Hitting a wall
Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:00 am
Hi Everyone,
I have been "hitting a wall" lately in meditation. So far, every time a powerful nimitta comes up in my meditation I start to get excited and think something along the lines of "Here comes 1st jhana!" - which of course leads me to bounce right back from the nimitta. I know what the problem is - my excitement and anticipation, and I know the reason the nimittas arise in the first place is because of letting go of desire and craving at least temporarily.
The meditation seems to go something like this - settling into present moment, settling into silence, watching the breath, getting calmer, more mindful of the breath, calmer, more mindful, very calm, nimitta, WOOHOO!, agitation, loss of mindfulness, reminding myself to be calm, mindfulness of the breath returns, etc.
So how can I lessen the excitement, will it just be a matter of time and practice until the same habitual reactions get boring and they cease? Or is there something more to it?
Thanks,
Guy
I have been "hitting a wall" lately in meditation. So far, every time a powerful nimitta comes up in my meditation I start to get excited and think something along the lines of "Here comes 1st jhana!" - which of course leads me to bounce right back from the nimitta. I know what the problem is - my excitement and anticipation, and I know the reason the nimittas arise in the first place is because of letting go of desire and craving at least temporarily.
The meditation seems to go something like this - settling into present moment, settling into silence, watching the breath, getting calmer, more mindful of the breath, calmer, more mindful, very calm, nimitta, WOOHOO!, agitation, loss of mindfulness, reminding myself to be calm, mindfulness of the breath returns, etc.
So how can I lessen the excitement, will it just be a matter of time and practice until the same habitual reactions get boring and they cease? Or is there something more to it?
Thanks,
Guy