|
|
 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 18 2006 : 2:04:32 PM
|
I was doing samyama, and I couldn't think of the next word.
But it wasn't a frowning, "dammit, what's that word?" sort of forgetfulness. It was more of a bemused "enjoying the mental hiccup" sort of forgetfulness. And as I relaxed into the hiccup - sort of like a mental vacuum - I realized that my mind had stopped - and that the vague bemusement was my deeper awareness. Of course, in that very moment of self-consciousness, my mind was back in full force.
This notion of the suspended mind, which everyone tells us is some alien mystical state, is something we all experience quite often - but only in flashes. When you lose your train of thought - especially in a hard, dramatic way, like when you're in the middle of saying or doing something - that's it right there. That vacuum, which for me has a sort of lifting-and-suspending feeling, like when you're about to sneeze or orgasm. Of course, one's immediate reaction is "oh, dear, I've lost my train of thought", and that itself is a thought, and so your mind's back in full gear again.
But that phenomenon is what everyone's talking about (and once you know that, it can be cultivated and favored). Space out. Brain fart. Senior moment. The trick is to get relaxed enough and blissful enough and accepting and surrendered enough in meditation that you can relax into it. And to be willing to surrender all you have at stake in the world so that you don't go frantically grabbing around for the old familiar context of your familiar narration of everything. You have to let it go. You have to let it all go. |
Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Mar 18 2006 2:14:56 PM |
|
|
Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2006 : 3:22:02 PM
|
Hey Jim,
I find that a significant number of these "lost trains of thought" are our minds getting temporarily snagged on another passing by thought.
The times this is most noticable to me is when I am involved in some
intense emotional activity and then I go about my regular life and interactions. I notice my mind gets distracted by these thoughts as they float by and then I remember where I am and am able to come back to the here and now. When I am meditating and maintaining good balance in my life these moments happen with less frequency.
|
 |
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| AYP Public Forum |
© Contributing Authors (opinions and advice belong to the respective authors) |
|
|
|
|
Oh Holy Brain Fart
