I think this thing is working. I realized that I can work my way through re-ob no problem. My technical meditation mind is stronger than my mind which buys into crap (current trend which is subject to change). I was even having the worst day content wise but I still made it through. But the dark night yogi crap is still there the rest of the day and suffering is still present in my cutting edge insight territory. It's that darn stream entry bug.
The binary noting of thinking/silence helped so much. It was like a stepping stone because I now note specific thoughts much easier after only practicing a couple of days. Usually I feel aversion to the thought of having to note and aversion to noting itself. That has been greatly reduced. From this I also noticed the tension in my throat when I note, a new and interesting sensation, which was possibly a hinderance (I need a lawyer for all these hinderance divorces).
I think I just have to notice all thoughts and the mental stuff located around the
seat of the soul in the middle of my head. I notice attention, effort, direction, movement, space, choice, searching, investigation, noting, center, periphery, anticipation, expextation... what else is missing? questioning.
This is all in a kind of
fish bowl of sensations related to the visual field being formed with the body and other sense doors. Present moment snapshots.
When I'm really going it like this it's the best time to contemplate "be here now" and give up seeking. I noticed the here of each moment, as well as the now of each moment, playing with them. I couldn't seem to notice a difference between time and space from this experiential point of view. This is my secret weapon for dealing with my stream entry desire. I can't just give up that desire on the spot, it arises and passes of its own accord but it always seems to arise when I
think I'm standing on the bank of the stream, which is usually when I'm noting the detailed subtleties around the center point. If I'm just aware of the moment for the moments sake I become forgetful but still aware. So I see some combination of this "standing on the stream bank" noting around the seat of the soul and "fish bowlin" it, to balance and strengthen this process of stream entry happening.
By seat of the soul I just mean center point. Less technical more poetic. I love the phrase. I gotta have fun with this thing.