“Jhana 1”: wrapping my head around bliss-on-demand
For the last two months, I have been practicing the jhanas. What I have seen so far has blown my mind. I am only at the beginning of this journey and I have many questions. 1) The Jhanas: what they are & how accessible they can be The jhanas are altered states of consciousness; they are meditation states, as described in Buddhist texts. To put it more precisely: “The bliss states, or jhānas, are a series of concentration states. You can learn to enter these states through meditation techniques.” 1 I finally decided to take the plunge into this practice following the recent hype around it. See, for instance, Manufacturing Bliss 2 by Nadia Asparouhova: “A growing community centered on the Bay Area is rediscovering the jhanas, a meditation technique that practitioners claim could upend how we think about the brain — and transform our lives in the process.” Or for another example, “What if you could have a panic attack, but for joy?” 3 by Oshan Jarow: “Mindfulness is one thing.