Thank you for the clarification – apologies – I read hastily last night and did not consider the sutta carefully. I will pass this along and follow-up.

Best,
Bobby

By strange coincidence I was discussing Bhikkhu Analayo’s definition of sati as “bare attention” with another teacher-in-training today, and wondering how that fits into TMI’s translation of sati – and I’ll just say parathethetically that in past conversations, I recall Culadasa is more apt to link sati with awareness rather than…[Read more]

Can you elaborate on how you are “noticing the sensations more deeply”? What does this entail?

Also, what do you do differently when you meditate “gently”?

Thanks,

Bobby – Teacher In Training

Regarding mind settling, all I can tell you is based on experience from my own practice – but I have tended to assume consistent and diligent practice were the most important factors. Over a period of time, your average baseline that you start with might change as a result of applying yourself to the practice diligently.

What frame of…[Read more]

Regarding timeline for “settling period”, I think it can certainly vary for individuals, but nonetheless it’s not unusual to experience several different stages in the course of a sit. Though I will say candidly that not having greater sensory clarity for the first 20+ minutes of your practice suggests to me that it might be of use to…[Read more]

I understand where you are – I too came to TMI from years of experience with other kinds of meditation practice, and I was initially bewildered by the wide array of concepts and terms, unable to really pinpoint where I should be practicing. Be patient and diligent, and you will eventually find greater clarity.

To better help you, I’d…[Read more]

I will, for example, drive down a road and…[Read more]

> I am assuming the individual concurrent mental processes refers to awareness. Is it same as awareness of the states of mind. What objects does this awareness include? Can it be considered as a sensory field as it includes many items?

I think you are correct but I would place more emphasis on your description of “field” than…[Read more]

If I may interject – I get the sense from your wording that you are imagining that attention should be able to turn introspectively and look at the mind as a singular “thing” that “has a state” – but these are just concepts that we build to make sense of our experience, *after the fact of having “looked”*. In a sense, I think of this as…[Read more]

Thanks for the response. I experimented with the witness practice a little bit but I’m not entirely sure I am grasping it. I’m not terribly confident I’m finding the still point.

I have a very vivid and clear sense of various objects arising and passing in awareness, and occasionally I’ll consider – “what here is not changing?”. And…[Read more]

The first time it occurred it was completely by surprise, I had no emotional build-up or forewarning at all. At other times, it has felt like an energetic sensation that moves up the abdomen, and by the time it reaches my head…[Read more]

I am familiar with Leigh Brasington’s book, “Right Concentration”. In fact, I *think* I’ve had some success with the first two jhanas – at least, they seem accessible. I will continue to work with these practices – it hadn’t occurred to me that they might in fact help calm piti. There is a…[Read more]

Are you sure you are still at stage 4? Do you still experience gross distractions/dullness ( though I realize the distractions question may be hard to answer, since the piti related phenomena can be so distracting!) Can you discern long breaths from short breaths?

Best,

Bobby (not a teacher)

> In order to access and keep the whole body jhanas going does one have to maintain the focus on breathing with the whole body instead of placing attention back on the breath at the nose?

Yes, that is my understanding. The jhana is accessed by widening the field of attention (and sustaining it) on breath sensations in the whole…[Read more]

In my opinion, body sensations and sounds can still be in peripheral awareness while successfully maintaining exclusive focus. The key is that subtle distractions do not occur, because you have developed sufficient introspective awareness, and can refresh the intention to contact and sustain attention on the breath when needed.

I…[Read more]

I don’t think it is necessarily faintness per se – but rather a less conceptualized experience of the breath, which can manifest perceptually in a variety of different ways.

I have experienced the loss of the in/out breath concepts you described, but it wasn’t because the breath was so subtle that the inhale/exhale couldn’t be…[Read more]

Blake, I have noticed (frequently) in my sittings that the “volume” on sounds in external awareness varies quite a bit – sometimes sharply diminishing rather quickly, as if receding into the distance or as if the volume knob was suddenly turned down. This sort of thing started happening before the…[Read more]

Thank you – I was able to find some interesting material on Ajahn Sumedho and Nada Yoga.

With Metta,

Bobby

I have, for the past month or so, experienced a pronounced ringing in my ears, even off the cushion. It seems to have developed recently after having ramped up my cushion time from 30 minutes to hourly sits for well over a month now. During sits, the ringing changes tones – seems to split into chords even; some low, some high – it…[Read more]