[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Chris,

The link is for the upcoming classes and the times are correct. We only offered one class last time. Do we have an incorrect date in there somewhere that made you think it was for the last course?

Thanks,
Blake

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Prashant,

I would generally say that your option A is the correct version. Please remember that these are moments of consciousness, so by definition you are “automatically” aware of them. There are specific practices throughout stages 3 and 4 (labeling and checking-in, intention) for increasing the number of moments of introspective awareness. Ultimately you want the proper balance between moments or attention and moments of awareness which TMI defines as mindfulness.

Best Wishes,
Blake

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Alex,

I am glad that I can be of service. Yes, I think the important part is to master the goals of each stage. The specific techniques are designed to help you do this, but I don’t think every technique or practice works for every student. This is where it can help to apply some discernment, and to speak to a teacher.

Best Wishes,
Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

I recommend exploring this with an open mind, because it could also be emotions that are arising. If you decide that it is energy or pacification of the senses, then I don’t recommend doing Stage 7 practices. In order to determine your stage, you need to look at several factors like, attentional stability, forgetting, gross distractions, subtle distractions, peripheral awareness, gross dullness, and subtle dullness.

These energy manifestations can occur at lower stages for some students, and you want to tailor your practice to your overall stage. The general recommendation in stage 7 is to ignore these things and return your attention to the meditation object.

Please keep us informed,
Blake

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

As a point of clarification, the early manifestations of energy or pacification often don’t contain any joy, but they can produce an anxiety like feeling and muscle constrictions.

However, if you feel that your experience is truly emotional in nature, then I would refer you to the section “Emotions, Memories, and Distractions” in Stage 4 of TMI.

Best Wishes,
Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Maria,

I think you could be experiencing something similar to Alex. Please see my response, to him, from today.

http://dharmatreasurecommunity.org/forums/topic/no-perception-of-breath#post-3143

Best Wishes,
Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Alex,

You could be experiencing energy currents and or the pacification of the senses. The TMI model predicts that these could arise in stages 7 or 8, but for some people they occur significantly earlier in the stages. Culadasa thinks this could be due to a partial unification of mind. It can manifest as muscle contraction or tension, and the energy can feel quit a bit like anxiety or the jittery feeling of drinking too much caffeine.

You don’t report any thoughts about traumatic experience, so this could be what you are experiencing, but only you can decide if there is some underlying trauma.

I recommend reading the section “Meditative Joy: From energy currents to the Bliss of Mental Pliancy” in the sixth interlude of TMI. Do any of these experiences resonate with you?

You could experiment with observing the breath at the abdomen to see if anything changes.

There are some techniques for working with this sort of energy, and some threads here that discuss it if you feel this could be what you are experiencing.

Best Wishes,
Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Darrell,

You are welcome and I hope things work out. I wanted to add that the energy (piti) can cause muscle contractions or tension. You might notice if this may be the cause of the tension. If you relax it, and it immediately comes back this could be the cause. If the tension only arises with the energy then this could also be an indicator.

Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the follow up information. I recommend letting go of expectations about what you “should” feel and just get curious about what you do feel. For now, at least, I recommend letting go of trying to notice details about the breath. Just intend to notice what an in breath feels like, then notice what an out breath feels like, then repeat. Try to let go of expectations. I think some people expect to feel something stronger or more profound than what is actually happening. I find the breath sensations at the nostrils to be a fairly subtle series of tingling sensations. Sometimes I notice temperature depending on the weather.

Your analysis and judgment are likely splitting attention, so you feel less than you would otherwise. You might also be stopping the process of feeling to see if you are noticing enough which further removes your attention from the sensations. It can really help to know when you are doing this.

You have probably had an insight into the fact that “you” can’t force your mind to notice or feel more than it is capable of, and that it can be quite frustrating to try. Your mind will tend to sharpen over time, but trying to make it happen is like continually digging up a seed to check to see if it is growing.

As for effort, you really only need the intention to notice the breath. Our natural tendency is to put a whole layer of effort on top of that. As soon are your attention moves to something else, then you renew the intention to feel the breath. You may have to renew that intention numerous time throughout a meditation session. Notice how you intend to do other things in your life like walking or reading. Do you have to put a lot of effort into that or micromanage the process?

Please let us know how things are going.

Best Wishes,
Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Alex,

I have a couple of follow-up questions. You state that the breath sensations are too subtle to detect.

Do you put your attention on the sensations at the nose?

