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This Week on Integral Spiritual Center....
Look at Your Mind - Patrick Sweeney
IS Call on Integral Post-Metaphysics - Cameron Freeman/Ken Wilber
Look at Your Mind (video)
When I heard the sound of the bell ringing, there was no I, and no bell, just the ringing….
Meditation, says Patrick Sweeney, is the path to Right View, one of the key concepts of Buddhism. In the integral context, meditation is thought to be invaluable in making subject object—precisely the dynamic by which development occurs—and thus aiding the progression through structure-stages and state-stages. There are many forms in Buddhism that help to foster this core discipline, beginning with the ringing of the gong.
The sound of the gong is a cue to return to the space of aligning the body, speech, and mind—the gross, subtle, and causal bodies—with the Mandala of Awakening. The ringing is the initial focal object for the meditation.
Begin by connecting with the earth element and the space element. Dropping into the cushion, extend the spine, allowing the posture to ascend while being relaxed, bringing a subtle awareness to the body—not a mental image of the body, but rather, a direct experience of the body.
Next, bring awareness to the sensational feel of the body. Is the experience one of pleasurable sensations? Painful sensations? Or a vast field of ignorance or numbness? The point is not to judge the sensation or create an opinion about it, but rather, to simply be aware of it.
Without abandoning the body or the world of sensation, next look at the thoughts or emotions that are present. Look nakedly, making no effort to continue the thoughts. See whether there’s an emotional tone dominating the sense of being. Is the experience one of enthusiasm? Depression? Sadness? Boredom? Look directly at it. Don’t form an opinion about it; don’t try to change it or manipulate it in any way….
Next, allow the eyes to open, with gaze slightly down, looking at a point on the floor. Let the gaze relax between the face and this point. Maintain an awareness of the body, of sensations and feelings, of thoughts and emotions. Making no effort to control or manipulate the flow of experience, simply allow each mind moment to arise, dwell for a period of duration, and then subside.
Rousing the self, intensity the posture, and look at your mind. What are you experiencing right now? Don’t change it, alter it, manipulate it. Look right at it. What’s there? Holding a sense of being and intensity toward what’s there—whatever sensation or emotion it is—look at it, freeze it, hold it. Then let it go.
Let the awareness expand. Hear the air blowing, hear the voice speaking, perhaps hear the breath itself. Allow the sense perceptions to expand infinitely. Then, contract around whatever you’re thinking. Freeze it, hold it, and turn in into the entirety of reality. Then, let it go. Hold the posture. And look into your mind….
IS Call on Integral Post-Metaphysics (audio)
Australia's Dr. Cameron Freeman poses a series of superb questions to Ken Wilber, from the IS call on Integral Post-Metaphysics. Are there any pre-given realities in Integral Post-Metaphysics? Does Being itself have a Kosmic Address? And does Integral Post-Metaphysics reduce spiritual experience to a sort of scientific experiment?
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