The Brightened Mind by Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu

Author:Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Medical
Publisher: Quest Books
Published: 2011-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

Preparing the Body and the Mind

The following instructions on how to make contact with the Universal Mind will enable you to use this higher level of consciousness to deal with your daily challenges and improve your learning ability.

First, prepare yourself to use your mind in a new way. Conduct this exercise while sitting comfortably. Allow your eyelids to close gently and begin to think “soft.” That means relaxing the mind and smiling within. Let a smile lighten your face by simply relaxing your mouth and chin.Your lips will spread outward and form a smile. This won’t happen by trying to do something; rather, it is a way of undoing and letting go into the smile. This smile brings us back to our natural innocence. This is our most natural look.

Then bring your attention to your body posture. You should lean slightly forward on your seat so as not to slump against a backrest.

As you become aware of your body, coaxing it to its natural state, you will become aware of your mind, for the body and the mind are intimately connected. You will feel yourself relaxing when you notice your breath lengthening and deepening. As you deepen your breath and allow it to return to its longer cycle, you will feel even more relaxed. Without forcing your breath to deepen, you will feel your chest expand further, and your lungs will take in more air.

As the chest expands, the rib cage opens and moves slightly upward; the movement of the floating ribs can be felt as well. The head, too, will tilt up a bit. If you are paying careful attention, you will feel your shoulders drop and the back muscles associated with your shoulders shift slightly. The body is coming back to a balanced state. This is a settling down into the natural alignment of the body that occurs when you are not feeling tense and anxious.

Let the face muscles and jaws relax a bit more. In fact, you can just allow gravity to relax the body from the top of the head all the way down to the soles of the feet. Take your time during this initial phase so that you can actually feel the tension and strain slip away. Experience the body and mind relaxing and softening as you go through the mind. Let your smile shine back into the mind. As we know, the mind can get too serious and can tighten up, just like the body does when it experiences stress. This smile is a biological signal; it stimulates softening “chemistry” that then reminds the body and mind to lighten up. It is important for us to turn our attention toward the body and thereby rejuvenate our awareness of it. We need to be with our body always if we want to be wholly present in our lives.

In time, as you gain more experience in training the body and mind to relax, you will go through this preparation stage rather easily. You will also

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