2.2. Name the Channel

Open awareness is a very useful, versatile, foundational skill in mental training. Using it as a base, there are numerous exercises that can be practised to develop analytical skills and insight. The first step along that path is being able to clearly discern what field of experience is happening, or as we shall call it, 'naming the channel'.

Naming the channel is one of the easiest way to build up speed and accuracy of analysing what kind of experience is happening. And it is reasonably easy to do.

When seeing, just note, "eye channel" or "eye".

When hearing, just note, "ear channel" or "ear".

When smelling, just note, "nose channel" or "nose".

When tasting, just note, "tongue channel" or "tongue".

When feeling physical sensation, just note, "body channel" or "body".

When a mental experience is occurring, just note, "mind channel" or "mind".

Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. That's all.

This ability to quickly and accurately name the channel of experience will be very useful in the meditations which follow later in the course, related to understanding dependency and developing insight.

Naming the channel has the added benefit of helping you to stay with actual experience and not run off into habitual thoughts, daydreams and fantasies. It's a useful anchor to present moment experience.

It also helps with reconditioning the mind to perceive in a new way. The normal mode of human perception is entirely focused on the objects of awareness, and what goals can be achieved with those objects. "How is this person or thing useful? How can it be of benefit to me? Or endanger me?". Naming the channel re-frames perception to start noticing the structure of awareness.

Something that becomes very apparent with practice is that there is no cross-over between the five senses. The information coming from the eye channel is a totally different type of information from what is coming through the ear channel. Hearing in no way blends with smelling. Tastes and bodily experience are entirely separate domains. But all five senses are available to the mind.

In the beginning, this exercise may be a little bit chaotic. You're not used to interpreting experience in this way. Your usual mode is more object-orientated and goal-orientated. So if the channel of experience is not immediately clear, don't get stuck there, just move onto the next experience.

In summary, for this exercise

1. Know what's happening with open awareness
2. Name the channel that experience is happening on

Meditation on naming the channel

Transcript

This is an awareness exercise, naming the channel of experience. Firstly, establish open awareness. Calmly, know whatever is happening right now. Be receptive to whatever comes up, you're not choosing to have this or that experience. Just notice whatever is prominent right now, and give your full attention to that. Experiences come up, change and disappear to be replaced by the next one. Allow your attention to move fluidly from one experience to the next. --- Every single experience is happening within its own field. Just for a moment, note which field it belongs to. Name the channel. Note all sights as "eye channel" or "eye" for short. Note all sounds as "ear channel" or "ear" for short. Note all smells as "nose channel" or "nose" for short. Note all tastes as "tongue channel" or "tongue" for short. Note all physical sensations as "body channel" or "body" for short. Note all mental experiences as "mind channel" or "mind" for short. Know each experience and name the channel of experience. --- Know what is happening and name the channel it is happening on. --- While seeing a sight, know that this is seeing, the sense of sight, this experience is happening on the eye channel. Pay attention to *all* the information coming in on the eye channel. While hearing a sound, know that this is the sense of hearing, this experience is on the ear channel. Pay attention to *all* the information coming in on the ear channel. When smelling a scent, know that this is the sense of smell, this experience is on the nose channel. Pay attention to *all* the information coming in on the nose channel. When tasting a flavour, know that this is the sense of taste, this experience is on the tongue channel. Pay attention to *all* the information coming in on the tongue channel. While feeling a physical sensation, know this is the sense of touch, this experience is on the body channel. Pay attention to *all* the information coming in on the body channel. While thinking a thought, or having any other mental experience, know this is the sense of mind, this experience is happening on the mind channel. Pay attention to *all* the information coming in on the mind channel. Clearly know each experience, briefly name the field, and come back to the experience at hand. --- If naming the channel gets tiring or difficult, come back to simple open awareness for a minute, calmly knowing what is happening as it is happening. You may also find the opposite, that naming the channel gives a very powerful boost to the clarity of mindfulness. If that's the case please continue with it. --- Know each experience and name the channel of each experience. --- Know each experience as it occurs, and mentally note the name of the sense field. --- If you are only able to name the channel every ten seconds, then name it every ten seconds. If you are able to name the channel once a second, then name it once a second. If you are able to name the channel ten times a second, then name it ten times a second. --- Keep following experiences as they occur. Keep naming the channel of the experience.

Continue with this for three or four sessions.

Q&A

Q: Do you have any questions or doubts at this point?

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