Hello all!
I don't know if this topic has ever come up, but didn't see anything as I've looked through the forums. Forgive me if it has and point me in the right direction. :-)
Anyway, I've started a meditation practice, been at it for a month and a half, and enjoying it. Until now, anyway. For some reason, during a session my mouth came through my thoughts and my attention has focused on that and it has become a feedback loop. It comes to mind involuntarily and immediately saliva begins to form and i feel the need to swallow. I feel like Pavlov's dog. My tongue feels heavy and hot and like some big clumsy fish. This sucks my attention away from the breath and it just keeps feeding on itself. My first sessions like this were a nightmare: I was very irritated and stressed. Then I thought I'd make my mouth sensations my focus instead of my breath. It worked insofar as it helped with the monkey mind, but it was difficult to stay relaxed and loose. I have decided I'll just have try to focus on the breath and stay relaxed and if I have to swallow every 10 seconds, I guess thats just how it is until it runs its course. Accept it. I realize that meditation is partly about working through this kind of thing but it doesn't make it any easier. Something like an itch, is just there. It generally goes away. This is like mentally scratching an itch and it gets worse and you can't help it.
I know this is probably pretty hilarious, but I'd appreciate any advice.
Do you, by any chance, drink a lot of soda/coke/pepsi/etc?
If so, try to only drink water 2 - 3 hours before meditating.
Other than that, the loop is all in your mind... each time you react to it, it becomes further reinforced, causing the loop to become stronger.
It's now at a point where as soon as you sit down, that's where your mind wanders to immediately.
Find something else to draw it towards, but the water should help.
I have a similar problem - due to my nose being broken when I was 18 and not repaired well I find it difficult to breathe through my nose. The natural state of my sleeping breath is through the mouth. I can confirm this because every morning when I wake up my mouth is dry as a sand pit.
When I try to let my body take its course I find that my mouth dries out quickly and once this happens all the subsequent breaths create a very distracting and unpleasant sensation inside my mouth.
Some people suggest that you should just remain still and try to power through these distractions but I am not convinced that approach is the best way. Once the distraction has taken root in your mind it is better to just eliminate it by doing whatever you have to do.
For me this means wetting my mouth every now and again. It is a pain, but if you are lucky and you don't dwell on it you may be able to get deep enough in between the distractions to cross over mentally. Swallowing is still one that gets me too, just do whatever it takes to defeat the distraction without a fuss and try to move on.
Thanks. Actually I rarely drink soda anymore. I know its all in my mind. Its funny, when I meditate my mind goes all over like a scared rabbit....UNLESS I don't want to focus on something. In which case its like a laser.
I have had success with simply accepting it and the fire seems to be burning itself out. Guess I was kind of thinking too.....if I ever get to AP/OBE and somehow get caught in a fear thought loop or something - it will be far more real. Rather deal with the mental now.
I have that problem with wanting to swallow. I try to forget about it. The more you think about swallowing, the more you want to swallow. I might have to swallow a few times then I forget about it.