launchpad and practice journal

Hi!!
This week I will be making my entrance into the seas of the serious practice since I believe that finally my anchorage is set sturdily enough. I have been keeping a continual daily practice for the last six months that started with body scanning and made a transition to a basic noting practice about three months ago which has perhaps changed a little into something that may be my own. Recently I think that my concentration has risen to a level of comprehensiveness during my sits that warrants progression to a more qualitative routine.

What I am doing currently is a noting practice involving scanning the body, noting all the sensations that occur within the present area of the scan along with noting each in and out breath across my philtrum. and I also note thoughts. Thoughts during my sits used to be rampant, but recently I have always been able to keep the ratio of thoughts to sensations at at least half and half and much of the time my attention is dominantly focused on sensations.

So ! I am looking forward to any suggestions or ideas anyone has to offer me at this point. Thank you!

I'll be back with my log of the retreat sometime in mid January.

Welcome limbicsail,

Looking forward to that retreat report. Onwards and upwards!

What suggestions are you hoping for? You seem to have an established practice from just the one post, but more posts describing your practice in detail focused purely on the phenomenological experiences would be much more helpful in pinpointing where you could use some suggestions. Clayton, a yogi here, was practicing a mix of sweeping and noting when he got 1st path. So until you come back from the retreat, continue what you are doing and then when you are ready to share your practice, Im sure you'll get some good suggestions on how to progress.

Have a good retreat!

SO- the retreat is over with. It was about ten or so days long and half body scanning noting and half open awareness noting. I switched to open awareness noting after talking to Kenneth about four days into the retreat. All the body scanning noting went pretty well- my attention was relatively finely yolked and I went through some dark night territory. Then I switched to open awareness noting as well as adding walking meditation and my meditations for the rest of the retreat became just not as substantial, though I stuck with the technique until the end and did have a couple sessions that were pretty pithy. My main problem with the open awareness meditation is that sight and sound sort of start doppling off eachother and it is as though I am not being accurate with the sensations. It's not balanced with sensations, which is the other most predominant door. If I happen to hear something, I'll remember to note sight. Then I'll get into a sight/sound vortex.

This is what I'm doing mostly after retreat too, and the same problems still exist.