attended a 9 day meditation retreat held by Spirit Rock in Joshua Tree. It was awesome & learned a lot on a lot of different topics.
Most days – 5:30am to 10pm. silent. 8 sessions of sitting med (6hrs total) interspersed with walking meditation, eating meditation, working meditation.
some notes (things learned from teachings, self-exploration, and general experience of being there):
learned walking & eating meditation. clearer view on this and other schools of Buddhism. clearer understanding of terms.
The body is a doorway to the Now – the body exists in the present. Keeping aware of bodily sensations keeps you present.
Communication – when listening, keep some attention on the body to keep present (percentage of attention goes to listening, percentage goes to how the body feels, bodily sensations.
Walking meditation – sensation of “staying still” while the earth is moving. This seems to be a very present state where every location is the center of your experience.
Walking meditation – concentrating on sensations of the feet gets you into a focused, present state. Mindfullness on anything – left, right, knee, toe, all toes, one toe, whatever sensations in whatever grouping.
Eating meditaion – realized eating food is union of being with being. Food is being. Body is being. Food did not go in “me” when “I” ate it. Food just transmuted and transformed. Food still outside of “me” after eating the food.
Eating meditation – saw continuity of experience while eating. No single event happening…just continuum of experience.
I am that I am – figured out that I am being, reduced “me” to nothing on the physical plane (did this 1-2 years ago but didn’t get all of it). Being is what is left. Also to see being as localized energy vortex that interchanges (transform, transmute, transmission) with all that is.
Pain in sitting meditation – saw it manifest as “sleepyness” (aversion to pain). Pain felt in ribcage actually was in the trapezius muscle. Realized shoulder height needed to be raised to have better ergonomics in sitting mediation. Spinal flexor also manifest pain from being too tense during certain yoga postures.
Sentimentality – reflecting on a scarf my grandmother gave me (grandma’s scarf). Realized that all I saw was also hers. Every rock, joshua tree, etc. came from her and was her. Did not need the scarf to remind me of her.
Attention is love – mindfulness is paying attention to yourself. Like a parent cares for his/her child.
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