Liking and not liking
I am loving the concept of liking and not liking. In today's somatic meditation with Alistair, I noticed relishing the feeling of dropping into my body - my body loves it when I take the time to drop in with a wide open awareness. It feels very healing and nurturing, especially when it is being guided by someone else who is holding the exploration space open for me - for some reason, I can relax into it more.
I noticed sensations in my body that weren't totally pleasant and then from last week's meet I remembered: ah - I am not liking..! :) and I smiled at myself internally. I made my breath more gentle and the exploration more subtle to see if I could feel where the not liking was to what I was physically feeling in my body and I noticed it was a subtle feeling of contraction. At some point I dozed off and woke up groggy to the group chat at the end of the session feeling somewhat bewildered.
I notice more "not liking" as I acknowledge my grogginess - and simply acknowledging it is enough to let the "not liking" and discomfort associated with it, lift somewhat. I am looking forward to joining more practises over the upcoming weeks and exploring mindfulness with an aim to be present and accepting day to day and turning towards what is.
Yes! I feel the same way. Simply noting it as “liking” and “not liking” feels quite revolutionary. There’s no “I” story that hangs on. It often flies through double speed. And I don’t hang on to “liking” or kick against “not liking”.
Vedana becomes threaded through everything. When it’s a ‘foundation of mindfulness’, I see it everywhere on so many micro and macro levels. And, as the refrain has it, always coming and going, and therefore no ground for clinging.