A different way to place the mind on the object?

[Bill H]

Double posting this here and on DHO for more feedback

I would like some feedback on this -

So recently I had a few days where I just kept going back to the breath in the navel region *all day long* as much as possible. Mental stability on an object is not my strong point at all so keep that in mind. For me 5-10 seconds on an object without getting pulled off is a miracle (although there seems to be progress in this this week) - how I ever crossed A&P so vividly a few years back I will never know (as I recall I did lots of pinpoint concentration for hours before noting)

I noticed placing the mind on the object was an interesting thing in and of itself, and having a naturally curious bent I started to wonder at the mechanics of the process. What I could see was that there were a few different ways of bringing the mind back to the object. Being as I had been doing this all day it was much easier to see what was going on - what I saw was this:

I can intend to 'place awareness back on the object', and it happens but it doesn't feel quite right to me somehow, like it is convoluted or inelegant - so realizing that I can will the brain to think any thought I want, and seeing that intent was necessary for the mind to return to the object I started to experiment with what button to push in the brain to make the mind return to the object in a way that felt better, stronger somehow -

What I discovered is that there is an intent to 'think about the object' or rather 'think about the experience (experiencing) of the object' that naturally makes the mind look directly at the experience of the object. It doesn't involve creating a mental picture of a person concentrating, which can occur with the 'normal' way, it doesnt involve extra subtle mental objects like 'awareness' or 'a person concentrating' - its just cause and effect. If I think about what is it like to experience the breath, it occurs. If I then intend to only think about experiencing the breath, the mind almost 'wants' to go into the object and enjoy it. Its a totally different thing than what I was doing.

Is this just 'samatha 101' that I never *got* until now or is this something else?

Would love some feedback on this - posting in a few places.

Thanks

[Derek]

These parts of the samatha process are so fundamental that they've been given names. Putting the mind on the object of concentration is given the name vitakka. Holding the mind on the object of concentration is termed vicāra. I've never noticed that there are different ways to do them, though. I think you're to be commended on your powers of observation.

[Bill H]

Thanks - the observation powers are usually pretty strong after doing something like that all day long After waking up in the morning, however, thats a different story!