[Tord HelsingengMember]

Thank you Blake, yes this new awareness of subtle dullness is very useful! I think it’s actually “against the rules” for Do Nothing to try to maintain anything, but I get your point. As long as I keep being aware of subtle dullness in my other practice, I would expect it to seep into the subconscious habits so that it is automatically corrected for when being choiceless. It will be interesting to see how the practice unfolds 🙂

[Tord HelsingengMember]

Hi Blake and René,

Blake, thank you for asking. Well, using the Shinzen lingo, the factors would be 1) a majority of silence in talk space and peace in body space 2) a kind of concentration that effortlessly “glues itself” to the chosen object and feeds upon itself 3) a sense that all experience is created of flow/anicca on one hand and emptiness/fullness on the other.

I think one reason that it has been easier for me using Shinzen’s method, is that I have worked a lot with quite different approaches than the early stages of shamatha vipassana. For instance Doing Nothing, working directly with not-knowing mind (which in a sense is kin to choiceless awareness), and also working directly with vanishings. Furthermore, I have been switching techniques a lot during a sit (algorithmic approach).

However, I am very pleased with the development using Culadasa’s method. One important reason for studying this method is to hone my concentration skills, and I do already notice the fruits from this practice. It has been fun to travel the ladder in some sits, steadily eliminating the different kinds of distractions and noticing the increased clarity and mindfulness.

René, thank you for your suggestion. I am doing body scans regularly now and they are really wonderful. I noticed yesterday when doing a strong determination sit how the consciousness of the full body kept the pain at bay, in effect reducing it to subtle distraction. And then, when moving the focus to the nose, the pain increased to a gross distraction. I switched between the two and it was very tangible. It could have been some kind of placebo or power of expectation phenomenon, but nevertheless interesting.

Thanks again to both of you to offer this service. It’s very helpful. Wishing you all the best!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by  Tord Helsingeng.

[Tord HelsingengMember]

Hi René,

Thank you for your informative answer!

I am sorry that I was a bit unclear about what I mean by Doing Nothing. The definition of this technique that Shinzen uses is “Let whatever happens happen, but as soon as you are aware of an intention to control your attention, drop that intention.” So, yes, it’s one way to practice choiceless awareness. When there is an element of focus and concentration in the practice, however, we call it Focus On Everything in the Basic Mindfulness system. That is also a way to interpret choiceless awareness. There are possibly others too in other approaches.

As I am still exploring the “map” and terminology suggested by Culadasa, I have decided to put my effort into master stage four. This seems to be my baseline stage, although I can dip into stage three if I’m tired. Tt’s also quite possible that I levitate towards stage five (or higher?), but since Culadasa advices that its extremely important to develop metacognitive introspective awareness, I will make sure that I am strengthening this part. So in a 60 minute sit, I am devoting at least 30 minutes to stage four practice (if I am not forced to practice stage three).

However, what I am finding is that I am not going so deep into samadhi than what I would do practicing Shinzen’s method. In Basic Mindfulness, breath is often not the primary object, there is rather a diverse range of focusing options and ways of practice – however not as “vertically” oriented as Culadasa’s method. I am not sure what my experience signifies, but I think it’s interesting. Perhaps it’s a bit like when sports people reinvent their technique and it takes time to get back into the groove. One could perhaps argue that the flow state described under jhanas is also relevant at lower stages, although not so intensely honed (this feeling of a state that “feeds” upon itself)?

All the best!

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