It sounds like a meditation-like state. Focussing very deeply on something—in your case, the book I guess—can make all other sensations fade into the background. There are many kinds of concentration meditation that are like that. On the other hand, you do seem to be aware of these going on and that is more like mindfulness meditation. The Mind Illuminated teaches that both are needed in advanced practice. Maybe you lucked into a comparable mind state. Can you reproduce it intentionally?
I’ve never tried to make it happen intentionally. It does seem to happen more often when most of the lights are off and I’m the only one still awake, so maybe it is a focus/attention thing. Something about the combination of low mental effort, low sensory input, and the pleasure reward from reading?
It sounds like a meditation-like state. Focussing very deeply on something—in your case, the book I guess—can make all other sensations fade into the background. There are many kinds of concentration meditation that are like that. On the other hand, you do seem to be aware of these going on and that is more like mindfulness meditation. The Mind Illuminated teaches that both are needed in advanced practice. Maybe you lucked into a comparable mind state. Can you reproduce it intentionally?
I’ve never tried to make it happen intentionally. It does seem to happen more often when most of the lights are off and I’m the only one still awake, so maybe it is a focus/attention thing. Something about the combination of low mental effort, low sensory input, and the pleasure reward from reading?
Probably.