This is part of my meditation journal. See the first post for additional details.
In my second attempt at Hear In, I again started to have a little trouble with the mental noting perpetuating mental noting ("Hear rest, hear rest, hear rest, ..."), so I altered the instructions to work with a different domain: I tried imagining a stoplight. Noting "Hear In" was a green light. "Gone" was a yellow light. "Hear Rest" was a red light. This partially worked. I say partially because I would often mentally say the light color instinctively as I was imaging the light. However, I did not string these colors into chains of noting.
Just as before, my thoughts seemed "anxious" to be born, as if I was trying to walk on "idea eggs" without breaking their fragile shells and releasing them into my mental space.
Overall, I did not notice any improvement from the last time, and it seemed like several more thoughts ran through my head than before. I was also having some difficulty with my posture this time. I'm not expecting to be able to levitate after just a few sessions. This is a longer learning process for sure.
This is quite an interesting series. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea egg imagery! I tried doing a little hearing meditation while walking. The increase in awareness is startling. It made me feel a bit like my dog, who is constantly sniffing out things the humans around her don't notice.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're enjoying it, Paul!
ReplyDeleteThanks DorOrDoNot! That's an excellent simile with your dog. And I must say, I'm impressed that you could handle hearing meditation while walking. I think I would have tripped and bumped into things! I'll get there sometime I hope, but now I think I'd be like one of those cliche people who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. :-)