Insight Practice - sensations, vibrations and etc

[Buba]

What are vibrations? Sensation - for example touching sensation. I touch something and focus on this sensation, but I dont see it arising and passing and I dont feel any vibrations.

How do you feel or see vibrations?

[Space]

@Buba Generally the perception of vibrations only comes after a lot of practise. It also requires very high levels of focus and concentration. Your average meditator won't experience the vibratory nature of reality in a few sits. As far as I understand, the advice is not to go looking for vibrations, particularly if you're just starting out. Just focus on increasing your focus and concentration. They are not necessarily indicative of good meditation either, not are they necessary to see some good growth from insight practise. But when you start getting super concentrated and focused, things do start to vibrate, flutter, arise and pass, move, etc. Read Daniel Ingram's stuff if you want to learn more about these topics. 

[mandyjw]

You certainly do feel vibrations, you just don't know that you are. I have an awesome example for you. If you've taken a basic art class you've learned about complimentary colors. They are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. They cause color to pop and grab your attention, it causes a vibration. Think red and green for Christmas colors. Or thinking about loud clashing colors, colors that are hard to look it. "Cool" colors are of a different vibration and soothe you. Color powerfully affects how we feel. How is that? It's through different vibrations. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_colors

[ivory]

LOL, you must be reading Ingram's material. He really overcomplicates this stuff. Basically if you deconstruct the idea that you live in an objective reality you will come to see all things as vibrations (or arisings, or whatever you want to call them). Investigate the senses. Reality isn't as solid as it appears.

 

Leo has a good exercise to discover exactly this. Check out exercise #6. 

 

Edited April 20, 2019 by ivory

[Buba]

Thank you for clarification. Yes I am reading Daniel Ingram’s book.  I had a very intense Dark Night last year. Some people said you cannot have Dark Night without awakening, Leo said you cannot have Dark Night with 20 minutes daily meditation. But as I am reading the book I see I had Dark Night. And it is coming back as I restarted doing meditation. But I never had awakening, I never saw vibrations. I have been meditating on and off for 2 years maximum 20 minutes per day.

I read enlightenment exercise N#6. And I think is not it good that my mind makes up static objects, because when I close my eyes I still know where objects are and it can save my life?

[ivory]

1 hour ago, Buba said:

I had a very intense Dark Night last year. Some people said you cannot have Dark Night without awakening, Leo said you cannot have Dark Night with 20 minutes daily meditation. But as I am reading the book I see I had Dark Night.

I'm pretty sure I went through dark night as well. I spent a lot of time on Daniel's forums over the years. Ultimately what helped me was dropping the notion that I was in dark night and getting really clear on what was causing my suffering. What makes you think you're in dark night? How do you know you aren't just depressed or anxious?

 

[Arnold666]

Here is a way to get out if the dark night. I sit down on the bed in a morning and don't let yourself get up that day. You just have to sit with it. No distractions. Meditate, than just sit looking at the room watch the things that arises and passes away, thoughts and sensation then meditate again. Max run for the fridge to eat something and run back. But usually I fast that day. This is how I get through the dark night every time. I you just have to sit with it. You will start to like it after a while. It will return again if you into this work so you better get it handled and build a relationship with it cause it can really fuck you up, you and people you love and make you lose track or even quit completely. 

[Buba]

On 4/20/2019 at 9:18 AM, ivory said:

I'm pretty sure I went through dark night as well. I spent a lot of time on Daniel's forums over the years. Ultimately what helped me was dropping the notion that I was in dark night and getting really clear on what was causing my suffering. What makes you think you're in dark night? How do you know you aren't just depressed or anxious?

 

Because of depersonalization, the impaired sense of me. In normal depression I never had it.

In which stage (Daniel’s map) are you now?

 

21 hours ago, Arnold666 said:

Here is a way to get out if the dark night. I sit down on the bed in a morning and don't let yourself get up that day. You just have to sit with it. No distractions. Meditate, than just sit looking at the room watch the things that arises and passes away, thoughts and sensation then meditate again. Max run for the fridge to eat something and run back. But usually I fast that day. This is how I get through the dark night every time. I you just have to sit with it. You will start to like it after a while. It will return again if you into this work so you better get it handled and build a relationship with it cause it can really fuck you up, you and people you love and make you lose track or even quit completely. 

I am scared to go hardcore and not be able to handle the mad mind. Is not it possible to go slowly in order to be able to cope with less intense consequences?

[Arnold666]

Than go slower. Lock yourself in the room and set a timer for two hours or more. In that time you don't let yourself be distracted. Do that days in a row till you get out of the belly of the beast. You wanna go through the shitty faze the fastest as you can handle. The more you sit with it, the faster you go through it. Being under the dark night influence its like being drunk. You say stupid shit and make fucked up decisions. But also have compassion for yourself, don't take it personally. It's not your fault, it's like the wather. Sometimes it rains and you can't do shit about it just wait till the clouds part. 

[Buba]

I am scared to end up like this. That is why I am slow in practice.

 

[Arnold666]

I get you man. We all have this fear. We all have times when we feel like this is it, I did it this time, went too far and now I'm Insane. It's a really disorienting endeavor. You are cutting and pulling out the roots of your psyche. It's not for the weak hearted. Take care of yourself. But then again, if you want enlightenment you will have to lose your mind eventually. 

[Buba]

Thank you very much. In the case of above-mentioned guy, I saw that even if you go bravely and practice properly, you can end up being mentally disabled.

[Buba]

So how can I see arising and passing? With Just observing with patience so it reveals itself? Or to make some type of effort?

[Buba]

I have been doing insight meditation like this for more than a year:

I sit on the edge of my bed. Close my eyes. And observe my breath either in abdomen (how it rises and falls) or tip of my nose (how breath touches the tip when I breath-in and breath-out). That is it. I only observe.

But Daniel Ingram made me confused and doubt this technique. He says look for three characteristics. How?  I can only observe, if it does not show me three characteristics, what kind of effort can I make?

Thanks beforehand.

[Buba]