Category Archives: Mindfulness

Mindfulness C: Continuity, Harmony & Consistency

March 12, 2016 – 6:30 AM

stacked-stones-by-river

Reference: The 4th and 5th Dimensions

We all are familiar with the four dimensions that are acknowledged by science or, more specifically, by physics. These are the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. Is there a fifth dimension?

Maybe abstraction is the fifth dimension. Science reduces physical observations to relationships in the form of equations.  That would be a step towards abstraction. Mathematics reduces three cups, three plates and three spoons to a pattern of three. That is also abstraction. If we look closely, religion reduces a living person to an abstract soul after his death. So, the dimension from physical to mental to spiritual may be looked upon as the dimension of abstraction.

Let’s look at the fundamental principle of this universe. We may explain it in terms of dimensions as follows.

  • In case of space, that fundamental principle is continuity. If there is a discontinuity in space, then that would be something out of place.

  • In the dimension of time, it is harmony that is the basic principle. If there is a disharmony then there is something missing.

  • Finally, in the dimension of abstraction, it is consistency, which is the basic principle. From physical to mental to spiritual there should be a consistency. If there is inconsistency then some basic truth is missing.

In this mindfulness exercise, we listen to music and perceive the harmony that it conveys. The idea is to recognize the contrast of any discontinuity, disharmony and inconsistency. This exercise should be effortless. Do not strain to perceive the contrast. Let it appear in your consciousness.

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MINDFULNESS C: Recognize the contrast to Continuity, Harmony & Consistency.

Play classical music in the background during mindfulness meditation. It may be the sitar music of Ravi Shankar, or the orchestral music of Mozart.

The student is given “Mindfulness 0” instructions while the music is playing. The idea is to make the mindfulness meditation harmonious with the help of music, so that the contrast of any discontinuity, disharmony or inconsistency stands out.

The student simply recognizes the discontinuity, disharmony and inconsistency in the practice of meditation, and moves on.

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By vinaire | Comments (1)

Mindfulness 01: Something and Nothing

March 11, 2016 – 8:43 AM

Nothing

Reference: Mindfulness 0: See Things as They are

Mindfulness is “seeing things as they are”. At the basis of mindfulness is the recognition of something or nothing.

Of course, something and nothing are relative to the background of unbroken uniformity. So, we define something and nothing as follows.

“Something” = a manifestation,

“Nothing” = absence of manifestation.

It is as important to recognize “nothing” as it is to recognize “something”.

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MINDFULNESS #01: Recognize something and nothing.

In a class of students, call out “Mindfulness 0” instructions to establish students in mindfulness meditation. Then proceed by explaining to the students,.

“I shall call out some items from a list. Your task is to recognize if some memory comes up automatically or not. It is as important to recognize ‘nothing’ as it is to recognize ‘something’.”

Call out items from the following list, 5 seconds apart. Only enough items needs to be called out to get the point of this exercise across.

Then let the class continue with the mindfulness meditation in silence.

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 Spot a moment in your life when…

  1. You were happy.
  2. You climbed a tree.
  3. You ate something good.
  4. You received a present.
  5. You enjoyed a laugh.
  6. You helped somebody.
  7. You threw a ball.
  8. Something important happened to you.
  9. You played a game.
  10. You jumped down from a tree.
  11. You won a contest.
  12. You laughed loudly.
  13. You met someone you liked.
  14. You flew on a plane.
  15. You were at a beautiful place.
  16. You jumped into a pool.
  17. You enjoyed a beautiful morning.
  18. You went for a walk.
  19. Somebody teased you.
  20. You sat in a coffee shop.
  21. You danced with joy.
  22. You raced with someone.
  23. You completed something important.
  24. You were pleasantly surprised.
  25. You met somebody after a long time.
  26. You were caught in a rain.
  27. You heard a thunder.
  28. Someone smiled at you.
  29. You played with a pet.
  30. You held someone’s hand.
  31. Someone picked you up.
  32. You were spinning around.
  33. You read a good book.
  34. You felt breeze on your face.
  35. You saw a beautiful flower.
  36. You smelled a rose.
  37. Somebody called you.
  38. You were in a play on the stage.
  39. You sang aloud.
  40. You watched a movie.
  41. Your team won.
  42. You rode with friends.
  43. You visited a beautiful garden.
  44. You played in water.
  45. The weather was stormy.
  46. Somebody gave you a hug.
  47. You liked somebody.
  48. You slid down a slide.
  49. You ran toward someone you liked.
  50. You enjoyed a beautiful weather.

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Exercise Part 1

Exercise Part 2

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By vinaire | Comments (1)

Posture in Mindfulness Meditation

February 27, 2016 – 11:54 AM
Posture

A person established in mindfulness is established in a mental state of ‘seeing things as they are’ whether his eyes are closed or open, whether he is sitting, standing or walking. He is established in mindfulness at all moments of activity and non-activity. One learns mindfulness in small steps. Sitting with eyes closed in mindfulness meditation is simply the beginning step.

The traditional posture for meditation is sitting down in a lotus position. This came naturally to our Indian ancestors. Unfortunately, this is not so natural for people in modern times. Generally, one is able to maintain this posture comfortably for not more than 20 to 30 minutes. After that one either fidgets to get more comfortable, or tries to restrain oneself from fidgeting.

A person is not really absorbed in meditation when he is consumed with the desire to become more comfortable. Minutes spent in discomfort are wasted meditation minutes. A person must start in a posture that he can maintain for a long period without feeling uncomfortable.

The proper posture simply requires an upright spine and a firm contact with the floor. This can be achieved either by sitting in a lotus position, or by sitting in a chair. Therefore one should select a posture right at the beginning of the meditation session that one can maintain comfortably for the duration of the session.

