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MEDITATION
WHICH FOLLOWS YOGA
The following steps developed over a period of years. I started by doing a
simple type of meditation -- counting breaths 1-10 -- often taught to
beginning students by Zen and yoga instructors. The steps I added seemed to
be a natural outgrowth of the various spiritual paths and psychological
theories I was investigating at any given time.
These steps incorporate
elements of Hinduism, yoga, Buddhism, Zen, Judaism and Christianity, among
religions, most particularly the meditational aspects thereof; for Judaism
that would be the Kabbala, and for Christianity, Christian mysticism. The
steps also utilize many of the spiritual insights of Ken
Wilber. The psychological elements come from Mr. Wilber, and from the
field of NLP.
To the extent you are an
experienced meditator, you could incorporate a greater number of the
following steps. For a beginner, starting with the counting breaths 1-10
method would be the way to go.
I am unable to really guide
you as to what steps were added in what order. If you familiarize yourself
with all the steps by reading them a few times, probably it will become
clear to you while meditating what steps to add when.
Definitions
Post-yoga floor lie
Breathing preparation
Breathing
Floor lie
Meditation
Post meditation breathing
Preparation for concluding bows
Concluding bows
DEFINITIONS
ONE = an awareness of being the entire phenomenal universe (and
the non-phenomenal universe also, whatever that may be!), in other words,
the state of unity and god consciousness posited by all spiritual traditions
ROW
= rest of the world. In the context here of
meditating, it really means the rest of creation, everything other than my
own psycho-physiological organism. And when I say "my" view or
"my" abdomen, etc. it has its normal meaning, that of my own
psycho-physiological organism.
see...hear
= a spiritual exercise mentally invoking each of the
following elements of awareness, which together encompass all of reality:
see, hear, smell, taste, touch, body, emote-fear, emote-feel, ego, superego,
id, everything-ever-forgotten, everything-ever-repressed, sense, think,
emote, body, think, do, say, think, think, say, do, no-do, no-say, no-think,
no-think, no-say, no-do, know, shiviti, full shma-haolom, full shma-haolom.
The acronym for the
see...hear is shsttbeeesieestebtdsttsdnnnnnnksss.
--often, but not always,
the steps through the emote-feel are done with envisioning a universal
front to back timeline
--this front to back
timeline has the past extending out from just outside the back of my
body, to my rear, to the left and to the right of me to infinity;
the present inside me and extending out to infinity at my body width
to the left and right of me; and the future extending out from just
outside the front of my body to the front, to the left and to the
right of me of me to infinity
--often, but not always,
the steps from ego until the end are envisioning a universal right to
left timeline
--this right to left
universal timeline has the past extending from just outside the
right side of my body to the front, to the rear and to my right to
infinity; the present inside me and extending out to infinity at my
body width to the front and rear of me; and the future extending
from just outside the left side of my body, to the front, to the
rear and to my left to infinity
--also note that many
people ordinarily have a timeline left to right, but I've changed mine
from right to left; it may be the case that a true "spiritual"
timeline always would go from right to left (or maybe just the opposite
of a person's normal consciousness timeline?)
--both of these universal
timelines are done from the simultaneous perspective of all animals,
people and inanimate objects ever extant in each of the past, present,
and future portions of that timeline
shiviti
= shiviti adonoy lnegdee tameed, I Set the Eternal One
Before Me Always
shma
haolom = the regular Jewish shma
prayer, but instead of yisroal, change to haolom, so it goes Shma Haolom
Adonoy Elohanu Adonoy Echawd. This change takes it from a
Judaic-centered prayer ("Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
One") to a universalistic one ("Hear O World, the Lord our God,
the Lord is One"). Additionally, the translation, or meaning,
which I ascribe to this prayer is not the aforesaid traditional one, even as
modified. Instead, I understand it as "Listen, you, all you who
worship and seek, All that is -- Everything -- is One." Rabbi Ted Falcon taught this more
metaphysically-oriented meaning.
