Some emotion and all thought is totally illusive. Is that right?

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Rich -, modified 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 6:55 AM
Created 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 6:55 AM

Some emotion and all thought is totally illusive. Is that right?

Posts: 64 Join Date: 1/12/11 Recent Posts
I need to know if I'm seeing what there is, or if I need to keep looking.

I find thought so difficult because it's so illusive. Sometimes I don't know what I'm experiencing in a moment and I can only put it down to some kind of thought, like "searching".

But in general all thoughts are extremely illusive. Sometimes I feel as if there is some movement or activity in my brain area, but most of the time I can't pin thought down to anything other than a completely spaceless extremely momentary thought.

Other times they don't seem so momentary, one thought can continuously come up again and again with the appearance of continuity.

I am having a lot of trouble getting to really see what thoughts are, because for me thinking and meditating at the same time is almost impossible. As a result I am either meditating, or thinking. So how it is possible to really know what thoughts are?

They seem to come and go so quickly sometimes. With physical sensations, if you miss one beat it doesn't matter, because you can be sure that in one second you'll get plenty of chances to "be aware" of their existence and look at it closely.

But with a thought it can sometimes come and go so fast that before you even note it then you're already looking at "the thought after the thought".

I am having a similiar problem with some kinds of emotions. It seems to me there is a spectrum of emotional experience which spans from very physical sensations, to very small sensations, to things that I can't even pin down to a physical sensation but that somehow have this great control over how I perceive reality.

For example I may think of something which is painful, and then I get this emotional screen come down where I suddenly am experiencing the world in a depressing and painful way, but I can't pin down where or what the depressing feeling is, just that it's somehow part of my experience.

On the other hand, sometimes emotional feelings appear in the body similar to physical sensations. (or perhaps this is an after effect of an emotion?)

Anger is the best example of that, I have observed the physical reaction of anger several times.

What's going on with this mess? How can I untangle it? Is it a question of developing a higher level of focus?
m m a, modified 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 11:23 AM
Created 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 11:21 AM

RE: Some emotion and all thought is totally illusive. Is that right?

Posts: 153 Join Date: 6/9/11 Recent Posts
um.

Do you mean elusive or illusive? emoticonemoticonemoticon

Either way, keep noting! Sounds like you are doing everything right. Note thoughts as thoughts, note feelings as feelings, physicals sensations as sensations. Don't worry about the 'difference between meditating and thinking'. Just watch!
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Rich -, modified 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 1:48 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 1:48 PM

RE: Some emotion and all thought is totally illusive. Is that right?

Posts: 64 Join Date: 1/12/11 Recent Posts
Good question to be honest... maybe I meant a bit of both.

Sometimes I think there is no thought, then I realise there is... "searching". Infact just by trying to note thought then there is "searching" if nothing else.

Sometimes if I note things in quick succession then my thoughts go a little crazy and I just note "confusion" because I can't pin anything down.

Sound right?

What should I do to improve this practice?
m m a, modified 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 3:09 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 10/1/12 3:09 PM

RE: Some emotion and all thought is totally illusive. Is that right?

Posts: 153 Join Date: 6/9/11 Recent Posts
I definitely note 'searching' quite regularly, for its sort of a mix between a thought and physical feeling, as if the mind is searching for the next thing to grasp onto.

The noting style can't really be 'improved'... just make sure to note what you are experiencing. It sounds like you are doing just that.


When you are noting rapidly, and then there suddenly seems like there is too much to note, leading to noting 'confusion', i'd say slow the notes down to a constant rate, say 1 or 2 per second and really perceive each moment on its own.

Really, though, it seems like you are following the directions nearly perfectly: Note Everything.
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Rich -, modified 11 Years ago at 10/2/12 5:01 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 10/2/12 5:01 PM

RE: Some emotion and all thought is totally illusive. Is that right?

Posts: 64 Join Date: 1/12/11 Recent Posts
Thanks for the clarification.
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Simon T, modified 11 Years ago at 10/2/12 9:15 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 10/2/12 9:15 PM

RE: Some emotion and all thought is totally illusive. Is that right?

Posts: 383 Join Date: 9/13/11 Recent Posts
One thing you can do is to pay attention to the flickering of sensations. You can take one sense (my favorite is sight) look at a tree or a candle flame intensely and pay attention to discontinuities. You can also do the same while paying attention to your feet. Since they are far from the center point where we create the sense of self, the flickering is more obvious.

Another thing that can be done is just let your awareness move around from one sense to another, like if you where try to be aware of all the senses at the same time, and pay attention to the little dance.

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