Morning, 9/22/07

Working with hindrances:

Cultivating attention, attention on the breath:

I give a priority to meditation this morning. But first I take care of beings around me. I water a plant in front of the east-facing window and feed the cat and let him go outside for a while. I do this because they can't take care of themselves.

I take care to make myself comfortable, to sit in a posture that I will be able to maintain for 3o minutes. I wrap a blanket around me for warmth and for the feeling of security it gives, self-containment. I set a timer so I don't have to concern myself with how long I've been sitting. I breathe through the initial congestion in my nose. At first this is difficult; it requires effort to breathe. Then as the congestion loosens, breathing becomes easier. Thoughts regularly distract me from attention to my breath. They seem to be good thoughts, thoughts about practice, breathing. But this is not the time for thinking about practice. This is the time for doing practice, for strengthening attention by gently placing it on the breath. I label each thought "thinking" and return my attention to the breath. Labeling the thought seems to dismiss it and allow it to pass. There is a different quality of experience in thinking about the breath and placing attention on the breath. It is experiencing breathing itself. Thoughts continue to arise; I label each one "thinking" and return to the experience of the breath. A few times, I feel the slight slumping of my posture, straighten, and watch alert awareness return with that adjustment. I become aware of a sleepy state soon after it arises and apply the antidote of straightening my spine and once more returning to the breath. Alert awareness again returns. At some point approximately mid-way in the practice, I experience a few moments of silence when it is quiet in the environment around me, and the mind is quiet as well.