Shinzen Young Guides a Student with Physical Discomfort - 2 of 4

Let's begin by turning your attention twords the itchy sensations wherever they may be in the body.

And I'd like you to focus in on.

The sort of prickly change.

The fact that it's sort of like popping and bubbling kind of thing.

Just focus on that.

Uh there's these sort of constant little.

Sparks or scintillations.

Get interested in that for a moment.

And I'd like you to.

Label that with the word flow.

And I'd like you to say flow out loud every four, five, six seconds to acknowledge that you're focusing on how the itch is changing continuously does that make sense so will call this, noting the flow with spoken labels and I'd like you to do that now for a couple of minutes.

By listening to the pace of your labels and the tone of voice that will give me an idea of how you're working with this experience.

Hello.

No.

Hello.

Flow.

Hello.

Correct.

Their pacing of your labels is excellent I'd like you to.

Change the tone, though a little bit.

More to a kind of gentle matter-of-fact impersonal quality in the voice, it may seem artificial, but it can influence consciousness, something more like this.

Long.

Loud.

That kind of quality and then in between the labels your intently focusing on that flow and then you reac knowledge with the label and you use the gentle matter-of-fact quality in the voice to remind you to be gentle and matter of fact with the sensation that that's using the voice to induce equanimity does that make sense. Yes, excellent so I'd like you to do it that way.

Cloud.

That's perfect.

Now.

Shift to mental labels think those words.

Or that word but as you think that word let your mental voice.

Also have that, gentle matter-of-fact tone to it, and that will constantly be reminding have equanimity.

The tone of the labeling voice induces equanimity.

The even pacing not too fast, not too slow guarantees concentration.

And then the precision of the words that you use to label the phenomenon that guarantees the sensory clarity, so can you see how the labeling process sort of guarantees each of the 3:00 components of mindful awareness is that concept makes sense to you. Yes, excellently so now I'd like you to continue to note the flow using mental labels.

How's that coming Lori?

It's coming, it's really slow down.

Is there more of WAVY quality to it?

Or you say it slow down? Yeah, there's the I think the prickliness is sort of softened and it's turning you know more WAVY.

Would you say that the WAVY sensations? Are pleasant unpleasant or neutral?

Yes, I hope so neutral.

I'd like you to focus in on that.

And.

That means to the extent that you focus on that neutrality. You don't have the sense of discomfort is that correct so keep focusing on the sort of massage of that WAVY flow keep noting it as flow.

Open up to it, and sort of think of it as a kind of massage.

That at worst is neutral.

Um.

Could potentially at some point actually become pleasant?

But as long as it's at least neutral you're focusing on that movement.

And you're less caught up in the sense of having a physical discomfort that.

Notion make sense yes excellent.

So keep doing just what you're doing you're doing great.

Is that WAVY flow still present?

It is it's being sort of challenged by this pulsing it's starting to assert itself.

And is the Pulsing literally the pulse from the from the circulation of blood.

I don't know I don't feel it more.

Close to my elbow, which is not generally place rated feel a pulse and the Pulsing is a a painful sensation.

It's neutral too. I'd have to say it just but it's a little distracting. Yeah. Could you interpret the pulsing as a kind of flow? Yes, it's just changing the pace like it's more so you could add the Pulsing as part of the neutral flow.

And is there anything pleasant in any of the flow at this time or is it still more or less a neutral thing.

I think there there is a degree of pleasantness to it.

Is it possible to describe in? What sense the flow is pleasant?

It's just because it's it's really slow and almost calming.

Good I'd like you to use your concentration power to focus on how the flow is pleasant.

And let that sort of massage you nurture you.

Take you deeper and deeper.

Comfort you.

But also sort of energized here so it's.

It's a kind of positive energie for you.

Just keep noting flow now if you wish you can drop the mental label.

And just do it moment by moment with direct awareness.

Or you could reinstate the metal label if you get a little spaced out and if you get really spaced out. I'd like you to start speaking the labels out loud again.

Does that make sense? Yes, so that's sort of like a quality control?

If you go up the Hill or go into first gear speak the labels and use the voice.

The way we did the pacing the tone and so forth.

If you're

In our lab.

Just sort of.

Ha.

Driving along you know you can use the.

Going to a

Into the mental labels and if you really get on a momentum you can drop the labels going to cruise control.

And.

Just do it after wrecked awareness.

That makes sense. Yeah.