Hoping for some tips here.

I'm rereading MCTB and trying to start an insight meditation practice.

Today I sat for a modest 15 minutes and practiced noting.  I was in draft from swamp cooler, in a room with finches, so I noted air on my right knee, air on face, chirp, breathing in, out, etcetera, and of course there was an endless supply of these things.  I find that coming up with words is cumbersome and I think maybe a quick syllable like "ah" to acknowledge sensations might be better.  (First question: Does that sound right to compress notes down to one syllable for everything?  I see from other logs that this isn't a novel idea, so maybe I've answered that question.)

I have a couple more problems/questions.

I hadn't sat for long before I found myself dreaming.  I don't think I was fully asleep, but my mind was drifting off into the nonsensical sensations and scenarios that I associate with falling asleep.  Once that starts, the noting becomes infrequent.  My attempt to notice anything about those sensations didn't go so well, either, as I just drifted off into la-la land.  It's not an active process like day-dreaming or thinking which I know how to interrupt.

At night, I'm sleeping as well as I ever do and I don't think I'm in a state of sleep deficit.

So that's my second question.  What to do about drifting off?

Then there is the matter of investigating the three characteristics of my raw experiences.  It seems to me that this investigation requires thinking, such as "Oh, that breath will never happen again...  I wanted more out of that moment... That thought wasn't me."  Am I mistaken about this?  What is this investigation really supposed to be like?

Would appreciate feedback.

Thank you

Hi Sam,

Many people on this board have recommended abbreviating noting in the past, as you mentioned, particularly as the frequency of noting increases.  It may be useful to shorten the verbal discursive thought note to simple syllables as your noticing speeds up (e.g. "ta, ta, ta" "da, da, da") I find it useful to note the sense door I am attending to and then notice the vibratory quality (impermanance) of that particular sense door (e.g. touching/feeling, smelling, tasting, seeing, hearing, thinking.) Another thing I've found usefull in my own practice is noting particularly salient habitual patterns that tend to come up alot such as "judging/evaluating", "craving", "controlling." I've also found it interesting to note as a sort of mantra or calling up a particular phenomena such as "releasing", "ease","resting", "disenchantment." I find that these qualities are often present and noting them brings them to the forefront of attention. As far as sleepiness, I tend to get sleepy too and have come to accept that if I fall asleep, then it was probably the perfect thing to happen in that I probably needed sleep. Also, I do alot of reclining meditation when on retreat, alternating between sitting, and reclining, and have found that when I fall asleep during these times there is an interesting lucidity to the sleeping that I don't often get when not immersed in retreats.  Many have mentioned dream yoga in previous posts on this board and I am beginning to see how this is possible and useful. I have found that these dreams are an opportunity to continue the practice while asleep and interestingly some of the content/metaphors within the dreams have been helpful for my practice as well.  If you wish to remain awake and not fall asleep, maybe alternative postures and or energetic practices (e.g. tai chi, yoga, walking, standing etc..) would be helpful to counteract sloth/torpor.  Also, simply noting "tired" "heavy" "sleepy" may be helpful, just notice it and move on without identification. Regarding the awareness of the 3 characteristics I generally find impermanence as the primary characteristic that presents itself in all sense doors and the disatisfaction and no separate selfness of phenomena seem to present themselves naturally as sensations become increasingly subtley impermanent.

I hope this helps.

Metta,

Drew

Hi and welcome to the forum,

 In addition to the other reply, drowsiness despite a good night's sleep is so common it is designated as one of five mental hindrances. When one stops to think of all the nutty stuff one's mind can do and yet there are only five mental hindrances (in this paradigm) and sleepiness is one of them, then one can know: It's very common terrain. 

So you're dealing with, if I read you correctly, the mental "sloth" not physical "torpor". This is about attention. Just like when one is absorbed in a loved hobby and time flies and one stays up for hours and hours without concern for food or sleep, there is a state that is it's opposite: I guess that's sort of a laxity-boredom combination. 

Over time, a person can be aware of the dreams coming up, going away, the lurching body, then waking up. If it's just mental dullness, I think this usually only lasts about 15 minutes. If it lasts longer and I cannot shake it-- I take a nap.

Best wishes.

Try using 6 words at first - Thinking, Feeling, Seeing, Hearing, Tasting, Smelling. actually just the first 4 are the usual ones but if you smell and taste include them. Add more as you find useful...or not. when you are in a state that your super fast, then go for the da da da.

Don't worry about it too much at first, no sense to beat yourself up about anything as you start out. I did most of my "meditation" in a recliner starting out and I would often drift and often sleep. I personally think that good work can happen at this subconscious level. often I would come back from these refreshed and would meditate really well. Find a balance that works. (funky cool stuff can happen on the borderline of sleep...enjoy)
It's fine to start out thinking about it and noticing opportunities to apply the 3C's I still do that but then when the habit is formed you'll find that you don't have to intellectualize it as much as discern it as it occurs.
Good luck
~D

That's very common. It's called "sloth and torpor" in the old texts and the Buddha laid out an entire protocol for dealing with it. You can read more here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pesala/Pandita/html/mara.html#Sloth

As long as you can note consistently and pay attention, it doesn't matter if you are drifting off, since the 3C's manifest in every state of consciousness.

Thank you all so much for the very helpful replies.  It occurred to me after posting that, "Oh, I could just stand up if I start to drift off."  Obviously I need longer sessions, and if my meditation turns out to be a nap instead, then I need to try again.

And I am reassured that investigation into 3C's won't always be "just more thinking."

Appreciation to all