shmasas = an acronym
for a litany of health wishes for myself; since the issues are specific to
me, the reader can design one for him- or herself
visualize
= see in your mind's eye, or in front of you, as
appropriate to the exercise or your own inclination; as meditational depth
or experience progresses, in addition to visualizing there may also be
experienced auditory or especially feeling components
--when visualizing Hebrew
letters of a phrase, as in the shiviti and the shma haolom, I am also
mentally "saying" to myself the corresponding sounds of that
part of the phrase
__________________________________________________
POST-YOGA
FLOOR LIE
--lie on the floor on my back
in a moderate spread-eagle
--make sure spine is
straight and both sides of my body are congruent
--do the see...hear
--technically, this floor lie
could also be seen as the last element of the yoga
BREATHING PREPARATION
--lie on mat on right side,
leaning on index finger-thumb crook of right hand on bottom of ear along
side of face
--check with left hand each nostril is clear by trying to breathe through it
while closing the other nostril
--if not, put that left hand's index finger-thumb crook of hand under right
armpit and squeeze thumb and middle finger, that should open up the clogged
nostril
--repeat procedure lying on
left side, with which hand to use reversed from above
--finish by going back to
right side to make sure both nostrils are still clear
BREATHING
--sitting with a straight
back, do the standard yoga alternate breathing exercise, with the right hand
doing the opening and closing of nostrils, building up to 1-4-2 ratio, the
left hand thumb-index finger circle resting on left leg
--I actually use the left
hand fingers to count the number of the breath that I'm on, so I don't
keep the finger circle
--I count by mentally
repeating the word "Shalom" for each count, with sort of a
background awareness of what number I'm on
--I do eight full (right
and left nostril) breaths.
--On the left nostril
holding the breath part of the second breath, and on the right
nostril holding the breath part of the sixth breath, I first raise
the shoulders and drop them, then contract "inwards" all
the muscles of my body, including the skull, then relax them.
FLOOR
LIE
--lie on back in a moderate
spread-eagle
--make sure spine is
straight and both sides of my body are congruent
--pay attention to each area
of the body, noticing where there may be tension
--tense those tense
muscles and release, which should ease the tension
--check throughout the
body that all muscles are at least fairly relaxed
--concentrating on the top
half of body (from waist up)
--do shmasas, being
particularly aware of any injury sites
--move attention to the
areas between pinkie and ring finger of left hand and pinkie and ring
finger of right hand
--move attention to
areas between ring and middle fingers of left hand and ring and
middle fingers of right hand
--move attention to
areas between middle and index fingers of left hand and middle and
index fingers of right hand
--move attention to
areas between index finger and thumb of left hand and index finger
and thumb of right hand
--envision, and
eventually feel, moving the cuticles back on both pinkies
--envision, and
eventually feel, moving the cuticles back on both ring fingers
--envision, and
eventually feel, moving the cuticles back on both middle fingers
--envision, and
eventually feel, moving the cuticles back on both index fingers
--envision, and
eventually feel, moving the cuticles back on both thumbs
--envision trimming the
fingernails of both pinkies
--envision trimming
the fingernails of both ring fingers
--envision trimming
the fingernails of both middle fingers
--envision trimming
the fingernails of both index fingers
--envision trimming
the fingernails of both thumbs
--envision polishing both
pinkies with clear polish
--envision polishing
both ring fingers with clear polish
--envision polishing
both middle fingers with clear polish
--envision polishing
both index fingers with clear polish
--envision polishing
both thumbs with clear polish
--envision energy
emanating from all 10 fingers
--Note: once some
facility is achieved with this finger and fingernail process, all 10
fingers can be done at once for the envisioning of areas between
fingers, moving cuticles back, trimming fingernails, and polishing
fingernails
--concentrating on the bottom
half of the body
--repeat for toes and
toenails as for fingers and fingernails
--Note: once some
facility is achieved with this toe and toenail process, all 10 toes can
be done at once for the envisioning of areas between toes, moving
cuticles back, trimming toenails, and polishing toenails
--"watcher" view
from bottom of body to top, and then from top of body to bottom
--view from slightly above to
both top and bottom
--do the see...hear, but stop
just before "think"
MEDITATION
--sit with a straight back
--as an aid to ensure the
body is aligned properly, touch the top of the left ear with the three
middle fingers of the left hand, and at the same time, touch the top of the
right ear with the three middle fingers of the right hand
--touch the edge of the
