Close your eyes and take a comfortable meditation posture,
Ideally spine straight and take a moment to arrive in your body,
Check in with how you're feeling,
You can wiggle around,
Move a bit left and right,
Back and forth to find an equilibrium and we'll start with pacing which is to simply note what's there,
Right when it appears,
It can be a six sense source,
For me it's feeling,
Hearing,
Feeling,
What is it for you,
Hearing,
Hearing,
Now check if there's any of the hindrances present,
Is there any desire,
Aversion,
Worry,
Remorse,
Slough or torpor,
Doubt,
For me there's slight doubt,
And while you're settling in with the simple knowing of what is there,
Start focusing on the spot where you can feel your breath most notably,
For many it's between the upper lip and nostrils,
So that we can start building up access concentration,
Start to simply being curious about the sensation,
The changes of the in-breath and the out-breath,
The dance between warm and cold air,
You might soon notice that there's also a tingling feeling around this area which you can also focus on,
For those having entered the first jhana before,
It can be quite tempting to simply jump right into it,
Try to stay outside,
Try to remain the focus on the build-up of access concentration,
Sometimes when we become calmer,
Our body will send us signals,
Calling us for attention,
Somewhere else in the body,
As important as this is,
Answer with a gentle no thank you,
And go back to your anchor,
When you're ready you can allow yourself to enter the first jhana,
Which for many people is a flickering of the eyelids and also a clicking in of focus on the spot you just had been focusing on,
Often accompanied by sensations of light and all of a sudden being plunged into pity,
Feeling of happiness,
Keep focusing on the spot while also allowing the build-up of pity even more,
Also allowing yourself to enjoy it fully,
If the mind wanders,
Answer with the gentle no thank you and return back to your anchor,
Jhanas work in progression,
You cannot do anything wrong by fully being present,
Fully experiencing the sensation of the first jhana,
Automatically leading you to the second,
You can either nudge this by emphasizing sukha in the background,
Physical joy naturally arising from the sense of happiness,
Or you can nudge it by focusing on your closed eyelids,
As if you'd be staring at a turned off screen,
And in your own time enter the second jhana,
Allowing the new state of absorption to settle,
If there's any distraction,
Mind wandering,
Physical sensation,
Don't be reactive or worrying about any of those making you fall out of the state,
Simply go back where you had been,
Realizing that the jhanas are waiting for you right where you had left them,
Really enjoy sukha,
You might notice that there's a feeling of groundedness,
Stability in the lower torso,
Your hip,
And now start to acknowledge a tingling on the entire surface of your skin,
Of your body,
As if you'd be mere boundaries,
Surface,
Allow this to be your focus of attention,
Might be a bit uncomfortable,
I'm feeling a contraction around my heart,
Let all just be there,
Knowing that what we're doing is good for our well-being,
And when you're ready,
Enter the third jhana,
Giving yourself fully to the experience,
Allowing yourself to be in this sensation of not having a core,
To be like a donut,
Be pushing to the boundary of your sensory field,
Relax,
Let any contraction fall off,
Allow yourself to arrive in the shift from sukha to upekka,
Equanimity,
Unconditional loving,
A feeling of heartfulness we rarely experience,
Be grateful for what meditative practice is making possible,
You'll notice that there's still effort needed,
Just acknowledge that,
Get into the flow of it,
The flow of impermanence,
Allow the relaxation even further,
And now start noticing if there's a point of attention offering itself to you,
Try focusing on that and its flow of impermanence,
While for me I'm going with the entire sensory field when I'm dropping the attention on the surface,
To follow a feeling of sinking in,
Going down towards the ground,
A bit like falling through a translucent mirror,
Dropping into a state that's outside of the physical,
From gross to subtle,
Entering the fourth jhana,
Try to be at ease,
Relaxed with this new sensation,
An even stronger presence of upekka,
Equanimity,
There might be slight confusion about the dislocated awareness you're having right now,
Just allow it so that it gets more stable,
A small glimpse into what we can call no self-awareness,
State might emphasize itself,
Particularly if we're only in light jhana,
So there might be another flickering and you can just continue where you have been,
And now without remorse acknowledge what you have seen and go back into the third jhana,
Emphasizing your surface,
You might compare how the third jhana feels different now,
Then slowly regressing into the second jhana,
Closed eyelids,
The groundedness of sukha,
Shifting into the first jhana,
And then with a sigh exiting completely,
You might notice a feeling of lightness,
Remnants of relaxation,
And still it can feel a bit like being kicked out of paradise,
Just be with that,
Notice it,
Any sense of clinging,
You can now use all of this concentration by continuing with inside practice,
Directly using the state of alertness,
Heightened concentration,
And if not just slowly come back,
Move your fingers,
Body,
Stretch,
