Basic Skills: Lesson 1
I did only the tactile sense today, perhaps because of lack of discipline, as I didn't meditate earlier. Even so, I have made progress with respect to sensory awareness. While meditating before bed, I focused on the pain from blisters on my foot, my back pain, and the feeling of me breathing. I noticed those immediately. I began to divert attention elsewhere; I felt the cushion beneath me , pressing on my legs and bottom. I thought this to be a fairly obvious sensation. I moved to pulse. It was difficult to pick up at first, but after some focusing on my left wrist I could feel it. It felt very strong now that I was aware of it. I tried to do the same focus on my right wrist while keeping attention on my left wrist. I couldn't feel a strong pulse on my right, and it seemed to be out of sync with my left. That was odd. I moved attention to my left index finger and thumb, and felt a very strong pulse. When doing the same with my right, I then could feel a pulse that was in sync. Occasionally it felt out of sync, but for the most part the pulses stayed together. While focusing on my fingers, I felt a tingling feeling, like when you cut off circulation to a limb. The feeling stayed in the very tips of my fingers. I ended here, as I felt tired. I thought I did quite well in this meditation, as when my thoughts strayed, I gently brought attention back, which is good for me as I generally snap attention back very abruptly. I also noticed during my meditation that this exercise was not only highly interesting, but also rather fun and calming. I will write again tomorrow.