Oximeter is the most reliable means of checking the state of shamatha - Discussion
An oximeter is the most reliable, and at the same time the cheapest, means of checking the presence of the state of shamatha.
I continued my experiments with the use of an oximeter to assess the presence of the state of samadhi/shamatha. The possibility of using it for this purpose is due to the fact that with careful observance of the requirements of shamatha – ekagrata (one-pointedness of mind) with the supporting guardian efforts of smriti (remembering the need to avoid distractions and sinking of the mind) and samprajnata (volitional cessation of distractions and sinking of the mind upon noticing their appearance, arising due to the failure of the effort of smriti) – a natural strengthening of pranic breathing occurs, which begins to replace physical breathing.
This pranic breathing is also known as kundalini in Hindu yoga, qi in Chinese self-development systems, divine grace acquired in hesychasm, etc. Strengthening pranic breathing leads to an incredible acceleration of the evolutionary (in the context of reincarnation) development of the soul's consciousness up to the level of superconsciousness, which is the main method/technology of the teachings of Patanjali, Buddha and Jesus (see my book "Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas in the context of samadhi meditation practice".
Replacing physical breathing with pranic breathing in humans is accompanied by a decrease in the need for the former, which at the physical level is accompanied by a decrease in the saturation of the blood with oxygen without any forced holding of the breath and without any negative sensations and, most importantly, consequences for the physical body. It is known that yogis and Buddhists during their stay in the fourth jhana (and higher) can hold their breath, including underwater, for many hours and even longer. In this case, the circulation of oxygen-saturated blood in the human body is replaced by "saturation" of the entire body with prana, which is capable of not only maintaining life in the body, but also even having a healing effect on those organs and areas of the body that may suffer from reduced blood supply due to illnesses and injuries. A person is a complex being whose activity extends not only to the physical level of this material world, unlike robots and artificial intelligence.
Oximeters most often also measure the pulse, and therefore they are usually called pulse oximeters. In their settings, you can set different thresholds for the appearance of warning ("alarm" beeping) sound signals when the recorded values go beyond the established ranges of saturation and pulse. The lower threshold of saturation that I recommend is 95%. Bluetooth pulse oximeters may not have a sound alarm indication, since all this is implemented in their mobile applications that also allow you to save graphs.
An oximeter is indispensable in scientific research into deep states of samadhi to confirm that the EEG and fMRI results obtained really correspond to the very states of samadhi, and not the inventions of yoga teachers, Buddhist scholars, and other non-practicing people who pose themselves as cool meditators, hiding behind the titles of tulku, rinpoche, "his holiness", yogi, etc. Because it is the oximeter that registers the final manifestation (the result, at least on the physical plane) of entering a state of deep samadhi/shamatha.
In a physically healthy non-meditator, the level of blood oxygen saturation almost never falls below 99%.
In those who meditate daily, the average level of blood oxygen saturation, even outside of the state of samadhi/shamatha, but in a calm state, is usually 98%, which may indicate the inertial effect of a slight background increase in the flow of kundalini even in a non-meditative state of consciousness. During moments of prolonged mental activity, the level is 99%.
Attempts to enter the state of samadhi/shamatha with a weak level of concentration and fleeting thoughts and other distractions of the mind are usually accompanied by a decrease in the level of blood oxygen saturation to about 97-98%.
Being in the state of samadhi/shamatha is usually accompanied by a decrease in the level of blood oxygen saturation to 95% and below. Within 1-2 minutes, the level can fall to 93% and below without any negative sensations in the body.
It should be noted that advanced yogis can completely hold their breath for hours or even days. In the fourth jhana and higher, the meditator’s physical breathing almost completely stops (for many hours or longer) during the practice of samadhi (“Rahogata-sutta: Alone”, Sanyutta-nikaya 36.11) as a result of its replacement with pranic breathing, naturally manifesting itself in a state of long-term deep meditation of samadhi/shamatha. This allows you to unambiguously verify the fact of entering the fourth jhana, and not wishful thinking.
When using an oximeter, you will not have to rack your brains and argue with other meditators about which electrical rhythms of the brain correspond to being in a state of samadhi/shamatha – alpha rhythm, theta rhythm, or allegedly even delta rhythm.
