How to Access Deep Bliss and Wellbeing with Jhana Meditation - Stephen Zerfas

Stephen Zerfas is the CEO and co-founder of Jhourney — a tech startup scaling transformative meditation through a data-driven lens, guiding complete beginners into deeply absorbed meditation states known as the jhanas in less than a week. Stephen discovered the first three jhanas through his own practice and, upon learning of their profound history, made it his mission to bring them to as many people as possible. He has since trained with leading jhana teachers including Leigh Brasington and Delson Armstrong. Jhourney has served over 1,300 alumni with a 60-70% success rate helping participants access the jhanas on weeklong retreats. Before founding Jhourney, Stephen worked as a software engineer at Lyft and a management consultant at Bridgespan, a Bain affiliate. A University of Notre Dame graduate, he lives in the Bay Area with his wife and daughter.This conversation was recorded live during Limicon, a digital conference for people in the liminal, Game B, and metamodern adjacent spaces.In it, we explore what the jhanas are, how Stephen discovered them through self-experimentation, and why he decided to found a tech company that teaches them.We get into the guesswork problem of meditation and starting Jhourney, whether the jhanas are universally discovered states, what they actually feel like, and the concept of super wellbeing — taking the technology of meditation seriously.We also explore the main barriers to accessing the jhanas and how to orient to the meditation by reflecting like a scientist and playing like a child, before Stephen guides us through a live "towards jhana" guided meditation.We close with a group discussion on what role morality plays in meditation, or must play, and the biggest concerns around jhana meditation practice.🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗Jhourney website Subscribe to Stephen on Substack A video capturing the intensity of the jhanas from people on retreat A Jhourney retreat reflection Meditation safety podcast — David Treleaven on meditation safety and jhanas How to cry on cue The Mind Illuminated — Culadasa🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️0:00 - Introduction2:49 - The contemplative corner of the liminal web6:12 - How Stephen discovered the jhanas on his own12:22 - The guesswork problem of meditation and starting Jhourney17:23 - What are the jhanas?20:26 - Are these universally discovered states?22:44 - What do the jhanas feel like?24:15 - Super wellbeing and taking the technology of meditation seriously27:07 - Main barriers to accessing the jhanas34:50 - Orienting to the meditation — reflect like a scientist, play like a child38:10 - Towards jhana guided meditation1:18:19 - What role does morality play in meditation?1:28:09 - The biggest concerns of jhana meditation practice*Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox