It might seem like the universe has been sending you signs lately, but you are perplexed as to how to make sense of the message. This might be the optimal time to discover the power of jhana, a Buddhist mediation that helps people strengthen their concentration skills. Jhana is systematic practice that hones your sensory and psychic abilities to a point where you can ready minds, notice a sight or sound from a distance, and gain intimate knowledge of another person. The immense power of jhana is recorded in sacred Buddhist texts including the Path of Purification and the Yogas of Naropa.
Psychic abilities are frequently misunderstood by Western cultures. This may be attributed to a inability to conduct studies that delve beyond the levels of standard consciousness. Grad students aren’t lining up to test one’s psychic abilities, instead they seek to study more concrete and tangible sensory abilities. In Buddhist traditions, meditators are taught to master practices depicted in sacred texts. To be able to hone psychic abilities, one must first be willing to embrace their existence. Only then can a person be able see a sudden appearance of a rainbow in a bluebird sky, sense a person’s situations from a vast distance, or know that the Monarch that landed on the porch was a sign from a deceased loved one.
When a person uses jhana effectively, they can learn how to wisely wield their psychic gifts. This is because trained practitioners know the profound power of the supernatural and dangers that can arise when misappropriated. Jhana implores us to sacrifice our ego and release the false bravado of pride. It warns of the dangers of ambition and attachment in order for us to be gifted the blessing to attain moments of bliss. Without this ability, people peak, then crash, experience that depth of loss and frustration that St. John of the Cross described as “the dark night of the soul.”
The purpose of strengthening one’s concentration is not to grasp at a goal, but liberate the soul. Proper concentration skills reveal the daily world to be inconsequential and a mirage. When we meditate, we expose ourselves to the baselessness of life. As our ability to concentrate grows we being to see ourselves more in the lens of spirit rather than body. As the mirage of attachment dissolves, we are able to experience true balance. Jhana allows us to be present in light of the façade of consciousness. It allows us to free our soul and in this liberation our spirit gains wisdom. Even in the most blissful or surreal state during mediation the lesson of jhana implores one to observe, experience, but never cling to the experience. This concentration will allow you to flex your psychic muscles as you are opening your heart, and mind to know true spiritual freedom. In this freedom you can better receive vital messages from the Universe to transform the way you see and interact with the physical and spiritual worlds. When you can see the wisdom of the Universe you can become reawaken that to secret beauty the surrounds us all.