I am having some trouble. It seems I am locked in to some kind of psychosis. I can ride the jhanic arc by repeating the word "renunciation" but then the whole thing stalls if I try for 5th.
​​​​​​​I don't really have the desire to hang out in 4th but sometimes that's the only option I have and the liminal spaces are opening up. Scary

Concentrate on the object and treat anything else as distraction.
If you have time wondering what jhana you are in and how it feels then this isn't good concentration practice.
Not that jhanas cannot be done differently but you still need to have sufficiently good concentration so concentrate.

So you are using a mantra of "renunciation" to get concentrated. Maybe that takes you to 4th or not, but to construct 5th jhana you need to stop the mantra and focus on spaciousness. Chill more and feel into space.
Good luck
~D

Thank you for responding!

I am reluctant to say this but I am quite dependent on Ativan to maintain my equinimity. Maybe not but rational self says yes.