Noting blankness

Hi, sorry to be brief, I will provide a full introduction when I have more time. I will quickly say, that the teachings on this site and DhO have been a complete revelation to me. I am grateful to have found them and look forward to doing my best to follow them.

Regarding noting practice:

My biggest problem seems to be that I keep drawing a blank. I hear some sounds, feel some tension etc then I keep getting these blanks where I can't really identify anything.....or anything obvious. This is really disrupting my flow and I don't want to make stuff up. After a few moments I note '˜searching.....irritation' But should I label the blanks or wait for something to arise??

Many thanks,

Ed

I also encounter this phenomena that you describe, from time to time,
and note it as 'blank' or whatever.. IMO, doesn't really matter, as long as there's something you're noticing there, even if its murky or blank.

uncertain, searching, blank, etc. Yeah note that mind state.

Ed, welcome and good luck with your practice. The yogis here are a great resource and have created a great community.

Hi, thanks for the feedback.

I was reading about people sitting for an hour noting out loud. I have been trying but it seems really hard. Its a bit like going to thailand and going to a market and then being asked to name all the exotic fruit. I dont have the vocabulary for all the subtle sensations. I guess I have only ever being partially aware oif most of them.

Tension, pressure,searching..........they seem so clumsy in relation to the felt sensations.....even with the plesant/unplesant/neutral lables.

As I am new to to this, shoudl I try to extend my vocabulary or should I just try and note the confusion, frustration that bubble up at my loss for words?


thanks again, Ed

Don't stress about finding the exact words to describe this stuff, I did exactly the same thing for too long and it's a waste of time. Like Yadid and Mu have said. as long as you're noting then you're present in the moment so even noting "blank", "uncertain", or whatever indicates that you're doing it right. Remember too that if you find yourself distracted or your mind runs off on a tangent, note "distracted" and you're immediately back to where the good stuff is!

Best of luck and lookin' forward to hearing more about your practice.
- Tommy

Thanks Tommy,

watched your video the other eve on isle of Arran. Really good stuff.

Ill try and post up a bio and initial practice notes later today!

cheers

Hi Ed,

I'm fairly new to this game too, and I encountered the same problem. But soon enough you develop a decent vocabulary. I find that these help:

pulsing, pressure, throbbing, tingling, fizzing, tightness, tension, warmth, coolness, cold, aversion, irritation, touching, frustration, speculating though, imaging thought, scenario spinning thought, planning thought, reflecting thought, mapping thought, evaluation thought, judging thought, pain, numbness, fear, trepidation, anticipation, clinging, holding, investigating, curiosity, interest, boredom, excitement, desire for deliverance, hearing, seeing, hardness, softness, brushing, tickling, itching, burning, vibrations, piercing, happiness, contentment, joy, amusement, association thought, remembering thought, calmness, stillness, peace, expansion, contraction, rising, falling, smoothness, abrasiveness, desire, spaciousness, ease, stretching, intending, mugginess, claustrophobia, worrying thought, uncertainty, doubt, self-criticism, self-congratulation, progress thoughts,

Those are probably the words I use the most.

Hope that helps.
A

Speculation thought is such a useful label. Nice list!

"I was reading about people sitting for an hour noting out loud. I have been trying but it seems really hard. Its a bit like going to thailand and going to a market and then being asked to name all the exotic fruit. I dont have the vocabulary for all the subtle sensations. I guess I have only ever being partially aware oif most of them." -Ed

Hi Ed,

By far the most effective way to get up to speed with this practice is to get together with someone who already knows the technique and do some interactive noting. In that way, you can hear what they are doing an pick up the vocabulary by osmosis. Why don't you go over to Voxli and see if anyone is there who you can note with? (There are three of us there right now.)

voxli.com/kfdchat