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John, I’m going to try to take a stab at answering your questions. I may not have many definite answers, but I’m hoping that what I can offer may help a little.
1) This seems like something you might be able to go either way with. If you try to shift your habit of counting in the mind to counting on just fingers and beads, you may find that if you give it a few days, you will adjust to this new method. However, if you find that this change is so difficult that it is very distracting from the objective of feeling these parts of your body, you might decide it’s best to stay with the head counting. I often try to follow the directions given even if it seems odd or difficult – because sometimes there is a deeper reason for doing things a certain way. Whichever way you chose, try to approach it in a way that causes minimal stress/frustration in your practice.
2) Again, this may get down to a decision as to whether you feel it’s helping or getting in the way. I think the breath and the gap are useful to noticing the ‘countdown to distraction’ – you might find as you continue to practice it is easier to include these things in the noticing. I had a hard time with all of these different parts on the first day, but discovered it got easier as I practiced.
3) I think you’re right – just hairline on forehead.
4) I wouldn’t advise going too deep. If you go too deep into the surface of the head, you run into the brain (although I’m sure on certain days some of us would argue this may not be the case.)
Working with the brain is a whole other matter. On the eyes and ears, I have been going a little deeper, to the area behind the eyes and a bit into the ear canal.Just my perspective. I hope this helps. Would like to hear from others what they think, if there are any other suggestions/opinions out there…
Okay – after listening to the Month 2 instructions, I am definitely leaning toward my suggestion of switching the habit of counting in your head to moving your fingers. He was a little more specific this time about why we should not be counting in our heads….
One way I have found to diminish the counting in my head for each breath has been to take a little bit of my practice time and make a concerted effort to kind of isolate my awareness only in my head during the exhale of my breath (I release a finger during my exhales, as if my breath is physically moving my fingers). I find that overcompensating a bit by moving my focus further into the awareness I am placing on a part of my head and further away from the sensation of my breath just for a few breaths has allowed me to separate the mental counting from my breathing. After a few breaths in this manner, I then return to focusing more on the sensation of the breath and try to replicate the feeling of breathing without counting, but I don’t return so far as to start counting in my head again. If I find I start mentally counting again, I just repeat this process.
i’ve been doing week 3 for about 4 days counting is still alittle tough but i think im homing in on it as well as feeling the points on my head,but reading other comments week 4 sounds pretty close so tomorrow im starting week4 and combine all. i’ll probally increase to 30 minutes to go thru the stages1-4
Ive been having this thing that I can hear in the background while I meditate and sometimes I get woken up by it in the middle of the night; sometimes I feel too tired to get up early enough to meditate because of it………..ahh the joys of children.
Remember if we’re not laughing we are not living!
Happy Practice everyone!Kevin
Halfway through week 4 at the moment. It’s going well. The sensations are pretty clear and strong, but more distractions seem to be coming from the breathing, chest & belly area as opposed to the different parts of the head.
I’m currently learning to sink qi, and this cross-training is very useful. I find this process of sensitization of my head helping me when feeling my head during sinking.
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