Nav T:
Hi all,
I am fairly new to this forum and looking to setup a log; I have been keeping one personally for a short time and figured its better in public domain to keep feedback channels open.
Background: I have been meditating since 2013 mainly in the non-dual (Advaita) teachings for the majority of the time. What i found was although they got me into some bliss/centred states during meditation, i have had limited success integrating this into my life, and by & large patterns of reactivity still remained.
This year I finally did a 10 day Goenka retreat and found it very profound. Day 5/6 the teachings on impermanence had me grooving into some pretty ecstatic states especially when i applied them to my thoughts, followed by some "chasing the high" over the next few days and "mellowing" in the last couple of days. Since then I have stumbled onto MCTB/Shinzen/Folk/Mahasi choiceless noting techiniques which have now been practise for 2 hours/day for the past 5 months.
Although I dont know where i am on the maps, my sessions recently have been very positive with little struggle. On average i get very good conentration, am noting lots of body sensation, thoughts, images, urges and complex mind patterns. My noting recently has been lots of energy in the body, lots of buzzing, tingling & pulsing sensations. Although I am often mapping my state, I am certain i do not want to obsess over the maps, as i can see it very easily transferring the suffering from the real world into spiritual materalism for me.
I am aiming at stream entry and am working with a teacher, who has actually recommended the logs.
Look forward to this!
Nav
Hi Nav,
A belated welcome to DhO! It's a joy to have you in the sangha, you clearly bring so much to the table up front. I love this log format, it really does frame the sits beautifully and allows real accessibility to the development of various themes through time.
I have been meditating since 2013 mainly in the non-dual (Advaita) teachings for the majority of the time. What i found was although they got me into some bliss/centred states during meditation, i have had limited success integrating this into my life, and by & large patterns of reactivity still remained.
Amen on integration. This re-engagement with our lives, off the mat, is the perpetual frontier of growth, I think, and the place where the path is most interesting, once we've stopped identifying bliss with enlightenment, and enlightenment with some kind of inviolable achieved stasis as a Perfect Asshole. It is in being the imperfect assholes we are that we really learn, and that learning process should make us miserable enough to get us back to the mat regularly, until samsara is nirvana or something, lol, and all sentient beings are either saved or just plain over it.
As far as I can tell here so far, anything else I could say right now would be like painting feet on the snake, when the snake is doing just fine as it is. You go, amigo. And again, welcome to the sangha, and enjoy the ride.
love, tim