Face/head kasina - Discussion
Some recent reading reminded me of something that used to happen when I was younger, and it got me thinking that maybe this something was jhana. I especially remember this one incident:
I was sitting in the waiting room of a dentist with my grandmother. I think we met someone there that my grandmother knew and they engaged in a conversation. While they were talking, I was looking at my grandmother and something weird happened. My attention locked on to her head and strange things started to happen. The most prominent phenomenon was the feeling and visual illusion of continously zooming out; just like those illusions in movies where the corridor just keeps getting longer and longer (if you've ever operated a video camera, it is what happens when you zoom in while stepping backwards. A freaky illusion, indeed). And her face was in the middle of this corridor. I felt further and further removed from what I was seeing, and there were other visual distortions such as twisting and bulging. I felt absolutely drugged and also a little embarrased for being so obviously distant to others (speculation on my part). In retrospect I can say that I was very concentrated and calm.
I was addressed several times in the conversation and for that breif moment the state would lessen and I was able to formulate a reply, and as far as I know they didn't notice anything different with me. After this the state would get stronger again.
I know this has happened many times before, and except for that slight discomfort of feeling distant, it was always a blast.
As always, I'd like to encourage others to cross-reference previous experiences like this with their new knowledge. Having remebered this, I instantly got a feeling for how to do it and am looking forward to trying this not-so-new-afterall approch to kasina practice.
As a side note, I'd like to mention that what got me onto this was reading about how the distance between you and the kasina object (in my case a candle) should be such that focusing on it does not make you go cross-eyed. Instinctually "trying" that distance with my eyes staring into blank space, this memory popped up. Absolutely awesome
I was sitting in the waiting room of a dentist with my grandmother. I think we met someone there that my grandmother knew and they engaged in a conversation. While they were talking, I was looking at my grandmother and something weird happened. My attention locked on to her head and strange things started to happen. The most prominent phenomenon was the feeling and visual illusion of continously zooming out; just like those illusions in movies where the corridor just keeps getting longer and longer (if you've ever operated a video camera, it is what happens when you zoom in while stepping backwards. A freaky illusion, indeed). And her face was in the middle of this corridor. I felt further and further removed from what I was seeing, and there were other visual distortions such as twisting and bulging. I felt absolutely drugged and also a little embarrased for being so obviously distant to others (speculation on my part). In retrospect I can say that I was very concentrated and calm.
I was addressed several times in the conversation and for that breif moment the state would lessen and I was able to formulate a reply, and as far as I know they didn't notice anything different with me. After this the state would get stronger again.
I know this has happened many times before, and except for that slight discomfort of feeling distant, it was always a blast.
As always, I'd like to encourage others to cross-reference previous experiences like this with their new knowledge. Having remebered this, I instantly got a feeling for how to do it and am looking forward to trying this not-so-new-afterall approch to kasina practice.
As a side note, I'd like to mention that what got me onto this was reading about how the distance between you and the kasina object (in my case a candle) should be such that focusing on it does not make you go cross-eyed. Instinctually "trying" that distance with my eyes staring into blank space, this memory popped up. Absolutely awesome
From this thread: Practice thread 1: working towards access concentration
This
Tommy M:
Have you ever stared at your own reflection in the mirror and watched your face distort? This is a jhana-like state.
This
