Jhanon's Direct Experience Map of Non-Physical Phenomena Progression into SiddhiLatest Update: 10.29.2014 (As of 1.3.2015, I realize this list has a lot to be updated and corrected. But I do not have time at the moment to do so. The general gist should serve the purpose of orientating aspirants and mystics to the charismatic body of faculties.)
IntroductionAre you fascinated by supernatural abilities but are new to meditative absorption (jhana/samadhi)? You've come to the right place. You can develop both at the same time...
What Benefits Does This List Offer?My intent with this list is to provide the information necessary for an aspirant to acquaint themselves with the Non-Physical Faculties. Simply resting the awareness on the subtle levels of these Faculties as a meditation object will lead to absorption (jhana), which will lead to more pronounced and refined Faculties, which leads to even deeper absorption, and so on.
Explanation Most of us have the
physical faculty of eyesight, but could see very little when we were first born. As we continued to use our eyesight, it developed and refined. In the same way as these physical faculties, we have an entire
Non-Physical Body of Faculties that can be developed and refined. At their subtler levels, like the tingling in the hands, we often call these "charisms" or "jhana-nimitta." When they are developed, these
Faculties account for what we call Siddhi or "Supernatural Abilities." In general, the development of a Faculty looks like this:
"
Mundane --> Charism/Nimitta --> Supernatural Ability --> Siddhi"
Think of the Faculty as a rock that gets progressively sharper and piercing. The above illustration does not exactly coincide with the illustrations below. They are simply there to give you an idea.
FacultiesEach
Faculty has a range from dull and subtle to clear and refined, as illustrated above. An easy example is the Non-Physical Faculty of Sight, which at it's subtlest is merely a vague multicolored "television static" laid over our physical sight. However, it refines into the ability to see tremendous fractal geometry displays, blinding light, and entities like devas (angels.) How refined the abilities become is dependent on the aspirant first becoming aware of the subtle levels already available in ordinary daily life, and spending time absorbing into them.
What Happens to Faculties if One Leaves the Body?At the time of writing this, it is my experience that each Faculty continues to develop once we've left the physical body during deep samadhi or sleep. This is the point at which the abilities become unbelievable, where one can move things with their mind, teleport, fly, etc. Most of us, during a dream (which is technically an OOBE), have flown or moved things with our mind.
DisclaimerI only list Faculties and abilities/charisms which I've had enough direct personal experience with. I've left out many extraordinary abilities that I just don't know enough about. To make matters more difficult; as the Faculties develop and the individual reaches Samadhi 6-8, the Faculties merge together. Because this could be very confusing, for most Faculties, the development line will end simply with "OOB."
The Non-Physical Faculties
Faculty: Direct KnowledgeDevelopment: Conscience --> Intuition --> Knowing --> Being --> OmniscienceExplanation - "Intuitive Insight" is a synonym of this faculty. It is self-arising knowledge. Unlike a train of thoughts that lead to other related thoughts, the experience of direct knowledge arises spontaneously.
Conscience - The sense of knowing a necessary duty, like the drive to initially attain jhana. Ignoring the conscience causes anxiety. Guidance from the conscience is what helps us initially discover jhana, and reduce anxiety.
Intuition - General and vague knowledge with a similar "feel" to the experience of conscience. A personal example is the knowledge that my companion was pregnant, experienced on the same day as conception. There was only the mildest of uncertainty due to lack of experience with the Direct Knowledge Faculty.
Knowing - Knowledge with a much firmer "feel". There is a confidence of the accuracy of the Knowing. Perhaps a thought enters the mind, and it is immediately Known to be the thought of another we are presently interacting with. There is no doubt with such Knowing.
Being - A stream of direct knowledge that is engaged and assimilated continuously. It is assimilated so thoroughly and continuously that there is little or no identity-driven behavior. This allows non-critical direct knowledge, such as the thoughts of another, to be utilized without need to be fully aware of it. It flows ceaselessly like a stream, allowing the individual to become a force of Nature or "Be Dhamma."
Faculty: HearingDevelopment: Ringing --> Rushing/Humming--> Birds --> Voices --> OOBExplanation - This is pretty straight-forward. It is hearing sounds not of the physical plane. This'll get you thrown in the looney bin pretty quick, so be mindful of sharing experiences of this faculty. Common experiences include; ringing, birds chirping, running water, rushing, humming, voices, and ominous voices. In a quiet room, can you hear the subtle ringing?
Faculty: SightDevelopment: Dull Color --> Shapes --> Seeing Entities like Devas(Angels) --> Remote Viewing --> OOBExplanation - Here is another simple one. It is the ability to see non-physical phenomena. This manifests in earlier developments as a dull multi-colored "television snow" laid over the physical visual field. It's easiest to see this in the dark. Silhouettes and vague details of entities or landscapes, Fractal geometry patterns and displays are also common. When developed further, it allows one to see non-physical phenomena with the same level of detail, if not more than physical visual phenomena.
