Day One Hundred and Fifty

Touching with some concentration brings up a variety of issues that carry over in relating to anything. Sustained attention can't be too forced, because I get caught up in the resistance to it. Then again, too easy and I'm drifting into other states of mind, of body. Staying with something, paying attention, is many things, including, it seems to me:

1. Letting go of entangling mind and body states that come up
   
2. Examining the reason why concentration is worthwhile, when doubts come up
3. Observing, naming, identifying what it is I am doing, at least to get back to concentration if I am in a fog.
   
4. Letting go of concepts in order to get closer to the sense door and the object, to contact, to feeling.
   
5. Observing and allowing the very pleasant state of concentration to develop, not needing to second guess it.
   
6. As the relationship to concentration gets easier, increasing effort due to a tendency toward distraction; it all seems to be a state that is never at rest... and yet perhaps it is my mind that is never at rest and therefore, applied activities are necessary until absolute calm is allowed to be.

Concentration seems more about bringing myself in line than in reaching the quiet of the stone. Perhaps the stone knows that already.