[i] Here, the monk, detached from sense-desires, detached from unwholesome states, enters and remains in the first jhana (level of concentration, Sanskrit: dhyāna), in which there is applied and sustained thinking, together with joy and pleasure born of detachment; [ii] And through the subsiding of applied and sustained thinking, with the gaining of inner stillness and oneness of mind, he enters and remains in the second jhana, which is without applied and sustained thinking, and in which there are joy and pleasure born of concentration; [iii] And through the fading of joy, he remains equanimous, mindful and aware, and he experiences in his body the pleasure of which the Noble Ones say: “equanimous, mindful and dwelling in pleasure”, and thus he enters and remains in the third jhana; [iv] And through the giving up of pleasure and pain, and through the previous disappearance of happiness and sadness, he enters and remains in the fourth jhana, which is without pleasure and pain, and in which there is pure equanimity and mindfulness.
This is a description of the first four states of Buddhist meditation or ‘concentration’, as it is sometimes translated. This is the eighth element of the Noble Eightfold Path. What is meant in this description is very clear. It is pure religious practice, the essence of prayer and contemplation. It is that which leads to the ‘presence of God’ in Christian mysticism. It is communion with the Divine, the experience of transcendent Cosmic Consciousness that underlies and oversees our small consciousnesses. The Buddha taught a path of ethical purity, diligent mindfulness and non-attachment to anything that detracts from a clear mind, an unencumbered mind. In this sense, Buddhism is a pristine spiritual elixir with no added vocabularies, stories, beliefs or ornamentation. The ‘going out’ or ‘cessation’ of all hindrances to achieving jhana and samadhi states is nirvana. In this sense, Buddhism is a universal religion that focuses directly on the goal of all ethical religious practice—direct knowledge and communion with ______; use your own word(s) for that. ABN
Full quote: “The Jews, I find are very, very selfish. They care not how many Estonians, Latvians, Finns, Poles, Yugoslavs or Greeks get murdered or mistreated as DP [displaced persons] as long as the Jews get special treatment. Yet when they have power, physical, financial or political, neither Hitler nor Stalin has anything on them for cruelty or mistreatment to the underdog.”
Handwritten note by President Harry S. Truman dated July 21, 1947, summarizing remarks made during a meeting with former Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr.
This is profoundly true. The Western failure to understand human savagery and differences in ethics and morality is a root cause of the downfall of the West. At one end of the spectrumare deranged savages as described above. At the other end are deranged savages who act in groups. The most sophisticated and dangerous group at this end of the spectrum is Jewish Supremists who are very clearly pursuing a strategy of lethal parasitism against the West and also annihilation of all of their perceived enemies, which will include the West once we have helped them destroy their neighbors. Their intransigent belief in their own superiority, coupled with what appears to be gene-based self-deception, has given rise to their religious fantasy of world domination. The sheer craziness of their ideas shows that group dynamics do not need to be based on reality; indeed, group bonds can be even stronger when they are based on delusion. I mention Jewish Supremacy in this context because they are very clearly the major proponents of mass immigration invasion of the West. This should be obvious to all thoughtful Westerns by now. They also very clearly have total control over the Trump administration, as they did over Biden, Obama, Bush, and Clinton… ABN
Most of us go through periods of stress in our everyday lives – but there are actually seven types of ‘hyperarousal’, according to a new study.
Researchers say the feeling of tension can be teased out into distinct subgroups.
This includes anxious, somatic, sensitive, sleep–related, irritable, vigilant and sudomotor – and each are characterised slightly differently.
Perhaps the most well–known, the ‘anxious’ feeling of tension, is defined by being worried or concerned about something bad happening in the future. It can also indicate feelings of guilt or fears about missing out on things.
Feeling ‘sensitive hyperarousal’ indicates emotional vulnerability and being easily startled, the scientists explained.
Another common source of tension is ‘sleep–related’ – defined by trouble falling or staying asleep and leading to trouble being mentally alert.
‘No previous study has addressed the unresolved question of whether hyperarousal may be one common…construct or rather has multiple dimensions,’ the team, from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, wrote in the journal EClinicalMedicine.
‘This study discovered seven different dimensions of hyperarousal and provides a concise instrument to assess them.’
