Author Archives: vinaire

I am originally from India. I am settled in United States since 1969. I love mathematics, philosophy and clarity in thinking.

Exercises: Mindfulness (Set 3)

March 28, 2017 – 6:15 AM
Lion
Reference: Mindfulness Approach

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Mindfulness is seeing things as they are. It provides the discipline for looking and contemplation

The following exercises help you see things as they are. You may do them while sipping coffee in a café, or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed, and then patiently observe the world go by.

Experiencing is the deepest form of mindfulness. A person is deeply mindful of his feelings, emotions and impulses when he is experiencing them. So, dive into the very heart of whatever arises in the mind without resisting. If the mind is racing, then experience it racing without contributing to it.

Not suppressing anything from yourself is being totally honest with yourself. Follow your attention wherever it goes and do not suppress. Do not avoid something just because it seems shameful or painful. It is the suppression of perceptions, memories, knowledge, visualizations, thinking, etc., that causes all difficulties in life. By not suppressing you establish complete integrity of your perceptions.

In order to practice mindfulness you will have to let your mind associate data freely. Mindfulness is being comfortable with the very activity of thinking itself. So let the mind associate data freely on its own.

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EXERCISE # 1: Experience Fully

PURPOSE:  To practice experiencing fully.

PREREQUISITE:  Review Exercises: Mindfulness (Set 2).

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you simply experience whatever is going on in the mind without reservations.

  2. Address any medical condition appropriately before starting this exercise.

  3. Make sure the body is well-rested, well-fed and free of stimulants.

  4. Make sure the environment is safe and free of disturbance.

  5. Look at your old family album or old pictures. Whatever emotions are arising in your mind experience them fully.

  6. Visit some old familiar locations if you can. Experience any nostalgia fully, as long as it lingers.

  7. If you are afraid then experience the fear fully. Dive into the very heart of the feelings without resisting them.

  8. Review the exercises in Discerning the Environment to ensure that you fully experienced what was needed to be experienced.

  9. Review the exercises in Mindfulness (Set 1) to ensure that you fully experienced what was needed to be experienced.

  10. Review the exercises in Mindfulness (Set 2) to ensure that you fully experienced what was needed to be experienced.

  11. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  12. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  13. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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EXERCISE # 2: Do Not Suppress

PURPOSE:  To practice not suppressing anything from oneself.

PREREQUISITE:  Review Exercise # 1 above.

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you do not suppress anything from yourself.

  2. Address any medical condition appropriately before starting this exercise.

  3. Make sure the body is well-rested, well-fed and free of stimulants.

  4. Make sure the environment is safe and free of disturbance.

  5. Observe without suppressing anything. Be totally candid with yourself.

  6. If something shameful appears then observe and experience the shame.

  7. If something threatening appears then observe and experience the threat.

  8. Do not pre-judge and avoid something just because it seems painful. Experience it without suppressing anything.

  9. Allow all thoughts, memories, visualizations, etc., to come up regardless of their nature.

  10. If there is any dopiness or unconsciousness then do not suppress it. Simply go through it.

  11. Review the exercises in Discerning the Environment to ensure that you didn’t suppress anything.

  12. Review the exercises in Mindfulness (Set 1) to ensure that you didn’t suppress anything.

    Review the exercises in Mindfulness (Set 2) to ensure that you didn’t suppress anything.

  13. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  14. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  15. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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EXERCISE # 3: Associate Data Freely

PURPOSE:  To practice associating data freely.

PREREQUISITE:  Review Exercise # 2 above.

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you associate data freely.

  2. Address any medical condition appropriately before starting this exercise.

  3. Make sure the body is well-rested, well-fed and free of stimulants.

  4. Make sure the environment is safe and free of disturbance.

  5. As you observe let the mind associate that data freely on its own.

  6. Observe the mind without interfering with it.

  7. Review the exercises in Discerning the Environment to ensure that you associated data freely.

  8. Review the exercises in Mindfulness (Set 1) to ensure that you associated data freely.

  9. Review the exercises in Mindfulness (Set 2) to ensure that you associated data freely.

  10. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  11. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  12. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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Exercises: Mindfulness (Set 2)

March 19, 2017 – 3:04 PM

Unstack

Reference: Mindfulness Approach

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Mindfulness is seeing things as they are. It provides the discipline for looking and contemplation

The following exercises help you see things as they are. You may do them while sipping coffee in a café, or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed, and then patiently observe the world go by.

