The later stages of the SigmaTropic Systematic Practice (level 3 and 4 selfless perception) impart a practitioner with meditation skills that a normal person without supramundane knowledge does not have. A meditator practicing in the SigmaTropic system will experience a wonderful process of mental unification, starting with their first sit and culminating in synchronization into persistent, complete, non-dual perception. The process of insight in the SigmaTropic system is intimately related to the process of the development of calm abiding.

The insights that we learn about the nature of mind directly affect how we experience meditation. At level 3 selfless perception, the meditator has almost completed the process of mental unification – their mental faculties are keen to have attained level 3. When a level 3 practitioner sits to meditate, they experience an unfolding of processes related to unification of mind.

In the beginning stages they will experience manifestations of energy and it is allowed to flow freely. As our perceptual abilities increase, we gain an increasingly subtle awareness of the energy moving through the body. For a level 3 practitioner, immediately upon sitting, there are pleasant rapturous waves of energy that move through the body and soothe all bodily fabrications. It may take a few minutes to reach a full state of unification, but the body and all the senses change completely. The sense of the body is much different, we seem to be wrapped in a blanket of delicious, centered comfort. There is a markedly different perception of the body, and it can be ignored from conscious experience completely if that is the intention. This shows the practitioner key insight into the fabricated nature of bodily perceptions. These circulating energy waves are felt, along with a fine vibration of all the body. These phenomena are very pleasurable, and even without entering any sort of jhana the level 3 practitioner has a quite pleasant abiding when they sit down to meditate. There is no need to grasp for the past or future because the practitioner has trained their mind to have a pleasant abiding in the now. The state of mental unification is like the most satisfying and contented feeling of comfort and presence with crystal clear alertness.

The body will cease to be experienced in the same way, and depending on the day and other factors, typically I reach a point in my sessions where there is a deep pervasive comfort and pleasure in the background. I feel so content I could sit there all day (and I sometimes do sit for multiple hours when I have time). Any object registers with a light intention in vivid spectacular crisp detail. The breath is a beautiful symphony of rich intricate vibrational sensations, and it is like switching a light switch to move into jhana, quite easy.

The external sounds fade and they are replaced by an inner sound. There is a light nimitta that begins to develop. The light nimitta is the most beautiful, spectacular display of light that the mind can fathom. It truly is magnificent and enrapturing, and it appears so speactacular that it is very engaging to stay with. Something about the vivid detail and spectacular brightness of the light, being a mental object, is very enrapturing. The nimitta is easy to focus on, and when I hold a light centering on the nimitta, the nimita and the mind “merge” and there is no longer a meditator, there is only the nimitta.

The various experiences associated with mental unification are covered in depth in the SigmaTropic System. We learn to facilitate and cultivate this process, to the culmination of mindfulness- automatic vipassana. These abilities that we consciously and deliberately cultivate through practice allow us to perceive reality a different and better way. When we develop these abilities, we can directly observe dependent origination in the perception of our bodily fabrications, which change completely and are replaced by various blissful and pleasant sensory experiences. This is just a single example of unification, which is an interesting subject covered on the site in various pages. Stay tuned for ongoing updates, writings and upcoming course schedules. A full insight map and guide to the stages is almost complete.