakening. It is hard to become a jhana junkie. At least in my experience, there is a part of the mind which is always aware of the changing phenomena within them and I don't seem to have developed any craving for them. They are very meh! I've read somewhere the mundane jhanas becoem supra-mundane jhanas. And I agree. They take on a different quality. For me at least,

So if I were you, I would hang out in the 4th jhana more than anything. Rise up to the 4th jhana and start noting your arse off. If you have that access to jhana pre-path...then use it to get path!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4th jhana corresponds to Equanimity of formations nana. Go for PATH!!!!


metta and mudita,

Nick

Thank you Nikolai for the encouragement!

I am pre path. After reading interesting descriptions about jhanas I have to confess, that they were a lot more mundane than I expected. Of course, this could also be because of my inability to properly access them.

I did not realize that hanging out in the 4th jhana will get me the path! Perhaps I should first rise all the way to the 8th and come back down get more solid 4th jhana?

Best,

Antero.

In my own experience, I stumbled upon the 4th jhana when practicing noting. 4th jhana corresponds to the 11th nana- Equanimity of formations nana and if you stop noting and "ride" the pleasant sensations of that nana, you can shift to 4th jhana.You can also do the reverse. Rise up to the 4th jhana, and then start investigating, practicing Vipassana, noting all the phenomena that takes centre stage. If it feels like rising to the 8th and then back down makes the 4th jhana clearer for you, then do it. But if you are talking about getting "embedded" in the 4th jhana, getting into "hard" 4th jhana then I advise against that. You want to experience it's superficial state, then start noting and practicing Vipassana. You have a short cut to high equanimity. Go for it! The jhanas will be easier and maybe a little more supra-mundane after 1st path. Rise up to the soft 4th jhana and start noting. Keep us posted on what you are doing. I'd be interested how doing what i said works out for you. This is what i did myself. And soon after I got stream entry.

Nick

Antero, have you read what Kenneth has said about specific jhanas and nanas corresponding?

kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/page/Jhana+and+%C3%91ana

"But if you are talking about getting "embedded" in the 4th jhana, getting into "hard" 4th jhana then I advise against that. You want to experience it's superficial state, then start noting and practicing Vipassana. "

Thank you Nikolai for your advice!

I am still a bit confused about the differences between vipassana and samatha jhanas. From your post I get the impression that it is preferable to note in soft vipassana. What I have understood is that it is possible to be disembedded also in hard jhana using vipassana. Wouldn't that be even better for the progress?

I am aware of the Map and your advice makes sense to me! I will post a report of what happened when I did as you adviced.

Antero.

40 minutes of sitting
I rose to the 4th jhana and noted body sensations, emotions and thoughts. After a little while there was pulsing at the root chakra and that continued for some minutes. In addition to the usual feeling of expansion and peace, I also noted some vibrations, joy and pleasure, which are uncommon for me in the 4th jhana. These feelings were soon replaced by increased light and slowly decreasing awareness of the body. All the tensions were slowly released and it felt like the body itself had turned into a volume of light. This felt much more like the 6th jhana than the 4th, so I came down the jhanic arc and rose back just to be sure that I had not mistakenly left the 4th. After some time all that was left was the self floating in light as I continued to noted 'space, expansion, letting go, lightness, smiling, surrendering'¦'

Then a thought occurred to me and I asked myself 'who is observing this' and the answer came immediately 'I, it is I'. The light increased as I was now in the witness state. There was only the observer floating in the space filled with light. I let myself surrender and merge into this feeling. Then something happened. Suddenly there was tingling all over the body and I felt deep joy. For a moment it felt like even the observer had dissolved and I cannot say what was left instead. Anyway the feeling passed and I clearly felt retuning to the usual 4th jhana with peace and spaciousness but no light.

Hi Antero,

Have a read of this thread. it might clear things up.

kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/thread/38...hana+vs+Static+Jhana

Thank you so much for pointing out that thread, Nick!

In that thread you asked and Kenneth answered almost all the questions I have about the practise at the moment.

Summa summarum:

Sit in the Witness
Ride the jhanic arc
Do not manipulate
Do not worry

Antero.

40 minutes of sitting
I decided to let the jhanic arc ride itself and not manipulate the experience in any way. The ride took me to the fourth jhana quite fast and there I stayed for the rest of sitting. When I had been noting the fourth jhana for some time I dropped noting and went into the witness state and took it as an object of meditation. Again I was floating in space filled with light and the body sensations were decreasing all the time. After dwelling for some time in the witness I thought 'who knows the knower?' I got a clear sensation of looking at the observer from the outside. I felt some tingling and vibrations at the back of the head and after some moments of confusion the feeling of the observer was gone. There was just deep joy and peace in being. It is difficult to explain in any other way except that it felt like a very nice and effortless way to be alive in this world. Did I stumble on the 3rd gear practise or was it just some nice fourth jhana rapture, I have no idea.

