RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Scott Hader, modified 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 10:37 AM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 10:34 AM

New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 7 Join Date: 4/4/21 Recent Posts
Hello~ I'm new to fire kasina, so I just wanted to make sure I'm practicing okay and open up to any comments/advice.

Practice method: I'm currently practicing for about 30-minutes. I stare at the flame of a candle for about 15 seconds, and then close my eyes, at which time I usually see a bright-blue egg shape, and then a much smaller hot-pink shape with a bright-blue border. The egg shape fades to black quickly, and the other shape fades to black after a few minutes. I'm mainly just focusing on the smaller shape since it endures longer, and watching it's gradual fade to black.

Am I doing this right?
Emil Jensen, modified 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 12:29 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 12:29 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 319 Join Date: 7/16/20 Recent Posts
It sounds like you are, as far as I know!
Did you read Daniel's instructions/take on it? https://www.mctb.org/mctb2/table-of-contents/part-iii-the-samatha-jhanas/29-kasina-practice/

I use the LED on my phone as it gives a stronger image and I only have to look at the light on the lowest setting for 5-10 seconds.

If you keep seeing the shape for as long as it's there, over and over again, you should develop in concentration.
Then, after a while I guess you can run into some pitfalls, like straining too much both in your eyes and in your keeping of the attention.

But I would say, go ahead, do what you're doing and if that feels fine, keep going for at leat a month, to sort of develop a feel of your own.

​​​​​​​emoticon
Scott Hader, modified 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 2:24 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 2:24 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 7 Join Date: 4/4/21 Recent Posts
Thanks! I hadn't read the instructions, but I will start reading them now. I'll keep in mind your tips about the LED light; I heard some other people use that as well. I'll experiment. I'll keep an eye out for your potential pitfalls as well. I'll check back in in another month or so. Thanks again!
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Siavash ', modified 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 2:37 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 2:35 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 1679 Join Date: 5/5/19 Recent Posts
Please be careful about your eyes health if you use LED lights.
If it's a bright light, better to not stare at it longer.
If the afterimage that you see after closing your eyes (I don't mean the dot, but the afterimage, which may include the objects around the LED light, in dark colors often, dark purple, green, black-yellow etc) stays longer, and includes more of the objects around the LED lights, then it means that probably you have stared too long. With the candle flame it's often safe to stare longer.

You can check this page for the definition of terms and other info:
https://firekasina.org/glossary/ 
Scott Hader, modified 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 2:41 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/4/21 2:41 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 7 Join Date: 4/4/21 Recent Posts
I see. That's some great info; thanks. I'll stick to the candle flame this month, I think.

I'll be sure to read this glossary, thank you.
Emil Jensen, modified 2 Years ago at 4/6/21 1:29 AM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/6/21 1:29 AM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 319 Join Date: 7/16/20 Recent Posts
Scott, I forgot to cheer you on, but remembered it just now!
30 minutes of kasina practice is pretty serious - cool! Do you get to it daily? 
And Im curious. For how long have you been practicing?
And how come you're interested in doing kasina now all of a sudden? emoticon

Cheers!
Scott Hader, modified 2 Years ago at 4/6/21 11:37 AM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/6/21 11:37 AM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 7 Join Date: 4/4/21 Recent Posts
Hey Emil, I really appreciate it. I'll try to complete your questionaire. ;)

-Yeah, I've been doing it daily the last week or two.

-Hard to say exactly, but been meditating on and off for a little over ten years. I've been on retreats and stuff, so I feel somewhat initiated. emoticon

-This is an interesting one. A couple years ago, I really fell in love with Nada Sound meditation. I had a great first experience with it, and stuck with it for several months for about an hour/day. I love the layers and qualities and variations of the sound. Also, these cool, dim, neon-blue lights would circle my field of vision (eyes closed) whenever I'd accumulate some concentration. However, I plateaued, and couldn't see how to proceed, so I gave up.

Recently, however, I bought a candle, just for around-the-house scent purposes. Then it just occurred to me that maybe it'd be a good time to give Fire Kasina a shot. I've been aware of the basic instructions for awhile, so I knew that it was a thing. Also, thanks in part to Daniel, information about this practice is much more accessible (I've been reading the MCTB instructions), which is pretty huge for me. Plus, there's this forum, which is equally huge.

Anyways, I tried it out, and I really enjoy it. As a bonus, it makes my Nada practice more interesting, since now I better understand the neon-blue light phenomenon.

