spiritual practice

[Guest guest]

Hi Mark,

 

 

Thanks for sharing your clear and simple outline of your practices with us.

An interesting read. I have just have a few additional comments.

 

 

On Sat, 20 Jan 2001 00:05:04 Mark Hovila wrote:

>1. Sitting silently in meditation posture, being aware of What Is.

>Sometimes I find myself trying to identify myself

>with this awareness, as if to say "I Am this awareness," but paradoxically,

>that seems to shut down awareness. It seems more fruitful to instead have

>the attitude of an inquirer into Who I Am, an openness rather than an asserting

of Who I Am.

 

As you may have experienced in your practice of self inquiry, the verbalization

of the question "Who am I" may be a starting point early in the practice to

focus the attention and move it in a certain direction.

 

Later on, as you point out, any kind of verbalisation however, will only be

counter effective to the self inquiry process. The inquiry depends on the

centering of attention onto itself and thus, wavering into verbalisation breaks

this attention.

 

Fortunately, during the course of practice, the mind will notice this happening

and then center itself onto the right "spot" of attention without much effort.

 

Self inquiry is not only the mental process of centering attention on attention,

it may also be a physiological process every bit as "organic", yet more direct,

as performing hatha yoga postures and breathing exercises.

>2. Same as number 1, but moving in yoga postures instead of sitting. Here

>there is naturally more attention given to body sensation, since the

>movements produce more and different sensations than are experienced in the

>sitting posture. The postures are generally done slowly, as that seems to

>facilitate the entry of awareness into each nook and cranny of my body. As

>the body relaxes and the sensations are witnessed in stillness, what is felt

>seems to be not only the physical body, but a more subtle, non-physical

>body, an "energy body."

 

Yes, somewhat paradoxically, the energy bodies may be best noticed when

centering attention on the physical body, stretching it out and giving the

physical body one's full and absolute attention.

>4. Same as number 1, but going about my daily routine instead of sitting

>silently.

>5. Being Here Now. Seeing that there is only Now, that thoughts of past

>and future are occuring only Now.

>

>7. Noting that anything which appears is not an object unto itself,

>unrelated to the Whole, but an appearance within Me (Consciousness).

 

These ways of perceiving things are good ways of preparing the mind for becoming

relaxed and very open.

>10. Accepting everything just the way it is. Wanting anything to be

>different changes nothing, for whatever happens, happens.

>If we are not accepting What Is, everything

>that happens, from indescribable beauty to unbelievable horror, we are

>suffering.

 

First stage of seeing Acceptance closer in view is the acceptance of

unacceptance of the current state of being.

>From here acceptance of attempts at experiencing acceptance grows. After a

while, both the unavoidable acceptance of unacceptance and unacceptance itself,

as well as activity becomes part of Total Acceptance and open mind.

 

Thank you again for sharing.

 

 

Love,

 

Amanda.

 

 

 

 

 

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