Comment by theptip
1 month ago
Some of these esoteric states are really weird, and it seems crazy to me that we are only now investigating them. This isn’t just “energy” woo that can’t be measured, there are clear physical phenomena.
Another good one is Niroda Samapatti (cessation) where advanced meditators can momentarily cease awareness https://awakeningdharma.org/havard-study-on-nirodha-samapatt...
Made me think of "How to do the jhanas" by Nadia Asparouhova: https://nadia.xyz/jhanas Cessation is impressive and the rest too.
Humans have been researching alternative states of mind since beer was invented, at least. With great interest and investment.
Of course, I should have been more clear, I meant that we are only now investigating these states with modern scientific rationalist/empiricist approaches.
Eg the example I gave has apparently never been measured before the last couple years, despite being known in the Buddhist tradition for thousands of years.
Perhaps not known to Westerners though, it could just be that more esoteric states are only recently being described in English.