If something does not make sense, then recognize that it does not make sense. Do not try to justify it. Justification simply puts the blame somewhere without resolving the inconsistency. When you are faced with an inconsistency, and you feel an impulse to explain it away, then be alert to what you might be taking for granted. At times it may take some out-of-the-box thinking to realize what is going on.

We associate the idea of sense organs with eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. We use them to observe physical objects, such as, chair, car, house, etc. However, the mind is also a sense organ, which senses ideas, thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. These are mental objects. When being mindful, recognize both physical and mental objects for what they are.

Let the mind un-stack itself naturally through patient contemplation on whatever comes up. Observe the issue uppermost in the mind, and then the next, and the next. Let the mind deal with issues in the order it wants to.  There should be no effort to recall, to dig for answers, or to interfere with the mind in any way.  Simply look at what is right there in front of the mind’s eye at any moment. The mind will never present anything overwhelming when allowed to un-stack itself.

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EXERCISE # 1: Something incomprehensible

PURPOSE:  To discern that something incomprehensible is, indeed, incomprehensible. 

PREREQUISITE:  Review Exercises: Mindfulness (Set 1).

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you simply become aware of something that is incomprehensible and do not try to explain it away.

  2. Notice the environment and the people in a causal, easygoing manner.

  3. Notice if there is something that does not make sense.

    For example, Kantian philosophy says that pure knowledge cannot be sensed because knowledge becomes impure the moment it is sensed. Recognize this as Kant’s idea that does not explain how Kant “sensed” it. Do not pretend to understand. Simply become aware of the incomprehensibility of it.

  4. If there is an impulse to explain it away then become aware of it. Do not avoid, resist, suppress, or deny any other thoughts or feelings arising in the mind.

  5. Let the awareness of what does not make sense continue to be there. Simply look at it more closely without explaining it away.

  6. If this area can be researched using a dictionary, encyclopedia, or Internet then do so. Just keep looking until the mystery goes away by itself.

  7. If you recognize a contradiction or inconsistency, then check for any assumptions involved. Be alert to what you might be taking for granted. Verify any doubts.

  8. If there is criticism that does not make sense, then check to see if it points to a real workable solution. If it does not then it is just “blame” that is pretending to be an answer. Ignore all attempts at blame and move on.

  9. If it is an explanation for some unwanted condition that does not make sense, then check to see if it has ever led to a workable resolution. Ignore all explanations that have not led to resolution in the past and move on.

  10. Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in, while doing this exercise.

  11. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  12. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  13. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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EXERCISE # 2: Mind as a Sense Organ

PURPOSE:  To discern that mind is an organ that senses mental objects.

PREREQUISITE:  Review Exercise # 1 above. 

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you become aware of mind as a sense organ.

  2. Notice the environment and the people in a causal, easygoing manner.

  3. Notice some physical objects in the environment, such as, the wet feel of water, the sight of the trees, the sound of birds chirping, the smell of flowers, and the taste of coffee.

  4. Notice that memories, visualizations, thoughts, evaluations, conclusions, emotions, impulses, etc., are mental objects being perceived by the sense organ called the mind.

  5. Recall a memory from your childhood. Notice that it is a mental object that is made up of physical perceptions received in the past. Such perceptions are reflections of physical objects.

  6. Visualize your favorite activity. Notice that this visualization is a mental object made up of the rearrangement of perceptual elements that are derived from physical perceptions.

  7. Think of some thoughts, such as, physical, mathematical, and philosophical. Notice that these thoughts are mental objects made up of patterns in the mental matrix made up of perceptual elements.

  8. Observe some mental evaluation going on. Notice that these are association being activated and settled very rapidly within the perceptual matrix where the mental objects are formed.

  9. Look at some conclusions you have arrived at recently. Notice that these are associations that have been settled within the perceptual matrix where the mental objects are formed.

  10. Feel some emotions, such as, fear, anger, and boredom. Notice that these emotions provide feedback on the general stressed or relaxed state of the perceptual matrix.

  11. Feel some impulses in the body or those, which move the body. Notice that these impulses are responses in and of the body to potential differences in the perceptual matrix.

