Is this the "witness"?

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N A, modified 13 Years ago at 9/6/11 7:13 PM
Created 13 Years ago at 9/6/11 7:13 PM

Is this the "witness"?

Posts: 157 Join Date: 7/10/11 Recent Posts
So I was sitting there doing noting, maybe 4-6 things a second, fairly concentrated, not in any identifiable ñana, when it occured to me that if the goal is to observe everything as it happens, I'm not really doing a good job: I'm not noting, or noticing, or being aware of the times when I'm not noting anything!

So I tried the following: after each note, go to being aware of just sitting there not doing anything (while I look for the next sensation to note). More in the sense of "well, here I am right now, doing nothing" than looking for any specific sensations that correspond to it. Almost immediately, within 10 seconds maybe, I got the familiar sensation of "falling into" a concentrated state and got into some kind of jhana (probably first).

Was this the "witness"? I'm not sure what exactly (what sensations) I was aware of, it felt more like concentration on being concentrated, or concentration on nothing, although the intent was of being aware of just existing, without any specifics.
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Villum (redacted), modified 13 Years ago at 9/7/11 6:57 AM
Created 13 Years ago at 9/7/11 6:57 AM

RE: Is this the "witness"?

Posts: 60 Join Date: 3/24/11 Recent Posts
Well, it might have been. I have fallen into the witness while doing similar practices. It usually shows itself either as sensations and awareness focusing in near the third eye, or as a sense of being an observer, seperate from everything, perhaps located inside the head.
What you were doing sounds, from my experience, likely to bring up the witness, but there is really no way to tell without further exploration.

Do you have access to the 6th jhana. Once you do, the witness gets much easier to identify, as the centerpoint of boundless (threads) of consciousness.
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Ross A K, modified 13 Years ago at 9/7/11 11:29 AM
Created 13 Years ago at 9/7/11 11:29 AM

RE: Is this the "witness"?

Posts: 123 Join Date: 6/15/11 Recent Posts
Looking at what is looking, awareness of awareness, concentration on concentration, .......
actually it is more proper to say dwelling in/with the witness/awareness itself/ mind looking at mind. this brings up the fact that if you can see it its not the witness, because the witness is the observer not the observed. you can endlessly try to find a location to no avail (because its just a fabrication, empty of self). But, It is totally possible to dwell with the witness, to merge with it.
the mind stands alone, one. when seeing the one, with wisdom it is seen as nothing. nothing for bullshit to stick to, one is released, or at least steps in the stream.