I’ve been working on my next book for the last couple of days. It’s a book about Jhana. Not the Buddhist Jhana. Not some other teacher’s idea of Jhana. There will be nothing in the book about Jhana apps or anything like that.
The book is about the deep Jhanas I experienced with a very simple meditation plan that originally didn’t have the Jhanas in mind at all. Some call the deep states of Jhana the Visuddhimagga states or the Buddhaghosa states of Jhana.
I just call them the deep Jhanas.
It’s funny, but I stumbled into the Jhana states. All eight of them.
I wasn’t looking for them. I didn’t know what they were. Even while directly experiencing them for months, I didn’t know that they had a name or that they were separated by levels or features or factors.
They were unique states of mind, sure. They were repeatable, which was interesting to me.
They showed up in the same order all the time. That was odd too.
The Jhanas began a series of changes inside me – or, more accurately – seemed to further the changes that were already occurring inside me as I practiced a simple meditation on the breath. Profound changes began as these temporary states of mind had long-lasting effects on my emotions, feelings, ambition, morality, various drives to do things, on my attraction to people and my clinging to people and things.
Jhana changed me from the inside out.
Deep Jhana – the book, is about that. I will tell you all about how to prepare yourself for Jhana’s arrival, how to remain in the states, and how to repeatedly experience Jhana over and over in your meditation sessions.
I think with perseverance, anyone can reach these states of mind once reserved for monks following hundreds of rules and instructions from teachers who didn’t understand Jhana themselves.
Reality Check
I may tire of writing the book and start making a series of training videos about reaching the Deep Jhanas. I like the format of videos so much better, but we’ll see how this goes. I need to write the book and it would serve as a good outline for the course. Decisions.
My take on the Jhanas (video)
How Does Deep Jhana Change You?
I recently began offering “Jhana meditation coaching calls“ – 30 to 120 minute calls.