  12. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  13. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  14. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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EXERCISE # 3: Un-stacking the Chaos

PURPOSE:  To discern the approach to un-stacking the chaos faced by the mind.

PREREQUISITE:  Review Exercise # 2 above. 

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you become aware of the approach to un-stack the chaos faced by the mind.

  2. Notice the physical and mental environment in a causal, easygoing manner.

  3. Look at the physical and mental objects present in the environment. You may find physical objects to be relatively stable, but mental objects to be in a chaotic state.

  4. Use physical objects to stabilize your attention. Do not avoid, resist, suppress or deny the chaotic state of the mental objects. Allow them to settle down on their own accord. Do not interfere with them.

  5. Identify the topmost issue that needs to be resolved to calm the mind. Start observing it from various angles.

  6. Notice, if there is something on this issue that the mind is trying to avoid, resist, suppress or deny. Observe it closely to see if something is being justified. If you spot a justification then simply become aware of it and move on. Spot as many justifications as you can.

  7. If the issue is still persisting, then observe it closely to see if something does not make sense. In other words, look for an anomaly (discontinuity, disharmony or inconsistency). If you spot one then simply become aware of it and move on. Spot as many anomalies as you can.

  8. If the issue is still persisting, then observe it closely for a shock. It is a shock containing pain, loss, or confusion that pins the issue in consciousness. If you find a shock then carefully re-experience it from beginning to the end. Re-experience it several times until its shock-value is gone.

  9. As long as the issue is persisting continue looking for justifications, anomalies and shocks. Its persistency shall start to reduce, If another issue now becomes topmost then repeat steps 5 to 8 with this new issue. You can always go back to an earlier issue if it starts to dominate again.

  10. All these issues are entwined with each other. Always follow the most dominant issue until it loses its dominance.

  11. Never dig into the mental matrix looking for answers. Let the chaos un-stack by bringing up justifications, anomalies and shocks to view.

  12. If there is dopiness then let it run itself out. Do not interfere with it. You will become alert after some time.

  13. Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in, while doing this exercise.

  14. This exercise is done for at least 20 minute. You may do it for a longer period if justifications, anomalies and shocks are coming up easily and running out. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  15. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  16. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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Exercises: Mindfulness (Set 1)

March 17, 2017 – 9:41 PM

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Reference: Mindfulness Approach

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Mindfulness is seeing things as they are. It provides the discipline for looking and contemplation

The following exercises help you see things as they are. You may do them while sipping coffee in a café, or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed, and then patiently observe the world go by.

Desires make one want certain outcomes. This leads to speculations that have no basis other than one’s expectations. But, it is only when you know what is there can you predict future in a reasonable and consistent manner.

Familiarity makes one assume certain things to be there. The visualization is already there in the mind, and it gets superimposed over what is there. However familiar something may be it is never permanent and it may not actually be there.

If something is missing then recognize that it is missing. Do not imagine something in its place. If someone asks you a question and no answer comes up in your mind, then do not feel obliged to make up an answer. Accept that you do not have an answer..

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EXERCISE # 1: Desires and Expectations

PURPOSE:  To discern the influence of desires and expectations on the perception of what is there.

PREREQUISITE:  Review Exercises: Discerning the Environment.

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you simply become aware of desires and expectations that may influence observation.

  2. Notice the environment and the people in a causal, easygoing manner.

  3. Notice if there is a desire and expectation accompanying your observation.

    For example, you may see a person in priestly robes and have a desire to trust him implicitly. This is one expects from a man of God.

  4. Simply become aware of that desire, and move on. Do not interfere with the desire present. Do not avoid, resist, suppress, or deny any other thoughts or feelings arising in the mind.

  5. If there are extraneous thoughts arising in your mind, notice if they is an underlying desire. Simply become aware of what is there and move on.

  6. If there is uncontrolled thinking going on in your mind, notice if there is an effort to predict something. Simply become aware of what is there and move on.

  7. If there are unanswered questions swirling around, notice if there are expectations attached to them. Simply become aware of what is there and move on.

  8. If a question is really important, and it needs to be resolved, then note it down to be researched later. Do not avoid, resist, suppress, or deny any question. Simply become aware of what is there and move on.

  9. Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in, while doing this exercise.

