intense sitting today - 30 mins drinking in sound. still not sure about the delay thing but I was very aware of naming and visualising sounds which then led to judgements. followed a plane along its autitory path just hearing it, seeing colours and hearing the quality of the sound. wierd! then off to a spontaneous lunch in chateauneuf du pape!
Sat 15 mins this morning. Really really busy brain and a lot of focus and tolerance needed just to accept it and refocus on the breath and heart centre. It was like dealing with a hyperactive noisy dog who wanted to play all the time.
Again, aware of the alteration of my perception of time while meditating; I felt as if I had sat between 5-10 mins but it was 15 mins when I opened my eyes.
R & D: Thanks again for the support. Ruth, how wonderful to have a spontaneous lunch in Chateauneuf du Pape! Hope it went well.
Just catching up here...I've been in New York and then a seven hour drive back up to Montreal yesterday in torrential rain, and very tired and headachy yesterday and today. But even with all the travel and not feeling great, I've managed to keep at this, largely thanks to all of you. It's interesting how much the group and the posts (yes, we're all basically boring -- imagine if we were writing about exercising, it would be worse!) help me be more faithful to the practice.
Timers: I sometimes set a kitchen timer in another room and just let it go off when it does - not very elegant but why not? In my little studio in Vermont I use those half-sticks of incense in the variety packs - they burn for just about 20-25 minutes and are, of couse, totally noiseless. As an object of meditation, sometimes, I find the smoke from the incense both helpful and kind of profound.
Ruth - also - I connected completely to what you wrote about the event in the cello master class. For me this happened more in the visual arts, and differently, but that breakthrough into something beyond perfection and doing it by the rules was very very important - as well as very scary. Thanks for writing that here.
Did not sit yesterday at all. :-( Must rethink strategy for weekends. In the meantime, aiming for this evening again.
Beth, I might be able to use a timer if it were in the other room. Thanks for the thought.
I "third" it -- Mary, sounds like you've a lot going on, but whether or not you feel that way, post if it is responsive to you to do so and I will be reading with interest.
I loved coming back here this morning (Monday) after a few days away. You're all so interesting and lovely and I so much appreciate reading what you write (bored? never! the daily twists and turns of other people's minds are what fascinate me more than anything).
I did sit for 10 or 15 minutes each morning while away. It was such a different experience sitting in a big house in the middle of miles and miles of open space. It's actually pretty quiet where I live, but I guess it's just all the people packed in around me, their stress and frantic city lifestyles... this is what permeates the air I breathe in when I sit. So breathing in forests and lawns and very few houses for miles around was amazing. (house full of snoring students probably less stressed than my neighbours, too!) Important to be able to do both, of course, to be able to meditate always and everywhere, not dependent on surroundings. But lovely to have this sometimes.
-- Sorry for that ungraciousness. I have long and unhappy experience of online Buddhist groups being hijacked by grandstanders and fundamentalists. So far I've been happily surprised by this group. I'll just keep my fingers crossed.
10 Comments:
Sat last night, early enough to do it properly. I think that's the first Saturday I've managed to do so.
I'll second Ruth, Mary -- anything you want to post I'll want to read.
intense sitting today - 30 mins drinking in sound. still not sure about the delay thing but I was very aware of naming and visualising sounds which then led to judgements. followed a plane along its autitory path just hearing it, seeing colours and hearing the quality of the sound. wierd!
then off to a spontaneous lunch in chateauneuf du pape!
Sat 15 mins this morning. Really really busy brain and a lot of focus and tolerance needed just to accept it and refocus on the breath and heart centre. It was like dealing with a hyperactive noisy dog who wanted to play all the time.
Again, aware of the alteration of my perception of time while meditating; I felt as if I had sat between 5-10 mins but it was 15 mins when I opened my eyes.
R & D: Thanks again for the support. Ruth, how wonderful to have a spontaneous lunch in Chateauneuf du Pape! Hope it went well.
Just catching up here...I've been in New York and then a seven hour drive back up to Montreal yesterday in torrential rain, and very tired and headachy yesterday and today. But even with all the travel and not feeling great, I've managed to keep at this, largely thanks to all of you. It's interesting how much the group and the posts (yes, we're all basically boring -- imagine if we were writing about exercising, it would be worse!) help me be more faithful to the practice.
Timers: I sometimes set a kitchen timer in another room and just let it go off when it does - not very elegant but why not? In my little studio in Vermont I use those half-sticks of incense in the variety packs - they burn for just about 20-25 minutes and are, of couse, totally noiseless. As an object of meditation, sometimes, I find the smoke from the incense both helpful and kind of profound.
Ruth - also - I connected completely to what you wrote about the event in the cello master class. For me this happened more in the visual arts, and differently, but that breakthrough into something beyond perfection and doing it by the rules was very very important - as well as very scary. Thanks for writing that here.
Did not sit yesterday at all. :-( Must rethink strategy for weekends. In the meantime, aiming for this evening again.
Beth, I might be able to use a timer if it were in the other room. Thanks for the thought.
I "third" it -- Mary, sounds like you've a lot going on, but whether or not you feel that way, post if it is responsive to you to do so and I will be reading with interest.
I loved coming back here this morning (Monday) after a few days away. You're all so interesting and lovely and I so much appreciate reading what you write (bored? never! the daily twists and turns of other people's minds are what fascinate me more than anything).
I did sit for 10 or 15 minutes each morning while away. It was such a different experience sitting in a big house in the middle of miles and miles of open space. It's actually pretty quiet where I live, but I guess it's just all the people packed in around me, their stress and frantic city lifestyles... this is what permeates the air I breathe in when I sit. So breathing in forests and lawns and very few houses for miles around was amazing. (house full of snoring students probably less stressed than my neighbours, too!) Important to be able to do both, of course, to be able to meditate always and everywhere, not dependent on surroundings. But lovely to have this sometimes.
On this day, "100 Days" was an item in Blogmandu, the weekly Buddhist blog roundup.
I learned about this blog from a earlier notice posted in the blog meditateNYC's weekly feature "Wednesday Blogma."
Word is getting out, Dale. At this rate, you'll be more famous than Cindy Sheehan by Christmastime.
-- Sorry for that ungraciousness. I have long and unhappy experience of online Buddhist groups being hijacked by grandstanders and fundamentalists. So far I've been happily surprised by this group. I'll just keep my fingers crossed.
Dale,
I think [and hope] you'll be visited by only friendly swarms of interested outsiders.
But, yeah, definately, the friendly folks you have commenting now are a bounty. As much as any man needs.
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