Meditation Practice II

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Body Sensations

 

One must become aware of certain body sensations of which one is

explicitly not aware. To go around by yourself to become conscious of

your toes, your feet, your legs, your knees, your thighs, your

buttocks, your waist, your stomach, your chest, your shoulders, your

fingers (starting from the tips), your forearms, your elbow, your

arms, your full back, then again your shoulders, your neck, your

chin, your lips, your nose, your cheeks, your ears, your eyes, your

forehead, your head, upper side of your head and backside of your

head. Do not dwell for more than two or three seconds on each part of

your body. REPEAT it again and again for five minutes. This act of

yours brings a sense of relaxedness. BIGGEST ENEMIES: Nervous

tension, living too much in head i.e., to remain conscious of the

thinking and imagination and to remain conscious far too little of

the activities of the senses. It is a must to remain in the PRESENT

and not in past and future. One must master this technique of sense

awareness. One must learn to get out of the area of thinking and

imagination and move into the area from Head to Heart i.e., feeling,

sensing, loving and intuiting where contemplation takes birth, prayer

becomes transforming power and a source of delight and peace. A few

of you may feel an increase in Tension. Note what part of your body

is tense and see exactly what the tension feels like. Become aware of

the fact you are tensing and note exactly how you are doing this.

Note means not to reflect but to feel and sense. You pick up no

sensation. Why? Your sensibility has been dead from so much living in

head. Our skin is covered with trillions (3 Powers of a million) of

bio-chemical reactions—that we call sensations and you are finding it

hard to pick up even a few of them? You have hardened yourself not to

feel may be due to some emotional hurt or conflict that you have long

since forgotten. And your perception, your awareness, power of

concentration and attention are still gross and underdeveloped. It is

as a means for attaining relaxation and stillness. GET IN TOUCH WITH

SENSATIONS AGAIN AND AGAIN without naming limbs and organs as you

sense. If you notice an urge to move or to shift your posture or

position—do not give into it. Do continue this exercise for a few

minutes. You will gradually feel a certain stillness in your body. Go

on with your AWARENESS exercise and leave taking care of stillness.

If you are distracted, get back to awareness of body sensations,

moving from one to another, until your body becomes still once again,

your mind quietens, you are able to sense again stillness that brings

peace and a foretaste of contemplation and of God. HOWEVER, DO NOT

explicitly rest in the stillness. Because resting in it can be

relaxing and even delightful. BUT in it there is DANGER of mild

trance or mental blankness which is not good for contemplation. It is

like a sort of self-hypnosis that has nothing to do either with the

sharpening of awareness or with contemplation. IMPORTANT: DO NOT

DELIBERATELY seek stillness or silence within you and not EXPLICITLY

REST in it when it occurs. BUT SEEK SHARPENING OF AWARENESS. In

moments, stillness becomes so powerful that all exercise and all your

efforts become impossible. Then it is no longer you who go in quest

of stillness. But stillness takes possession of you. THEN you may

safely, and profitably, let go of all effort and surrender to this

overpowering stillness within you.