Hi.
So I've started reading IIH, and I've come to the first exercise. I'm a little confused about what I'm supposed to be doing. It says to just follow the train of thought and observe it. But then a little later it says "Up to now we have learned to control our thoughts." But if I'm just observing my thoughts and where they wander to, I'm not really controlling them. Am I missing something here?
Also, how long do I do this for? Should I set a timer?
Questions about IIH exercises
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namedforthemoon
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- Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 7:06 pm
Re: Questions about IIH exercises
Basically it's a gradual exercise with a few goals. The real goal is to control the thoughts in all aspects, meaning completely silent when you need it, holding on to one thought like an apple for as long as you want, or following a stream of consciousness type meditation on an object or idea.
first it's hard and our mind wanders, so you start with following the train of thoughts, "thought watching". The more you do this the better you get at remembering your thoughts, controlling them, etc. Then this leads into being able to silence your thoughts as you get better control, "void" meditation. Then you can start to concentrate on one shape or object, and gradually build this up to very vivid mental scenes.
He also vaguely hints that there are two parts to this exercise, the formal meditation and then our every day life, where we can pick a thought or word to avoid, or just have a better awareness of them in general. This builds a lot of will power
It's good to time yourself at least, and it's up to you. It's best to start small, like 5 minutes, and add a minute each day, especially if you are totally new to meditation. The book says that 5 minutes of void meditation (with maybe 1-2 thoughts that you quickly suppressed) is needed to move on
Lastly know that this step is both seemingly simple and yet the most complicated and important step of the entire book, so don't feel bad if you read the theory and step 1 ten or a hundred times
first it's hard and our mind wanders, so you start with following the train of thoughts, "thought watching". The more you do this the better you get at remembering your thoughts, controlling them, etc. Then this leads into being able to silence your thoughts as you get better control, "void" meditation. Then you can start to concentrate on one shape or object, and gradually build this up to very vivid mental scenes.
He also vaguely hints that there are two parts to this exercise, the formal meditation and then our every day life, where we can pick a thought or word to avoid, or just have a better awareness of them in general. This builds a lot of will power
It's good to time yourself at least, and it's up to you. It's best to start small, like 5 minutes, and add a minute each day, especially if you are totally new to meditation. The book says that 5 minutes of void meditation (with maybe 1-2 thoughts that you quickly suppressed) is needed to move on
Lastly know that this step is both seemingly simple and yet the most complicated and important step of the entire book, so don't feel bad if you read the theory and step 1 ten or a hundred times
Only right reflection and right meditation can free you - Ananda Metteya
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namedforthemoon
- Forum Member
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 7:06 pm
Re: Questions about IIH exercises
Thanks so much, Fraterai. That helps me understand a lot better what I'm supposed to be doing. If I have any more questions as I go through things, I'll post them here. 