In every human Being, there lays a silent space filled with energy and joy. We can experience that joy within the gap between two thoughts and in the present moment. When we are not identified with passing thoughts and emotions, we exist in the present moment and within the present moment we experience the lightness and joy associated with our own Soul.
What separates us from our own godliness is our busy mind and our ego (the sense of "I" that differentiates itself from all others). The chattering mind separates us from all of life. The instant we have a thought, we loose contact with life in this moment. The instant we identify with passing thoughts and emotions, we loose contact with the God Force.
The God Force or Life Force is the same as pure consciousness-that which we experience in a thoughtless state of just "being." We experience pure Being in the gap between two thoughts or the rest between two breaths.
The sense of Being appears when we disentangle ourselves from impermanent thoughts and emotions-we zoom the mind out toward space so that we are conscious of emptiness. What does the sense of thoughtless Being feel like? Many students report that they feel as though the mind, body, and senses have disappeared. Time and space also disappear. One minute of absolute emptiness accompanied with natural presence in this moment can translate into the passage of many hours in normal consciousness. One often feels a sense of vastness because the limited sense of "I" identified with a body, gender, nationality, income & educational levels disappears. When there is no ego and mind left, no "one" exists except for light and highly intelligent sense of Being often called Pure Consciousness.
Pure consciousness is the same as the God Force or the life-giving principle. As you will find out in Lesson 4, the God Force or pure consciousness is a subatomic energy that vibrates above 1,000,000 cycles per second (your physical body vibrates at only 350 cycles per second). Pure consciousness is the source of all our thoughts, creativity, memory, and intuition. The enlightened person with a tame and quiet mind is always witnessing the mental and emotional fluctuations instead of being entangled with these passing thoughts and emotions. That Witness is our Soul or pure consciousness.
The mind is our most powerful instrument if we can manage and use it to our advantage. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the majority of people are being run by their unmanageable minds instead of the other way around. Understand that your mind does not control you; you have the ability to manage your mind.
Your mind is simply a mirror that reflects your own inner-state back to you. Whatever you feed your mind will echo right back to you since your mind is simply a mirror that reflects your input right back to you. You are in charge of your mind; you have the ability to choose what thoughts you feed your mind. What we feed our mind including our thoughts determines our experience of life. I am now referring to the old saying - You are what you think.
The problems of the mind cannot be solved by the mind. One has to transcend mind and senses to access higher intelligence of the Soul or Spirit. In the Indian Sanskrit language, they label this higher intelligence Buddhi. Buddhi means pure consciousness, it is found in that silent space between two thoughts or the silent rest between two breaths. This empty, yet vast space is the source from which all intelligence and creation arises.
The mind is itself composed of, Spirit or pure consciousness, but the mind being just a contraction of pure consciousness, cannot comprehend the higher Source (pure consciousness) that energizes it. To expect the mind to understand pure consciousness, the very Source of the mind, would be like asking a fish, what is water? The fish has never known anything but water; water is all around the fish. In this example, water is the life-giving principle of the fish just as pure consciousness gives rise to the mind, body, and senses.
Here lies the basic failure of any healing technique that seeks to work with the mind and thoughts in order to cure the mind and destructive thoughts. As Einstein said, You cannot solve any problem from the same level that the problem comes from.
The problem is, when we follow thoughts "downstream" and analyze thoughts, we simply experience more thoughts. Analyzing thoughts and becoming identified with thoughts, simply energizes thoughts and this multiplies our thought-bubbles.
Whenever you are entangled and identified with thoughts and emotions (instead of witnessing them), you energize them and as a result, you become more nervous and out of touch with the present moment. When you loose contact with the present moment, the chattering mind comes right back and you experience fear.
The ego/mind's problems are endless; the more you analyze your thoughts and emotions, the more problems the childish mind/ego will invent. Your ego and mind want you to pay attention to their problems-never mind! Remember, the more you analyze your thoughts, the more thoughts you will have.
Identification with the ego/mind creates fear, anxiety, worry, and inner-"dis-ease". To deal with our inner-pain we:
- Develop addictions
- Go after momentary sensory pleasures
- Depend on external gratification
The more dependent we are on external prescriptions to cure our inner-pain, the more inner-pain and emptiness we feel. The cycle of inner-pain propagates itself.
Most people do not realize that they can observe and also tame their chattering minds. When we learn to observe passing thoughts and emotions, we break our identification with the mind and we also take energy away from incessant thoughts and emotions. One very simple exercise is to simply observe and witness your mind. Become conscious of your breath for a few seconds, then simply observe the screen of your mind and wait for the next thought to arise. You will often see that no thoughts arise. The One observing in this exercise is your Soul or Pure Consciousness. As soon as you focus or identify with The Witness (pure consciousness), the mind and its chatter disintegrate!
