I’m currently working on an article where I go more into the ins and outs of no-self states. I feel like they’re an interesting tool, but they also come with drawbacks. M.E. Thomas cites decision paralysis, worse retrospective memory, worse prospective memory, harder time relating to others, no way to act in ways that are not manipulative of the person “themselves” or “others,” etc. She’s writing a book about it too.
Personally, I spent 2025 in a state that felt very equanimous, though it was surely not as deep as your state. I loved it, but I also love being driven. So toward the end of the year, I started cultivating more A&P-like feelings, and I’m enjoying that too now and feel a lot more driven again. I might still go back, but from my A&Pish perspective, equanimity doesn’t sound super convincing. I suppose that’s a disadvantage because if equanimity doesn’t care about equanimity, it retains a lot of option value that the A&P invests.
I interviewed someone who’s always been in a state of equanimity (M.E. Thomas) and Daniel Ingram, who knows it well.
I’m currently working on an article where I go more into the ins and outs of no-self states. I feel like they’re an interesting tool, but they also come with drawbacks. M.E. Thomas cites decision paralysis, worse retrospective memory, worse prospective memory, harder time relating to others, no way to act in ways that are not manipulative of the person “themselves” or “others,” etc. She’s writing a book about it too.
Personally, I spent 2025 in a state that felt very equanimous, though it was surely not as deep as your state. I loved it, but I also love being driven. So toward the end of the year, I started cultivating more A&P-like feelings, and I’m enjoying that too now and feel a lot more driven again. I might still go back, but from my A&Pish perspective, equanimity doesn’t sound super convincing. I suppose that’s a disadvantage because if equanimity doesn’t care about equanimity, it retains a lot of option value that the A&P invests.