High Cortisol Chad
Master
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2023
- Posts
- 1,576
- Reputation
- 1,936
There are books like The Mind Illuminated describing the process in extreme detail, but it's not necessary to know it and it can even be counterproductive.
Stages when you have to put effort:
1) When a total beginner starts focusing on the sensations produced by breathing (in the nostrils for example) he loses focus very quickly and that leads to mind wandering which is when you totally forget that you even should be meditating or he falls asleep. This is a battle of the first stage, just being able to somewhat focus on the meditation object (distractions are fine) and not totally forget, is the end of the first stage.
2) Then the meditation shifts from battling mind wandering and forgetting the object - to raising the "power" of the mind, lifting it up to get rid of what they call subtle dullness, many meditators have been stuck in this stage for a very long time cause subtle dullness can easily be mistaken for just normal/ok/good meditation and yet it's not, it's a trap. Subtle dullness can be described as a lack of awareness which leads to external and/or internal startle reaction when some loud, unexpected sound goes off. Subtle dullness is a spectrum and the goal of this stage is to move towards less and less startle reaction towards everything that appears in awareness. The only people who have no startle reaction or almost no startle reaction are psychopaths and very advanced meditators. Eventually, as you eliminate subtle dullness, sensations of the breath start to appear different, less conceptual, almost as before you were seeing the whole rope and now with higher resolution are able to see individual fibers of the rope. At some point when there's very little distraction and no subtle dullness, joy/rapture starts to surface. When you can let go of all effort, joy intensifies and your attention feels like it's "glued" to the breath and you can move it just by intention, awareness doesn't collapse to dullness and distractions don't flood your mind - you've entered the last stage.
The stage when the effort is no longer needed:
3) Now meditation is effortless. As you continue intending to ignore any potential distractions, joy/rapture will intensify even more and your goal is to ignore it. By doing it, equanimity (non-reactivity to pain or pleasure) will grow until you reach perfect equanimity
"Perfect equanimity and the complete cessation of craving are called Nibbana in Pali (Nirvana in Sanskrit).
Stages when you have to put effort:
1) When a total beginner starts focusing on the sensations produced by breathing (in the nostrils for example) he loses focus very quickly and that leads to mind wandering which is when you totally forget that you even should be meditating or he falls asleep. This is a battle of the first stage, just being able to somewhat focus on the meditation object (distractions are fine) and not totally forget, is the end of the first stage.
2) Then the meditation shifts from battling mind wandering and forgetting the object - to raising the "power" of the mind, lifting it up to get rid of what they call subtle dullness, many meditators have been stuck in this stage for a very long time cause subtle dullness can easily be mistaken for just normal/ok/good meditation and yet it's not, it's a trap. Subtle dullness can be described as a lack of awareness which leads to external and/or internal startle reaction when some loud, unexpected sound goes off. Subtle dullness is a spectrum and the goal of this stage is to move towards less and less startle reaction towards everything that appears in awareness. The only people who have no startle reaction or almost no startle reaction are psychopaths and very advanced meditators. Eventually, as you eliminate subtle dullness, sensations of the breath start to appear different, less conceptual, almost as before you were seeing the whole rope and now with higher resolution are able to see individual fibers of the rope. At some point when there's very little distraction and no subtle dullness, joy/rapture starts to surface. When you can let go of all effort, joy intensifies and your attention feels like it's "glued" to the breath and you can move it just by intention, awareness doesn't collapse to dullness and distractions don't flood your mind - you've entered the last stage.
The stage when the effort is no longer needed:
3) Now meditation is effortless. As you continue intending to ignore any potential distractions, joy/rapture will intensify even more and your goal is to ignore it. By doing it, equanimity (non-reactivity to pain or pleasure) will grow until you reach perfect equanimity
"Perfect equanimity and the complete cessation of craving are called Nibbana in Pali (Nirvana in Sanskrit).
They gave Oser the standard instruction, telling him that they would count down from ten to one, at which point he would hear a loud noise. They asked that he try to suppress the inevitable flinch, so that someone looking at him would not know he felt it. Some people can do better than others, but no one can come remotely close to completely suppressing it. A classic study in the 1940’s showed that it’s impossible to prevent the startle reflex, despite the most intense, purposeful efforts to suppress the muscle spasms. No one Ekman and Robert Levenson had ever tested could do it. Earlier researchers found that even police marksmen, who fire guns routinely, are unable to keep themselves from startling.
But Oser did. Ekman explains, “When Oser tries to suppress the startle, it almost disappears. We’ve never found anyone who can do that. Nor have any other researchers.” Oser practiced two types of meditation while having the startle tested: one-pointed concentration and the open state. As Oser experienced it, the biggest effect was from the open state: “When I went into the open state, the explosive sound seemed to me softer, as if I was distanced from the sensations, hearing the sound from afar.” Ekman reported that although Oser’s physiology showed some slight changes, not a muscle of his face moved, which Oser related to his mind not being shaken by the bang. Indeed, as Oser later elaborated, “If you can remain properly in this state, the bang seems neutral, like a bird crossing the sky.”
Although Oser showed not a ripple of movement in any facial muscles while in the open state, his physiological measures, (including heart rate, sweating and blood pressure) showed the increase typical of the startle reflex. From Ekman’s perspective, the strongest overall muting came during the intense focus of the one- pointedness meditation. During the one-pointedness meditation, instead of the inevitable jump, there was a decrease in Oser’s heart rate, blood pressure and so on. On the other hand, his facial muscles did reflect a bit of the typical startle pattern; the movements “were very small, but they were present,” Ekman observed. “And he did one unusual thing. In all others we’ve tested, the eyebrows go down. In Oser they go up.”
In sum, Oser’s one-pointed concentration seemed to close him off to external stimuli—even to the startling noise of a gunshot. Given that the larger someone’s startle, the more intensely that person tends to experience upsetting emotions, Oser’s performance had tantalizing implications, suggesting a remarkable level of emotional equanimity.
But Oser did. Ekman explains, “When Oser tries to suppress the startle, it almost disappears. We’ve never found anyone who can do that. Nor have any other researchers.” Oser practiced two types of meditation while having the startle tested: one-pointed concentration and the open state. As Oser experienced it, the biggest effect was from the open state: “When I went into the open state, the explosive sound seemed to me softer, as if I was distanced from the sensations, hearing the sound from afar.” Ekman reported that although Oser’s physiology showed some slight changes, not a muscle of his face moved, which Oser related to his mind not being shaken by the bang. Indeed, as Oser later elaborated, “If you can remain properly in this state, the bang seems neutral, like a bird crossing the sky.”
Although Oser showed not a ripple of movement in any facial muscles while in the open state, his physiological measures, (including heart rate, sweating and blood pressure) showed the increase typical of the startle reflex. From Ekman’s perspective, the strongest overall muting came during the intense focus of the one- pointedness meditation. During the one-pointedness meditation, instead of the inevitable jump, there was a decrease in Oser’s heart rate, blood pressure and so on. On the other hand, his facial muscles did reflect a bit of the typical startle pattern; the movements “were very small, but they were present,” Ekman observed. “And he did one unusual thing. In all others we’ve tested, the eyebrows go down. In Oser they go up.”
In sum, Oser’s one-pointed concentration seemed to close him off to external stimuli—even to the startling noise of a gunshot. Given that the larger someone’s startle, the more intensely that person tends to experience upsetting emotions, Oser’s performance had tantalizing implications, suggesting a remarkable level of emotional equanimity.
Last edited:
