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10 hot tips for experiencing
the Thread of Awareness in Chaos
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Experiences are something you do,
not just read about. So do the experiments, don't just read them over and think you got
the idea. What we are talking about here is like eating. Or like sex. You can't satisfy
either hunger by reading about it or thinking about it. You have to experience an orgasm.
Can't imagine what it is like.
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The experiments work best if you
do them when you are alone. Some time alone is important once and awhile. For example,
many people can't "get" the 3D Random Dot Stereograms
when others are watching. Given a few minutes alone, they see the 3D images easily. Many
of the experiences require the conscious mind to relax, even get lost for awhile - like
daydreaming. This is difficult when socializing.
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Do the outdoor experiments somewhere nice, in wilderness if you can manage. In a park, at least. Not in your basement
or on a major highway. Walking is great exercise, if you move right along. Inexpensive
(well, the shoes are expensive), takes you to interesting places, very healthy, and
boring. The Thread of Awareness Exercises will add interest and spice to a healthy but
dull activity. If you walk with other people, all you need to do is get ahead or drop
behind to be by yourself. I prefer to get far enough ahead I can't see or speak to the
people following. Talkers are slow walkers. If you are exercising properly, you will be
breathing, not gabbing.
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Many experiments use a repeated
phrase. The words of the phrase are not simply sounds. They have real meaning and the
object is to experience the meaning of the word when you form it. If the word is joy, for
example, use the word to focus your mind on the FEELING of joy. THINK the phrase. Unless
the experiment calls for verbalizing out loud. Not that it matters if people think you are
nuts, it's just that breathing is important in most of the outdoor exercises. Talking
messes up breathing rhythms. And people will think you are nuts.
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| 5 |
Some of the best experiments
involve physical exercise. There are reasons for this. Exercise is good for you, is one
reason. There are physiological and psychological reasons, too. Gaining ground on the
Thread of Awareness means involving as much of your communication web as possible. Sitting
down reading or looking at something reduces the overall flow of information, energy,
elements and juices.
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Repetition is the key to building
any ability; playing music, running, thinking, whatever. Most of the experiments become
more effective the more you do them. Some, like Richard's Three Step
Exercise are basic warm-up exercises and expand into lots of related exercises.
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| 7 |
Experiment with the experiments. I
provide recipes of some of my own favorite dishes but you may not have the same
ingredients available so use what you have, go with the flow, be inventive. Explore.
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| 8 |
The objective of the experiments
is to enable you to experience the thread of awareness. This
isn't easy since you are using awareness to observe itself and imagination can go wild.
One important part of this process is paying close attention to your inner feelings - when
you do the experiments, you will respond to them. Try to keep a part of your mind focused
on observing how your thinking process responds. One way to do this is to create an Observer to keep watch.
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Keep a digital notebook or journal
of your experiences. It helps focus on your progress and writing things down does wonders
for clarifying experience as well as enhancing memory.
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Be kind to yourself. Treat your "Child Within" as a cherished, loved, part of you - it is part of you, dumb as
it seems to be from time to time. |
Special,
extra tip
While learning these exercises, don't take anything too seriously.
Keep a sense of humor. Whatever you discover
will be wrong to some degree, this is a
basic - even a necessary - quality of life.
The objective is to reduce the errors
of expectations by improving your ability
to perceive, remember and respond. In the end, there you are.
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