Question about Jhana experience

[KriyaYogi]

Hi guys, what Jhana state is it when your fatigue disappears and you feel like you could sit for a long time.  In my deepest meditations sometimes I will be tired, slumping a bit, and then I hit a new energy level where my body feels numb and I get a rush of energy, my posture straightens and I don't really feel the fatigue anymore.   Is that at all close to going out of body?

Thanks,
-David

[Tad]

Body straightening up is a sign of increased energy flow. It is a very good sign. Regarding to which jhana, I think you will have to provide more specific detail of what you feel. Then Im sure Jhananda can give you some guidance.

[Jhanananda]

Hi guys, what Jhana state is it when your fatigue disappears and you feel like you could sit for a long time.  In my deepest meditations sometimes I will be tired, slumping a bit, and then I hit a new energy level where my body feels numb and I get a rush of energy, my posture straightens and I don't really feel the fatigue anymore.   Is that at all close to going out of body?

Thanks,
-David

David you described the key characteristics of the 4th jhana.

[KriyaYogi]

It has happened a few times.... thanks for the feedback, that is what I remembered from the Yahoo groups.  It only started happening in the last few years occosionally.  It feels great to reach that state, almost like taking an opiate and a coffee at the same time or something.

-David

[Jhanananda]

David, getting to the 4th stage of samadhi is excellent.  Keep going there in any way that gets you there.  However, the understanding here is the meditation technique just gets us to the first stage of samadhi.  The second stage of samadhi is when the mind becomes still, which means there is no meditation technique happening either.  At the second stage of samadhi the contemplative sits in extended meditation allowing the samadhi to deepen naturally.

[KriyaYogi]

This has only ever happened during open eye mirror gazing so far.  It would be nice to reach 4th Jhana with eyes closed though.

I had 'let go' of all emotions judgement and reactions and tried to accept and love myself and be still while gazing at myself in the mirror as my teacher had suggested.  I almost lost body awareness and was spirit traveling to beautiful earth realms with most of my awareness. 

-David

[Jhanananda]

While I am glad you apparently got to the 4th jhana a few times; nonetheless, we have already established your meditation teacher doesn't know anything about samadhi. So, since mirror gazing has helped you, then keep it going, but keep in mind there are other important stages of meditation necessary to attend to, such as:
1) First stage of depth arises when during meditation we find comfort in the practice of meditation, then we allow ourselves to relax, submit, let go deeply, and we find comfort and refuge in that sense of relaxation.
2) The second stage of samadhi is the stilling of the mind.  When the mind is still it is no longer involved in any kind of cognitive activity such as: memory, speaking, visualization, repetition; and all we are doing is observing.
3) The third stage of samadhi arises when we feel comfort and relaxed, and our mind is still, then various charismatic phenomena arises, which are often referred to as energy, which often manifests as: aura, chakras, etc.
4) The fourth stage of samadhi is associated with a sense of timelessness in which we feel so free of discomfort that we feel that we could sit in meditation enjoying the comfort, relaxation and stillness as if we could sit there for ever, and we do.  We only realize afterwards when we look at the time and find an hour went by but we feel like it was only minutes.
5) The next phenomena doesn't have a recognized stage, but we probably should give it one.  Here the contemplative will experience a number of phenomena such as: an apparition of an anthropomorph sitting before one.  This apparition is often believed to be a saintly person such as Jesus or Shiva, or Babaji, depending upon one's cultural context, but we have found it is one's own body being observed by one as one is leaving the body.  This apparition often gives way to a luminous sphere which is called 'kasina' in Buddhism and other cultures. It is often believed to be a nonphysical being, but it actually a portal to the immaterial domains whereby one can launch out of the body and away from the material domains into any place, time or dimension.

The remaining 4 stages are all out-of-body and are so abstract and beyond most people's context that it is irrelevant to discuss until it happens.

[KriyaYogi]

Very interesting.  I think when I do Kriya Yoga I am in the 1st stage and after I finish and sit in meditation Kundalini rises fast and I go into the 3rd after 5-10 minutes.  I definitely get the 'hypersensitivity' after Kriya Yoga within a few minutes.

Thank you for enumerating the details of the levels from your experience.

-David

[Tad]

While I am glad you apparently got to the 4th jhana a few times; nonetheless, we have already established your meditation teacher doesn't know anything about samadhi. So, since mirror gazing has helped you, then keep it going, but keep in mind there are other important stages of meditation necessary to attend to, such as:
1) First stage of depth arises when during meditation we find comfort in the practice of meditation, then we allow ourselves to relax, submit, let go deeply, and we find comfort and refuge in that sense of relaxation.
2) The second stage of samadhi is the stilling of the mind.  When the mind is still it is no longer involved in any kind of cognitive activity such as: memory, speaking, visualization, repetition; and all we are doing is observing.
3) The third stage of samadhi arises when we feel comfort and relaxed, and our mind is still, then various charismatic phenomena arises, which are often referred to as energy, which often manifests as: aura, chakras, etc.
4) The fourth stage of samadhi is associated with a sense of timelessness in which we feel so free of discomfort that we feel that we could sit in meditation enjoying the comfort, relaxation and stillness as if we could sit there for ever, and we do.  We only realize afterwards when we look at the time and find an hour went by but we feel like it was only minutes.
5) The next phenomena doesn't have a recognized stage, but we probably should give it one.  Here the contemplative will experience a number of phenomena such as: an apparition of an anthropomorph sitting before one.  This apparition is often believed to be a saintly person such as Jesus or Shiva, or Babaji, depending upon one's cultural context, but we have found it is one's own body being observed by one as one is leaving the body.  This apparition often gives way to a luminous sphere which is called 'kasina' in Buddhism and other cultures. It is often believed to be a nonphysical being, but it actually a portal to the immaterial domains whereby one can launch out of the body and away from the material domains into any place, time or dimension.

The remaining 4 stages are all out-of-body and are so abstract and beyond most people's context that it is irrelevant to discuss until it happens.

Excellent summary of stages of samadhi. I will save it for future.

[Jhanananda]

Excellent summary of stages of samadhi. I will save it for future.

Thanks.