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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.