Pure Pleasure Isn't What You Want, or, Notes on the Jhānas

bliss states: exciting, but not as much as you would think

The jhānas are bliss states that can be accessed by meditators with a little practice. Classically, there is a set of eight, attested to by contemplatives for millennia. You get into the first jhāna by noticing some pleasurable sensation in your consciousness, then focusing on it, until the narrow focus produces a feedback loop—it feels good that you feel good, and then it feels really good that you feel really good, until the pleasure skyrockets. Getting to the rest is a matter of making little attentional micro-moves that get you from one state to the next. The first is a laser beam of…

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• Angelica W

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