Here is a quick exercise,
If done honestly, it wakes one up quickly.
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Exercise
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Find something that you have been avoiding looking at.
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Observe the feelings or emotions that appear as you start to face it.
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Experience those feelings and emotions without resisting or suppressing them.
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The intention to harm is morally so unacceptable that when not fully confronted it gets buried deep in the psyche. It then causes anxiety and unhappiness.
Some of the forms of this intention are as follows:
(1) SELFISHNESS. One thinks of the satisfaction of one’s own desires without caring of the effects it creates on others in its wake.
(2) EXPLOITATION. Any action that exploits others for personal gains has the intention to harm underlying it.
(3) SEXUAL DESIRES. This is a special instance of the above when it leads to actions that cause suffering to the object of one’s affection.
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Exercise
Purpose: To fully understand and release the “intentions to harm.”
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Read the introduction to this exercise. Make a list of “intentions to harm” as they appear in your mind without effort. These do not have to be your intentions.
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Add to this list, intentions that you have encountered in your life. These do not have to be just your intentions.
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Contemplate on the following question letting the mind associate freely.
Meditation Question: “HOW DOES [an item from the above list] APPEAR TO MAKE SENSE?”
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See if there is some response that appears on its own. Please note that the response may not be an exact answer to this question.
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No matter what the response is, take time to inspect and experience it fully without resistance.
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Let the mind associate freely whatever follows, until the attention frees up enough to look around.
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Ask this question again per step 3, and follow it up per steps 4, 5, and 6.
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Keep on asking the question as long as responses are appearing in the mind. In other words, let the mind un-stack itself naturally on this subject of “intention to harm.”
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When there is no more response, take up the next item on the list with the question in step 3.
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Continue this procedure with subsequent items on the list until some persistent thought, emotion or impulse has just left. NOTE: This may not always occur.
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Continue this procedure until you can BE THERE comfortably with a deep understanding of “intention to harm” on a first-hand experiential basis.
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Follow up with the exercise per Mindfulness 12: Let it be effortless, and let the mind complete the review of this session as necessary.
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This exercise is about meditation on the subject of how right one has been in one’s life. This meditation is done under the discipline of mindfulness.
Every person wants to be right. All those moments when he has failed to be right gnaw at his conscience until resolved. Hectic digging for answers usually does not bring resolution. It simply bypasses the self-protection mechanism of the mind. This makes the mind increasingly unresponsive. As a result, the unresolved moments get stacked up and suppressed in the mind.
Most difficulties arise when perceptions, memories and visualizations get suppressed. They start to resolve when the discipline of mindfulness is applied. Relief comes when the mind is allowed to un-stack itself in its natural order.
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Exercise
Meditation Directive: “HOW HAVE YOU BEEN RIGHT IN YOUR LIFE?”
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Contemplate on this question letting the mind associate freely.
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See if there is some response that appears on its own. Please note that the response may not be an exact answer to this question. In fact it may be bring up moments of wrongness.
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No matter what the response is, take time to inspect and experience it fully without resistance.
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Let the mind associate freely whatever follows, until the attention frees up enough to look around.
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Ask this question again and follow it up per steps 1, 2, 3 and 4.
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Keep on asking the question as long as responses are appearing in the mind. In other words, let the mind un-stack itself naturally on this subject of “rightness.”
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When there is no more response to the question consider the exercise complete.
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Follow up with the exercise per Mindfulness 12: Let it be effortless, and let the mind complete the review of this session as necessary.
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Once a person can comfortably recognize items in the present per Being Objective, he may start on the mindfulness exercises per The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness. Only when he is well into the mindfulness exercises should he be asked to recall items from the past.
For therapy purposes, an accurate recall is a response given by the mind to some item or question. It is not digging into the mind, or imagining what might have happened. It is letting the mind respond freely, and when there is no response then recognizing that fact.
As a first step, the person needs to recognize that a valid recall is per the definition above. When no immediate response appears, but just a feeling of something there, then the person should simply wait patiently until the response appears. If the reponse does not appear in reasonable time then move on. The response may become available later.
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EXERCISE
Purpose: To identify valid recall in the mind in response to an item or question.
Start from the beginning of the following list.
Read an item, or have somebody call it out to you.
Notice if an immediate response to the item appears in the mind.
If there is no immediate response, but just a feeling of something there, then wait patiently for the response to appear.
CAUTION: Do not go digging into the mind, or imagine what might have happened.
If there is a response, then acknowledge it by nodding to yourself.
If there is no response then simply move to the next item on the list.
Repeat steps 2 to 6.
When the list is completed you may start from the beginning again. Additional and older memories may show up when you are going through the list a second or third time.
You may do this exercise as often and for as long as it is comfortable.
You may also extend this list with items that are general in nature.
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LIST: Look at the following instances one at a time:
Can you recall a moment when…?
- You were happy.
- You climbed a tree.
- You ate something good.
- You received a present.
- You enjoyed a laugh.
- You helped somebody.
- You threw a ball.
- Something important happened to you.
- You played a game.
- You jumped down from a tree.
- You won a contest.
- You laughed loudly.
- You met someone you liked.
- You flew on a plane.
- You were at a beautiful place.
- You jumped into a pool.
- You enjoyed a beautiful morning.
- You went for a walk.
- Somebody teased you.
- You sat in a coffee shop.
- You danced with joy.
- You raced with someone.
- You completed something important.
- You were pleasantly surprised.
- You met somebody after a long time.
- You were caught in a rain.
- You heard a thunder.
- Someone smiled at you.
- You played with a pet.
- You held someone’s hand.
- Someone picked you up.
- You were spinning around.
- You read a good book.
- You felt breeze on your face.
- You saw a beautiful flower.
- You smelled a rose.
- Somebody called you.
- You were in a play.
- You sang aloud.
- You watched a movie.
- Your team won.
- You rode with friends.
- You visited a beautiful garden.
- You played in water.
- The weather was stormy.
- Somebody gave you a hug.
- You liked somebody.
- You slid down a slide.
- You ran toward someone you liked.
- You enjoyed beautiful weather.
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The purpose of this page is to map out the most fundamental trait of human intelligence. This trait is the ability to “see things as they are”. It is called mindfulness. It was the focus of Buddha.
This page may be used as follows:
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The “Mindfulness” section outlines the 12 aspects of mindfulness, and provides exercises to practice them. Study and continually practice the 12 aspects of mindfulness as and when time permits.
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The “Mindfulness Therapy” section provides various gradients of therapeutic actions that may be applied to help sort out the difficulties a person is having in practicing mindfulness. Proper gradient of a therapeutic action may be selected as needed by a person.
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The “Mindful Meditations” section provides short processes that may be applied to oneself for specific benefits through directed application of mindfulness.
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The “Mindful Discussion” section provides the basics of how to engage in productive discussions with others, or with yourself and with authors of the books you read. Study and practice these basics.
Please note the sections on “Mindful Therapy” and “Special Processes” are currently under development. Any feedback is welcome.
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