Using 'Focus Away' w. Sensory Challenges

At some point you realize that you know what no matter what I do. I'm still going to be uncomfortable. I can see that that will change with time, and it will change in two ways.

First your body will acclimatize to the posture.

It'll just get used to it your legs will stretch your.

Your muscles get used to it, and so forth and it won't be as uncomfortable as it is in your first retreat or several retreats, so there is a change that takes place in the body.

More importantly, it change takes place in consciousness your relationship to discomfort gets rewired so that.

Even when discomforts there, it becomes less problematic.

It will improve with time due to these causes in general when you deal with a challenge.

Of any sort the first thing you want to do is ask yourself. What is the sensory challenge involved here.

So what what's involved in the sensory challenge of physical discomfort in your body is certainly the physical discomfort.

However, there may be a significant component of feel image. Talk reaction to the discomfort. In addition to the discomfort itself.

The physical discomfort.

Has typically local intensities?

But it also tends to have a global subtle spreading influence on your body your whole body.

However, that global spreading influence maybe below the threshold of awareness. It may be subliminal. So you may not detect it. If you don't detect it. Then you don't work with it. Basic principle in mindfulness practice. You only work with tangible sensory experience. You don't sort of like well. I know some things there. What's wrong with me. I can't get to it. I can't detect it and so forth. I know there's this or that.

Under there, you know why my blocking it, etc, etc. That's not the thought pattern that goes with mindfulness practice with mindfulness practice. It's whatever is available to the senses that is what you work on and whatever may be below. It well that gets worked on by a trickle down effect, so even though I say that there is often a global spread from the local intensities.

It is also often the case that that is not detectable.

And if it's not detectable don't worry about it don't be concerned, however, if you happen to notice that.

That when you get a sort of local splash here, there's a little something here. A little here. Little here and those are touch their physical reactions to the local intensity. Well then if it's it's come up to the surface of awareness, then that's something that can be worked with.

Potentially, the sensory components of your

Physical discomfort are certainly an awareness of various local intensities, perhaps an awareness of a more global spread. This is all uncomfortable touch.

Then reactive to that you may have mental pictures triggered by that.

You may have announced could be pictures of the body part where the discomfort is or they could even in the extreme case be symbols that represent what's going on or they may be pictures of the energycap flows that are there like I used to get images of like knives stabbing OK or like Hammers banging like monsters like biting and things like that, and of course I call that.

Disconcerting imagery right and then you get the talk on the talk is like Oh my God, Oh my God, or it's like all this sucks or ones is going to go away or you know, I notions ends asleep, the Bell should be wrong.

Or it doesn't bother him, he doesn't get you know, he doesn't give a crap. It's like. But what about the rest of us, OK, so the overall gestalt is local touch, perhaps an awareness of a global spread of the touch and perhaps some.

Subtle or not so subtle arisings infiel image Top so this. These all come under the category of what I call ordinary since sensory experiences, you formulate a strategy for working with this.

So one strategy is focus away from it.

Just ignore it all.

That is a valid strategy if you can do it focus on what restful states. If you can positive feeling ***** talk if you can.

Far I used to try focusing and actually I do this with pain patients focus on sights and sounds, but take you away from the body and the mind.

It is valid to do that as long as you realize that that it's a mindfulness practice In other words.

As I define it mindfulness is a threefold attentional skillset concentration clarity equanimity.

Those don't all have to be directed towards the same sensory event.

You can direct your concentration and Clarity Twords. Let's say the sounds while at the same time, having equanimity with the body mind eruptions. You just not intentionally focusing on them You're still having a cocoon of equanimity with the sensory challenges and sort of surrounding the sense, we challenge. It's just you're deciding I'm going to put my attention elsewhere and sometimes putting the attention elsewhere. It can really help with the equanimity.

And give a chance for the eruption to sort of cool that.

So it is not the case that that represents suppression or denial the focus away strategy.

The way you know it's not suppression is that you are giving permission for that. Sensory challenge to arise. You're just not intentionally focusing on your clarity and concentration is being directed to something else.

Which could actually help with the equanimity on that thing so it's not suppression because you're giving it permission to be there.

You don't have an agenda that somehow you're going to make it go away. It's just your selectively attending elsewhere.

That is number one and #2.

On occasion, you're willing to turn towards it.

If at least on occasion, you're willing to turn towards it. And when you turn away from it. UE quantum eyes, it, but your concentration and clarity is simply directed elsewhere. So you're still developing basic mindfulness skills by a focus away strategy. If your focus away strategy is formulated that way. Then you're not suppressing and you're not deny.

Because on another occasion, you're going to turn towards it. You just developing the same basic mindfulness skill set in another way that is easier for you, or more attractive for.

So it is OK to focus away from things if you have that very clear conceptual framework that I just gave you.

You may or may not be able to focus away. Sometimes I can do it. I can like just focus on restful States and I can keep with the restful states to near fainting levels of pain.

And it really it creates huge equanimity and huge purification flavors. I'm not focusing on the touch or the feel of the image just wherever I could find rest on just like relaxing and whatever I can do you know if there's some because pain? Can stimulate feel image talk but paying can also turn off feel image dog, creating peace blank quiet lot of times when you're in physical pain. You don't want to relax the body.

Why why don't you want to relax the body when you're in physical pain because if you relax the body you'll become it's likely you'll become aware of the spread.

That I'm talking about the tension that muscle tension in the body covers over that spread but actually it's Penny Wise and pound foolish 'cause if you relax the body then. Yes, now, the uncomfortable touch is going to suddenly take over your body when you give it permission to spread volumetrically like that. The pressure dissipates from the local intensity. Once you discover that then you're willing to relax the body.

And let its and let it spread.

So, sometimes, I just focus on restful States and let the pain drive me into deeper and deeper states of relaxation peace blank quiet.

So if you can do that? Great.

But you may not be able to do that.

In that Case No problem.

Alternate strategy turned towards it.