Marc's practice notes

[marc]

Nov 25 2011, 3:01 PM EST

Sat for 45 minutes before dinner. Counted the breath 5 minutes, then switched to noting. Noted remembering, planning thoughts, fantasizing, itches. Then a tingling rush through my upper body, changing into more subtle and superficial tingling, both really pleasant.
After that I felt pressure in the back of my head, feeling unable to notice precisely what was going on there. Pretty quickly I noticed another tingling wave, then more itches and aches, restlessness, impatience. After some time again I felt some mild tingling. I don't remember the period after this very vividly; it's a bit vague in my memory. I do remember that I had difficulty noting, my hands felt a bit chilly for a moment, and I noticed a heavy and solid feeling in my body. Boredom, hearing, interpreting, imgae thoughts. Got up because I felt bored, not restless.
Writing this in my notebook, I felt a bit drowsy.

[marc]

mumuwu
Nov 25 2011, 3:06 PM EST

Practicing as you have been has lead you this far, take these less than desirable experiences as something new you've successfully uncovered.If you keep going I bet you'll uncover something else. Make sure to stick with what works (what you've been doing).

Great stuff, your journal is excellent.

[marc]

Nov 25 2011, 5:46 PM EST

Thanks for the advice, mumuwu, I appreciate it! I'll try to keep it in mind, also when things are less than desirable...

[marc]

Nov 27 2011, 8:20 AM EST

Yesterday morning I sat for 45 minutes. Counted the breath for 5-10 minutes, then started noting. Noted thinking ahead, wondering, curiosity, fantasizing, remembering, itches, aches, pressure, tension. Then a tingling wave, ringing in my right ear, and intensely flickering sight. Itches, thinking, doubt, not knowing what to note, pressure.
Again some (very mild) tingling, then a lot of mental activity, chaos, restlessness, waiting, impatience. For a short while, sensations and noting felt quite mechanical. After this, more restlessness, a strong urge to move, strectching my arms, pressure, tension, stinging, aching, itching, impatience, restlessness. I looked at the timer, and saw that I had one minute left, so I got up. I noticed disappointment.

[marc]

Nov 27 2011, 8:26 AM EST

This morning I sat for 55-60 minutes. First counted the breath, then stayed focused on the breath. My concentration felt very strong.
After about 15 minutes, I started noting. Noted a lot of remembering thoughts, image thoughts, fantasizing, itches, waiting, stinging ache in my back, which got very intense. Restlessness, impatience, wondering why I wasn't moving on (this phase is usually much shorter), doubt, self-judging, aching, waiting, impatience, hoping. Then some tingling rushes through my arms and upper body, relief, gladness. The back ache was now gone. Noticed heaviness, waiting, thinking, hoping, confusion, doubt, not knowing what to note. Boredom, leading to restlessness and impatience, getting up.

[marc]

Nov 28 2011, 7:25 AM EST

Sat for 35 minutes this morning. Counted the breath for 5 minutes, then switched to noting. Noticed remembering, fantasizing, intentions, planning thoughts, thinking about how to describe sensations, annoyance, image thoughts, hoping, waiting, doubt. Pressure, tension, itches, head ache. Then some flickering, and a tingling rush through my upper body. Cold pressure in my left ear, itch, tension, thinking. Again some tingling, looking at the timer, disappointment, getting up.

[marc]

RonCrouch
Nov 28 2011, 11:11 AM EST

Great notes Marc. Remember that no sit is really a waste even if it feels that way. Even the worst sit keeps the momentum of the practice going and is worth the time.

You are doing it right and things will progress naturally.

[marc]

Nov 29 2011, 2:35 AM EST | Post edited: Nov 29 2011, 2:45 AM EST

Sat 55 minutes this morning. First counted the breath for 5-10 minutes. Quite a lot of thinking, but I felt fairly concentrated.
Switched to noting, and immediately felt tingling sensations and vibrations. Also quite a lot of muscle twitches. Then coolness, heaviness, waiting, boredom, not knowing what to note, spacing out / wandering off, mapping thoughts, hoping. Then I noticed worrying, and tension in my back and stomach. Again boredom, waiting, coolness. Some minor tingling and very fine pinpricks (pleasant) through my upper body, thinking, remembering, planning, restlessness, tension, many itches, wanting to move.
Tingling wave, no more restlessness, just boredom, thinking about the time. I stretched my arms and back, and then I got up.

[marc]

Nov 29 2011, 4:04 PM EST

Sat for 30 minutes this evening. First counted the breath for 5-10 min., then started noting. Noticed remembering, fantasizing, pressure, tension. Don't clerly remember what else I noticed. Then some waves of tingling sensations. After that fantasizing, not knowing what to note, forgetting to note, some coolness, and a bit of tension in my back. Thinking about my thesis, worrying about it. Again forgetting what to note, a bit of wandering off. Then some tingling, followed by more intense tension in my back, worrying, hearing a song in my head, remembering, fantasizing, restlessness. Then I got up.

[marc]

Nov 30 2011, 3:47 AM EST

Just had a 50 minute sit. Counted the breath for about 10 minutes, and felt moderately concentrated. Switched to noting, noticed tingling sensations through my upper body. Then fantasizing, remembering, waiting, not knowing what to note. Coolness, wandering off, forgetting to note. Some very mild tingling, followed by more mental activity, tnesion, aches, remembering, fantasizing, looking ahead. Restlessness, impatience, urge to move, stretching my arms and back, waiting. Then a bit of tingling, slowing down, boredom, wandering off. I looked at the timer, kept sitting for a few minutes, and then got up.