  10. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  11. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  12. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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EXERCISE # 2: Assumptions

PURPOSE:  To discern the influence of assumptions on the perception of what is there.

PREREQUISITE:  Exercise # 1 above.

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you simply become aware of assumptions that may influence observation.

  2. Notice the environment and the people in a causal, easygoing manner.

  3. As you observe, see if the actual perceptions are different from how they should be according to the ideas in your mind.

    For example, you may see only the profile of a stranger, and see only one ear. But your mind tells you that he has two ears, because “all men have two ears.” He may have two ears but you don’t see them. The chances are slim but this stranger may have only one ear. Those, who are aware of their assumptions, are mindful.

  4. Simply become aware of the assumptions, and move on. Do not interfere with the assumptions present. Do not avoid, resist, suppress, or deny any other thoughts or feelings arising in the mind.

  5. As you observe, see if you are being judgmental about some situation.

    For Example: You may look at a person of certain sex, color, profession or cultural background. This may bring up certain preconceived ideas. Separate the actual perception from the ideas contained in the mind.

  6. Notice the preconceived ideas present one by one. Simply become aware of what is there and move on.

  7. As you observe, see if there is something that does not make sense. Notice if any of your own ideas are contributing to that confusion. Simply become aware of what is there and move on.

  8. Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in, while doing this exercise.

  9. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  10. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  11. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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EXERCISE # 3: Something Missing

PURPOSE:  To discern the influence of something missing on the perception of what is there.

PREREQUISITE:  Exercise # 2 above.

STEPS:

  1. In this exercise you simply become aware of something missing that may influence observation.

  2. Notice the environment and the people in a causal, easygoing manner.

  3. Notice something that is puzzling, and about which full understanding is missing. Do not feel obliged to accept the explanations given; instead focus on what is puzzling.

  4. Carefully consider the broad context of the scene, and the purpose of the activity. Notice something specific that really does not make sense. Examine it closely including your viewpoint with respect to it.

  5. Observe your mind imagining reasons to fill the uncomfortable gap in understanding. Simply become aware of what is missing and move on.

  6. Notice questions you have for which satisfactory “answers” are missing. Examine the answers you have and notice what really does not make sense.

  7. Notice the impulse to come up with an answer. If there is no answer then acknowledge the fact. Do not make up an answer. Simply become aware of what is missing and move on.

  8. Repeat the above steps noticing things that are puzzling and for which satisfactory answers re not available.

  9. Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in, while doing this exercise.

  10. This exercise is done for 20 minute, which is the normal duration of a session. Several sessions may be given during a day, and over the course of days, until progress is observed.

  11. This exercise is completed when it becomes effortless.

  12. When this exercise is completed you may proceed to the next exercise.

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The Quest for Certainty

March 16, 2017 – 9:20 PM
natraj4
Reference: Mindfulness Research

Buddha declared.

“The Absolute Truth is that there is nothing absolute in the world, that everything is relative, conditioned and impermanent, and that there is no unchanging, everlasting, absolute substance like Self, Soul, or Ātman within or without.”

DEFINITION: Absolute means, “Viewed independently; not comparative or relative; ultimate; intrinsic.”

This postulate may appear self-contradictory to some, but it essentially says, “There are no absolute certainties; all certainties are relative.” This statement does not degrade any certainty we have. It simply means that one can always come up with a better certainty.

That is how science makes progress. Einstein declared the speed of light to be a universal constant. This is a certainty for now, but there possibly may be a wider context in which the speed of light is a special case.

Similarly, in the field of spirituality, we cannot be absolutely certain that self or soul is permanent. The phenomenon that is described as self or soul must be open to further investigation.

There is little progress possible for a person who believes his certainties are absolute. One can always improve upon a certainty one has by making sure it is based on truth.

Truth, as perceived, is never absolute. However, it shall proceed from one logical state to the next in a continuous manner. The truth in an area shall be harmonious, and it shall be reflected in the consistency of observations.

Thus, truth shall depend on the continuity, harmony and consistency of observations in an area. Determining the absolute truth may be an impossible task; but we shall definitely be able to restore truth in an area by resolving all discontinuities, disharmonies and inconsistencies.

The whole logical structure of the universe may be looked upon as a single truth. The universal truth may or may not be absolute, but it definitely acts as the context against which all other observation in the universe may be examined for truth.