Faculty: Internal Tactile FieldDevelopment: Inner Presence --> Inner Pleasure --> Inner Bliss --> Inner Equanimity --> OOBExplanation - "Inner body" is a synonym of this faculty. It's a non-physical sense of touch felt "within" the physical body. To test this, you can simply direct your awareness into your hands and feel the tingling.
Inner Presence - Simply the vague ability to feel within the body. A simple example is possible by observing how the Inner Tactile Field becomes tense during 1st jhana when one concentrates too hard on the meditation object.
Inner Pleasure - This is a comforting non-physical feeling that arises when one is consciously aware of the Inner Tactile Field. It arises as mild warmth, tingling, waves, and/or a sense of fullness. It is available in 1st and 2nd jhana.
Inner Bliss - This is a strong and pleasant non-physical feeling that arises in 3rd jhana. It's similar in feel to a "full body orgasm."
Inner Equanimity - This is the freedom from pain and pleasure of 4th jhana. It feels weightless and full of emptiness.
Faculty: External Tactile FieldDevelopment: Outer Presence --> Outer Pleasure --> Outer Bliss --> Outer Equanimity --> OOBExplanation - "Mantle of God" and "Aura" appear to be abilities within this faculty. In short, it is the ability to "touch" the space external to your body by simply directing the awareness to it. It has a tactile "touch" feeling to it. In grocery stores, I simply rest my awareness in all the space surrounding me, enabling me to discern the presence and/or qualities of others which enter the proximity. At it's greatest in-body capacity herein poorly named "Long-Distance Tendrils", it allows one to feel what someone even 10 miles away is feeling. Distance doesn't appear to matter at that point, and it CAN arise without any physical contact, including via phone or internet.
Faculty: GuidanceDevelopment: Coincidence --> Synchronicity --> Obvious Direction --> Pure Guidance --> OOBExplanation - It is remarkable occurrences which carry significance to the individual(s) experiencing it. For a little fun, one might say it is "divine GPS."
Coincidence - a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection. There is more to it than that, but the individual is unable to see beyond it.
Synchronicity - the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection. It is at this point that an individual will begin to investigate and "connect the dots", gaining insight and confidence.
Obvious Direction - an individual begins to see how coincidental and synchronistic events connect to each other and what the deeper information is. A personal example of this is when I was faced with the choice to take my medication or not. My goal was to not take the medication, but the conditioning to take it was strong. And so I had the thought "If I continue experiencing joy through Dhamma discussions, I will not take it, for I will have been accommodated in this way." For the following hours I experienced thrilling non-stop Dhamma discussion that provided many strong insights and kundalini blasts.
Pure Guidance - there is no longer any doubt. The individual experiences a stream of concurrent events, whether internal or external, and immediately knows the deeper meaning and course of action to take. These come in a constant stream both internally and externally, upwards of many hours or days, and is what I often refer to as "magic" or "divine accommodation." It's a purer form of Obvious Direction and the stream continues as long as it is engaged properly. A fearlessness is necessary.
Faculty: Energy HandlingDevelopment: Vague Sense --> Direction of Energy --> Extraction of Negative Energy --> Healing Others --> OOBExplanation - Fairly straight-forward, this is the ability to sense and manipulate energy in another being. It is the Faculty in which hands-on healing belongs. One can place their hand on another and sense energy within that area of the body. The energy can be directed, extracted, or healed.
Faculty: Energy PresenceDevelopment: Presence --> Contagious Presence --> Charismatic Presence --> Shaktipat --> OOBExplanation - Ever walked into a room of people and felt something "heavy" was happening? Whether in-person, remotely (eg phone), or through a creation (writing), one has a detectable energetical presence. This presence impacts others. I have lost many jobs and friends because my mere presence was found detestable by others. However, my most ecstatic life experience was also due to the energy presence in the words of the author in their book, and I've also experienced Shaktipat through this. A common example might be how a group of individuals can transform the behavior of a newcomer to resonate with them. This Faculty is similar to "External Tactile Field", but is not a superficial sensing and has great power to transform situations and others without even saying a word.
Faculty: SmellExplanation This is less commonly reported, and I have little experience with it. However, it is the ability to smell things not physically present. It may be possible that things such as electricity which don't have a smell, actually have a non-physical smell.
Faculty: TasteExplanation This is less commonly reported, and I have little experience with it. However, it is the ability to taste things not physically present.
[/u]Not Yet Confident in AccuracyFaculty: BalanceDizziness --> Euphoria --> Movement of Non-Physical Vessel --> Equanimity --> Flying/Teleporting
Faculty: Empathy
Sympathy --> Empathy --> Mind Reading -- > Knowing Awareness of Others --> OOB
Faculty: Physical Exhaust
Inability to be still --> Twitches/Kriya --> Vibration --> Shaking
This is a work in progress. There is room for much more, and corrections, but this is a good jumping off point.
