blip

Brian, modified 3 Years ago at 7/8/20 10:57 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/8/20 10:57 PM

blip

Posts: 110 Join Date: 1/21/19 Recent Posts
I'm pretty sure I had a blip yesterday. I don't normally see things in my mind, or pay much attention to my visual field, since when my eyes are closed, it's just dark murk. But I guess there is some kind of continuity to the dark murk and eye noise, because when I went unusually far for me in my meditation in terms of relaxing and feeling whatever wholesome feeling there was, there was suddenly a jarring discontinuity in my visual noise. I was like, huh? What's going on? And then got hit with good feelings even more extreme than the ones I'm accustomed to. I feel great ease in my head. Over the past few sits I feel as if I've somehow massaged out some kind of knot in my head, as if my dedication to relaxing has allowed the wholesome feelings to penetrate more brain tissue or something.

My practice is V. Vimalaramsi's 6Rs.
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Pepe ·, modified 3 Years ago at 7/9/20 12:30 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/9/20 12:30 PM

RE: blip

Posts: 713 Join Date: 9/26/18 Recent Posts
Nice Brian,

Since you don't have here a practice log and Vimalaramsi's method isn't well known in DhO, few if any would comment on your experience. So please describe (as in Path of Nibbana book) how you have seen gaps between frames in Jhana 6, Formations in Jhana 7 and Dependent Origination's twelve-fold chain in Jhanas 6, 7 and 8. Specially how you have been coming in and out of Jhana 8. That would be interesting, as High-EQ is usually reported in a foggy way in DhO, while in Vimalaramsi's camp there's emphasis on this last stages and it seems that meditators stay longer in these stages (so perhaps non-self realization should be more stunning?).

Please, also consider Shargrol's An A&P Event, Formless Realms and Cessation and Diagnosing A&P events, Cessations and New Paths.
 

Brian, modified 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 7:20 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 7:20 AM

RE: blip

Posts: 110 Join Date: 1/21/19 Recent Posts
Hmm, I can't claim much of that. I go through many flavors of extreme bliss, but they don't seem distinct enough for me to recognize them as specific ones. I can often recognize when the bliss changes, but I haven't tried to keep track of how many times it happens. I definitely did not see dependent origination "in astonishing clarity" or whatever the words in _TPtN_ are. I just had something jarring, and then it was as if somebody pressed the ultra bliss button. I'm used to extreme bliss, but I know when something new happens.

The overall feel of the practice is, I look at whatever wholesome feeling is currently happening (other than lovingkindness, I don't know them well enough to recognize them) and let tension drain away. If distracted, of course I relax then. When I get hit with a wave of bliss, I notice there's some involuntary muscle tension that happens, perhaps a bit like when stretching, and the muscle tenses up. But I can manually override this behavior, and over a period of several minutes, get that tension to quit happening. It feels as if the feelings are gradually working its way through my brain tissue. I gradually wash away an unpleasant knot in my head by patiently relaxing just a tiny bit more, again and again.

On post-meditation walks, there's a lot of strong joy, and it's easier for me to see the jumpiness of vision. I feel like a lizard with all the saccades.

Judging from what shargrol said, seems like he'd diagnose it as just A&P event. Thanks for the info.
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Pepe ·, modified 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 2:25 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 2:22 PM

RE: blip

Posts: 713 Join Date: 9/26/18 Recent Posts
Good stuff Brian. Can you widen up your perception to the whole body (I guess probably you do) or to the whole room? There you'll find neutral feelings and so find a 'proportionality' (as Daniel Ingram says, in your case change 'pain' for 'bliss') of phenomenical perceptions that would perhaps help you land in Equanimity. As it is a kind of 'space kasina', it could help you to detect traces of Vimalaramsi's jhanas 5, 6, 7 I guess you're looking for. 

Best wishes! 
Brian, modified 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 10:31 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 10:31 PM

RE: blip

Posts: 110 Join Date: 1/21/19 Recent Posts
Thanks very much for the advice! I'll try it.