I was writing the last few thousand words in another book I’ll hopefully be publishing by the end of this year when something hit me.
Is Jhana the Ultimate Human Experience?
I was thinking about when I become silent and what happens inside the mind. Eventually, the mind calms and goes to a flatline type activity level. In meditation, when this happens, there is the opportunity, the chance, to enter into the first Jhana when the mind is significantly focused and then empty. As I was writing the other book I thought that no voices enter the silent mind. Nothing from any sort of god, or omnipotent being… no angels, demons, nothing. Even my own voice is absent from providing a running commentary or questions. There is nothing, just peace of mind.
Out of that comes the first Jhana.
The first Jhana is like reaching and surpassing heaven. I think most people who feel this really don’t care if there is something more after it. At least not for a while! It’s overwhelming love and bliss welling up ready to explode your entire being.
I was wondering… is that a sign that we’re on the right path? I was wondering about how the world is setup. How the world goes. How people are setup, you and I. We’re all wired pretty much the same way. Though we have vastly different life experiences, we are wired the same. All or most of us can experience Jhana. I wish I could say ‘all’ but it just isn’t something I can know. The vast majority of us can surely reach it. It is a state of mind that doesn’t require adding anything, just taking away – so, if you have a mind and you can control it, you can take everything away and eventually reach Jhana.
Can people with mental disabilities reach Jhana? Can people with limited intellectual functioning reach it? I don’t know the answer. I do hope so…
So, the first Jhana – if it is a sign that we’re on the right path – is a very strong sign.
The Jhanas, in their entirety, are the most amazing, bewildering experiences I’ve ever had. Nothing compares or even comes close. Really, nothing in my emotional life has even come within 10% of my Jhana experiences. I know it’s impossible to put a number on what percent, but I’m just trying to make it clearer for you. Take the best experience you’ve ever had, and multiply it by 10. Then infinity. That’s Jhana 1.
No matter what else you can do – including drugs, can you reach such a state of non-harmful exhilaration and bliss. Overwhelming