top of the right shoulder with the three middle fingers of the left
hand, and at the same time, touch the edge of the top of the right
shoulder with the three middle fingers of the right hand
--touch the middle of the
right hip with the three middle fingers of the right hand, and, at the
same time, touch the middle of the left hip with the three middle
fingers of the left hand
--Note: various
meditational disciplines employ other "centering" or alignment
techniques to ensure the body is properly positioned for meditation;
feel free to utilize them prior to the three finger touching method
above
--put hands in the following
position (called a "mudra"?):
--left hand palm up, with
the top side of left hand fingers resting on top of palm-side right hand
fingers, first knuckle from nail of left middle finger resting on back
of first knuckle from palm of right hand middle finger, thumbs lightly
touching and making a circle
--the inside edges of
both hands resting lightly somewhat below the naval, or wherever your
arms reach to be comfortable in the shoulders and elsewhere
--watch and count 12 full
breaths (in and out counts as one breath); to keep track, -I count each
breath in = as the number and each breath out as "and", that is,
1-and, 2-and, 3-and etc
--the first 3 breaths,
the breath is viewed flowing in and out from my mental eye ("my
position"), the abdomen expanding on the in breath and contracting
back in on the out breath (this abdomen based breathing is the proper
way to breathe, taught by yoga instructors, and will be assumed to be
the way of breathing throughout these instructions)
--after a half breath
(inhale) with no count, the next 4 breaths , 4-7, are viewed from the
ROW position, and the counting "switches," so that the
"in" on the 4, 5, and 6 is on the ROW inhale ("its"
abdomen expanding out, as visualized, and eventually felt), and that
movement of the inhaling ROW abdomen would occur simultaneously to my
exhaling (and my abdomen contracting back in)
--the last 5 breaths
alternate between viewpoint of me and ROW, with breath 8 starting on my
viewpoint
--three sets of visualizing
12 locations, or positions, in my mental field of vision, each position
occupied with an entity just like me sitting there just like I'm sitting
right now; each in breath and each out breath moves the positions to the
next one: start with my inhale = 1
--first set: for
each position as added, "see" that position from my eyes, and
then "see" out from its eyes me as well as all the other
positions then extant;
--1= me, 2=add
directly across from me, 3=add a position to the left and between
"us", 4=add right between us, 5=add diagonally to upper
left, 6=add diagonally to upper right, 7=add diagonally to lower
left, 8=add diagonally to lower right, 9=add to center of all,
10=all 9 positions, 11=all ROW not part of the 10 positions, 12=ONE
--second set,
which will eventually be two lines of five positions facing each other;
for each position as added, see "collectively" as all
positions from that side, all the positions on the other side, and then
see "collectively" as all the positions on that other side,
all the positions on the first side;
--1=me, 2=across from
me, 3=additional position to my right, 4=additional position across
from me to extant position across from me's left (in other words, my
right), 5=additional position to my left, 6=additional position across
from me to the two extant positions across from me's right (my left),
7=additional position to my right, 8=additional position across from
me to the three extant positions across from me's left (my right),
9=additional position to my left, 10=additional position across from
me to the four extant positions across from me's right (my left),
11=all 10 positions and ROW, 12=ONE
--the specifications
as to whether the additional position is to the left or right of me
or the positions across from me are sometimes not strictly followed
--sometimes the side
with the greater number of positions will look at the other side and
the other side will not look back at the side with the greater
number of positions
--third set: will
eventually be a circle; for each position as added, "see" from
that new position as well as from each other then-extant position; since
it will progress from 2 facing each other to a triangle of three equal
sides to a square to a circle up until breath 10, each of views through
breath 10 will always be identical to all the other views
--1=me, 2=add across
from me, 3=add a position to make an triangle of three equal sides,
4=add a position to make a square, 5=add a position to make a circle,
6=add a position to the circle, 7=add a position to the circle, 8=add
a position to the circle, 9=add a position to the circle, 10=view of
entire circle, 11=view from ROW, 12=ONE
--breathe as follows:
--inhale from my
position, feeling the abdomen expand
--on the exhale,
switch to ROW inhale position, visualizing, and eventually feeling,
the ROW abdomen expanding
--switch back to inhale
from my position, feeling the abdomen expand
--on the exhale,
switch to ROW inhale position, visualizing, and eventually feeling,
