Although we’re not aware of it, the Sense of Self is not continuously active but briefly pauses thousands of times every day.
For instance, just before we throw or catch there’s a brief moment when hand-eye and mind-body coordination needs to be prioritised: The Sense of Self briefly pauses allowing the human organism to instinctively act or react without us or our thoughts getting in the way.
These momentary pauses go unnoticed, but there are situations in which the Sense of Self is absent for much longer periods – several seconds. The spiritual enquiry exercise helps us recognise and take control of this natural ability.
In the zone…
Imagining that you’re a tennis player waiting to receive a serve at Wimbledon: You have spent most of your life preparing for this moment: Your mind is totally focussed, adrenalin flows, your body is tensed. You have lost awareness of the spectators, the umpire, the TV cameras, etc. The Sense of Self has automatically paused to allow total concentration and keep thoughts from getting in the way of instant instinctive response. This is called being “in the zone”.
By using this simple visualisation we can easily pause the Sense of Self. To turn this into a spiritual exercise and “still the mind” requires an extra step…
Spiritual enquiry
Stumbling into it
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