Unis
Thanks for the reply Unis.
Normally I sit upright in a chair for an hour when doing h/s. I used to lie down but I felt that was not the best way for me.
Sometimes my mind races when using h/s but I try to gently bring it back to the meditation. And yes I have used various techniques such as focusing gently on my breathing, or as you say REALLY listening to the sound of the waves, or in my case, the gongs. I feel anything that might help bring me back to the present moment is helpful. I don't want to spend that hour thinking or worrying about the future, or dwelling on the past etc., I prefer it to be about the present moment, and that means my meditation session.
I do occasionally zonk out on the second part of the session but not always. I zonked out last night and had just a little difficulty in falling asleep but that is no real problem.
I like what you say about being the 'The Watcher' and I have read what Bill Harris has to say about this. It sounds very similar to what some practitioners of Zen/Buddhism might call 'mindful meditation' and that is the ability to basically be in the present, regardless of what you are doing. For example, if you are making a cup of tea then you are primarily focused on that rather than allowing your mind to race ahead about what you are going to do in the next hour or so or letting it fret about something that happened in the past etc. It is in my opinion an easy concept to understand but not so easy to accomplish. I often find that my mind has drifted again and that it is anywhere but in the present. But then maybe it is not a bad thing that I am at least aware of that and able to bring myself gently back again to the present.
Regards, and thanks for your comments which were very helpful.
Steve.