the ROW abdomen expanding
--ROW exhale,
visualizing, and eventually feeling, the ROW abdomen contracting
--exhale from my
position, feeling my abdomen contract
--feeling my abdomen
contract should continue to accompany exhaling from my position
--feeling my abdomen
expand when inhaling from my position should also continue to
accompany inhaling from my position
--ROW exhale,
visualizing, and eventually feeling, the ROW abdomen contracting
--exhale from my
position, feeling my abdomen contract
--inhale and exhale from
the ROW position, visualizing, and eventually feeling, the ROW abdomen
expand and contract
--such visualizing
and feeling should continue to accompany ROW position breathing
--inhale from the ROW
position, while at the same time exhale from my position, feeling the
abdomen expanding or contracting, as applicable to the position then
being experienced
--inhale from my
position, while at the same time exhale from the ROW position,
feeling the abdomen expanding or contracting, as applicable to the
position then being experienced
--repeat a few times
this process of feeling my position and the ROW position at the same
time
--next will be the actual
"meditation" consisting of five segments
--in each segment the
see...hear will be done
--the first segment will
start with the visualizing "from" position being me, and will
switch to ROW at everything-ever-forgotten
--each subsequent segment
will start with the visualizing "from" position being the
position the previous segment ended on, and during that segment's
see...hear will change to the next specified "from" position
at everything-ever-forgotten
--first segment:
do the see...hear, the "from" position starting from me, and
switching to ROW
--second segment:
visualize the aleph, with awareness of its "as above-so below"
quality (if you turn it upside down, it looks the same); the
"from" position starts with ROW and switches to a third party
to the left of me and ROW looking at me and ROW; ROW sometimes becomes
merely another finite position across from me
--become the cross
line and then each of the curved lines of the aleph
--do the see...hear
on aleph, eventually "becoming" each of the curved lines,
the cross line, and eventually the entire aleph itself
--after the see hear,
the aleph curves align next to each other touching at ends with
curved sides upwards (which resembles a child's bird drawing and a
round butt, I'm always personally aware of but don't necessarily
think would be a universally required element of this segment!)
--then the curves
re-align to vertically next to each other with curved ends facing
each other, representing the opposites of heaven and earth
--then finally the
right-hand curve rotates on its vertical axis to symbolize opposites
coming together (I'm always personally aware of the concept of two
spoons, and two people sleeping together as spoons, but, again,
certainly don't necessarily think this would be a universally
experienced element of this segment)
--a final awareness
that as now positioned, the two curves also from two Hebrew yud
letters, the abbreviation for the name of God, or All, or ONE
--third segment:
visualize Hebrew letters of the shiviti; there should eventually be a
simultaneous intellectual understanding of the meaning of the words,
followed eventually by an experiential realization of them
--first visualize and
hear internally one word at a time
--then the first two
words together
--then the last two
words together
--finally the entire
phrase
--then visualize the
entire phrase while emphasizing the first word of the phrase by
visually having the letters of that word grow larger and aurally
making my internal voice of that word louder
--then visualize the
entire phrase but emphasize the second word
--then the same but
on the third word
--then on the fourth
word
--emphasize the first
two words
--emphasize the last
two words
--emphasize all four
words
--visualize the phrase
in English (with multiple English words corresponding to a single
Hebrew word being collectively referred to as "first" word,
"second word" as applicable)
--so the
"first" word to emphasize is "I set"
--the
"second" word to emphasize is "the Eternal One"
--the
"third" word to emphasize is "before me"
--the
"fourth" word to emphasize is "Always"
--the "first two
words" to emphasize are "I set the Eternal One"
--the "second
two words" to emphasize are "before me Always"
--finally, emphasize,
the entire phrase
--meditate on the
shiviti, doing the see...hear, the "from" position starting
at the third looking at me and at the same time the third party
looking at ROW through "my" eyes, and switching to the third
party looking at ROW and at the same time the third party looking at
me through ROW's eyes
--fourth segment:
chant out loud, deep from the belly, one time each, first OM, then
ah-oo-ummmm, then Sha-lommmm
--starting while the
Sha-lommmm chant is finishing and continuing with hearing the
Sha-lommmm internally, do the see...hear on the Sha-lommmm, the
"from" position starting at the third party looking at ROW
and at the same time the third party looking at me through ROW's eyes,
and switching to a universal front to rear timeline described above;
