When there were 5 minutes still remaining on the timer app, I was pretty much done with meditation. I had reached the deep end of the meditation where I can’t go on any longer. There is a lot of work that remains to be done to build my meditative stamina.
The effort I put in to build my stamina last night, lasted for 3 minutes. After I opened my eyes with 5 minutes remaining, I chose to sit still. To shut shop and lie down would not be a wise option. While working on a mind muscle like the concentration abilities, it is always good to add a few minutes to the effort.
It is pretty obvious to me now, that with a little effort I can pay attention to the mental chant. As the breath-chant move, it is easy to pay attention. It is the silence that follows that is difficult to deal with. This silence keeps getting deeper as the meditation progresses. The deep end isn’t the same as the surface.
God willing, with time, I’ll get used to the deep end. Like one gets used to paying uninterrupted attention to mental activity, ‘am sure one can get used to mental stillness. Godspeed us !