This Reflection must begin with adequate Body Relaxation.
BODY RELAXATION
Tranquilizing "Body tension" and "Mental stress".
"Reflection" requires that you choose a quiet place, be seated comfortably, and begin with "body relaxation."
While this teaching is directed at the important task of "Discovery Reflection" to discover one's true Dharma intent, which is quite complex, these exercises are useful practices for normal daily body/mind relaxation.
Sit with your spine erect to facilitate air passage to the lungs, thus helping blood oxygen levels. Rest your palms comfortably together without tense grasping and close your eyes gently.
Breathe comfortably in and out without concentrating upon that breathing. Simply note its presence.
Now direct gentle attention at your face. You will feel the tension around the eyes and the mouth and perhaps the forehead.
First loosen your jaw. Let it relax completely. Now sense your forehead and let go all the tension there. Notice the tension around the eyes and upper cheeks and let that all go. Take your time, there is no hurry. Feel the muscles loosening up.
Now relax the temples and the back of your head one after the other. As you are relaxing the tension watch that breathing and release the tension more with each breath.
Move your head with rotation and feel the great tension there. Center the head, relax the neck muscles, rotate again and with each rotation relax the muscles more.
You will feel the tension in your shoulders now and your back. Let the shoulders fall and relax them... Feel the tension at the inner edges of the scapula and let the relaxation of the shoulders extend there.
Note the breathing well now and relax your chest and then let that relaxation flow through your arms to the hands and fingers. I repeat, do not be in a hurry. It takes time and practice.
Let relaxation flow down through the vertebrae and embrace the pelvis with a flood of relaxing energy. Slowly now relax your thighs, upper legs, knees, ankles, feet and then toes.
Rest then for a few moments in complete relaxation, noting the breathing slowly in and out.
Now review the body as a whole and return to any part which seems to break the complete relaxation of the body.
Eventually you will recognize that the whole body is one unit and relaxed. Deal with any particular element that disrupts the totality. This energy which is at rest and not agitated we call Defensive Qi.
Watch the breathing now for several moments and then note that there is a pulsing gentle energy close to the spine at the level of the solar plexus. Imagine that gentle energy flowing now upwards through the body to the top of your head.
As it passes it floods abdomen, chest, neck, eyes and forehead and the the brain area above with a gentle maintaining calm energy that reduces all body tensions. Then imagine this flow of energy coming down again close to the spine taking away all remaining blockages of tension, finishing at the tip of the spine.
The cleansing will not be complete at first, but with practice it will become quite easy and enjoyable.
It is a useful exercise in and of itself, but it is here just a prelude to the important reflection of the mind that is required.
FREE CRITICAL REFLECTION
Let there be no hurry or haste. Remember this is not a meditation, so your consciousness will be clear and thoughts can occur freely.
Before the "discovery reflection," be clear in your mind that you really wish to discover the complications, if they are present, in your apparent search for a lasting Happiness. Let there be no expectations about the consequences and be clear that your interest is in what the balance of your account really is. If you are sure then you can begin with the Body Relaxation.
With your body completely relaxed close your eyes and allow your mind to float, as it were, within space. In the background continue the consciouness of breathing gently in and gently out.
HAPPINESS
Now the first thing to do is simply bring to mind-consciousness one simple word and no more. It is the word "Happiness."
Repeat that word silently and slowly two seconds apart and invite any associations to flow from memory.
Attached to this word is all the conditioning that you have accrued in your life. If a sense of unhappiness occurs and thoughts of that nature begin to enter in a stream, simply note them without extending the chain. Simply note as "unhappiness" and dismiss it as "not useful." Do not monitor or change anything that comes to mind, just let the unhappiness flee and the Happiness flood in as it wishes.
Accept this Happiness whatever its form, great or small. When the flood subsides or if very little arises then cease that reflection.
Relax the body completely once more and consider the "experience," not the "information about that Happiness." It will clearly appear as positive. Make no evaluation at the moment. Avoid this completely.
ENJOYMENT
Now after a few moments of body relaxation, calming the mind as much as possible, floating in that mind space, simply bring to mind-consciousness one more simple word and no more. It is the word "Enjoyment."
Repeat that word silently and slowly two seconds apart and invite any associations to flow from memory.
Attached to this word is all the conditioning that you have accrued in your life. Allow all enjoyments that are associations flood naturally from your memory. If a sense of Happiness also occurs and thoughts of that nature begin to enter in a stream, simply note them without extending the chain.
Simply note it as "associated happiness" and dismiss it as "not useful."
Do not monitor or change anything that comes to mind just let the Happiness flee and the Body and Mental Enjoyment flood in as it wishes.
Accept this Enjoyment whatever its form, great or small.
Notice the Identity present in this Enjoyment and see that it is "I" who is enjoying.
If other associations which are negative or thoughts not actually associated with the Enjoyment in and of itself enter, then simply let them go unattended. Note the nature of the Enjoyment and its root and nothing more.
When the flood subsides or if very little arises then cease that reflection.
Relax the body completely once more and consider the "experience" not the "information about that Enjoyment." It will clearly appear as positive. Make no evaluation at the moment. Avoid this completely.
EXCITEMENT
Now after a few more moments of body relaxation, calming the mind as much as possible, floating in that mind space, simply bring to mind consciousness the simple word and no more. The word is "Excitement." Let the sense of that word be that of "Body Excitement," which includes all physical aspects and the mental correlates of that body excitation.