here, the view is sort of looking down at this timeline from my own
eyes, and then also looking up "from" the timeline at all of
creation which "emanates" from the timeline, which the
timeline "creates"
--do the see...hear on
the Sha-lomm Hebrew letters and internal sound
--from this point on
through the point noted below in the fifth segment, the
"from" position can change one or two more times, at
different times each meditation; the changes will be
--from the
universal time line to a position looking out from the belly, with
the belly as the emanating point, the creator of all positions, of
all creation above and below it
--to a position
which is at once the universal front to rear timeline and the
forehead, with both those positions creating the belly position as
well as all of the physical world
--if these two
changes do not occur hear, then they will occur at the beginning
of the see...hear of the fifth segment
--fifth segment:
visualize Hebrew letters of the Shma Haolom
--first visualize and
hear internally one word at a time
--then two words at a
time
--finally the entire
phrase all at once, it being sort of wrapped around my head, hearing
internally the phrase twice
--visualize and mentally
"chant" the Shma Haolom one time all the way through and
emphasize the second, fourth, sixth syllables and so on to the end
--visualize and
mentally "chant" the Shma Haolom one time all the way
through and emphasize syllables 1-3-5 and so on; repeat each time
below by visualizing and mentally "chanting" the Shma Haolom
one time all the way through and emphasizing the syllables as
specified:
--2-3, 5-6, 8-9 and
so on until the end
--1-2, 4-5, 7-8 and
so on until the end...
--2-3-4, 6-7-8,
10-11-12 and so on until the end
--1-2-3, 5-6-7,
9-10-11 and so on until the end
-- 2-3-4-5, 7-8-9-10,
12-13-14-15 and so on until the end
--1-2-3-4, 6-7-8-9,
11-12-13-14 and so on until the end
--2-3-4-5-6,
8-9-10-11-12, 14-15-16-17-18 and so on until the end
--1-2-3-4-5,
7-8-9-10-11, 13-14-15-16-17
--on this last one,
the five emphasized syllables form each time a "throne",
two on top of two with one at the very top, which is the throne of
all being, as it were, and which I Am
--then do the see...hear
on the Shma Haolom
--the "from"
position starts from where left it left off in the fourth segment, and
then when the last position specified there is reached, the
"from" position switches as follows:
--on the Shiviti of
this see...hear, to a "from" which is from each and every
position rapid changing among them
--on the first Shma
Haolom of this see...hear, to a position which is from all positions
at once
--on the second Shma
Haolom of this see...hear, to a "position" which is really
no position at all, it being ONE
POST MEDITATION BREATHING
--still sitting with back
straight, watch and count from my position 10 breaths, with in=1, out=2,
etc; in other words, five full breaths
--sometimes do another
1-10, which will result in a deeper state for a longer period after
regular everyday activities are resumed
--sometimes do a third
1-10, which will result in the deepest state for the longest period
after regular everyday activities are resumed
PREPARATION FOR CONCLUDING BOWS
--slowly arise from the
meditation posture, then sit on the floor with the knees at about a 45
degree angle and splayed outward, heels touching or near each other
--rub five times with the
thumb of the same side, at the same time, the bottom of the left and right
big toes (bracing the big toe with a couple of the other fingers), the
arches of the left and right feet (bracing the foot with a couple of the
other fingers), and then with the thumb and forefinger, the left and right
Achilles tendons
--at the same time, press
once with the end of the middle finger of the left hand the area between
the first knuckle from the toenail and the second knuckle from the
toenail of the toe next to the big toe of the left foot, and with the
end of the middle finger of the right hand the area between the first
knuckle from the toenail and the second knuckle from the toenail of the
toe next to the big toe of the right foot; repeat this press
--place the four non-thumb
fingers of the left hand into the crease behind the right toes, and at the
same time place the palm-side of the fingers of the right hand on the top of
the right foot
--slide both hands at the
same time up the foot and all the way up the leg, the right hand going
up the top of the ankle, shin and thigh to the end of the leg, and the
left hand going up from the bottom of the foot to the Achilles tendon
and then up the bottom of the leg to the groin
--press one time with the
end of the middle finger of the right hand the area between the first
knuckle from the toenail and the second knuckle from the toenail of the
toe next to the big toe of the right foot
--repeat on the left foot
and leg, that is, put the four non-thumb fingers of the right hand into
the crease behind the left toes, and at the same time place the
palm-side of the fingers of the left hand on the top of the left foot
--slide both hands at
the same time up the foot and all the way up the leg, the left hand
