Yogi: There was unpleasant sensation in the shoulder that came very strongly from a past retreat. It was not pain but an overwhelming sensation. I could see the aversion of not wanting and the wanting to know what it was.
It helped when I opened up the awareness to the whole body and expanded the awareness to more objects during walking – is that the right way to practice?
Sayadaw: Don’t look at the sensation directly because the mind already knows that it’s there.
The main attention should be on the reaction of your mind which is the aversion.
If you keep your attention on the aversion, you’ll see how when the aversion changes, it changes your perception of the sensations; and that’s the connection you want to see.
Because of the aversion, the mind has the experience of the unpleasant sensation. It is only when you watch the aversion, and sometimes when it goes away, you’ll see how the mind sees the sensation there as what it is.
But don’t think of meditating to make the unpleasant sensation go away; the body is just a set of conditions.
This object can give rise to the understanding of the nature of body and mind interaction.