How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Brad John Turner, modificado hace 4 años at 11/05/20 14:33
Created 4 años ago at 11/05/20 14:33

How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 11 Fecha de incorporación: 12/04/20 Mensajes recientes
After a long while in the dukkha Nana's, I have reached what I believe to be low equanimity.  It is definitely an ease compared to where I had been before.  What should my practice focus on at this point?  I know one often slides back to reobservation which has happened once already, but in terms of striving and focus on noting, concentration, how should I got about my practice?  Thanks!
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Papa Che Dusko, modificado hace 4 años at 11/05/20 16:12
Created 4 años ago at 11/05/20 16:11

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 3060 Fecha de incorporación: 1/03/20 Mensajes recientes
I can only talk about my own experience;

Yes, one can not just slide emoticon but be catapulted back into the Re-observation and that can really be painful.

So No.1 lesson for me was to not (NOT) cling to the niceness of the EQ once out of the ugliness of Re-observation. THIS is really important.
EQ is just like anything else; A mind stage! As you know these come and go, pass and arise etc ... none to be had, owned, none permanent, none self. 

If you indeed are there then just follow whats there. Be gently curious. Notice sensations that use to be unpleasant now being just Ok-ish. Keep noticing that Neutral feel around objects. Note the concentration being wide and all inclusive (no sharp focusing here). If you are there then effort is really just being noted as part of the All-inclusivness hence no need for it really ... Laid back watching as you would watch a bright blue sky with clouds cruising on it ... 

Others might have more to say. 
Brad John Turner, modificado hace 4 años at 11/05/20 19:28
Created 4 años ago at 11/05/20 19:28

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 11 Fecha de incorporación: 12/04/20 Mensajes recientes
Thanks man good advice!  Compared to where I was before I definitely had been clinging due to fear of going back and I can see the hinderance in it.  I noticed immediately I could sit much longer and have been obsessing over pushing myself in sitting time to firmly solidify equanimity.  I'm thinking this might be a wrong attitude though.
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Steph S, modificado hace 4 años at 11/05/20 20:25
Created 4 años ago at 11/05/20 20:16

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 672 Fecha de incorporación: 24/03/10 Mensajes recientes
Equanimity can't be solidified, so yup, I agree with Che. Also, it is totally natural even in Equanimity for subtle fears and doubt and stuff like that to still arise. Don't let that throw you off. If fear, doubt, frustration, or other emotions most people would consider "negative" arise during Equanimity, the trick is to just notice them and let them do their thing until they pass. I know it can throw people off when feelings like that arise in Equanimity because they assume it's going to be this totally chilled out, non-chalant experience. It is chill, and spacious, and there is for the most part an okayness with experience (which is what equanimity is all about)... so the key is to gently notice whatever arises and let it do it's thing, whether you perceive it as positive, neutral, or negative. Incorporte as much of the field of experience as you can, without lazer beaming into things or trying to gun it really hard.
A Dietrich Ringle, modificado hace 4 años at 11/05/20 20:42
Created 4 años ago at 11/05/20 20:42

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 881 Fecha de incorporación: 4/12/11 Mensajes recientes
Skipping jhanas is a cool trick. Not that I ever did this of my own free will outside of jhana practice, unless I was going for pureland jhanas Iread, I didn't like them that much anyway) or N.S. Third jhana is actually friendly some of the time, equanimity can actually be quite hostile to ill-informed thinking. Equanimity can get really convoluted and I have spent hours just trying to chill and reading science articles. Ultimately though the choices we think we have are taken from us.