going up the top of the ankle, shin and thigh to the end of the leg,
and the right hand going up from the bottom of the foot to the
Achilles tendon and then up the bottom of the leg to the groin;
--press one time with
the end of the middle finger of the left hand the area between the
first knuckle from the toenail and the second knuckle from the
toenail of the toe next to the big toe of the left foot
--place the palm-side of the
fingers of the right hand on top of the toes of the right foot, and at the
same time place the palm-side of the fingers of the left hand on top of the
toes of the left foot
--glide the hands at the
same time up the top of the leg they're on
--place the fingertips of
the left hand on the bottom side of the toes of the left foot, at the
same time place the fingertips of the right hand on the bottom side of
the toes of the right foot, and glide each hand at the same time, on the
side they're on, up the bottom of the foot to the Achilles tendon and
then up the bottom of the leg to the groin
--slightly cup the
genitals with both hands
--glide the palms and
fingers of both hands up the center of the front of the torso from lower
abdomen to just below the neck
--glide the palms of both
hands up the sides of the torso from waist to underarm
--at the same time, press
once with the end of the middle finger of the left hand the area between
the first knuckle from the toenail and the second knuckle from the
toenail of the toe next to the big toe of the left foot, and with the
end of the middle finger of the right hand the area between the first
knuckle from the toenail and the second knuckle from the toenail of the
toe next to the big toe of the right foot
--interweave, at the second
knuckle from the fingernail area, the palm-side of the fingers of the right
hand with the palm-side of the fingers of the left hand; the right hand
thumb rests in the crook between the left thumb and forefinger; then glide
the right hand up the bottom of the left arm to the top of the left arm and
that inner shoulder; at the beginning of the glide, make sure with the
middle, index and ring finger to glide across the area of the left hand
between the three fingers that the middle, index and ring fingers are
interwoven with
--interweave, at the
second knuckle from the fingernail area, the palm-side of the fingers of
the right hand with the top of the fingers of the left hand; the right
hand pinkie rests in the crook between the left thumb and forefinger;
then glide the right hand up the top side of the left arm to the top of
the top side of the left arm and that outer shoulder; at the beginning
of the glide, make sure with the middle, index and ring fingers and
pinkie to glide across the area of the left hand between the fingers
that the middle, index and ring fingers and pinkie are interwoven with
--repeat with the left
hand on the right arm, with the variations as indicated, that is:
--interweave, at the
second knuckle from the fingernail area, the palm-side of the fingers of
the left hand with the palm-side of the fingers of the right hand; the
left hand pinkie rests in the crook between the right pinkie and ring
finger; then glide the left hand up the bottom of the right arm to the
top of the underside of the right arm and that inner shoulder; at the
beginning of the glide, make sure with the pinkie, ring and index
fingers to glide across the area of the right hand between the three
fingers that the pinkie, ring and index fingers are interwoven with
--interweave, at the
second knuckle from the fingernail area, the palm-side of the
fingers of the left hand with the top of the fingers of the right
hand; the left hand pinkie rests in the crook between the right
thumb and forefinger; then glide the left hand up the top side of
the right arm to the top of the top side of the right arm and that
outer shoulder; at the beginning of the glide, make sure with the
index, middle, and ring fingers and pinkie to glide across the area
of the right hand between the fingers that the middle, index and
ring fingers and pinkie are interwoven with
--put each hand palm up under
the same side buttock and glide straight up the back
--put both hands on the
bottom of the spine and glide up as far as possible, the put each arm
over the same side shoulder and put fingers of hands on the farthest
down portion of the spine that can be reached, and glide hands up the
spine to the neck and to the top of the back of the head
--put the fingers of the
right hand on the closed right eyelid and the fingers of the left hand on
the closed left eyelid, and internally vocalize "see"
--put the fingers of the
right hand on the right ear and the fingers of the left hand on the left
ear and internally vocalize "hear"
--put the fingers of the
right hand on the right side of the nose and the fingers of the left
hand on the left side of the nose and internally vocalize
"smell"
--put the fingers of the
right hand on the right side of the mouth and the fingers of the left
hand on the left side of the mouth and internally vocalize
"taste"
--being aware of the
entire body, internally vocalize "body"
--complete the see...
