Page 1 of 1

Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:00 am
by Guy
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

Re: Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:55 am
by nathan
Guy wrote:Hi Everyone,
...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
Yes this what you will have to do. You're beginning to see various forms of the truth of how the untrained mind is wandering and agitated. Relax and continue to observe.

That is all that there ever is to do. Watch and learn.

metta & upekkha
:anjali:

Re: Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:15 am
by Guy
Hi Nathan,
nathan wrote:That is all that there ever is to do. Watch and learn.
Thanks, that is very good advice. I guess I was just looking for some reassurance that I was on the right track.

With Metta,

Guy

Re: Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:22 am
by nathan
Guy wrote:Hi Nathan,
nathan wrote:That is all that there ever is to do. Watch and learn.
Thanks, that is very good advice. I guess I was just looking for some reassurance that I was on the right track.

With Metta,

Guy
If you just keep simply relaxing, watching and learning
then you can know that you are on the right track.

The mind will show you the whole universe before you can get it to just stop for a second. It really needs to relax and calm down so just try to do that and be observant. The rest looks after itself.

:anjali:

Re: Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:56 am
by genkaku
Whether excitement or despair, I don't know any other approach: Keep on practicing.

Not that it's any consolation, but everyone goes through this stuff. It will make you stronger in the long run. Just keep on practicing.

Re: Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:58 am
by Spiny O'Norman
Guy[/quote] Watch and learn.
[/quote]

That's really good advice! :clap:

Rick

Re: Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:23 am
by Guy
Thank you all very much for your encouragement. :bow:

Re: Hitting a wall

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:47 pm
by Jechbi
Hi Guy,
Guy wrote:I have been "hitting a wall" lately in meditation.
That's great! The wall is there for a reason. The wall is anicca, anatta, dukkha. Don't ignore the wall. Sometimes people get walls and they don't know what to do with them. So consider yourself lucky.

Metta