A&P...when you least expect it!

I've been focusing on satipatthana meditation (four foundations) for the past few weeks, as Kenneth instructed. However, last night I thought I'd try something new. I knew I needed to work on my concentration a little more, so I thought I'd do just that. I found an article that gives pointers on how to enter jhana ( www.urbandharma.org/udharma7/enterjhana.html ). It basically states that once you enter access concentration, search for a pleasant sensation & take it as object.

So I did...

And WOW. That is all I can say. WOW! I switched the focus from my breath to the feeling of happiness in my smile'¦nothing more, just focused on the happy feeling'¦not where it was or the intensity'¦just the happy feeling'¦and happiness washed over me as if I was standing under a waterfall of bliss. For a few seconds I was almost dizzy from it. Pain was a faint thought'¦the pain in my legs was still there, but far away'¦I felt like I could have meditated for hours. I was relaxed to the point that I felt like I was reclining & should have fallen over backwards, but something was holding me up'¦not weird, though, just peaceful.

If I was a Christian, I would have mistaken this for contact with God. I just felt like love, kindness, & happiness was washing over me. In the beginning it was intense, when I let off the focus of the happy sensation the intense joy subsided & I was left with a serene happiness'”what I would call rapture.

Thought was there'¦but only very quick, short thoughts & I stayed with the object (it seemed like even while I was thinking I never left the object). Toward the end--I voluntarily came out of it, I didn't lose it--the kids ran past the room screaming & my mind noticed it, but didn't chase the noise.

I voluntarily left the state. I just HAD to tell someone that I thought I had attained jhana...only to have Kenneth tell me it was something better...A&P!

I'll be posting a more in-depth description today after work, but on my practice journal blog so that there is no word limit as with the wetpaint forums. (ananda2010.wordpress.com)

Well, get ready for quite the ride! Welcome to the insight disease club! Hahah! The good thing about having landed here,brian, is that with Kenneth's guidance and help from all the practice notes threads and the advice of fellow practitioners, those rough spots that are inevitable will be much, much easier to navigate than say in my experience where I spent a good 7 years not knowing what was happening and what to do.

Good on ya for for taking the red pill (The Matrix reference).

You are in great hands and very wise company. Progress is inevitable!!!!

pandita na ca sevanaa
etam mangala uttamam

Hang with the wise,
This is the highest blessing

Awesome, Brian!

Thanks for the encouragement!

I posted a more in depth description of the experience (incl. the realizations the day after) on my blog--the character count here prevents me from posting it on KFD. It can be found at <http://ananda2010.wordpress.com>.

Brian Ananda

Brian, thanks for sharing that interesting experience. Keep on going!

Nik: Interesting reference on the red pill, it really resonates with me. This path we are taking seems imcomprehensible to many others, and I have sort of stopped trying to explain it to them.