DIetrich
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Pepe ·, modificado hace 4 años at 11/05/20 22:19
Created 4 años ago at 11/05/20 21:43

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 740 Fecha de incorporación: 26/09/18 Mensajes recientes
Below a link to a compilation of posts of a seasoned meditator (Shargrol) with lots of pointers about Equanimity:

- Transition to Equanimity
- Real & False Equanimity
- Equanimity, aversion, greed and ignorance
- Balance as a metaphor for Equanimity
- Low Equanimity 
- When in Equanimity…  
- EQ, the floating peanut & mindstream of thoughts 
- The real trick in Equanimity 
- One way to go wide in Equanimity
- Equanimity isn't just the clear, calm, open 'state'
- Balancing Vipassana and Samatha: give yourself permission to feel pleasure, and get used to being a passenger instead of the driver
- Let yourself 'die' in Equanimity
- The transition from Low-EQ to High-EQ
- Cultivating acceptance towards absolutely everything is the gateway to High-EQ
- Relax and Stay Gently Curious in High-EQ
- Solidifying EQ
- Dreamlike state in EQ
- While in High-EQ, see the weirdness of self
- Classic High-EQ experiences
- Nibbana is in the spaces but the mind doesn't know how to find it

Link
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Papa Che Dusko, modificado hace 4 años at 12/05/20 2:41
Created 4 años ago at 12/05/20 2:41

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 3060 Fecha de incorporación: 1/03/20 Mensajes recientes
Brad John Turner:
Thanks man good advice!  Compared to where I was before I definitely had been clinging due to fear of going back and I can see the hinderance in it.  I noticed immediately I could sit much longer and have been obsessing over pushing myself in sitting time to firmly solidify equanimity.  I'm thinking this might be a wrong attitude though.

As Steph pointed yes there can be other stuff in EQ like fear as you are aware of. Watch that too. Actually when I think about it, it's not that we can cling to EQ but to that Fear of falling back into Dark Night hence trying to solidify the EQ feel of OK-ness. 

You say now the sits are longer and you can sit with ease. That's cool. Be open to another development as it just might pop up; Status-quo-like boredom in the later EQ stage. That too is fine. Sits might go down to 45 minutes only but that's ok as in that phase EQ is also evident during off cushion. Off cushion might be best just to live your life as per usual. You do stuff, walk your dog, or wash dishes or go for walks ... no need to really obsess about anything which should come to you naturally anyway. 
But do try and maintain at least one 45 minutes sit daily. 

It's a lovely sunny day here in Denmark emoticon I just might open my beehives and see what my dear ladies are up to emoticon (it's a swarming season you know, yes I keep bees emoticon buzz buzz ) 
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Dream Walker, modificado hace 4 años at 26/05/20 9:17
Created 4 años ago at 26/05/20 9:17

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 1770 Fecha de incorporación: 18/01/12 Mensajes recientes
consider that within EQ, that there may be a 'sub' progress of insite stages that leads to -

EQ.EQ

and thats where awakening happens
look and see
~D
shargrol, modificado hace 4 años at 26/05/20 9:59
Created 4 años ago at 26/05/20 9:59

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 2694 Fecha de incorporación: 8/02/16 Mensajes recientes
+1 

The EQ nana is vast... yet finite.
Ben Sulsky, modificado hace 4 años at 27/05/20 14:47
Created 4 años ago at 27/05/20 14:47

RE: How to practice after reaching low equanimity?

Mensajes: 170 Fecha de incorporación: 5/11/19 Mensajes recientes
For me EQ was really long (as measured in chronological time and also number of practice hours spent) and there's all kinds of sub nanas that go on.  EQ also included a lot of progress followed by regression (at least if progress is measured by the conceptual framework of a linear map model where we're going for path).  Anyways.  

Also, my brain did some weird (I think atypical stuff) the first time I hit EQ.  I hit EQ for maybe a few days or a couple weeks and then drifted back to the A&P and did the whole dark night again, before getting back to EQ.  This happened 4-6 times before EQ finally stuck.  I've heard of a lot of people going back to reobservation but haven't heard of many going all the way back to A&P and through DN again.  It might sound like I'm describing Review, but I'm not, this was definitely just a backward and forward progression up and down path nanas.  

EQ tends to be rich in paradoxes, and it might work well to emotionally accept that you'll ping pong between "lower" nanas and EQ.  That might build some meta equanimity surrounding your progress on the path which might help EQ stick better and be explored.

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