Hi Joe,

      The “thinking” that is being referrenced in your practice is Discursive thoughts, not mindfulness or bodily awareness such as noticing what is going on inside you.  Discursive thoughts are the ones that we become caught up in such as, ” What am I going to eat for lunch later on, or That woman sure was rude to me at the bank today”.  Thoughts that take you away from the present moment.  Any thoughts that pull your attention away from your investigation of THIS!! 

       When meditating we calm our minds first and then we begin to examine the contents of this Body-Mind-Self construct we have co-created with the rest of the universe.  I have included a piece below about meditating on bodily sensations which are one of the recommended objects of investigation by the Buddha.  To sum it all up:  Observe the body IN the body, observe the breath IN the breath, observe all feelings IN the feelings, observe the mind IN the mind.  Any thoughts, fantasies, memories, or dull mental sates that take you away from this investigation are to be abandoned gentley and then you simply return your attention to object of your meditation.

all blessings to you  albert

Re: The practice of sitting

Thanks for the honest sharing and allowing us all to see into your practice.  What a wonderful gift for everyone out there struggling with some of these issues in their meditation practice.

I have found that practicing what the Buddha taught in regards to Equanimity is very helpful in this issue of pain, discomfort, or bodily sensations.  I too had a hard time sitting for longer than twenty minutes for a couple of years before I started to practice the Vipassana meditation method of deeply observing all bodily sensations without reacting to them.  This practice is very helpful as it retrains our minds towards non-reaction not only in the body but in life outside and off the meditation cushion. 

To begin this practice one first starts with mindful breathing (annapana sati) to concentrate the mind on one object and then starts to systematicly scan the body with your eyes closed.  Very slowly going over every inch of the body inside and out, observing all the sensations as they arise, but without any reaction.  Just remain equanimous and notice the changing nature of the sesations.  They may increase or decrease in intensity, they may move around or stay in the same place, they may go away, or go away and come back.  Notice whether the sensation is cool, warm, or hot, whether it is tingly, sharp, or dull.   Does it spread or contract….etc..

This practice seems very simple but it is deeply profound.  It has allowed me to go from sitting only twenty minutes to sitting regularly for forty-five minutes to over an hour.

I want to say that there are times when the sensations are intense and if you have to adjust your body, do so slowly and observe the phsyical processes within.  Even a leg falling asleep can be a wonderful object of meditation and can reveal the empty and impermanant nature of all that is.

I hope this method is helpful to those who want to go deeper into the practice.

May all beings be free from suffering.  May we all become fully liberated.  May we all be happy, wise, and loving towards each other.