Then one should simply slide into meditation, without forcing oneself.

When a person is established in mediation, he would feel totally comfortable. That is the ideal situation. Any discomfort arising during meditation is then likely due to something other than the posture. In that case the person should fully experience that discomfort without interfering with it. Sooner or later he would realize the true reason for it, and at that point the discomfort would simply disappear.

A posture recommended for meditation in modern times is to sit on a straight-backed chair, with feet flat on the ground, and arms resting on one’s thighs. One should then be able to maintain this posture comfortably for the duration of the meditation session.

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By vinaire | Comments (0)

Observation & Sickness

September 30, 2015 – 8:47 AM
images
Reference: Scientology versus KHTK

When one’s attention goes to an area again and again, one needs to observe that area carefully for oddities and logical inconsistencies. In case of sickness, the oddity is the sick condition of of the body-mind-spirit system. There are not many options other than  to observe and resolve the sickness.

The body is a chemical engine. The mind is an electrical system within the body that directs the functions of the body. The spirit seems to be an electromagnetic field that coördinates the communication among various parts of the body and mind. For example, it manages the movement of charged hormone particles and white blood cells to the parts where they are needed. It is this field that seems to leave the body at death.

The body needs to be healthy to support the mind and the spirit. A balanced, nutritious diet is necessary to keep the body, mind and spirit functioning at best levels. Sickness comes about when lack of proper diet weakens the body. It’s immune system is then unable to protect from hostile microorganisms outside or inside the body.

No personal improvement can come about when a person is starving or sick.

Medical drugs may become necessary to support body’s immune system to fight the infection and sickness. But when the emergency is over, one must focus on building the body and its immune system. The drugs are then discontinued.

At times sickness may affect the mind and not the body. The body appears healthy and functioning properly, but the person starts to behave erratically. The reason could be stress in the environment that affects the body chemistry supporting the electrical activity of the mind.

Sickness may affect not only the body, but also the mind.

When the mental sickness continues and deepens, drugs may become necessary to correct the chemical imbalance affecting the mind. We use such drugs as an emergency measure only. They are gradually replaced by proper nutrition and diet to correct the chemical imbalance. In addition, we use mental exercises to improve the person’s ability to handle stress.

Drugs are necessary as an emergency measure to handle physical and mental sickness.

Scientology is against psychiatry. It vehemently opposes any use of psychiatric drugs. This fanatic stance has led to many tragedies among the followers of Scientology. The correct policy is to use drugs to control the acute mental condition, and build the body chemistry with proper nutrition and mental exercises. As soon as the mental sickness is under control, we drop the drugs.

It is true that there is fixation on drugs in the society to an unhealthy degree. Drugs have become a quick solution for symptoms and discomfort. Drugs are even being used to overcome boredom. One may say that life itself has come to be regarded as a disease. However, in the general course of life, a well maintained body chemistry is adequate to keep up the physical, mental and spiritual health of the person.

We must use proper education to eliminate social dependency on drugs, and place more attention on improving the physical and mental health in the society.

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By vinaire | Comments (3)

Mindfulness N2: Mental sickness and Basic Care

September 16, 2015 – 8:27 PM

MS12

The first step in addressing mental sickness is to go ahead as in Mindfulness N3: Physical sickness and Basic Care. A person who is mentally sick is terribly confused. He is unable to process the input from his physical senses. So he no longer has the stabilizing support of the physical reality. The problem is with the electrical system of the body, which then leads to mental instability. If the mental instability is acute then one must administer psychotropic drugs to bring it under control.

Mental sickness arises when the person loses touch with the physical reality.

The priority is to restore the person’s mental contact with the physical universe. We help him exercise his physical senses while also repairing the underlying body chemistry. We start with the sense of touch because this is the most intimate contact. We help the person go around touching things to get the feel of the physical universe. We do this daily until the person has started to recognize things around him.

We then exercise his senses of seeing and hearing. These two senses complement each other. Seeing is very precise but one cannot see around the corners. Hearing is not so precise but one can hear the sound from a source around the corner. So we help the person go around and look at near and distant objects. We then ask him to hear different sounds and spot where a sound is coming from.

We exercise the senses of touch, seeing and hearing to restore the person’s contact with the physical universe.

When the physical senses are not working properly, the person cannot also see what is in his mind. So he cannot resolve his mental difficulties. This is  limitation of the psychoanalytic approach. Psychoanalysis has never been able to help a person improve his ability to see and resolve problems. It ends up telling the person what to think about his mental condition.

Not until a person’s mental contact with the physical reality is fully restored, can psychoanalysis, or any other mental therapy, produce lasting results.

Essay on “spiritual sickness” takes up advanced difficulties with the mind. Basic exercises to address “spiritual sickness” are covered in Scientology versus KHTK (Part 3) – The Basic Approach.

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MINDFULNESS N2: Mental Sickness and Basic Care

  1. Implement all steps of Mindfulness N3: Physical sickness and Basic Care.

  2. Get the person medically examined by a qualified doctor who can diagnose and treat the mental part of the sickness.

  3. Administer necessary psychotropic drug to bring acute mental instability under control.

  4. Help the person go around and touch things in his environment. Do this daily until he starts to recognize those objects consistently without stress.

  5. Help the person go around and look at near and distant objects in his environment. Do this until he starts to recognize those objects consistently without stress.

  6. Have the person listen to the sounds in his environment, and help him find the source of those sounds. Do this until he starts to recognize the source consistently without stress. NOTE: You may produce the sound for this exercise.

  7. We have resolved the basic mental sickness when the person is in good mental contact with the physical reality and no longer needs the support from drugs.

  8. Proceed with the instructions for “spiritual sickness” to resolve other difficulties with the mind (see the summary above).

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By vinaire | Comments (2)