SageTree

So for those of you who do I have a question.

I usually sit alone once in the morning and once in the evening, and on Monday nights I sit with a group, whose alloted time sitting is 45 minutes. Some Monday nights seem to take a long time to get to the bell, and other nights I'm feel like I've been there for 15 mins and am just getting 'settled' if you will.

Lately I've been having more of the quick feelings, but am also able to stay with my breath a majority of that time, which I take to be a good thing.

But in the vein of questioning I thought:

"What does it mean or what is happening when time seems to pass faster on the cushion?"

And I thought this would be a good place to discuss other things that happen when sitting and what others experiences have been as well.

Namaste'
SageTree

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verklingen

i've had experiences both ways also, and to be honest i'm not sure if it means anything. i will say that having the time be up before i know it makes me feel somehow"better," in a way. but i could be wrong, i'm always feeling nice and buoyant after a good sit. it is interesting, though. i think the times it goes slower we just happen to catch our thought wandering to the time

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“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

SageTree

Some joker I sit beside from time to time (no pun) has a clock in front of him, even though their is a group leader who manages that. I prefer sitting in a place where I can't see the clock and don't look at what time we 'get things started' and I find it goes much smoother. In busy times I can't always get a seat not facing the clock and the numbers changing (in red) seem to catch my unfocused eye.... so I'd be inclined to agree that if we don't think about time, the time passes fast.

And I'm with you on the early bell, before I'm feeling finished. I take that as good.

I read once that doing the work to get to the 'calm' and cutting short the 'calm' part, is a technique, prescribed by some, that leaves you eager to sit again and stay in that state in the walking world more easily.

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The Rev

As far as time passing, I've generally not given it much thought. For me, the purpose of meditation is to strengthen my will to pay attention (and to escape my thoughts for awhile). So, I focus more on bringing myself back to the breath, rather than how long I can hold on to it.

My primary experience is, the more attention I pay to something, the more I concentrate on it and hold that concentration, the less it seems to exist. It's as if experience is slippery, and the tighter you grip it, the more it gets away from you. The conclusion I draw from this is, I have habitually viewed the world in terms of ideas about it, rather than direct experience, so the more I directly experience a thing, the harder it is to hold onto the idea. Reflections of reflections, I suppose.



The Rev

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SageTree

I agree with the breath comments Rev. I didn't mean to allude that I was aware of the time I was 'on,on' the breath, but rather than I didn't feel the 'coming back, coming back' rather I was resting in the awareness of my 'up and down, in and out' of doing the breathing.

I think my favourite metaphor for training the breath is a puppy. And I watch this little dude sniff around the room I'm in and I'm aware I'm watching it. From time to time I call it back before it leaves the room and other times I gotta pick in up bring it back and let it wonder the room of breath again.

Another good metaphor I thought of about touching or grasping a concentrated thought or mind state, and that is a rainbow. You can chase that thing forever and it's always going to seem like it's just over the hill, but it is always a million miles away. And I think the rainbow is also fitting because when we really consider it and what it is, the meeting of phenomena begin to fade and disappear, in Nature/Mind.

Thanks Rev. I didn't really add much, but it's nice to say these things out loud and see where they go in the room as well

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