As I wrote in another thread, I've been focusing on concentration/jhana lately, with a little success. I usually do 1-2 hours daily, mostly working on jhana, but varying (see below). I usually do daily metta, dabbling with AF (although I ask HAIETMOBA a lot, and it does seem to help although I've yet to have a full-blown PCE, maybe an EE). Occasionally I'll work with the I Ching (usually on personal relationships). Although I am focusing on jhanas, as you can see, I mix it up a lot. E.g., I've had some extraordinary and affecting (heh ;-) ) experiences over the last week doing some of Kenneth Folk's spoken-noting. It's like I'd never felt my own lips touching before... This last week I sat with a Tendai group and then a Theravadin Thai group.
Today I did about 2 1/2 hours.
AM - 1.5 hours: 1 hour doing vipassana, but got distracted and finally decided to do a little walking meditation and go down stairs to do some kasina flame work (1/2 hour). Lit incense and candle. Only did about 10 minutes before I felt adequately concentrated. As I watched the retinal "burn" blink "on" and "off", it looked as it has in the past: oblong, fist or heart shaped. Usually red with a green aura, set in a larger dark area (I assume this is a residual of the dish the candle was sitting in). The aura "flame" later changes to blue with a dark aura. It has what appear to be cracks all over it, but I can't get close enough to see what design they might make. I noticed odd these ziggy-zaggy lines also outside the "flame" and for the 1st time I notice it resembles the cover of MCTB... then it gets crazy.
I clench my eyes and wait for the blinker, but just before this, I see a cloaked skull. Then a full-on skull. Simply white. It's crystal clear, where I expect the back of my lids. Then there are leaves, evenly placed over the visual field, the skull in the background. Leaves, wtf? Then the oblong retinal burn of the kasina flame is back, but this time is surrounded by an aureole of stylized flames, right out of the Nataraja images of Shiva. The flames all lick to the right, but they're not actually moving; it looks like a painting. This stays for a while, perhaps 10-20 seconds. Bizarre. However, I was trying to imagine a skull during some concentration a while back (body parts; I had read a sutta that mentions this that I looked for this same morning), so I can see how I might have suggested this vision.
Afternoon - almost an hour: I tried to do some jhana work (breath between upper lip and nose). This time I tried to just stick with the object of meditation, but had a very distracted session with two door bell rings at 25 minutes in and then a coughing fit at 45 minutes. I gave up shortly thereafter.
EDIT: grammar, clarity