As soon as we disentangle our Self from the mind, we gain awareness of the present moment. There is much joy in living in the present moment. Reality and life only exist in this moment. The subatomic Source of all creation is constantly reshaping itself and manifesting creations, second by second. Thus, all of life and creation only exist in this moment.
As soon as we loose awareness of the present moment, thoughts rush in and we experience fear. But if we maintain awareness of passing thoughts, emotions, our respiration and body sensations, we will be filled with the light of pure consciousness and the joy of living in this present moment.
The way to enlightenment is to become intensely present. The last page of this lesson outlines techniques for living in the "now." When we live in the "Now", our past regrets and worries about the future disappear; we experience high energy, and joy.
Some people permanently shift into the present moment during a period of intense pain or physical threat when the ego and mind temporarily collapse. During life-threatening situations, the mind dissolves; we become totally calm, time & space disappear, and we respond with clarity.
Whenever we are not in touch with the present moment, we are unconscious; we are not really aware of life or our own essence. When we experience the silent gap between two thoughts, we are Gods. When we are entangled and identified with passing thoughts and emotions, we experience fear and anxiety.
The more we resist the present moment, the more we suffer. The joyful person says, "yes" to the present moment and actually works with whatever this moment brings. Resistance to the present moment causes suffering. Say "yes" to life right now and you will feel more joy and energy. Never resist what the moment brings.
If the present circumstances somehow violate your soul, you must still stay in this moment while allowing the solution and remedy to reveal itself to you. If, however, you resist this moment, you will block the flow of information that nature is offering as advice or a way out of your troubles.
Stress comes from being "here" yet wanting to be in some other situation within the past or the future. When we fight this moment, we split our internal energies between the "now" and some other imagined time and space.
If we are suffering in a situation, we have only 2 choices:
- Leave the situation
- Accept the situation
Any action is always better than no action. Spirituality and meditation do not advocate laziness, apathy, or passivity. Highly spiritual people are very active; they act on the advise of their inner-Self-their intuition. Remember, verbs are better than nouns. Of course, Spiritual Law requires that we always take actions that benefit our self as well as others.
Focusing on the present moment dissolves all thoughts regarding the past and the future. Some students who are business and political leaders have asked, how can I conduct my detailed planning and formulate future strategies if I just exist in a state of emptiness within this moment?
When we are focused on the "now", our mind will be naturally clear and empty. Our body and our breathing will be naturally relaxed and will spontaneously act on the needs of the moment. If the present moment requires any creative thoughts and solutions, these will naturally arise from that empty space of infinite creativity-pure consciousness.
Here is a spiritual truth: all your tomorrows arise from today's thoughts, words and actions. If you can live in the present moment while maintaining your clarity, creativity, and relaxed state, you will be building a highly successful tomorrow.
Situations that need your attention always exist, but problems are an invention of the mind and the ego. What I am saying is that difficult situations requiring your attention, are real and they do exist in the present moment, but if you stay intensely present, you will see that problems do not exist in the moment. Our ego/mind always dwell on the past or the future. Problems, anxiety, tension, and worry are all a product of thinking about our past or the future.
When our minds are full of problems, we literally don't leave any room for solutions to move into our lives. When we live in the moment, we open up space so that nature and the Life Force can offer solutions. Stay awake and aware; you will pick up nature's clues and solutions much better.
When you pay intense attention to the present moment, you are honoring all of life. Everything and everyone around you feels your deep and loving attention.
The enlightened one honors everything in life, yet, he or she is not attached to any outcome. The wise one tries her best in any project, the, releases the results to God. For the enlightened person every outcome is O.K; in a spiritual sense, that particular outcome was how it was meant to be.
Take a minute to relax the body in a lying down posture. Tense & relax all your body parts starting from the tip of your toes up to the top of your head.
Take 15 Ujjayi breaths into your stomach focusing on slow, smooth, long, deep, and rhythmic breaths.
Now, tense and relax your feet, chins, thighs, buttocks, stomach, chest, shoulders, throat, and face.
Do a body-check on your entire body-toes, chins, thighs, buttocks, lower abdomen, chest, hands, arms, shoulders, throat, and face.
In your mind, visualize a scale or gauge that measures your body tension. The number 100 represents very high tension, and the number 0 represents complete relaxation. Now focus on totally relaxing your body while in you mind's eye you watch the gauge drop down toward zero (absolute relaxation). Once in while, during the exercise, stop to notice where the gauge is right now. Then, focus on dropping the tension level another 10-15 points (watch the tension gauge as you consciously relax your body).
