Originally Posted by eddy3042
Hi I'm new here!
I've found the Vipassana practice of 'watching' the breath interesting and challenging and it's also the method that appeals to me most. The word 'watching' is misleading because we're not aiming to picture the moving breath in our minds. A better word is 'sensing' - sensing the feel of the breath as it moves in and out. This is usually felt within the nostrils for most people I think.
The reason this method fascinates me most is the sheer difficulty of it. I haven't been meditating for very long and I find it amazing at how difficult it is to keep my 'sense-attention' on that particular 'nostril-sense-place' even for just one exhalation and inhalation. The difficulty is analogous to that of a waterskier forced to hold on to the rope-handle with just the pinky finger of one hand! It's very easy to lose your mental 'grip' on that sense-place and find yourself getting caught in a thought but even when thoughts aren't distracting you it's still a challenge to hone in directly on that sense-place and stay there.
What I've noticed is that after 'exerting' my mind to some extent in staying with that sense-place I'll be able to kind of let go of that exertion and the mind will naturally stay at the sense-place for longer periods. When this happens there's always a sense of 'letting go' or relaxing of the mental striving and it takes less coaxing/effort to keep the mind on the sense place.
I've just recently found out about LifeFlow and started using the 14 minute demo with over-ear headphones. I am extremely sceptical about entrainment audios and I know that the placebo effect can be powerful enough to sell any dodgy product. What is striking to me about using this demo is that the sense of 'letting go' that I mentioned before seems to come about much more easily than it used to with less mental effort needed to get to that clearer mental state.
Of course mental exertion is required or it wouldn't be meditation but the demo seems to allow more of a relaxation into the process of meditation than there was before. It seems to help me to let go of extraneous thoughts more easily and quickly and to help me stay at the sense-place more easily.
I'm curious to know if anyone else can relate to my experience?
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Hello Friend
Namastey
I feel happy to learn through this forum that you are progressing in meditation.
I also wish best.
I am just wondering how the audio is making you absorbed in the meditation more than the dry vipassana.
As I see, the Audio engages you MIND TRACK. When you are watching, sensing the breathing, the Audio engages your chattering Mind so well that you fee 'off sensations' as one Zen master has said. This results in quick and fast absorption to Meditaion, you may feel now. and leaves you more relaxed.
On the other hand when your simple vipassana meditaion leaves you exerting more. As your mind is fighting with your concentration and asserting its presence and making you more strained.
Real danger is in getting Fixated to 'audio' you are using now. In future,
without that 'audio' you will have hard time to meditate.
This is becoming sort of 'Pavlove' effect called condioning.
Whereas meditation is just letting go of everything and observing .
I hope you are able to get this point.
So if you want to have refreshing mind. Just do one thing. before you sit for meditation. do a simple exercise for five minute.
stand on a floor, with legs one feet apart. knees slighly bent. and start chaotic breathing. continue for five minutes. And then cathart your emotions or negativity with full force using your face, and vocal chord but keeping the voice within. This will make your mind cleaner and relaexed fast. and then you sit for vipassana following your routine.
But remember to do vipassana in its purest form without any audio gadgetery. wish you happy journey and awakening.
Namastey
