As I sat the first time trying to inhibit my thoughts, so many thoughts arose. The first were questions… How do I know if I am inhibiting my thoughts? What does that feel like, look like? I thought about monks meditating and what their experience might be like. Still more thoughts… Then I tried to think of nothingness and just repeated the word “nothing” and imagined a black whole. But that is still a thought. I am open to this process but not quite sure how one knows that they are inhibiting their thoughts. I also noticed that at some points, my consciousness drifted into a somewhat hypnotic and slower state of being that was just above the state of being asleep. There were a few sounds (the sound of my cellphone ringing and the alarm I set to let me know 15 minutes was over.) that jolted me during the process that made me aware of the different states of consciousness I experienced. Otherwise, I may not have noticed.
Sit… Sit..great observation on this new habit. I wondered how much I was missing by not taking the time to close everything and “just be”… congratulations. More to come.
I can say that this is the normal process, at the beginning is not easy to do the sit but with practice, we get better. just keep going!
Thanks for sharing this curious experience
Congratulations on just being and doing. The Sit is hard, and then doing the Sit and inhibiting your thoughts is another or next-level hard. Just keep doing the exercise and keep being the Observer. You are going to be amazed at how well you do by the end of this class. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
Great work, Adrienne! The Sit and the clearing of thoughts are part of the process that all take practice. You’ve got this!
Lots of thoughts Adrienne and lots of notices! Just let them go…Congrats!
I understand about the alarm jolting, thank you for sharing Adrienne.
Good feed-back Adrienne, congratulations firstly for doing the ‘sit’.
Over time and with practice, you naturally go deeper into it.
Focus on your breath, gently, slowly and feeling the in-breath, then the out breath. Let your thoughts drift away with the out-breath.
No ‘trying’, just be. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, nothing to think.
Thoughts are always going to arise, it’s what you do with them that matters. Notice the difference …