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July 5, 2016 20:22
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2016-06-16T22:17:51Z — Last night I drank too much alcohol (about 220ml of | |
vodka over three hours), enjoyed myself for a while, then went to sleep | |
between 22:00 and 23:00. I woke up around 01:30 with a terrible headache. | |
This is six-times distilled vodka and I drank some water (but perhaps not | |
enough). It was complicated by taking in a lot of caffeine the previous day | |
and none today. The pain was not unbearable, but was far from being | |
comfortable. I took 162mg of aspirin, but couldn't keep it down. Taking too | |
much APAP or aspirin upsets my stomach in a way that my usual 600mg of | |
ibuprofen does not, but I had none of that on hand. I knew I was going to | |
puke as soon as I got the usual feeling in my throat. Because I had woken up | |
from a good two to three hour nap, I was not tired in the least bit. While I | |
could have taken additional aspirin after puking, I don't do that because I | |
don't want to take too much, even though I was fairly certain that most of it | |
was puked up before it could take effect. There was nothing else to do but | |
ride it out until I fell asleep, so I started watching some videos for a few | |
hours. I put a wet cloth over my forehead to give me some relief, but | |
eventually I was exhausted and unwilling to continue watching any videos. I | |
shut off my monitors and continued to lay on the floor with two pillows | |
propping up my head, but now with my eyes closed. I was breathing heavily | |
through my mouth instead of my nose as I normally do. The mind does an | |
interesting thing during a headache, which is my reason for writing here | |
today. All of the excessive and unnecessary thinking stops cold and is | |
replaced by either wishes to stop the pain or some plans to correct or | |
otherwise avoid allowing it to continue. While it is possible that some small | |
amount of the aspirin was taking effect and I was tuning into this to notice | |
it as it came through, I find this unlikely to be the cause of my experiences. | |
There was nothing to do but watch my breath and lie there until the pain | |
dissipated. It's a noticeable shift when it does; suddenly the musical | |
remembrances start up again and there is a willingness to indulge in future | |
planning or coming up with distractions. There is no feeling of boredom while | |
riding out a headache, as the mind is unified in its desire for the pain to | |
stop and little else. So it's here that I bring up a point that I think I | |
achieved access concentration and entered the state of a first jhāna while | |
lying there on the floor. Normally at this time of night and in this | |
position, I'm drifting into sleep and have frequent rollover signals that | |
prevent me from staying still long enough to gain concentration in anything, | |
but here those did not occur. I moved to my side a few times, but the general | |
feeling was that moving my position would not improve or shorten the headache, | |
so there was no reason to do anything but lie still and breathe. The | |
stillness caused a distinct state switch that I would have to assume is jhāna. | |
I've few things to compare to this experience; there is the feeling of | |
beginning a lucid dream, and drug experiences. I have to give reasons why it | |
was like neither of these. Both of these involve thoughts and excessive | |
thinking. While there were some dream-like thoughts occurring with nonsense | |
premises, I believe these were only coming through clearly because the other | |
parts of the brain that perpetuate rational discursive thinking were not | |
active during this time. These types of thoughts were not so common as to be | |
the main focus of the experience. Instead, I was feeling the location of the | |
strongest pain and focusing on my breath. I made no efforts to stay perfectly | |
still or to do anything in particular. There were about three interesting | |
instances of what I have to consider jhāna. It was like a cool wave going | |
over the whole body and temporarily obscuring the pain, then a distinct | |
feeling persisted until I started thinking of other things, such as miserable | |
thoughts. It lasted more than fifteen seconds both times. While exiting the | |
state, there was a perceptible energy that outlasted the state and I could | |
hang onto for a while longer, slowly dissipating until I ignored it. I wasn't | |
following it too close, but recognised that it was present. There was | |
something moving through my neck, but due to having my head propped up too | |
much it felt as if it was blocked. The third time I entered this state was | |
the most spectacular. I started off, but stayed longer until the energy built | |
up in my neck and burst through as it were, leaving a unique feeling | |
reverberating through my spine. I've likely felt this before on weed, but | |
this is likely the first time it has happened on its own. I exited this state | |
with no special feelings about repeating it. After enduring the headache for | |
a while longer, I fell asleep on the floor (something rather uncommon for me | |
to do otherwise) and slept for at least four or five hours. I believe the | |
reason for these experiences was the lack of much thought occurring naturally | |
and the stillness. If it happens again, I will know what it is now. |
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