--lean a bit forward to raise
the buttocks off the mat
--put the right hand,
palm up, under the right buttock, and put the left hand, palm up, under
the left buttock, neither hand touching the buttocks but about an inch
or two away
--slide the hands out and
to the bottom of the spine, continuing to keep the hands about an in or
two away from the clothing
--continuing to keep the
hands about an inch or two off the clothing, slide the hands up the
spine, envisioning, and eventually feeling, "pulling" up with
the hands the universal energy/kundalini from the bottom of the spine
--continue up the back of
the neck and head
--bring the hands back
over the head in front of me, palms clasped together, the top of the
fingers about at the top of the nose level
--immediately go into the
following concluding bows
CONCLUDING
BOWS
--do bows from the waist; the
downward portion of my physical body's bow = "down", the coming up
portion of my physical body's bow = up
--the down and up portion
are each numbered, that is, down = 1, up = 2, down = 3, up =4 ,etc
--in certain down and up
cycles, as specified below, the down and the up are each from a
different "position" or "positions"
--there will be 2 sets of
1-12, and sometimes, as indicated below a third set of 1-12
--1=as me bowing to
ROW, with the awareness of going down
--2=as ROW bowing to
me, with the awareness of ROW being in the down portion of the bow
(even though my physical body is in the up portion)
--3=as 1
--4=as 2
--5=ROW watching me
bow to it, so there's an awareness of ROW being still (even though
my physical body is bowing down)
--6=as me watching
ROW bow down to me, with an awareness of stillness (even though my
physical body is performing the up portion of a bow)
--7=as 5
--8=as 6
--9=during the down
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a moving me bowing to
ROW, then as a still ROW watching me bow to it
--10=during the up
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a moving ROW bowing to
me, then as a still me watching ROW bow to me
--11=as 9
--12=as 10; continue
with another set of 1-12
--1=during the down
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a still ROW watching me
bow to it, then as a moving me bowing to ROW
--2=during the up
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a still me watching ROW
bow to me, then as a moving ROW
--3=as 1
--4= as 2
--5=all previous
positions and ONE
--6 through 12=same
as 5
--sometimes if I feel
that the previous two sets of 1-12 were not done with enough
concentration, or I screwed up the positions, or for whatever reason,
I'll do a third set of 1-12, which avoids the repeating contained in the
previous two sets, that is:
--1=as me bowing to
ROW, with the awareness of going down
--2=as ROW bowing to
me, with the awareness of ROW being in the down portion of the bow
(even though my physical body is in the up portion)
--3=ROW watching me
bow to it, so there's an awareness of ROW being still (even though
my physical body is bowing down)
--4=as me watching
ROW bow down to me, with an awareness of stillness (even though my
physical body is performing the up portion of a bow)
--5=during the down
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a moving me bowing to
ROW, then as a still ROW watching me bow to it
--6=during the up
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a moving ROW bowing to
me, then as a still me watching ROW bow to me
--7=during the down
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a still ROW watching me
bow to it, then as a moving me bowing to ROW
--8=during the up
portion of my physical body's bow, first as a still me watching ROW
bow to me, then as a moving ROW
--9=all previous
positions and ONE
--10 through 12=same
as 9
--slowly arise |