馃煟 Meditation by Feeling the Body
Introduction
In our modern world, we spend most of our waking hours lost in the endless stream of thoughts, emotions, and sensory experiences. This constant mental activity creates a veil that obscures our true nature - the silent, peaceful presence that exists at the core of our being.
The practice of meditation by feeling the body offers us a direct and accessible pathway back to this essential awareness, providing a simple yet profound method to reconnect with our authentic self.
Essential Points
This practice serves as a bridge between ordinary consciousness and deeper awareness, helping us detach from mental activity and reconnect with our silent, peaceful presence within.
The Nature of Identification and the Body-Mind Connection
Feeling the body is a simple way to detach from mind and thoughts and come to conscious attention and awareness, to the awareness that we exist and to the awareness of the silent presence within (which is our true nature, always peaceful, full, free and blissful).
Most of the day we identify with thoughts, feelings, emotions and sensory experiences. This identification process occurs primarily through thoughts and includes "stealing" attention from the ego. The ego creates this identification with thoughts, feelings, emotions, impulses, fantasies and sensory impressions, creating a cycle where we become trapped in mental constructs.
Essential Points
The body serves as our anchor to the present moment. Unlike the mind, which moves between past and future, the body exists only in the here and now. When we consciously feel our body, we automatically ground ourselves in present-moment awareness.
The Mechanism of Disidentification
One of the easiest and most effective ways of disidentifying from thoughts, gaining control of attention and becoming aware of the silent presence within, is to withdraw attention from the mind and direct it to the body.
It is through the conscious perception of the body that we become aware of our existence (the feeling "I exist") and of the silent presence within. This awareness of existence is not conceptual but experiential - it is a direct knowing that transcends mental understanding.
Essential Points
This redirection of attention is not forceful suppression of thoughts, but gentle shifting of focus to our physical presence. When we feel our body, we simultaneously feel our being, our "I am-ness" that exists independent of thoughts and mental stories.
The Simplicity of the Process
The process of disidentifying from thoughts and becoming aware of the inner silence is quite simple and effortless. We simply withdraw our attention from the mind and bring it to the body by consciously feeling our body.
By feeling our body we get in touch with the feeling that we exist and with the silent presence within that is always present, peaceful and blissful, but we are not aware of it because of ignorance and the constant movement of the mind.
Essential Points
The "ignorance" mentioned is not intellectual ignorance, but rather a forgetting of our true nature due to habitual patterns of attention. We have become so accustomed to living in our heads that we have forgotten the vast space of awareness within us.
The Art of Effortless Direction
Through experience, we can easily and effortlessly direct attention where we want it, using small sentences either in affirmation or in the form of a question. This technique works because the mind naturally follows the direction of our inner speech.
Rather than fighting against the mind's tendency to wander, we work with it by providing clear, gentle direction. The sentences are carefully crafted to create a progressive deepening of awareness, moving from the most concrete (body awareness) to the most subtle (silent presence).
Essential Points
As soon as we think the sentence, our attention is effortlessly directed to where we are thinking and we become aware of what we want without any effort. This approach recognizes the mind's inherent capacity to focus when given clear direction.
Applications and Integration
We can use this process for both sitting meditation and throughout the day to become aware of the silent presence within and stay in touch with the peace and wholeness of our true nature.
Practicing this method at home helps us apply it more easily and effectively during daily activities. The formal practice creates a foundation of familiarity with these states of awareness.
Essential Points
To obtain results with any method, we need to practice it consistently and systematically until it becomes a strong habit, like our second nature as Aristotle said 2500 years ago. This consistency is about creating a natural rhythm of returning to awareness.
The Three-Step Process
Affirmative Format
The practice involves four progressive steps, each deepening our connection to our essential nature. Silently say the phrase and more importantly, feel it:
Question Format
For those who find the questioning approach more natural, the practice can be reformulated as inquiries that engage natural curiosity:
Maintaining the Practice
With the last sentence we become aware of the inner silence and remain in it without further effort. This remaining is not a doing but an allowing - we simply rest in the awareness that has been revealed.
If attention goes elsewhere, return to the first sentence and continue through all steps until you are again in touch with the sense of being and the silent presence within. This return is not a failure but a natural part of the process.
Essential Points
Each time attention wanders, repeat the whole process starting with the first phrase. This repetition strengthens the neural pathways associated with present-moment awareness.
Avoiding Effort and Struggle
When you find yourself trying or striving to focus more on the silence, it will help to ask yourself:
"Is it a question of making an effort to experience the silence?"
These questions point to a fundamental truth - awareness is not something we create, but something we uncover. The silence is always there; we don't need to create it, only stop covering it with mental activity.
Essential Points
Apply the same questions when struggling to stay focused on the sense "I am" or "I exist." These inquiries help distinguish between genuine awareness and mental effort. True awareness is effortless.
Integration with Other Practices
This practice can be combined with mantra repetition and self-inquiry to live moment to moment vigilant, attentive and in self-awareness. The combination creates a comprehensive approach addressing all aspects of our being: physical, mental and spiritual.
Constantly repeat mantras like 'Om Nama Shivaya' or 'Om Sri Jesus Christ Namaha' as the primary method for maintaining awareness throughout the day.
Repeat affirmations like 'I am Brahman', 'I am the light of Consciousness', or 'I am peace, light and love' to reinforce awareness of your essential nature.
Ask questions like 'Who do these thoughts arise to?' to withdraw attention from mental activity and direct it to the sense of 'I'.
Use the body as an anchor to maintain conscious contact with your fundamental sense of existence and being.
Maintain awareness of the breath, especially effective when combined with mantra repetition for sustained attention.
Practical Combination Example
An effective approach combines multiple methods systematically:
Integrated Daily Practice
Conclusion
The path of meditation through feeling the body offers us a return to simplicity in spiritual practice. In a world that often complicates the journey to self-realization, this method reminds us that the truth we seek is as close as our own body, as immediate as our sense of existence, and as available as the silence that underlies all experience.
Remember that the recipe for success is constant daily practice, steadfast determination, confidence, patience, perseverance and resilience. Yet this "success" is not something we achieve in the future, but something we recognize in each moment of genuine presence and awareness.
Essential Points
Each time we feel our body, acknowledge our existence, and rest in inner silence, we are already home. The practice is both the path and the destination.
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