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 positiondo 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.
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