Quick question on 3-speed trans.

Hello all, just a quick question for you wonderful folks:

Regarding the Three Speed Transmission, is one to do "it" all the time? Or attempt to, anyway? As in "letting it be" or (if possible) "cultivating the witness?" What I'm looking for is something to do with my consciousness while NOT formally sitting. You see, I work overnight, and have eight hours where I could be focusing on "the right stuff." So if I have the ability to forward my meditative career while not on the cushion (and not reading, I mean DOING, I've been reading so much. Too much. I'm ready to act) I would like any advice/tips/etc. Or maybe you could just point me where to look, I don't want to take up time and space (because it is so precious).

Thank you deeply,
Sage (HAH, far from it)

Thank you,
Chris
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If you are new(ish) to this, use1st gear primarily. Note your butt off. You can do this while you have the time while working overnight. 2nd gear and 3rd gear will come later and don't usually make sense till later anyways.

Agreed. The "First Gear" technique can be done anywhere and anytime, out loud or silently, and will be your fallback throughout the whole path.

When you have down-time, note in detail, as Kenneth describes on the front page.

But even if you're engaged in something and you can't devote the attention to noting specifics, always keep those same 4 perspectives in mind:

1) You're always experiencing physical sensations all over your body, whether your attention is on them or not;
2) You're always evaluating all sensations and thoughts as "good" / "bad" / "don't care", even when your attention isn't on them;
3) Your mood or state of mind is always "colouring" your actions and reactions, even when you don't see it- there is no objective or neutral standpoint from which your actions and reactions come;
4) Your mind is always throwing semi-random thoughts and images at you, even when you don't acknowledge them.

All these things are just fine, and you don't need to try and change or stop them (you can't, anyways!). Just try to always take note that they are going on constantly.

Thanks, Aqua, and Rob!

Two more questions: Kenneth seems to advocate verbal noting over silent noting. Why?

Secondly, I believe what is being advocated here is choiceless awareness noting. From what I've read, the Mahamudra listening noting seems to be the more up-to-date technique. Can anybody comment on this for me? Is it "better" or just different?

Many blessings,
Sage

Verbal vs. silent: The benefit of noting out-loud is the instant feedback - you know exactly when you have "drifted", because you will have stopped talking! It is quite effective for building concentration.

Eventually, you get to a point where your gut tells you "I am perceiving things too fast, this out-loud noting is too coarse", Then you can stop. But when you are starting out, it is good to make a commitment to stick to it for a set amount of time- say, 10 minutes at first, building up to 15 or 20 over a few sessions. That way, you know you're not "copping out" and just getting carried away by pleasant drift.

I guess you would call this "Four Foundations" noting, since the four categories are based on the so-called Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Google "Satipatthana Sutta" if you're not familiar with the Four Foundations.

Kenneth invented Mahamudra noting to incorporate his "Ships In the Harbor" listening technique (see the Ships In The Harbor talk on kennethfolkdharma.com) into the noting. It mixes a bit or "third gear" attitude into a "first gear" technique. So, I would say it's just "different". If you're new to noting practice, definitely start with the Four Foundations style, because the "mahamudra" perspective mostly becomes clear after stream-entry or second-path.

These techniques don't replace each other- they all support each other. The idea behind the 3 "gears" is that you have different tools for different settings, different energy levels, etc., while still sticking to a consistent technique.

[cont'd]

[cont'd]

My personal opinion is that you can't beat at least a few minutes a day of out-loud noting, no matter what your main practice is. For me, it broke up a log-jam in my practice that had lasted years, and it still gets me moving again when I feel I have hit a dead end. You don't even have to get very good at it- it's not the notes themselves, it's just the applied effort to watch your sensations and mind-states. There's no better way that I know to be certain that you are making Right Effort in meditation.

If you've had Zen experience (I am just guessing from your user-name ), I think that 2nd and 3rd gears are very similar to the Zen approach. But the 1st gear gets you to the point where you know and feel exactly why you're doing it, and your motivation stays strong.

"
Regarding the Three Speed Transmission, is one to do "it" all the time? Or attempt to, anyway? As in "letting it be" or (if possible) "cultivating the witness?" What I'm looking for is something to do with my consciousness while NOT formally sitting.
- zenSage"

You got excellent advice from Rob and Aquanin. I just want to add that whatever the technique you use, maintain awareness constantly. Start when you wake up and don't stop when you go to sleep. There is always a way to practice. Start working with a teacher or an advanced yogi, or at least start a practice journal to get help.

This way you will succeed without a doubt.

"You got excellent advice from Rob and Aquanin. I just want to add that whatever the technique you use, maintain awareness constantly. Start when you wake up and don't stop when you go to sleep. There is always a way to practice. Start working with a teacher or an advanced yogi, or at least start a practice journal to get help.

This way you will succeed without a doubt."

Maintain awareness constantly, you say. As in be aware of the things that I do? Or do the actual technique I am sticking with? For example, I worked last night, and noted on and off throughout. I read a good bit ( Master the Core Teachings of the Buddha, actually) and found it incredibly difficult to note and read at the same time.

Which leads me to this: when silently noting to oneself, is "volume" something to be considered? For example, I find that I can mentally note one of two ways. The first is mentally saying it, as if I were saying it with my mouth. I almost can feel my vocal chords this way, and it's syllabic. The other is more subtle, my vocal chords or less stimulated, if at all. It's a silent mental note, as opposed to the first, which is "audible."