Repeat that word silently and slowly two seconds apart and invite any associations to flow from memory.
The essence of this exercise of Body Excitement is to bring to mind all excitement that originates from body excitation and not the mind. Mountain climbing excitation, for example is of course in part a body excitation, but the important element is the mind exhilaration, so if those thoughts enter note them and dismiss them without further attention.
Body excitation includes sexual attraction and activity and also excitation relative to comfort.
Attached to this word is all the conditioning that you have accrued in your life. Allow all Excitements that are associations flood naturally from your memory.
Do not monitor or change anything that comes to mind, just let the Excitement memories flood in as they wish.
Accept this Excitement whatever its form, great or small.
Notice the Identity present in this Excitement and see that it is "I" who is always excited.
If other associations which are negative or thoughts not actually associated with the experience in and of itself enter, then simply let them go unattended. Note the nature of the experience and its root and nothing more.
When the flood subsides or if very little arises then cease that reflection.
Relax the body completely once more and consider the "experience" not the "information about that Excitement." It will clearly appear as positive. Make no evaluation at the moment. Avoid this completely.
EXHILARATION
Now, after a few more moments of body relaxation, calming the mind as much as possible, floating in that mind space, simply bring to mind-consciousness the simple word and no more. The words is Exhilaration. Let the sense of that word be that of "Mental Passion" which includes all mental correlates of Exhilaration that may also be termed "Mental Passion."
Repeat that word silently and slowly two seconds apart and invite any associations to flow from memory.
The essence of this exercise of Mental Excitement is to bring to mind all Exhilaration that originates from mental excitation and not the body.
That Exhilaration may not be explosive. It is, however, deep and captivating. It might be as simple as maintaining a collection of stamps, for example, not as a routine hobby, but with an intense passion and it may apply to a great passion for all that is natural.
Now this mental Exhilaration is almost identical to natural passion which has no Identity attached. So what we are interested in here are the moments of Exhilaration in which Identity is present. Note that this may at moments coincide with a spontaneous natural Exhilaration which is difficult to separate.
That separation is not so important at the moment.
Attached to this word is all the conditioning that you have accrued in your life. Allow all mental moments of Exhilaration that are associations to flood naturally from your memory.
Do not monitor or change anything that comes to mind, just let the memories flood in as they wish.
Notice the Identity present in this Exhilaration and see that it is "I" who is generally excited. Note the nature of the Exhilaration and its root and nothing more.
When the flood subsides or if very little arises then cease that reflection.
Relax the body completely once more and consider the "experience" not the "information about that Exhilaration." It will clearly appear as positive. Make no evaluation at the moment. Avoid this completely.
If other associations which are negative or thoughts not actually associated with the experience in and of itself enter, then simply let them go unattended. Note the nature of the experience and its root and nothing more.
When the flood subsides or if very little arises then cease that reflection.
Relax the body completely once more and consider the "experience" not the "information about that exhilaration." It will clearly appear as positive. Make no evaluation at the moment. Avoid this completely.
You will note that we have entered from memory associations related to Happiness, Enjoyment, Excitement and Exhilaration.
These "reflections" do not bring the mundane fruits from memory easily, so there must be replication and replication until the experiences are clear and you can sense the relative importance of the Identity of each one.
The thing to avoid is a mental evaluation, where conditioning will immediatly declare that happiness is the most important... This is because our intellect is aware and has heard often the idea that "you can't buy happiness" and like phrases... What we want here is not a quick conditioned reply, but a weighted evaluation of the weight or import to your Identity.
THE INNER VOICE
The "inner voice" is, of course, not a voice at all, but a strong inner agitation that gives the lie to your life, all that you have done, all that you are doing and all that you will accomplish upon the path you now follow in this life. It is not an intellectual evaluation of failure to be satisfied.
That voice must be distinguished from the failure to be Happy, a fault of Enjoyment or fun in life, the attainment of little Excitation or a complete insufficiency of Exhilaration.
That homeostatic voice does not give an experience of failure, but depending upon the base of the temperament of the person, an experience ranging from sadness to frustration and an impulse to hide from the world, escape all its trappings or reject with hostility everything and everyone responsible for the disaster which is called Mankind.
The voice may not be strong, but when it is examined by reflection, free from Identity, then it becomes clearer.
THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTIONS
With repeated reflection the two forces will become evident. Now the first question becomes clear.
Are you prepared to give up happiness, enjoyment, excitation and exhilaration in order to be free and in balance and harmony with the inner voice so that the inner voice is stilled?
There is no question raised about the benefits of following the homeostatic voice.
The second question then has great importance.
Are you prepared to step into unknown territory, knowing that a new path will be difficult without a promise of success, especially since you may have no idea what that path is or where it may lead ?
What you want to know is "What the hell is going on here?," even if the Truth is unpalatable... and you want to find the way out of this Maze of Folly.
If you are not prepared to search for the un-attainable Truth, giving up all attachment to a search for happiness, enjoyment, excitation and exhilaration, then that is the path you are best to follow, for a correct mundane path can be encountered that will reduce all the symptoms of Identity presence and reduce Suffering.
It will require, however, vigilance and daily meditations.
Do not by way of craving try to follow a higher path that you will find impossible to maintain. First clear the cobwebs of Identity, for the higher path is always open. The way is always known within the unconscious that has no words or concepts, and all one has to do is be ready to stretch out a hand to touch it, becoming a true human creature.