Psychology gets lots of stuff wrong, but generally does a good job with descriptive overviews like this. This study is based on a questionnaire of 467 adults, all of whom had some sort of psychiatric diagnosis. Seems worth thinking about. Anything well described constitutes or can lead to useful explanations, which may yield methods of control or intervention. ABN
Experienced FIML practitioners enjoy levels of metacognitive control ordinary humans cannot even dream of.
This control comes after years of diligent FIML practice. It happens because the skills acquired through FIML combined with its metacognitive results allow practitioners to practice FIML on themselves.
FIML practice gradually removes virtually all communication error between partners. This error-removal process is ongoing because all living systems must continually remove waste and error to function optimally.
Successful FIML results in two major achievements:
very clear, optimally functioning cognition and metacognition
the skill-set needed to attain the above
When these achievements have been realized, FIML practitioners will find they are able to rather easily apply them to their own introspection, their own subjective states while alone.
Ordinary people cannot do this because they have not experienced the metacognitive states brought about by FIML nor have they acquired the skills to quickly remove error from their thoughts.
The FIML skills of quickly removing error from our thoughts cannot be acquired overnight. It must be built upon diligent practice and experience. You cannot imagine it into being.
Once these skills and experiences have become established in the mind as reliable functions, they can be applied to mental states while alone.
I have talked to some Israeli officials and read a good deal of Israeli media. Here is how the war in Iran is perceived there so far:
1) On a tactical level, they believe it has gone very well and Israel has destroyed more of the Iranian military capability than expected. 2) They are disappointed that the regime has not been weakened as much as expected and that they remain in firm control. In particular the lack of a “rise up” among the population is a cause of concern. 3) They are finding Trump to be unreliable. While Israel favors a prolonged campaign to ensure total dismantlement of threats, Trump has signaled a desire to end the war “soon,” creating a potential rift in war aims. 4) Hezbollah is stronger than expected. It has hit Israel with drones and missiles and killed soldiers. They have recovered better than expected. 5) The inability of Ben-Gurion airport to withstand closing and chaos has shown fragility in Israeli social cohesion. 6) They are disappointed in the lack of support from Gulf States who want an end to the war rather than the escalation Israel wants. 7) Israel accepts that the regime in Tehran will survive and just hopes that this weakens them in preparation for the next round. 8) There is a growing fear among Israeli strategists that they are winning the war but losing the region. While military targets are being obliterated, the civilian infrastructure damage is causing a backlash. 9) The war is proving very expensive. The need to divert NIS 28 billion ($9 billion) to the military has forced the government to freeze social projects, leading to the first significant anti-government protests since the war began, specifically from the middle class bearing the tax burden. 10) They are aware that the war is very unpopular in the US and that Israel is being blamed. They are concerned about the ramifications for the alliance.
While Netanyahu is painting this as a huge success, it really doesn’t look like one to Israeli strategic planners. The public knows it as well.
Motorcyclists face the highest risk of fatal crashes in Florida, Texas, and Colorado, respectively.
Motorcycle fatalities are up 11% in the last 3 years.
In 2022, there were 6,219 motorcycle fatalities in the U.S. due to crashes.
Texas had the highest average annual motorcycle fatality rate at 13.69 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles. This is followed by Arkansas (12.79) and Missouri (11.51).
South Dakota experienced a 45% reduction in motorcycle crash fatalities between 2020-2022, the largest decrease of all U.S. states.
Harley-Davidson riders were the least likely to wear a helmet across different motorcycle makes, with 48% of those in fatal crashes not wearing one. But, their drivers were least likely to be speeding or racing, with only 9% doing so.
Reasonable and informative overview, unfortunately lacking per capita breakdown. Harley riders are least likely to wear a helmet due to the dumbass culture surrounding Harley. They are also the least likely to die while speeding or racing, due to the slowness of the bikes. I actually own a Harley Pan America (which is not slow) and enjoy it very much. Motorcycles in general define a subculture, and within that subculture there are many sub-subcultures. The Harley subculture is an example of how intransigent cultures can be. It has remained largely the same for many decades. The weird part of that is the Harley brand is the hardass maverick rider who does his own thing, while in reality it’s nothing more than a highly conformist style, which includes not wearing helmets. Still, I like Harley guys and all motorcycles. Besides helmets, very good body armor and airbag vests are available for all riders. ABN
American Buddhist Net 