Such assumptions arise, among other things, due to the fact that the lack of an ear clip in glamorous-looking neuroheadsets in the form of a half-hoop (it's about Muse neuroheadset, etc.) is a significant drawback that leads to a distortion of the data obtained, especially in the context of their use by experienced meditators. In a state of genuine meditation, there is a simultaneous appearance on the top of the head of several coherent oscillations (frequencies) in the alpha rhythm range – from 7.8 Hz to 12 Hz (for example, 7.8 Hz, 9 Hz and 10.5 Hz). Due to the absence of an electrode on the ear clip and the simultaneous recording of coherent oscillations by all sensors on the top of the head, there is a mutual leveling of their signals due to the absence of a reference relatively remote electrode, since the Muse neuroheadset uses exactly the same three electrodes in the center of the forehead as "reference", located next to the "main" electrodes on the sides of them. Because of this, the electrodes read not so much a strong alpha rhythm, as an insignificant difference in the values of coherent oscillations. This can lead to a false registration of a parasitic frequency difference between different oscillations of the alpha rhythm, which will fall exactly on the frequency range of the delta rhythm.
At the same time, the use of an oximeter allows you to reliably record the most direct effect of being in a genuine state of samadhi / shamatha – a natural decrease in the need for physical breathing, manifested in a decrease in blood oxygen saturation. This reduction in the need for physical breathing is the most obvious manifestation of the effectiveness of the applied method of practicing samadhi/shamatha.
The disadvantage of the oximeter is that it begins to register genuine shamatha only after at least half a minute to a minute after entering this state, while the neuroheadset begins to register entering this state after just 1-2 seconds. Because of this, the neuroheadset is more suitable for beginners trying to "feel" the state of shamatha. And the oximeter is more suitable for meditation masters who want to make sure of the authenticity of their shamatha practice and its depth.
The cost of an oximeter (pulse oximeter) is approximately $5-10, which makes it the cheapest technical means of checking the state of samadhi/shamatha. For comparison, the cost of neuroheadsets currently ranges from $130 to $300 and even more.
More information about how during correct shamatha physical breathing begins to be replaced by pranic breathing, as well as about the phenomenon of tukdam, is given in subchapter 5.9 “Meditation and breathing – physical and pranic” of my book “Meditation in raja yoga, Buddhism and according to neurophysiology. A practical guide”.
I continued my experiments with the use of an oximeter to assess the presence of the state of samadhi/shamatha. The possibility of using it for this purpose is due to the fact that with careful observance of the requirements of shamatha – ekagrata (one-pointedness of mind) with the supporting guardian efforts of smriti (remembering the need to avoid distractions and sinking of the mind) and samprajnata (volitional cessation of distractions and sinking of the mind upon noticing their appearance, arising due to the failure of the effort of smriti) – a natural strengthening of pranic breathing occurs, which begins to replace physical breathing.
This pranic breathing is also known as kundalini in Hindu yoga, qi in Chinese self-development systems, divine grace acquired in hesychasm, etc. Strengthening pranic breathing leads to an incredible acceleration of the evolutionary (in the context of reincarnation) development of the soul's consciousness up to the level of superconsciousness, which is the main method/technology of the teachings of Patanjali, Buddha and Jesus (see my book "Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas in the context of samadhi meditation practice".
Replacing physical breathing with pranic breathing in humans is accompanied by a decrease in the need for the former, which at the physical level is accompanied by a decrease in the saturation of the blood with oxygen without any forced holding of the breath and without any negative sensations and, most importantly, consequences for the physical body. It is known that yogis and Buddhists during their stay in the fourth jhana (and higher) can hold their breath, including underwater, for many hours and even longer. In this case, the circulation of oxygen-saturated blood in the human body is replaced by "saturation" of the entire body with prana, which is capable of not only maintaining life in the body, but also even having a healing effect on those organs and areas of the body that may suffer from reduced blood supply due to illnesses and injuries. A person is a complex being whose activity extends not only to the physical level of this material world, unlike robots and artificial intelligence.
Oximeters most often also measure the pulse, and therefore they are usually called pulse oximeters. In their settings, you can set different thresholds for the appearance of warning ("alarm" beeping) sound signals when the recorded values go beyond the established ranges of saturation and pulse. The lower threshold of saturation that I recommend is 95%. Bluetooth pulse oximeters may not have a sound alarm indication, since all this is implemented in their mobile applications that also allow you to save graphs.
