Sitting in a straight-back chair, place both feet on the floor. Close your eyes. Choose either hand and let it hang loosely by your side. Be careful not to go to sleep or to do the exercise for relaxation. The procedure is only to prevent an accumulation of tension by correctly meeting life’s experiences, not to dull the effects that will follow your failure to do so.
Bring your attention to your right hand hanging by your side. Simply notice it. Feel the blood flowing down into it. It will tingle. Now just do that. Just be aware of your hand hanging by your side. There is no need for any effort. Again, simply notice your hand hanging by your side until you find yourself not noticing it through being caught up in a daydream. When that happens, simply bring your attention back to your hand again, and again. If you will do this, you will begin to feel the blood flowing down into your fingertips. You are now learning how to concentrate on your hand. Be very, very conscious of your hand.
Mentally shift your attention from one finger to another. Shift your attention to the first finger, the second finger, the third and fourth, coming back to the first again. Just be very, very aware of each finger in turn until it begins to feel as though the blood were flowing down into it.
Now, while you are being very, very aware of your hand, at the same time (and you find you can do it) become also aware of the middle of your forehead. Now, as though you were looking through the middle of your forehead, funnel your attention down your arm into your hand.
When you notice that your mind wanders off, simply notice your hand again. Feel the awareness of your hand. Feel the hand tingling as though the blood were flowing down
into it and see if you can see the outline of your hand in your mind’s eye—as though you were peeking out of your mind’s eye through the middle of your forehead. Be aware of your hand as though you were seeing it with your mind’s eye through the middle of your forehead.
Keep doing this; don’t stop. Be very, very aware of this hand. Be very conscious of it. Feel the presence of it. Feel the blood flowing down into it, and then out of this mild, tingling, warm feeling, let that hand become a vague outline in your mind’s eye. It is as though you can almost see or sense where your hand is without imagery.
Now watch the thought that tries to pull you away from being aware of your hand. If your thoughts pull your awareness away from the present moment, bring your attention back to your hand, and then again feel the awareness of it; feel the presence of it, and then see the back of your hand drawing up toward you, so that the back of your hand comes up to touch the middle of your forehead. Draw your hand toward you as you look out at it with your mind’s eye.
Be very conscious of your own mind, as though you were sitting in a big cave, and then feel the awareness of your hand and see the outline of your hand moving toward your head and your head toward your hand. Note: it is not important if such concentration does not make your arm feel light. I only want to help you to keep your mind in the now—to keep it from wandering into thought and dream stuff.
If your thoughts pull your awareness away from the tingling of your hand in this present moment, simply feel the awareness of your hand again, and then “see” your hand drawing upward toward your head and your head toward your hand. Keep doing it; don’t stop.
Again, so as to help keep your awareness in the moment, judge the distance between the hand and your forehead. See if you can estimate the distance your hand has to travel to touch your forehead. Do not hurry. Be patient. You have plenty of time. Just be conscious of the tingling hand. Feel the awareness of it. See the outline of it through your mind’s eye, coming toward you (as though you were looking out through the middle of your forehead), drawing closer and closer and closer. Keep doing it. (You’re not meant to look up and strain your eyes.)
If your thoughts wander off, bring your mind back to the now awareness of your hand. Feel the blood flowing down into it. Feel the presence of it, and then see the outline of your hand drawing toward the middle of your forehead, as though you were looking out into space and you see it coming toward you. But don’t look upward or strain your eyes. Simply have the awareness of the middle of your forehead, of your mind’s eye. Just observe AS THOUGH you were looking through the middle of your forehead, the place where thoughts arise, and then see if you can locate where your hand is rising up toward the middle of your forehead. See if you can draw your arm up toward the middle of your forehead, energizing your arm through being very aware of it.
Do not hurry. It is really not important if your hand does not rise. The object of the exercise is to create in you a response to your inner self, to remain in the present, in the Presence. If your arm becomes light and buoyant, just let your hand go up by itself toward your forehead.
If your mind wanders off, bring your attention back to your hand; feel the awareness of it again. Feel the tingling sensation as if the blood were flowing down into your fingers. See the outline of your hand coming toward the middle of your forehead as though you were looking through your mind’s eye. Do not strain your eyes. Just be very, very aware of your hand as though you could see it, through the awareness of the middle of your forehead, so your hand and head touch and feel as one.