Nikolai,

I just read your account at the Dharma Overground about your experiences when you got the path. That was a fantastic description and very inspirational and educational to read! I sincerely recommend it to all pre pathers like me. I hope you don't me linking the tread:

www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discu...oards/message/297362

Nikolai, I can't tell how much your powerful practise is inspiring me!

Antero.

After becoming familiar with the 2nd and 3rd gear perspectives, the Bystander method has got much more powerful. Now instead of being just another way to be mindful I have begun to really see myself from the third person perspective. At times I have started to notice how this bag of sensations I call self is just something extra and redundant and it makes me want to laugh at myself and my ignorance. I have now made the bystander as my default off the cushion practise.

On the cushion I am now doing the practise Kenneth just gave me. The instructions are as follows:

- Before starting the meditation, go to the Witness state.
- Take the Witness state as an object of mediation (Pure Witness)
- Become stable in the Pure Witness
- Start to pay attention to the body sensations while keeping the Witness state, notice where you are on the Jhanic Arc
- Ride the Arc to the 4th Jhana
- From the Witness state roll the eyes up towards the third eye and examine the flickering sensations, look for the discontinuities

I have started to see more clearly the rhythm of the flickering when rolling the eyes and noticing the small pauses there are in between the 'packets'. Although I think I am straining my eyes a bit too much when doing the flickering. I have to pause and rest in the Pure Witness from time to time before continuing. Perhaps with practise it doesn't take that much effort to cause the flickering to happen.

Yes indeed Nick's SE post is very inspiring. Mine was not at dramatic but it was amazing all the same. Those instructions sound freaking powerful... You got this Antero... Keep up the good work...

Wow! Is Kenneth streamlining this practice or what? That sounds extremely effective, Antero. Keep doing that and no doubt you'll eventually pop!

Happy that my account of SE helps. I actually cleaned it up a bit and posted it on facebook and added extra stuff. If anyone wants to read it, you can just add me as a facebook friend. It's too long to post here.

Keep swinging on that rope, Antero!

Thanks you guys make my day! I have no doubt about it that I will eventually pop. In the mean time, see how it feels dissatisfaction, see how it feels craving...

All the time I have this nagging feeling, that there is some elusive discovery lurking just behind the corner. I wake in the morning with memories of dreams where I am just about finding out something important after hunting it through various adventures. In other dreams filled with radiance I am floating in space in deep meditation. During the day I sometimes notice feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction. At other times I see myself from the outside and cannot help but laugh and feel sorry for all my misconceptions. Last evening while I was laying on the bed I suddenly felt vibrations and strobing all over the body. It was as if all the sensory experiences had turned into pulses and oscillations. This was the first time I felt the flickering without having to roll my eyes up.

When I turn my eyes towards the third eye during the meditation and observe the flickering, I sometimes get goose bumps running along the spine, get excited and think 'now something is happening', but nothing comes of it. Couple of times I have had a feeling of almost spontaneously starting to fall asleep, but then the engine starts to roll again.

I keep in mind the timeless wisdom of the late Ashtanga Vinyasa master Pattabhi Jois, who almost always had the same answers for those asking him questions about progress (in thick Indian accent) 'Just do your practise and all is coming' or '99 percent practise, 1 percent theory'.

Sat for 30 min and then for 60 minutes after asana practise
I went into the Witness state and sat down. I sat in the Pure Witness for 5 minutes and started to pay attention to the body sensations even though the Witness did not want that. I came to the conclusion that I was in the first Jhana. It didn't take long for the ride to end up in the fourth. During the ascension I felt faint trembling, humming and vibration in the background. If I moved my attention towards the eyes it felt more like strobing or flickering. As I arrived at the fourth jhana, the vibrations had faded. There I stabilized the Witness once more before rolling up the eyes towards the third eye. At times I could cause the flickering with little effort without having to slightly open the eyelids. I tried different focuses to cause the effect with as little straining as I could. At the same time I was balancing with the feeling of the Witness. Then I would stop the flickering and rest in the light of the Witness for some time before continuing once more. Observing the flickering can be quite absorptive when I can do it with no straining or unnecessary effort.

Afterwards I let the Witness do what it had wanted all the time. That is: just keep focusing on it self. No more looking for body sensations, just light and that ever complacent observer hanging in space. In the end of the session I gave the mind permission do whatever it felt like. The mind thanked and the feeling of the observer was gone. Only radiance was left. The mind rested in that feeling for a while and it felt very good indeed. Afterward I felt much rested and in peace with everything.