Hi David,
I've been practicing NSR for about three months now and have found that it continues to create mild (sometimes moderate) improvements in my day-to-day life. I suspect, however, that I'm not getting the full benefit of the technique. I've posted a question or two on the forum and had a phone consultation with you to try to get to the root of this... signs had seemed to point to the presence of effort in my sessions, and I've made some adjustments and now usually feel no effort when practicing. At least, I don't
think I do.
The benefits of the technique, however, continue to be somewhat subdued, and -- after reading a few recent posts of yours -- I'm wondering if I've misinterpreted the notion of "letting thoughts go." Does it mean to let them go away or let them go on?
In the manual, it seems (to me) to imply that we should let the thoughts drift away once we become aware that we're having them, and then very gently come back to the syllable. (I think the manual likens it to strolling up alongside a friend on the beach.) Some of the language on the forum, however, seems to indicate that letting the thoughts
continue is actually preferred and that attempting in any way to concentrate on the syllable is not ideal. I'm having a tough time reconciling how both of the above are possible, and I'm sure I'm misinterpreting something.
This is all very subtle, and I feel I'm probably just a small tweak away from fully understanding what's a little off in my sessions. I recognize that there are many, many posts on this topic already and thank you in advance for finding yet another way to describe "letting thoughts go."
~Levi