You find now that you can dissolve unnecessary, unwanted thoughts simply by becoming very aware of the present moment. Just be aware of your hand. Feel it coming up toward you so that the back of your hand touches your forehead. Judge the distance. In your estimation, see if you can judge the distance between the back of your hand and the middle of your forehead.Draw the hand closer to the head. Soon you will feel that the back of your hand is closer to your forehead than it really is. You may think to yourself, “If I move it just a little closer, the back of my hand will touch the middle of my forehead,” but it doesn’t. It may feel as though your hand is passing through your head, rather than to your head.
But when it does move a little closer, it doesn’t seem to touch your forehead. It seems as though your hand is closer than it really is. This is just an effect created by the way you are concentrating.
Now still keep being aware of this hand. Be very, very conscious of it. Feel as if the blood were flowing into it. It will tingle. It may begin to feel warm or detached, but just keep being aware of your hand and remain aware of it through the middle of your forehead.
When the back of your hand touches the middle of your forehead, drop your hand to your lap. When you have done it with one hand, do it also with the other.
Now, while you are listening to or reading these principles, keep noticing the place in the middle of your forehead and your hand as if they were one place, joined together, or just be very conscious of your hand on your lap or by your side.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Chapter 1 Continuation: How to Practice the Observation Exercise
The meditation exercise contains all the ingredients for perfect self-control.The values accumulate only when practiced daily. If you want to break a habit or solve a problem, at this moment stop trying. I know it is very important to you, but up to now you have not succeeded your way, with all that effort. Put the same attention into your meditation exercise, and you will find that problems will resolve themselves. In a very short while habits will give you up, beginning with the last to appear.
There will come a time when serious guilt problems lose their place of importance. This may be quite puzzling, but remember what I said, “Do not analyze it.” Just be grateful that it is so. Be patient; in time you will understand what is happening.
These words are to be your guide for a little while. Go through the basic exercise without help whenever you can. It is essential that sooner or later you learn to do it by yourself without any help from this recording or text.
The day you stop meditating will be the day you begin to fall back, and it may be impossible to begin again, ever.
Examine the following text and thoroughly familiarize yourself with the simple requirement of the meditation exercise technique. When you have grasped the basic concept, which is to learn how to become objective to your own thought stream and not fall into your thoughts, it’s time to put it into practice.
You should not encounter any difficulty, but if you run into emotional blocks toward the printed word, you should obtain the instruction as it first appeared, as a sound recording in the author’s voice.
You will notice that the exercise in learning objectivity phases into a discussion of basic principles. In the original classic sound recording from which this text is taken, this format was used because once the conscious mind is separated from the confusion, the education, and the prejudices of the lower subconscious self, it becomes capable of deeper understanding and of following sound principles as never before.
To be patient and calm is good advice that few can follow, except perhaps artificially by taking pills. Only in the truly objective state can the conscious mind inherit faith and, through faith, patience, and fully appreciate (and marvel at) how far the principle of patience can go. Now that the meditation is in printed form, the exercise has been separated from the principles explained by the narrator. You will note the point of separation following the end of the exercise. The author wishes to emphasize that the spoken word is far easier to follow than the written word, and he again suggests that you write for his meditation recordings if you have any difficulty.
The procedure is modified as follows: first accomplish the objective of the meditation exercise and when you have reached this objective state (which feels mildly distant), then read the principles that protect the meditative state.
This simple exercise leads your consciousness up through layers of conscious thinking while the spoken part of the dialogue shows you how to preserve this state and helps awaken you progressively to even higher realms of understanding.
There will come a time when serious guilt problems lose their place of importance. This may be quite puzzling, but remember what I said, “Do not analyze it.” Just be grateful that it is so. Be patient; in time you will understand what is happening.
These words are to be your guide for a little while. Go through the basic exercise without help whenever you can. It is essential that sooner or later you learn to do it by yourself without any help from this recording or text.
The day you stop meditating will be the day you begin to fall back, and it may be impossible to begin again, ever.
Examine the following text and thoroughly familiarize yourself with the simple requirement of the meditation exercise technique. When you have grasped the basic concept, which is to learn how to become objective to your own thought stream and not fall into your thoughts, it’s time to put it into practice.
You should not encounter any difficulty, but if you run into emotional blocks toward the printed word, you should obtain the instruction as it first appeared, as a sound recording in the author’s voice.
