Zazen-lite

I would just like to throw out there that after about 6 or whatever years of zazen that even my daydreaming has changed. It is often sort of like zazen-lite, if there is such a thing (and if not I want to claim it right now like Jundo has claimed insta-zazen). Very often in those moments of drifting off I am very aware of where I am drifting. The only difference is that I don't drop the drift as I do in zazen. I follow it with a much clearer awareness than simply being lost in thought. In a way I drop the thought of dropping and just watch my mind wander as I ... hmmm......this......that.....whatever.... and so on......

Comments?

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Originally Posted by AlanLa

I would just like to throw out there that after about 6 or whatever years of zazen that even my daydreaming has changed. It is often sort of like zazen-lite, if there is such a thing (and if not I want to claim it right now like Jundo has claimed insta-zazen). Very often in those moments of drifting off I am very aware of where I am drifting. The only difference is that I don't drop the drift as I do in zazen. I follow it with a much clearer awareness than simply being lost in thought. In a way I drop the thought of dropping and just watch my mind wander as I ... hmmm......this......that.....whatever.... and so on......

Comments?

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Interesting. I never had that experience with daydreaming, but I do remember that a few years into daily practice, I'd be getting into a fight with my girlfriend at the time and I'd become aware of the absurdity of it and just start laughing. And ducking, because girls start throwing things when you suddenly start laughing in the middle of an argument.

Chet

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Originally Posted by disastermouse

Interesting. I never had that experience with daydreaming, but I do remember that a few years into daily practice, I'd be getting into a fight with my girlfriend at the time and I'd become aware of the absurdity of it and just start laughing. And ducking, because girls start throwing things when you suddenly start laughing in the middle of an argument.

Chet

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:lol:

Hi AlanLa,

thanks for bringing this topic up,

to daydream, to imagine, to think creatively, to act out, live out and express things are part of life.

As a musician I´ve always liked the expression "to lose one self" as a description of the process of being one with the flow of creating music, playing an instrument. But maybe there is a significant difference in "having lost one self" and in "being lost", as when we are sitting in zazen there might not be a "me" to be found yet in the same time, being aware of it all, everything is right there.

So I´d like to say,

go ahead and lose your self in what you do, but don´t get lost in what you do.

But then again, to be lost or not is all part of life, the real question is rather are we imprisoned by it or are we free in the flow of it.

Any thoughts on that?

BTW,

still here, if someone is wondering, lurking, reading posts, not much to ad, but most importly sitting, and will join the bookclub readings.

Janne

It's very much like the mind theater that Jundo talks about, but there is no plot to the daydream. I often don't get lost in the daydream, yet it is not guided either. I am clearly aware of it as it unfolds in its randomness, and so I am not lost even as I have no idea where it will go, nor do I care. It's sort of like monkey mind in zazen, but in zazen-lite the monkey mind is much calmer as it flits about from topic to topic. Just to be clear, I still do daydream the old fashioned lost way, but quite often it's this much more aware way. Being aware of your daydream is much more entertaining 8) I highly recommend it.