Somerville - Practice Thread #1

Hello people,

I have been a DIY spiritual seeker for many years. Now, at the ripe old age of 44, I feel the need for a tradition with a proven track record, with a map of the terrain and a well-trodden path to follow. Hopefully I won't need much hand holding, but I'm sure I can benefit from the wisdom and experience of those who have been here before me.

I don't know where my previous efforts place me on the map, but let's assume I'm starting from scratch.

My planned routine is four sits of 45 minutes per day in First Gear. I notice that Kenneth's home page instructions cover all four foundations of mindfulness, but I don't know whether to include all four foundations in each sit, or one foundation per sit. I'll start with one foundation per sit unless someone tells me otherwise.

Any tips or criticism along the way will be much appreciated.

Paul

"My planned routine is four sits of 45 minutes per day in First Gear. I notice that Kenneth's home page instructions cover all four foundations of mindfulness, but I don't know whether to include all four foundations in each sit, or one foundation per sit. I'll start with one foundation per sit unless someone tells me otherwise.
- Paul"

Welcome Paul!

It is good to concentrate on the separate foundations of mindfulness in the beginning, but once you have some experience on them I would suggest noting all four in a balanced way. My personal favourite has always been random noting (whatever takes the centre stage) and noting pairs and triplets (even quadruplets) when I really want to make sure there is no bandwidth left for mind wandering (noting all four foundations in sequence, e.g. pressure-unleasant-aversion-imaging thought). When doing triplets and quadruplets, mind states and thoughts will probably not correlate with the physical sensation and vedana, but that is ok.

Antero

Well, the other day Mr. Folk told me do 45 minutes per day with one foundation per day. I don't know if that was a suggestion for just me, based on the small amount of background I gave, or if he would give the same advice to all newcomers. I certainly don't think It would hurt you to do one per day. As a note, I've found it quite restraining to do only 45 minutes a day. I have spent much more time than that daily. I haven't gotten any feedback yet, so I don't know what will be said about the 2-3 hours throughout the day that I have been doing. I'm starting my third day now. I'm quite excited to get to noting thoughts. I do see the value in noting body sensation exclusively though. It really drives home the fact that emotion just seems to be a physical reaction to thought. It's all so mechanical.

Thanks, Antero. I'll practice the four foundations separately at first, then start combining them in a balanced way. I think I'll like random noting in pairs and triplets when I've mastered the basic technique.

Hopeful Seeker, thanks for confirming one foundation per day initially. I don't think more sessions would be a problem.

Paul