The instructor will direct participants to focus on 31 points in the body and gently breathe into those body parts. Whichever body-part your focus goes to, that's where your breath and the Life Force (Prana) will go. Flooding the body with breath & deep awareness will vitalize your entire body.
Be aware of different qualities of physical sensations: tingling, butterflies in the stomach, aching heart, chocked emotions in the throat, throbbing in the head or behind the eyes.
Take away your judgments; do not try to "figure it out". Just drop your analytic mind! Make friends with the body sensations and just witness the tiniest body sensations. Each time you are pulled back into the thinking process, very gently take yourself back to the feeling process within the body. If need be, bring your awareness back to your breathing from time to time.
If you feel a blockage or pain in a certain part of your body, become very aware of that body part and breathe Ujjayi breaths into the center of the pain. Your intention in this exercise will be to utilize gentle breathing to direct love and acceptance to that pained part.
Can you associate the physical sensation with emotions of fear, embarrassment, anger, jealousy, sadness, or frustration? What you have not accepted, what you have judged in the past, has now turned into a painful knot.
See if you can identify the physical location of each emotion.
Can you identify the movement of emotional energy within your body (emotional energy actual moves in your body) Is the emotion moving? Identify the boundaries, the edges of the emotional energy moving within your body.
Be aware of any physical reactions that arise out of your emotions. Just witness how emotions are impacting your inner-body.
Mindfulness Meditation on Sensations of the Inner-Body
Sit comfortably and upright with head, neck, and spine in alignment. Take 10 deep Ujjayi breaths into your stomach, relaxing the belly muscles with each exhalation. Let the inhalation melt into the exhalation so that you can establish a cyclical rhythm.
Now, pretend that you are a hungry cat diligently watching a mouse hole. In this example, the mouse hole is the window of your mind; all your thoughts come through this window.
With the same intensity and presence that a cat awaits a mouse, put intense focus on the imaginary portal of your mind and await the next thought that might emerge from your mind.
What you experience in this exercise will surprise you. You may find that as you watch your mind from moment to moment, your mind disappears and you will not have any thoughts! The mind disappears when you simply witness the mind with pure consciousness.
In this exercise, you will use gentle waves of breathing to magnetize the seven main energy centers of your body (chakras). Doing so will vitalize you and naturally help your better Self to arise.
Breathe into the crown Chakra (top-center of your skull)
Breathe out between the two eyebrows. Breathe into the area between the eyebrows, breathe out into the crown chakra.
Breathe into the crown chakra, breathe out into the base of the throat. Breathe into the base of the throat, breathe out into the crown chakra.
Breathe into the crown chakra, breathe out into the heart. Breathe into the heart, breathe out into the crown chakra.
Breathe into the crown chakra, breathe out into the naval. Breathe into the naval, breathe out into the crown chakra.
Breathe into the crown chakra, breathe out into the lower belly. Breathe into the lower belly, breathe out into the crown chakra.
Breathe into the crown chakra, breathe out to the tail bone. Breathe into the tailbone, breathe out to the crown chakra.
Now, bring your focus on the bridge between the two nostrils and just observe the inflow and outflow of breath. If you are lost in thought, repeatedly bring your focus back to the temperature and texture of the air that you are breathing into your nostrils.
Never resist the thinking process; do not be angry or frustrated when thoughts enter your mind. Meditation means simply noticing and witnessing passing thoughts and emotions as they arise and dissipate, without reacting. During meditation, we do not react to the ebb and flow of thoughts & emotions.
Sit comfortably with your head, neck, and spine in alignment. Take 15 deep, slow, long, smooth, and rhythmic breaths into your stomach. Do not breathe into your chest first; relocate your breath from your chest down to your stomach.
Close your eyes and put your focus on any sounds in or outside the room. Keep listening with greater focus and see how many different sounds you can hear.
In the second part of this exercise, participants will listen to the "hum" or high-pitched ring of pure silence (silence has a sound like the sea). As you listen to the sound of pure silence, pure silence will grow louder. This is a meditation by itself; it will immediately quiet or even dissolve the mind and its chatter.
Play a beautiful piece of music and listen deeply. Feel the vibrational quality of the music in your body. Follow the sound of one instrument in this piece of music. With a little practice, you can physically feel musical notes passing through your body.
Most people listen with their mind; they do not listen because their minds are too busy. When you listen through your mind, you are not listening or acknowledging the other person. As part of the hearing exercise, one partner will talk and the listening partner will be asked to listen at these different levels:
- Just hearing the sound of the speaker's words (not paying attention to meaning of words).
