Life Off the Cushion: I've decided to start writing "Life Off the Cushion" entries in addition to my meditation session entries.  This is because there's so much cross-pollination between my day-to-day life and my meditation sessions; I want this blog to be a record of my life as a yogi and I don't feel like its doing anybody any favors (me, you, anybody) if I leave out things that are obviously meditation-related just because they didn't happen while I was on the cushion.

Also, for the sake of clarity, since I refer to things like "nanas" and the "Three Characteristics" pretty frequently in this blog, I've decided to try and include explanatory links (like these) whenever possible. This is so that if I'm using a term or concept you aren't familiar with, there's a way for you and I to quickly and conveniently get on the same page. I'll try to put the links/terms in quotes, so you don't get fooled by the random advertizing links that blogspot throws into every post - for which I disclaim any and all responsibility. So, if you find yourself reading about penis-enlargers as a result of a link you've clicked on here, please don't yell at me "unless it was in quotes". It looks like blogspot likes to display links that are actually supposed to be there (aren't advertisements) in gray text, so that should be a big red flag that its safe.

So anyway, those housecleaning issues having been dealt with, there's been some bleed-through from my meditation sessions into my daily life. First, I've been edgy and irritable; I've had a pretty pernicious headache and had a hard time concentrating. This could be the result of the Ugly Monster Cold I've been recovering from for the past two weeks (don't get me started, it was awful), or it could be "Dark Night" bleed-through, or maybe some sort of combo.

Second, Since my session last night I've been dropping in and out of the "zoetrope-like" experience of my perceptual reality where EVERYTHING flickers in and out of existence. This is while I'm doing things like driving or talking with my wife, which is majorly disorienting, as I'm sure you can imagine. Its also very unsettling and there's something I don't like about what this sort of insight says about reality. I think I'm pretty uncomfortable with the pervasiveness of the this truth in my daily life. Things were all fun and games when this sort of experience was localized to the cushion, but seeing that everything in the whole world actually flickers in and out of existence pretty disconcerting.