Nothingness vs feelings

[F A B]

Does the practice of shutting the mind ("think nothing" technique) mean you silence also your feelings and sensations?

Let's say, for example, you are meditating outside when you start feeling a gentle breeze.

Should you keep the focus on nothingness or move it to the breeze feelings? 

 

 

[Tim R]

35 minutes ago, F A B said:

Does the practice of shutting the mind ("think nothing" technique) mean you silence also your feelings and sensations?

No.

Actually it's the contrary in my experience, since with a silent mind, your awareness for all occurring sensations is heightened. 

37 minutes ago, F A B said:

Should you keep the focus on nothingness or move it to the breeze feelings?

Oh but there's no difference between the breeze and nothing 

 

If the breeze is, then focus on the breeze.

 

Try not to get too hung up on whatever it is that you call "nothingness". 

[kbone]

Attempting to stop thoughts is attempting to re-condition the mind to stop itself from carrying out its function. You can try it, but notice the conflict created and never resolved. It pits the mind against itself, which is a battle, in the end, it will lose.

What may be more advantageous is to bring into greater awareness the profound subtleties of mind, which include cerebral thought and emotional feeling. You could do a little research to understand the mechanisms and functions of these basic two aspects (i.e., cerebral brain versus hormonal brain) and how they interact as the mind-body organism and psychological self. It gets interesting.

The "nothingness" you speak of is more likely the mind trying to "project nothingness" as a means of attaining something, when in fact, that's just a mind game. Mind is movement within the Nothingness that one already is, the Void (as Zenners call it). Mind wants nothing to do with that; it wants to maintain control, so it is very likely happy to assume that it understands this "nothingness", when in Truth, it can't.

[Moksha]

If you feel the breeze as a physical sensation, recognize it for what it is, just like your thoughts, without identifying with it.

If you are able to feel the breeze, resonating with who you are, realize it. Consciously, you are the same as the breeze.