When to call it quits

Ian, modified 10 Years ago at 11/8/13 8:02 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 11/7/13 9:20 PM

When to call it quits

Posts: 16 Join Date: 8/16/13 Recent Posts
Often after 15-20 minutes of breath meditation I move from what sometimes seems like access concentration to a state where my mind slowly wanders from the breath every few breaths. For example, I would be feeling the breath enter and exit my nostrils and my mind would slowly produce an image of a gear or other mechanical system slowly making revolutions at the rate of the breath. I've also had the sensations of the breath somehow change into a very murky feeling of doing wrestling drills over and over again, or the sound of a rainmaker being turned over every time the breath goes from in to out and vice versa. When this happens I usually cannot regain any level of concentration for the remainder of the session. Would it be best to take a break and do something else for a little while(split the session in two) or to just try to power through it? To clarify, I'm not being taken away by thoughts entirely unrelated to the breath like how much fun i'm going to have at a party this weekend, but thoughts or sensations that the breath seems to transform into when my concentration wanes.
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Michael Cannon, modified 10 Years ago at 11/8/13 8:28 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 11/8/13 8:28 PM

RE: When to call it quits

Posts: 28 Join Date: 5/16/12 Recent Posts
ian garner Myers:
my mind would slowly produce an image of a gear or other mechanical system slowly making revolutions at the rate of the breath.


Are you saying you're not consciously trying to produce these images?

Because a mental aid for the breath can be beneficial in the beginning. I've used an hour glass image. The most narrow point between the two bulbs is the spot where I picture the breath passing and I latch on to it. Picturing the breath as a wave works, picturing a Guard standing post at the nostrils, picturing the breath changing color as concentration increases and piti rises, etc., etc. Many ways it can take form. The point is to help with stability.

If you don't want images to rise, try different approaches. One approach is knowing the breath at the bottom of the inhalation, in the middle and at the top. Then back down for the exhalation. You can mentally note it too. Say: Bot, Mid, Top. Then you'll get to a point where you don't need the note, you'll just "know" you're at the bottom, middle or top. Another approach is counting the exhalation. As soon you exhale, you count one-two-three-etc. all the way to the bottom of it.

All of this is to help train your mind to come back to the breath after it wonders. And sometimes you need a little dimension for your attention to come to, as you can stay with breath and still be thinking a million other things. Different approaches with images and the like help take up more bandwidth and get you used to "returning," then "staying."

At some point you drop all this crap and it's just unbridled breath baby! Pure and raw. And the breath is great, but the most important thing is unbridled mindfulness, cutting edge, in the moment.

Thinking about gears? KNOW you're thinking about gears. That's being Alert. Is it throwing you off your game and you know from past experience your concentration is better when you stay with the sensations at the nostrils? Move it back to the sensations. That's called being Mindful. Keep wandering off? Keep bringing it back. That's called being Ardent.
Those are the three things that will really give your concentration practice the firepower it needs to get the thing cranking.

Don't Stop!! You need to practice with things that your mind does which suck and are unhelpful so you can learn your way out of them. That's the only way to build a strong foundation and get you ready for the juicy rewards of jhana.
Ian, modified 10 Years ago at 11/9/13 6:28 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 11/9/13 6:28 PM

RE: When to call it quits

Posts: 16 Join Date: 8/16/13 Recent Posts
Thanks for the advice! I'll keep it up.

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