What sensations do you feel that let you know you are either breathing in or breathing out?

Please describe what you feel while observing the sensations of the breath? Do you have analyzing and judging thoughts while doing this? Do you get upset or irritated when you think you are not feeling “enough”?

Best Wishes,
Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Alex,

That would be great for you to do this, and it would be appreciated. We have a volunteer task force that is just starting on some projects to organize and coordinate Culadasa’s teachings among other things. As part of that we are planning to create a Wiki with information about Culadasa’s teachings for both students and teachers.

You may contact me via private messaging in the forum, and we can discuss how to proceed. If anyone else is interested in helping out, please respond here.

With Gratitude,
Blake

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Darrell,

I would recommend staying with this simplified practice until you have mostly overcome mind wandering, and you gain a clear awareness of where your attention is moving moment to moment. At that point you can let go of noting all distractions and just focus on the ones that are the strongest, like thoughts. When you notice a subtle distraction (brief movement of attention to something) you can simply redirect attention at that point without necessarily labeling it.

I am finding that there is a percentage of TMI students who do better with a simpler practice. For some students using the “Following” practice helps them stay engaged, but for others is leads to over efforting, and a loss of awareness. You could fall into this latter category. I am hoping this noting practice will increase your introspective awareness. I am also hoping that you can learn to see that “You” don’t have to make awareness happen, you just have to keep from zooming in on the breath so closely that you block it out. I am guessing that you also have quite a bit of analysis going on that is further splitting attention.

You may have already read this, but I would refer you to Culadasa’s post on attention and awareness.
http://dharmatreasurecommunity.org/forums/topic/questions-and-clarifications-about-peripheral-awareness

You might also experiment with walking meditation as described in the appendix. It is sometimes easier to see how peripheral awareness works, because if you don’t have it you will run into things or trip. Walking is developing the exact same skills as seated meditation.

As for the energy sensations, these come up earlier than predicted for some students. This can cause an agitation that can make it difficult to connect with the meditation object. It could also be caused by excess tension. You might want to spend the first couple of minutes of your sit relaxing, and notice if tension arises during your sit, and if so note it. I would definitely include this agitated energy in your noting.

I am happy to give you more advice in the future as you try this different approach.

Best Wishes,
Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Darrell,

Your following statement makes me think you are at stage 2-3 somewhere.

“I’m unable to keep the attention on the breath for more than three cycles, at most. One to three cycles, and it’s forgetting into mind wandering”

I recommend highly simplifying your practice for awhile. Just rest your attention on the breath without trying to do anything else. If you notice anything that takes your attention away from the breath, label it with a simple mental label. Like thinking, hearing, emotion, feeling (for body sensations). Then bring your attention back to the breath.

So you will just be knowing if you are feeling the breath or if attention is moving to something else. Don’t worry about beginning, middle or end of the breath, or maintaining peripheral awareness. The labeling should take care of peripheral awareness.

This practice will be building the skills of directing and sustaining attention and the labeling should help develop introspective awareness. The big key to stabilizing attention is knowing when it moves. Labeling a thought also has the benefit that it usually stops when you label it.

Please give it a try and let us know how it is going.

Best Wishes,
Blake – Dharma Treasure Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Filipe,

The way that you can block peripheral awareness is to focus on the meditation object so closely that you aren’t aware of anything else. Have you ever had the experience that you were so engrossed in something (book, movie, hobby) that you didn’t hear someone speak to you?

You are correct that peripheral awareness happens automatically if you are not so focused that you block it out. It is actually easier and more natural to have peripheral awareness than to not. The natural tendency for some people is to zoom in very closely to the breath, especially when trying to notice more detail, and this results in a loss of peripheral awareness. If you are aware of anything else while your attention is centered on the breath then you have peripheral awareness..

The “maintaining” of peripheral awareness means having the intention not to focus too closely on the meditation object, and noticing whether or not you are aware of other things (sounds, body sensations, thoughts). It can be really quite simple.

Blake – DT Teacher

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi Mike,

I recommend trying to check in every six breaths or so without counting. If that doesn’t work, then you could try counting for awhile. I would let go of the counting as soon as you are able.

For your second question, I recommend taking a look at some of my replies about intention and peripheral awareness in the following thread starting with the May 28th thread.

http://dharmatreasurecommunity.org/forums/topic/impasse-at-an-early-stage

Best Wishes,
Blake – Dharma Treasure Teacher

[Author]

Posts