fred flinstone:
1. Should I attempt to suppress my thinking? I've stopped suppressing thoughts because I think my intellect is supposed to be just like any other sense, but now that I've stopped I seem to be less in EE more just in felicity. Is this due to me being unable to separate identity-thoughts from 'out-from-control' thoughts? Should I just try and not think?
like feelings, i think try not to suppress or repress thoughts in particular. but generally it seems like a good idea to be focusing more on your senses than your thoughts. thoughts are quite sticky and tend to carry around lots of identity with them... if you find yourself in mind-loops, then maybe apply more sensuousness, become more fascinated by what's around you.
a better scale to look at, instead of thoughts vs. no-thought, might be mindful vs. not-mindful. if you're mindful of your thoughts, along with everything else, then they won't be a problem, and shouldn't take you out of EE mode since they won't be going off on their own, uncontrolled. in essence, be as attentive of them as anything else - don't just decide to not suppress your thinking but then stop looking at them.
fred flinstone:
2. Is challenging beliefs/instincts as silly enough to eventually get rid of them? People are often talking about things like physical triggers and alot of stuff that I don't seem to be able to do with a pre-path-access-to-first-jhana skillset, or maybe I just don't quite know what I'm supposed to do, but is that necessary or can I just keep intellectually seeing things as silly? Specifically in reference to instinctual passions, these seem to be things utterly outside of the realm of intellect, is intellectual perception able to touch them?
well, as your practice progresses you'll start focusing on different things. do you have a particular issue with an instinctual passion now that isn't going away just by thinking of it as silly? if not, i'd say to come back to the question when you do.
EDIT to add: i say that because, if challenging the instinct as silly causes it to abate, then that is, indeed, all you need to do. but you have no way of knowing until the situation actually comes up.