An oximeter is indispensable in scientific research into deep states of samadhi to confirm that the EEG and fMRI results obtained really correspond to the very states of samadhi, and not the inventions of yoga teachers, Buddhist scholars, and other non-practicing people who pose themselves as cool meditators, hiding behind the titles of tulku, rinpoche, "his holiness", yogi, etc. Because it is the oximeter that registers the final manifestation (the result, at least on the physical plane) of entering a state of deep samadhi/shamatha.
In a physically healthy non-meditator, the level of blood oxygen saturation almost never falls below 99%.
In those who meditate daily, the average level of blood oxygen saturation, even outside of the state of samadhi/shamatha, but in a calm state, is usually 98%, which may indicate the inertial effect of a slight background increase in the flow of kundalini even in a non-meditative state of consciousness. During moments of prolonged mental activity, the level is 99%.
Attempts to enter the state of samadhi/shamatha with a weak level of concentration and fleeting thoughts and other distractions of the mind are usually accompanied by a decrease in the level of blood oxygen saturation to about 97-98%.
Being in the state of samadhi/shamatha is usually accompanied by a decrease in the level of blood oxygen saturation to 95% and below. Within 1-2 minutes, the level can fall to 93% and below without any negative sensations in the body.
It should be noted that advanced yogis can completely hold their breath for hours or even days. In the fourth jhana and higher, the meditator’s physical breathing almost completely stops (for many hours or longer) during the practice of samadhi (“Rahogata-sutta: Alone”, Sanyutta-nikaya 36.11) as a result of its replacement with pranic breathing, naturally manifesting itself in a state of long-term deep meditation of samadhi/shamatha. This allows you to unambiguously verify the fact of entering the fourth jhana, and not wishful thinking.
When using an oximeter, you will not have to rack your brains and argue with other meditators about which electrical rhythms of the brain correspond to being in a state of samadhi/shamatha – alpha rhythm, theta rhythm, or allegedly even delta rhythm.
Such assumptions arise, among other things, due to the fact that the lack of an ear clip in glamorous-looking neuroheadsets in the form of a half-hoop (it's about Muse neuroheadset, etc.) is a significant drawback that leads to a distortion of the data obtained, especially in the context of their use by experienced meditators. In a state of genuine meditation, there is a simultaneous appearance on the top of the head of several coherent oscillations (frequencies) in the alpha rhythm range – from 7.8 Hz to 12 Hz (for example, 7.8 Hz, 9 Hz and 10.5 Hz). Due to the absence of an electrode on the ear clip and the simultaneous recording of coherent oscillations by all sensors on the top of the head, there is a mutual leveling of their signals due to the absence of a reference relatively remote electrode, since the Muse neuroheadset uses exactly the same three electrodes in the center of the forehead as "reference", located next to the "main" electrodes on the sides of them. Because of this, the electrodes read not so much a strong alpha rhythm, as an insignificant difference in the values of coherent oscillations. This can lead to a false registration of a parasitic frequency difference between different oscillations of the alpha rhythm, which will fall exactly on the frequency range of the delta rhythm.
At the same time, the use of an oximeter allows you to reliably record the most direct effect of being in a genuine state of samadhi / shamatha – a natural decrease in the need for physical breathing, manifested in a decrease in blood oxygen saturation. This reduction in the need for physical breathing is the most obvious manifestation of the effectiveness of the applied method of practicing samadhi/shamatha.
The disadvantage of the oximeter is that it begins to register genuine shamatha only after at least half a minute to a minute after entering this state, while the neuroheadset begins to register entering this state after just 1-2 seconds. Because of this, the neuroheadset is more suitable for beginners trying to "feel" the state of shamatha. And the oximeter is more suitable for meditation masters who want to make sure of the authenticity of their shamatha practice and its depth.
The cost of an oximeter (pulse oximeter) is approximately $5-10, which makes it the cheapest technical means of checking the state of samadhi/shamatha. For comparison, the cost of neuroheadsets currently ranges from $130 to $300 and even more.
More information about how during correct shamatha physical breathing begins to be replaced by pranic breathing, as well as about the phenomenon of tukdam, is given in subchapter 5.9 “Meditation and breathing – physical and pranic” of my book “Meditation in raja yoga, Buddhism and according to neurophysiology. A practical guide”.