You will notice that the exercise in learning objectivity phases into a discussion of basic principles. In the original classic sound recording from which this text is taken, this format was used because once the conscious mind is separated from the confusion, the education, and the prejudices of the lower subconscious self, it becomes capable of deeper understanding and of following sound principles as never before.
To be patient and calm is good advice that few can follow, except perhaps artificially by taking pills. Only in the truly objective state can the conscious mind inherit faith and, through faith, patience, and fully appreciate (and marvel at) how far the principle of patience can go. Now that the meditation is in printed form, the exercise has been separated from the principles explained by the narrator. You will note the point of separation following the end of the exercise. The author wishes to emphasize that the spoken word is far easier to follow than the written word, and he again suggests that you write for his meditation recordings if you have any difficulty.
The procedure is modified as follows: first accomplish the objective of the meditation exercise and when you have reached this objective state (which feels mildly distant), then read the principles that protect the meditative state.
This simple exercise leads your consciousness up through layers of conscious thinking while the spoken part of the dialogue shows you how to preserve this state and helps awaken you progressively to even higher realms of understanding.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Chapter 1: How Your Mind Will Keep You Well
I. THE PREPARATION
You are about to take a journey. It will be the most wonderful experience of your life. The secret is not apparent to the casual reader. It reveals itself only to the person who is willing to follow the step-by-step instructions and will follow through with the mental exercise by himself in the days that follow.
Do not expect a miracle instantly. Results can appear quite soon, but because of individual differences, it may be a few days, a few weeks, sometimes much longer.
Be sure that you do not do this exercise for the purpose of feeling better or to get something out of it. That attitude destroys the effectiveness of the meditation and gives it a selfish twist. Do it to discover your true self rather than to feel better. Expecting some special effect ruins the spirit of discovery and can create illusion and frustration.
For the time being, put aside your fears, anxieties, guilts and worries, and give all your attention to understanding the author’s instructions to you. Repeat the meditation exercise by yourself many times a day, at least three if possible, especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Careful: do not try to analyze why it works. There is a vast difference between concern and worry, analysis and understanding.
If you listen very carefully and do as you are told, you will experience periods of well-being and then periods of doubt, thoughts such as “Will it last?” or “Am I kidding myself?” Take advantage of your increased awareness to observe this out of your thinking. Be attentive in this special way and you will come to understand many things effortlessly. Analysis always substitutes for understanding and leads to worry and doubt, and doubt in turn will lead to confusion, emotion, depression and despair.
Although you cannot make yourself believe, you can observe the demon of doubt out of existence. You will see what is meant by this as you meditate.
Do not wait until you feel like doing your exercise; do it religiously. The object of the exercise, you see, is to lead the way you feel. Our feelings have subtle ways of talking to us and blocking us from doing what is wise. Therefore, if there is only one thing you must make yourself do, let it be to meditate. Once you have gotten past the mysterious reluctance and the resistance, you will be glad you did.
Be careful the exercise does not become a mechanical thing. Do it each time as if it were the very first time, so that it remains an observation exercise. There may be an uplifting, perhaps a “distant” feeling, lasting several days. As you become accustomed to this, you may start to worry, “Is it wearing off? I’m not getting anything out of my exercise. Am I doing it right?” The distant feeling is the awareness you have been seeking all of your life.
Most of us are accustomed to thinking from our feelings and being lost in them.We are used to living in a daydream state of escape. Continue with your exercise regardless of what happens. If you encounter an odd experience, don’t worry. Wonder,watch, observe, question,wait, and you will be safe. For goodness’ sake, don’t decide whether it is a good experience or a bad one. It is perfectly all right if you admit that you don’t know and begin to wonder; that’s how you will come to understand.
Never add any technique to what you have been taught. The meditation exercise is what the name implies. The exercise will make the subconscious subject to the conscious understanding.
Although the instructions seem to contain many suggestions, close examination will reveal but one principle.
Never (through lack of understanding) misuse the power you develop, giving suggestions to yourself such as “I will be brave,” “I will lose weight.” Don’t roll up your sleeves to deal with problems as you begin to understand what they are.Wait. Be patient. There is a time and place for everything that is to be said or done. The most important thing for you to experience is repentance, which is the sad gladness that is known when you see yourself in the light and you see your ego as part of the problem.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