- The listening partner will be preparing answers or interjecting comments while the speaker is still speaking (still not paying much attention).
- The listening partner will close his/her eyes and listen to the quality of the speaker's voice (better listening)..
- As the listening partner, feel the energy in your own body as you listen to the speaker. How does the speaker's energy field affect you?
- Look deeply into the eyes of the speaker and listen deeply without interruption. See if you can pick up the speaker's underlying emotions and intentions. If you remain intensely present, you will even have insights about the speaker's Soul and essence as you listen to him or her.
Participants will sit in two rows facing each other. This is an exercise in deep eye-gazing without verbal communication. Look deeply into each other's eyes; can you feel the energy? Can you sense the other's soul?
Participants will be given an object (like a small rock or seashell) along with a piece of sketch paper. Focus on every minute detail of this object-Dimensions, color, curves, cracks, etc... Is there a part of the object that draws your attention to it? Focus on that point with a steady, unwavering gaze. Let your gaze be a soft one as you focus on that single point. What is happening to your perception?
One student has eyes closed, (students will work in pairs); the other team member will lead you with closed eyes to various objects. With your eyes closed, feel the texture and quality of various objects.
With eyes closed, smell a flower or a fruit. Focus your sense of smell so you can pick up various scents or subtleties within the main scent of the flower or fruit.
With your eyes closed, chew very slowly on a piece of fruit. Feel the juice running down your throat; feel various tastes on your tongue (sour, sweet, bitter, etc...); sense the flow of saliva in your mouth.
In this exercise, participants will pair off as partners. Each partner will have 5 minutes to complain about present life circumstances and shortcomings. Each partner will describe everything that he or she needs in order to be truly happy in the future. Have students close their eyes and sense their inner-body state after they have complained about what they do not have. Most people feel an energy loss after complaining and resisting the present moment.
Close your eyes, take 15 deep breaths into your stomach. Now, open your eyes and continue to focus on this very moment. Sense any sensations in your inner-body; focus on any sounds inside or outside the room; listen to the sound of pure silence; notice any sights in or outside the room. When you are intensely present, ask yourself "what is the problem at this very moment?" Feel the lightness, joy, and ease of this moment.
Wander into nature and stay present. Staying present means just observing "what is" without labeling the flower or animal you are looking at. As you notice everything, make an effort not to label or categorize anything. Labeling and categorizing arise from the busy mind. If necessary, close your eyes to bring deeper awareness to this moment spent in nature. Listen to the sound of the wind brushing the leaves, or the sound of a running stream, the song of a bird; pay attention to your own breathing, then, your body weight shifting from your heals to your toes as you stroll. One pleasant exercise that many of us have naturally done when we were children is to gaze at passing clouds and be lost in their floating movement.
- During the day, occasionally ask yourself, "Am I present?" Just asking this question will bring you back to the "now"
- Ask yourself, "Am I at ease?" This mental inquiry will ease muscular tension and bring you back to the moment.
- During the day, you can use the following techniques to bring yourself to the present moment:
- Check in & observe your thoughts, your breath, emotions, and inner-physical body. What is going on in your body? How are you breathing? What are you feeling? Observe your passing thoughts without being identified with them.
- If you cannot go to sleep, spend a few minutes listening to the sound of pure silence. The sound of silence sounds like the sea. Sometimes pure silence has a high-pitched ringing sound to it. Listen deeply to the sound of silence and your mind will dive into a vast space of emptiness.
- Imagine yourself as a hungry cat vigilantly watching a mouse hole. Ask yourself, I wonder what thought will come out of the mouse hole- the portal of my mind? Whenever a thought arises, let that thought float by and await the next one with the same diligence and awareness.
- Surrender to "what is" in this present moment. Do not resist what is going on "now". Work with the moment; this habit will reduce your suffering.
- Take a walk and during your walk, observe the smallest details (trees, leaves, sound of birds, the weight of your body on your feet, your breath, different smells, and any sensations pulsating in you). When in nature, do not label or categorize anything. Labeling and categorizing are mental habits that take away the charm of the moment. Instead of labeling, simply remain in silent presence of nature and observe without labeling, categorizing, or analyzing.
- All day, every day, observe your thoughts and emotional reactions to situations. Instead of physically reacting to your thoughts and emotions, just observe them with equanimity. Remember this spiritual principle, as long as you are witnessing, you will not be identified or entangled with passing thoughts and emotions.
- Focus all your five senses on the present moment. Hear all sounds, as many sights as your eyes can absorb, feel the touch of your clothes against your skin. Do not label, categorize, or interpret anything with your mind. Don't think just feel! Over and over again, leave the thinking mind and enter your feeling body.
