garden/meditation technique.md

meditation technique

• a process.
  • I meditate 10 minutes on waking up, and then 5 or 10 more most days in the evening.
    • #pull samatha vipassana buddha nature
    • breath is the palace of buddha
  • #push numbers
    • While meditating I sometimes do variations on box breathing combined with counting.
      • It's maybe a bit idiosyncratic but it helps me focus; I'll write more about it in this node.
      • It's important to let go of the process after a while, instead of becoming attached to the counting.
    • While I breathe, I sometimes visualize a box.
      • I started by using single time to count with the help of this box.
        • On breathing in, I count and optionally visualize a number inside or near the box as I go up the leftmost edge.
        • On not yet breathing out, I go right through the upper edge.
        • On breathing out, I go down the rightmost edge.
          • While I do this, optionally, I factorize the number or evaluate it according to some well known function.
          • If the number is known to be prime, optionally, I calculate its multiples until I start another breath.
            • If some multiple is known to be interesting, I stop there and make a mental note of where I stopped.
            • 119 is known to be interesting, for example, because it was the first multiple of 17 which I found interesting in one particular run through this process.
              • It was the first number that I couldn't decide as prime or composite based on some procedure simpler than knowing it was a multiple of 17.
      • On occasion I find it useful to double time.
        • That means, to count up both when inhaling and exhaling.
        • This can feel more engaging, which makes it easier to maintain focus.
        • It also lets one make use of our body's natural parity bit: breathing in and out follow each other like odd and even numbers.
        • I start counting at one, so odd numbers happen when inhaling and even numbers when exhaling.
        • Interesting noting related to a number takes place on two consecutive edges.