Inedible wrote:
It would be nice to have all [8] levels of Jhana. I have struggled for a long time to get the 1st Jhana. It doesn't help that there are so many different ways of teaching Jhana and many teachers have reasons why everyone else is wrong. If I had found one solid approach with a clear map and signs to look for I might already be there.
Correct
The number one thing is the “discernment of teachers.” Who is true and who is false? Without discernment, you will never find your way through the confused morass of ideas which exists in the world
Gurdjieff presented the idea of the “magnetic center.” What he meant by this is that each experience of trauma - each experience that disillusions us with the world - should accumulate and form a kind of “center of gravity” within us. This “serious” part of ourselves then lets us see the falsehood and hollowness of all the people around us, and lets us identify those who are sincere and who are seeking the answers to the questions of “old age, disease, and death”
If you want to attain the first jhana, you must pass through the first descent into hell
To pass through this transformation, you need to orient yourself properly so you are fully committed to the spiritual path
It should be the focus of all your interests, all your goals
You should have nothing take precedent over it
Keep studying and cultivating your intellect
And as Jeff would say “the process unfolds naturally”