[cont'd]

How does one breath with having to verbally note? Mentally note on the in-breaths and audibly-note on the out breaths? How does one choose what to note? Is it whatever comes to the forefront of one's experience? If so, I only seem to be aware of bodily sensations and thoughts, and the thoughts hardly ever take my concentration off the breath to the extent that I "lose" the breath. I am hardly aware of my feeling-tones, and even less aware of my mind-states. Would you say this represents somethings? AND lastly, is this the sort of stuff that I would put into a practice journal on the forum? I don't wanna bog down anybody by posting in the wrong area.

"[cont'd]

My personal opinion is that you can't beat at least a few minutes a day of out-loud noting, no matter what your main practice is. For me, it broke up a log-jam in my practice that had lasted years, and it still gets me moving again when I feel I have hit a dead end. You don't even have to get very good at it- it's not the notes themselves, it's just the applied effort to watch your sensations and mind-states. There's no better way that I know to be certain that you are making Right Effort in meditation.

If you've had Zen experience (I am just guessing from your user-name ), I think that 2nd and 3rd gears are very similar to the Zen approach. But the 1st gear gets you to the point where you know and feel exactly why you're doing it, and your motivation stays strong."

Thank you again for your advice, my friend.

I do have experience with Zen, actually! (however meager that it might be) and that experience might account for my confusion/difficulty with first gear. Noting is a new concept to me, I can't seem to wrap my mind around it. (See my above post for yet another question, this one about "volume") On the other hand, I find second gear pretty straight-forward, even easy. I don't think I have achieved access concentration yet.

[cont'd]

Sorry, gotta add this in: when noting, I find nothing yells at me. What I mean by that is, not many aspects of my awareness/experience are so predominate that I KNOW to note it. I have to choose. I choose what I am using most. So I guess that is predominance, in a way. For instance, while driving, I'm aware of "sight, sight, sight, sight" and that's really about it. I'm an odd person, my internal dialogue is virtually nil. This might not be natural, I very well might be suppressing my dialogue, though I don't know how I could find out if I was or not.

Just did a five minute out-loud noting session. I felt more. I actually perceived feeling-tones and mind-states. I was going to ask how to know if one is doing it "correctly" but I think my experience speaks for itself. I got notably (haha) deeper. I will be starting a practice journal today/tomorrow. Thank you, everybody!

There you go! Don't get too hung up on "doing it right". The whole point is for you to "feel out" what awareness is, in your own way. Tips and techniques from others will get you a certain distance, then you have to stumble along according to your own (ever-growing) wisdom

Some schools of thought attach a lot of importance to synchronizing with the breath. Others, like MCTB and Kenneth, don't emphasize that. MCTB emphasizes the speed that you note; Kenneth Folk emphasizes the detail, picking up body aspects, like/dislike/neutral aspects, mind-state aspects, and thought aspects. Each teacher has a slightly different pointer.

All this to say, don't worry too much about "getting it right". It's persistence and confidence that count, not the method!

"Maintain awareness constantly, you say. As in be aware of the things that I do? Or do the actual technique I am sticking with? For example, I worked last night, and noted on and off throughout. I read a good bit ( Master the Core Teachings of the Buddha, actually) and found it incredibly difficult to note and read at the same time.

Which leads me to this: when silently noting to oneself, is "volume" something to be considered? For example, I find that I can mentally note one of two ways. The first is mentally saying it, as if I were saying it with my mouth. I almost can feel my vocal chords this way, and it's syllabic. The other is more subtle, my vocal chords or less stimulated, if at all. It's a silent mental note, as opposed to the first, which is "audible."
- zenSage"

Regardless of the technique or gear, this mindfulness business boils down to paying attention and IME the crucial thing is finding ways to maintain this awareness continuously throughout the day. As you have noticed, noting is not possible when reading, writing or talking with others. However there are other ways to maintain the mindfulness in those situations.

If your practice is strong, it is possible to anchor 5-10% of your mental bandwidth to a location in a body where sensations are felt clearly (chest, throat or between the eyes for example) and maintain the continuity of the practice until resources are available for a more comprehensive approach like noting. Also binary noting of thoughts (silence/noise) works well in many situations were noting the four foundations does not.

Taking the feeling of the observer as an object of meditation (Pure Witness) or Abiding as the awareness work quite well in most situations, but for most practitioners 2nd gear approach start to make sense (and work) only after 2nd path (3rd Stage) and 3rd gear approach after 3rd or 4th path (4th and 5th Stages).

(cont.)

I would suggest working with a teacher when doing 2nd and 3rd gear practices to ensure that the technique is done properly and at the right stage of one's practice. It is much harder to delude oneself with fist gear and most yogis seem to make fast progress with that approach.

You could also find something useful in this old thread:

kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/thread/41...ery+day+is+a+retreat

About the 'volume' of noting, I don't think it matters a lot. You can note mentally in many ways like you wrote, note aloud or even sing the notes. What counts are: continuity, precision and leaving no stones unturned.

"Taking the feeling of the observer as an object of meditation (Pure Witness) or Abiding as the awareness work quite well in most situations, but for most practitioners 2nd gear approach start to make sense (and work) only after 2nd path (3rd Stage) and 3rd gear approach after 3rd or 4th path (4th and 5th Stages).

"

I concur. I thought I "got" what 2nd gear was about pre SE, but I was way off. It wasn't till 2nd path where it begins to make sense. Stick with your 1st gear noting/noticing, etc... Also, when you are begining you can try doing each of the 4 foundations of noting separately for a set period of time before combining them just to get the feel for it.