Thank you, this was very helpful.

Metta.

Please forgive my newbie question. Can there be sustained thought without applied thought? Most of the material that I read seems to suggest that applied thought is the pre-requisite of sustained thought. Applied thought is like striking a bell, sustained thought like the ringing; applied thought is...

This is quite normal. This is when you experience Nama Rupa Paricheda Nana. (Mind body separation) The way I understand this is only a sensation. The mind can't separate from the body until your death. :thinking: I appreciate this reference, never read about the nanas before. Reading up on it now :)

Okay, that's cool! One thing I noticed is that when the separation happens, I don't get distracted by when the breath seems to disappear (since it's not my body, so I don't worry about it), where as without the separation, I would worry about lack of oxygen, and it lessens my concentration. Thanks f...

For the past month or so, while I'm doing anapana meditation, I would experience this sense of disassociation from my body. Initially, the first time it occurred, it seemed like my body disappeared, and I lost my mental orientation of my body (whether it was sitting up, or lying down, or even which ...

Hey, not sure if this is what you mean, but about 2 years ago, I had a couple of meditation sessions where I fell into a trance like state where I lost all sense of time, it was like the period of time did not exist. The hour meditation seem to end in an instant. Anyways, later, I think I was readin...

Ah cool, haha good to know

I don't know why, but dentist visits always scare me. I don't know if I could forgo shots for fillings etc. Might try it if I can muster the courage

Same here. I learned Iyengar's standing postures over twenty years ago and they, together with long walks and the 11-minute-a-day Royal Canadian Air Force Exercise Plan , taught to me by a Canadian bhikkhu, have been my sole form of exercise ever since. Thanks to the Iyengar routine I've been entir...

If a negative (edit: not negative per se, but I think you know what I mean) mind state persists, I, personally, won't just stay 'aware' of it if it continues to persist. What kind of thinking will calm the mind, maybe I should practice of bit of self-metta, etc. Ajahn Sujato was asked 'how can my m...

It's in the Satipatthāna Sutta: ‘Passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, ‘Passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ passasissāmī’ti sikkhati. “Tranquillising the bodily formations I will breath out,” “Tranquillising the bodily formations I will breath in,” thus he trains himself. I wasn't sure if what...

Background: A while back, while at a meditation retreat, every time I sat down, my mind seemed to be very agitated, jumping around, old memories surfacing, facial muscles felt like they were twisting and turning etc. Anyways, it's since quieted, but at the time, a thought occurred to me that perhaps...

I agree with this! Going a step further, skipping dinner entirely makes for a very restful night, and a comfortable stomach for me in the morning! Also, meditation before going to bed is easier too on an empty stomach

Metta

I do yoga every day, and I used "Light on Yoga" book, at the end of which they have sample learning schedules. I stopped progressing after learning all the standing poses, and it feels like a very nice way to keep the body fit (I have a bad back from my violin playing, so meditation used t...

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Also Ben, I think it was you who mentioned Analayo's work on Satipathana. I want to thank you, reading it and benefiting greatly from it .

Metta