Reference: Mindfulness Approach
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A child has a natural sense of justice. Being small, it is difficult for him to always defend it. He may answer the injustice done to him by wishing off the injury or illness upon another. This failing, he takes it himself. As he gets sympathy for his injury or illness, he starts to use that as a “protest” to the injustice done to him. Thus, when a person is cutting a sorry figure by being sick, he is actually protesting some wrong done to him.
The basic efforts are to be, and not to be. These resolve into the efforts to start, to stop, to change, not to start, not to stop and not to change. In this exercise the student simply looks at the memories of starting, stopping and changing (moving) things, or not, to implement his sense of order and justice.
The steps of this exercise are similar to those of Accessibility of Memory. The student lets the memory come up naturally and does not force the mind. If no memory comes up then he moves to the next step.
The whole idea of this exercise is to jog into memory the past painful and/or emotional incidents so that the pain and emotion can be discharged properly. To accomplish this, go over the incident from start to finish several times. Each time look at that incident more closely, until all the charge (tension) reduces.
NOTE: Keep in mind that the “incident”, which comes up could be a chain of similar incidents. In that case you must discharge the pain and emotion from the whole chain, by scanning it repeatedly.
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EXERCISE: Start, Stop and Change
PURPOSE: To look at the efforts to implement a sense of order and justice.
PREREQUISITE: In case of increasing discomfort return to the exercise Accessibility of Memory.
GUIDING PRINCIPLE: The Discipline of Mindfulness
STEPS:
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Focus your attention on the first item from the following list. Contemplate upon it to see if it triggers a memory.
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If a memory comes up view the physical perceptions connected with that memory. If any emotion comes up experience it fully until it discharges.
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See if there is another memory connected with that item. When there are several memories triggered by an item, start with the earliest memory present. View the physical perceptions and discharge any emotions completely.
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If no memory comes up, then either no memory is there, or the memory is not accessible at that moment. Focus your attention on the next item from the list.
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Do not interfere with the mind. Let it carry out its natural functions in the background.
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Do this exercise for at least 20 minutes. End it off at a good point.
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You may repeat this exercise as many times as necessary.
The List:
[Consider these items in the context of your sense of order and justice. Complete the whole list.]
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When you tried to start something for yourself
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When you tried not to start something for yourself
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When you tried to stop something for yourself
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When you tried not to stop something for yourself
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When you tried to change something for yourself
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When you tried not to change something for yourself
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When you tried to start something for your family
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When you tried not to start something for your family
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When you tried to stop something for your family
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When you tried not to stop something for your family
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When you tried to change something for your family
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When you tried not to change something for your family
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When you tried to start something for the society
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When you tried not to start something for the society
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When you tried to stop something for the society
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When you tried not to stop something for the society
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When you tried to change something for the society
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When you tried not to change something for the society
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When you tried to start something for the mankind
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When you tried not to start something for the mankind
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When you tried to stop something for the mankind
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When you tried not to stop something for the mankind
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When you tried to change something for the mankind
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When you tried not to change something for the mankind
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When you tried to start something for all life
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When you tried not to start something for all life
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When you tried to stop something for all life
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When you tried not to stop something for all life
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When you tried to change something for all life
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When you tried not to change something for all life
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When you tried to start something for the physical existence
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When you tried not to start something for the physical existence
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When you tried to stop something for the physical existence
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When you tried not to stop something for the physical existence
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When you tried to change something for the physical existence
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When you tried not to change something for the physical existence
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When you tried to start something for the spiritual existence
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When you tried not to start something for the spiritual existence
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When you tried to stop something for the spiritual existence
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When you tried not to stop something for the spiritual existence
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When you tried to change something for the spiritual existence
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When you tried not to change something for the spiritual existence
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When you tried to start something for the entirety of the universe
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When you tried not to start something for the entirety of the universe
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When you tried to stop something for the entirety of the universe
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When you tried not to stop something for the entirety of the universe
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When you tried to change something for the entirety of the universe
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When you tried not to change something for the entirety of the universe
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