Thanks again for your interest~
​​​​​​​Scott
Emil Jensen, modified 2 Years ago at 4/7/21 1:21 AM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/7/21 1:21 AM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 319 Join Date: 7/16/20 Recent Posts
Thanks for filling out the questionaire :b

Oh, so you're an initiated meditator who all of a sudden have begun with the kasina (: I like the kasina too, and had a period lately of practicing it for 2-3 hours daily for at least a month before starting to re-introduce vipassana and breath-focus meditation into the game. It really did something for my ability to concentrate which was clear when I went heavier on the vipassana once again.

I'm glad you see the value in this forum. There are seriously so much combined knowledge in here, it's crazy! You can find answers or good inputs to almost anything related to meditation in here.

Take care, Scott!
Scott Hader, modified 2 Years ago at 4/7/21 11:52 AM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/7/21 11:52 AM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 7 Join Date: 4/4/21 Recent Posts
Thanks, Emil. Glad to hear you found that both medition methods support one another. 2-3 hours/day is really impressive from my standpoint. I hope you continue to get all the benefits~

I'll be pulling from that combined knowledge - believe me. emoticon
Scott Hader, modified 2 Years ago at 4/21/21 9:53 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/21/21 9:53 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 7 Join Date: 4/4/21 Recent Posts
Just checking in again. Work has been stressful, so I don't always have the energy to sit, but I took a few days off, and something mildly interesting happened tonight.

Firstly, I switched to staring at my ceiling lights (LEDs) from about 15 feet away, staring for about 20-30 seconds. The dot seems to persist for about 5 minutes each time, so I only need to open my eyes 4-5 times in a 30-minute sit. Does that sound about right?

Anywho, tonight at around the 15-min mark, the dot began fading in and out for a few minutes, and at some point, the "blue lights" seemed to cover it up like a fog. I've experienced the blue lights with the Nada Sound practice, but they've become more vivid recently. They appear like a series of drifting fogs across my field of vision, stopping for a couple of minutes, and then starting again. It seemed natural at that point to just use that as object, and see if it develops. Does that sound like a good idea? (Thanks.)
Hector L, modified 2 Years ago at 4/21/21 11:19 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/21/21 11:18 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 139 Join Date: 5/9/20 Recent Posts
Does the kind of light change depending on what kind of practice you are doing?
For me slow light waves correlate with shamatha and geometric patterns with focused attention.
I noticed a new kind when gazing at the blue sky with an open eyed practice - little firefly like sparkles that don't seem to
​​​​​​​appear with closed eyed practice. 
Scott Hader, modified 2 Years ago at 4/22/21 8:22 AM
Created 2 Years ago at 4/22/21 8:22 AM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 7 Join Date: 4/4/21 Recent Posts
That's interesting. I think they're the same for me. I haven't tried your open-eyed practice, so I can't speak to that. The only difference is that, before, I meditated in the dark, and obviously with fire kasina, there are lights on, so it took me a minute to notice the slow light waves. The association with shamatha and geometric patterns seems logical to me.
B J C, modified 2 Years ago at 5/11/21 1:48 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 5/11/21 1:48 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 2 Join Date: 3/14/21 Recent Posts
Fire Kasina has been a strange distraction for me, I am able to pick up the red dot fairly quickly and after 30ish seconds of chasing the red dot around the below manifests. So vivid and "real" I really enjoy this experience.
On an off topic I have a "floater" in my eye which is basically part of the eye membrane that has broken away as a result of age/impact etc recently I have been noticing this shadow in my field of vision more and more to the point the artefact is almost always present on a light coloured backdrop.
The opticians have checked this out and are happy it is a fairly common occurrence just the the majority of people are not attuned enough to "focus" on the shadowing. It has driven me insane and I have become so disheartened by this shadow it is always like there is something move rapidly in my peripheral vision.
The Kasina practice for some reason gives me rest bite from this attuned focus on the eye "floater" for a couple of hours following a sit I enjoy vision with no artefacts!  
Saurabh Arvindbhai PARMAR, modified 2 Years ago at 6/1/21 3:55 PM
Created 2 Years ago at 6/1/21 3:55 PM

RE: New to Fire Kasina, Checking-In

Posts: 6 Join Date: 12/14/20 Recent Posts
Any way or app to adjust led light brightness of phone? 
​​​​​​​i love this idea of led then flame.

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