Best way to fix a Jhāna flat tire, and the J.A.S.I. ("Jazzy") effect.

Introduction

I've been reluctant to share this method for a long time, because it requires the aid of a modern invention, rather than being pure old school and relying only on one's own wits and perseverance.

But it's so effective and conducive to long term progress, I think everyone should have it in their tool kit, experiment with it and keep it open as an option when needed.

What is the J.A.S.I. ("Jazzy") effect?

 J.A.S.I. ('Jazzy'): ”Jhānic Automatic Spinal Inflation”

Short explanation: Specifically, this can happen with jhāna meditators when they sit or stand and relax, and they feel their spine automatically expand and lengthen on its own. 

More generally, other body parts, and eventually the whole body feels like a balloon expanding whenever one abides in partial or full jhāna in all 4 postures. 

Also see: jhāna force, and equation‍: quantitative analysis of jhānic force.

What is a Jhāna flat tire?

(You start off well enough with JASI and a fully inflated tire...)

This is when a jhāna meditator sits or stands in jhāna, immediately pacifies/relaxes and feels the instantaneous effect of  J.A.S.I. ('Jazzy') spinal and body inflation, and feels like the chief disciple Anuruddha, as if you could sit for twenty four hours straight without lying down because the spine and body are so light, so weightless, so comfortable it's just as relaxed as if you were lying down. In fact sitting in this posture is more comfortable than lying down, because you have no bed pushing and cramping (eventually) your spine. Your mind is lucid, energetic yet completely relaxed. It feels like you could effortlessly stay up all night, based on how you feel this moment.

Except the vast majority of meditators aren't anywhere near Anuruddha's league. After 3 hours, or 2 hours, or 1 hour, or even 15 minutes of sitting, you feel the spine deflate, collapse, and you feel a sudden strong urge to lie down and sleep. 

This is not the hindrance of sloth and torpor.  You've gotten plenty of sleep, rest, ate healthy and sufficiently, etc. 

This is the jhāna flat tire.

What causes the Jhāna flat tire?

The short answer, is whenever you jhāna (verb), the jhānic forces are always trying to clear blockages and heal health problems in the body, and expand the energy channels in the body. Anyone who doesn't have a high quality fourth jhāna, the jhānic forces are trying to fix the jhāna battery body infrastructure to be 4th jhāna capable. Jhānic forces trying to fix the body depletes your internal energy. When there's a big enough energy expenditure, then you suddenly feel sleepy and want to lie down, you could have been super wide awake just a second ago, you don't necessarily get a gradual transition. 

What is the best way to fix the Jhāna flat tire?

Most people will use caffeine, stimulants, and the usual tool kit of ways to deal with sloth and torpor.

Or maranassati (death remembrance, seeing urgency in how quickly death can arrive), will kick in some adrenaline and give you energy to stay up all night.

But what I've found, and I think I've tried everything over decades of practice, is while caffeine and adrenaline has short term effectiveness, it's borrowing energy from later that you have to pay back eventually. And I've never been able to get good or even 25% quality of my usual jhāna while under caffeine or adrenaline. The body can't relax properly and get sukha pleasure chemicals when it's hopped up on stimulants like that. 

Sure you conquered your mind today and stayed up and powered through sleepiness, but if you have to feel groggy for the next 2 or 3 days as repayment, the price for refusing to lie down,  this is not a great long term sustainable solution. IMO. The suttas maybe support this kind of cycle of pain, as a way to develop mental toughness.

My opinion, the best way is to lie down and take a power nap

In the EBT suttas, lying down to nap is the 8th and last resort (AN 7.61 I think) as a way to deal with sloth and torpor, after the preferred 7 methods fail to ward off drowsiness.

The reason for this is once you lie down, it's easy to fall asleep. And once you fall asleep, it's easy to oversleep and incur the problems that come with that (for example, feeling like your body is electrically fried, you feel even more tired than before you slept). 

 One thing we have that the Buddha didn't is the alarm clock.

So here technology offers an enormously effective tool we have that the Buddha didn't.

It takes trial and error to tune the variables and get it just right, but what I found after much experimentation, the best way to fix the jhāna flat tire, is to take a power nap with an alarm clock.

I usually set it for 10 minutes, 

But I  continue to experiment with smaller amounts, like 5 minutes, because as you get stronger, you try to reduce the crutch.

If I need more than 10 minutes, then I'll set the alarm for another 10 minutes, or 5 minutes, rather than setting the full 20 minutes I think I need. This is to prevent oversleeping.

How do you know if you're doing this right?

You'll know because your energy gets replenished and rejuvenated in a way that when you return to your sitting meditation, the flat tire is gone, and you can sit without a flat tire for a good stretch of time. 

But just like the question of how much is the right amount to eat every day and every meal, this takes trial and error, lots of it. And as your jhāna battery get stronger (or weaker from occasional illness), you have to keep adjusting accordingly. 

Lion posture is the best, but...

This also requires continual experimenting. Lots of  trial and error.

I usually alternate every power nap between lion posture on right side, and on the left side, and occasionally lying on the back.