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Talk: 20000809-Larry_Rosenberg-CIMC-discussion_on_practice-8142 Leandra Tejedor.json Start_time: 00:10:05 Display_question: I notice that sometimes when I am meditating, I feel unusual sensations in my body. Is this common? Keyword_search: meditator, perception, mind, body, anxiety, meditation, calmness, fear, anguish, concentration, distracted, awareness Question_content: Questioner: I am a relative newcomer, and noticed as I was sitting here, I had this sensation like my body was stretching towards the ceiling. Is that common? Larry: You're okay. Don't worry about it. If you stay with this practice, yes. I mean, not literally, and exactly, in the words you used it. But sometimes it will feel as if the body falls away altogether. Sometimes it's transparent. Sometimes it will feel as if the body weighs ten tons. The perception will get modified. And if you keep up with this practice, a lot of what's coming out, of course, is coming from the mind. And there'll be some unusual visitors who come. The practice, of course, is learning how to greet them, to see very clearly into them, and to let them go their own way, when their time comes to go. Let me ask you this. When it happened, did you worry, or were you frightened? Questioner: I wasn't frightened here, in the company of other people, but I think that when I have been trying to sit alone… Larry: Yes Questioner: That when I approached that point where there has been anxiety Larry: Right Questioner: Maybe crossing into… Larry: Crossing into what? In other words, just as you begin to feel that you cut it off? Questioner: Yes Larry: That's common. We like the good stuff, and we don't like the bad stuff, in quotes. But meditation, finally, is really not about getting good experiences, those of you who are new, that might be a little disappointing. Getting great mind states, even though we do cultivate calmness, and so forth. Finally, it's a simple, profound, and not such an easy idea to learn, to put into practice. It's learning how to be with what's there, with what is happening to you, in the moment, without grasping at it, or pushing it away. And so, if that comes up, let's say the anguish, or anxiety comes up, if you can, if you feel ready for it, and I don't mean to rush you into it, but if you feel ready for it, then that anxiety is not interfering with your practice. That anxiety is the practice. So, let's say it wasn't terror. It doesn't sound like it was a big fear, but let's say a small fear. How would you put it in your words? Questioner: Medium fear. Larry: Okay. So, then you hear someone, as I just did, say you practice with the fear itself. How do you do that? It's not the word F-E-A-R, which can stimulate all kinds of notions in the mind, quite cut off from what's actually happening, just thoughts. It's taking a look at what is actually happening, that enables you to use that designation, fear. A good place to start would be the body. There'll probably be some sensations in the body, and can you observe them? Anything that happens to the mind must express itself in the body. The body, though, is more accessible, certainly at the beginning for most people. Later on, you would look at the more subtle realms, that particular emotion, if you can do it now, by all means. And there's the breath that's there to help steady you, to help keep you there. Now, if you back off from it, without examining it, or talking it over as you're doing, I think wisely with someone, what can happen is you… it's a self-fulfilling prophecy? You limit your practice, you will never get beyond that degree of, let's say, concentration. Was your mind beginning to get a bit concentrated, just prior to that? Questioner: I would say so. It happened so transparently, I would say. My mind is actually quite distracted. Larry: I see. Questioner: I realized I was in this unexpected state… Larry: Yes. Sometimes it comes upon us. The art that we're learning is, how to be aware of what's there, simply because it is there. When I first began to meditate, I heard instructions over and over again, and I was working so hard to do them, that I never quite did it right. And then the bell rang once, so I wasn't officially meditating, and then there it was. I mean, there was a few moments of real awareness, and I saw what that felt like, and then it became easier to do it. Not for it to happen just accidentally, in a sense. But my suggestion would be, is to examine what's happening to you. But no, there nothing to really…it doesn't sound like anything to be frightened of, and it is quite typical, actually. How does that answer suit you? Is it reassuring or do you feel… Questioner: It suits me very well Larry: Okay, good. End_time: 00:15:07
