eighth jhāna: neither perception nor non-perception (Pali nevasaññānāsaññāyatana , Skt. naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana ).
(copied from Wikipedia)
Does anyone know any resources or videos that go into depth on explaining how to achieve these meditative states?
Last month I first heard of putting the meditative awareness on awareness itself in Michael Singers book The Untethered Soul. Then I heard it again briefly mentioned in one of Andrews Q&A sessions.
I am really fascinated by this and would really love to learn more and be pointed in the right direction to the best resources (books/links/videos) explaining in detail this process.
Another I’ve worked with is “The Mind Illuminated,” a secular look at the path to (secular?) enlightenment focused on detailed meditation progression.
B. Alan Wallace also has “Stilling the Mind” focused on Shamatha meditation. He also talks about Shamatha and placing the mind/body “in its natural state” in “Dreaming Yourself Awake”
I tend to prefer the more (to me) “holistic” meditations with open eyes, since my goal is lucid dreaming / dream yoga, so I’m trying to achieve concentration and presence within an active visual field. this probably won’t be as deep as single point focused meditations like “breath on the nostrils” meditations, but I think still that it’s more appropriate for my goals. Also, I’m working on the Naropa/Niguma tummo meditations which emphasize active energy visualizations in the channels/chakras.
Yes, via his students Jonas and Gosia. They have a great site and teach classes with Lama Glenn’s blessings: https://www.ganden-rimey-choling.com/. It’s just the right speed for me, they just started a new tummo cycle two weeks ago, focusing on the Chakrasamvara generation stage practice, and as I noted, the tummo of Niguma and Naropa
I’m more of a beginner but I agree. The associated readings are also spot-on. I’m finishing “From the Heart of the Chenrezig” which has a marvelous chapter by The Second Dali Lama, a Treatise of The Six Yogas of Niguma.
I’m a complete beginner in the tummo stuff, and am just beginning to look more into the core teaching of Buddhism, so I’m really just out of the starting block myself
Dreaming Yourself Awake arrived yesterday. Going to try to start reading it tonight, or this weekend. Will add the other 2 books to my reading list, thank you.
I can definitely see how this would really help with lucidity while dreaming. I started doing this last week when you recommended it. I think it is more difficult than eyes closed meditation, but I agree with you that the benefits are numerous.
The progression of concentration skill with eyes open may be slower compared to eyes closed, but I think the applications for dreaming may be much more on target. I also want to use meditation as a way to fall back asleep quickly, and traditional meditation considers falling asleep a “failure” of sorts, so I read meditation instructions with a grain of salt about what is good and bad.
Another B. Alan Wallace book on shamatha is “The Attention Revolution,” which I think is his own content. “Stilling the Mind” is a translation/commentary on a Tibetan treatise on shamatha.