Maybe if we start seeking continuity, harmony and consistency in everything, we may someday arrive much closer to the absolute truth, even if we never reach it. 

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Exercises: Buddha on Mind (Set 1)

March 10, 2017 – 9:32 AM

scream

Reference: Mindfulness Approach
Note: These exercises are derived directly from Buddhist scriptures, specifically, from Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness.

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After one is able to discern the physical environment and the body comfortably, one is ready to discern perception of the mind. These are called feelings. A feeling is the physical sensation of the dominant condition of the mind.

There are three different types of feelings, such as, pleasant, unpleasant and neutral (neither pleasant nor unpleasant). There are also two different categories of feelings, such as, worldly or spiritual. The worldly feelings are concerned with day to day affairs. The spiritual feelings are concerned with long term, deeper sense of well-beingness.  The following exercise helps one recognize the nature of feelings as one is experiencing them.

After one is able to discern the feelings comfortably, one is ready to discern the nature of consciousness. Consciousness is the level of awareness. The deeper is the awareness, the higher is consciousness. This explains the higher consciousness in humans compared to animals. Consciousness cannot really be called ‘I’.

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EXERCISE # 1

PURPOSE: The Contemplation of Feelings

PREREQUISITE:  All exercises up to Exercises: Buddha on Body (Set 2)

GUIDING PRINCIPLE:  The Discipline of Mindfulness

STEPS:

  1. Contemplate on pleasant feelings until you know what it is like to experience a pleasant feeling.

  2. Contemplate on painful feelings until you know what it is like to experience a painful feeling.

  3. Contemplate on neutral feelings until you know what it is like to experience a neutral feeling.

  4. Contemplate on pleasant worldly feelings until you know what it is like to experience a pleasant worldly feeling.

  5. Contemplate on pleasant spiritual feelings until you know what it is like to experience a pleasant spiritual feeling.

  6. Contemplate on painful worldly feelings until you know what it is like to experience a painful worldly feeling.

  7. Contemplate on painful spiritual feelings until you know what it is like to experience a painful spiritual feeling.

  8. Contemplate on neutral worldly feelings until you know what it is like to experience a neutral worldly feeling.

  9. Contemplate on neutral spiritual feelings until you know what it is like to experience a neutral spiritual feeling.

  10. Contemplate on what you are feeling at the moment. Discern that feeling as pleasant, painful, or neutral, worldly or spiritual.

  11. Contemplate on feelings as observed by you internally and also externally in others.

  12. Contemplate on factors that shape feelings and/or which dissolve feelings.

  13. Contemplate on feelings as existing to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness.

  14. Repeat this exercise in “20 minute sessions”, until you can comfortably view feelings objectively.

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EXERCISE # 2

PURPOSE: The Contemplation of Consciousness

PREREQUISITE:  Exercise #1 above

GUIDING PRINCIPLE:  The Discipline of Mindfulness

STEPS:

  1. Contemplate on the consciousness with lust until you can perceive it objectively.

  2. Contemplate on the consciousness without lust until you can perceive it objectively.

  3. Contemplate on the consciousness with hate until you can perceive it objectively.

  4. Contemplate on the consciousness without hate until you can perceive it objectively.

  5. Contemplate on the consciousness with ignorance until you can perceive it objectively.

  6. Contemplate on the consciousness without ignorance until you can perceive it objectively.

  7. Contemplate on the shrunken state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  8. Contemplate on the distracted state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  9. Contemplate on the developed state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  10. Contemplate on the undeveloped state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  11. Contemplate on the state of consciousness with some other mental state superior to it until you can perceive it objectively.

  12. Contemplate on the state of consciousness with no other mental state superior to it until you can perceive it objectively.

  13. Contemplate on the concentrated state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  14. Contemplate on the un-concentrated state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  15. Contemplate on the freed state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  16. Contemplate on the un-freed state of consciousness until you can perceive it objectively.

  17. Contemplate on consciousness as observed by you internally and also externally in others.

  18. Contemplate on factors that shape consciousness and/or which dissolve consciousness.

  19. Contemplate on consciousness as existing to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness.

  20. Repeat this exercise in “20 minute sessions”, until you can comfortably view consciousness objectively.

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