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Sheath |
Sanskrit Name |
Inquiry |
Center |
Element |
Meditation |
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The illusory nature of the I-thought; awareness of the Witness |
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Disidentification from the I-thought; revelation of essential qualities of awareness; underlying ground of emptiness is revealed; neither form nor formless. |
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The Sheath of Joy / Bliss / Love |
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Joy, bliss and love naturally arise and are seen to be causeless – also recognized as obstacles to True Nature and are released with neither attachment nor aversion. |
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(atma charka) |
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Constantly changing thoughts, beliefs, memories and images. When thoughts are seen to be objects, attention is released from following cognitions, which otherwise distract and bind attention. |
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The Sheath of Feelings and Emotions |
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The subtle world of feelings and emotions, which are comprised of polarities of opposites. Opposites are welcomed and recognized as pointers to underlying unity and reveal deeper levels of understanding. |
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The Sheath of Breath / Energy |
Pranamaya Kosha |
The nature of subtle energy, vibration and radiance |
Relationship, sexuality, pleasure |
Water, movement |
Every perception is recognized to be in perpetual motion. Everything is constantly changing – flowing with the breath |
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sensation |
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Physical body is welcomed into awareness as vibrant tactile sensation. Sensations recognized as messengers and the body is realized to be an expanse of non-localized radiance. |
The following
is a very brief description of what we do as we explore each sheath. It is important that we anchor each
experience of the various sheaths in the physical body. iRest is a feeling exercise and
not an intellectual one. We want to
have a felt-experience of awareness and embody it in our day-to-day
existence. This process of inquiry means nothing if it is not brought into every
aspect of our daily lives.
1) Physical
Body: Inquiring into the
nature of physical sensation.
The physical body is welcomed into awareness as vibrant tactile sensation. Sensations are recognized as messengers
and the body is realized to be an expanse of non-localized radiance. We progress through the body following
the sensory-motor cortex. We follow
the same path each time and always go from left to right. “Familiarity and
daily repetition of these sensing sequences exerts a rapid relaxation response
wherein attention is freed from distracting tendencies” (Richard Miller,
2007).
What this does for us:
This stage could be referred to as “body sensitivity training.” We are learning how to be with our
bodies as they are. We are learning
how to be with all sensations – pleasurable and painful – without
resistance. We are, as a result,
neutralizing negative body sensations and stress.
Another benefit of cultivating this awareness of the physical body is that it
brings us more fully into the present moment. Physical sensations occur only in the
present. There is no future or past
to them except in the mind. The
body scan takes us out of the mind and into the body. It brings us to "this precious moment."
The body scan is also one of the fastest routes to a deep relaxation of body and
mind. This sets the stage so that
we can meet whatever arises in awareness from this place of deep
relaxation. As an example, when we
pair an anxiety provoking memory with physical relaxation, we are desensitizing
ourselves from the memory. Anxiety
cannot exist when the body is fully relaxed.
2) Breath /
Energy Body: Inquiring into the nature of subtle energy, vibration and
radiance.
Bringing
attention to the breath and the movements of subtle energy throughout the
body. Recognizing subtle internal
energetic sensory perceptions as messengers. Every perception is
recognized to be in perpetual motion. Everything is constantly
changing.
What this does for
us:
Bringing attention to the flow of the breath and energy sensitizes us to
more subtle levels of experiencing.
By becoming aware of the subtle body we are developing the capacity to
notice slight shifts of energy that provide important information that we might
otherwise overlook. “It is one
thing to conceptually understand that the body is energy. iRest is a practice that allows us to
experience this fact as reality” (Richard Miller, 2007).
One form of breath
awareness is “breath counting.”
Counting the breaths is a form of concentration practice. We could think of it as training in
one-pointedness or non-distraction.
It helps us to develop the ability to remain with a task for as long as
necessary in order to accomplish a goal.
Basically, no matter
what form of breath awareness we use it can be thought of as a mindfulness
practice.
3)
Body of Feelings / Emotions:
Inquiring into the nature of constantly changing feelings
and emotions.
This stage
consists of exploring the subtle world of feelings and emotions, which are
comprised of polarities of opposites.
The opposites are welcomed and recognized as pointers to underlying unity
and reveal deeper levels of understanding.
We rotate attention back and forth between opposites of feelings and
emotions (ex: happiness and sadness). We then become aware of both opposites
simultaneously (both happiness and sadness). The opposing feelings and emotions then
cancel each other out, and we move beyond the opposites and have a felt-experience of who
we really are – awareness itself.
What this does for
us:
We begin to recognize feelings and emotions as messengers that are
providing information regarding the ever-changing nature of reality within and
without. Our first task is to
acknowledge and welcome the legitimacy and necessity of our feelings and
emotions. When we resist or refuse them our attention is bound up in identification
with resisting, and attention is not free to inquire into the nature of pure
Awareness.
Our second task is to become proficient in recognizing the various types
of feelings and emotions as they arise.
iRest helps us to recognize, welcome,
understand, work with and move beyond feelings and emotions rather than becoming
caught up and hopelessly mired down in them.
Developing awareness of feelings and emotions is also a form of
“systematic desensitization.”
During iRest we pair deep relaxation and witnessing with the entire range
of feelings and emotions. This
stimulates the brain and activates neural connections that develop our ability
to be with, rather than react to, various feelings and emotional states (i.e.
claustrophobia, abandonment, fear, anger, etc.). We pair negative feelings and emotions with
their positive opposites while experiencing deep relaxation throughout the
body.
Ultimately, we begin to recognize that we are not our feelings and
emotions. Feelings and emotions arise within the field
of awareness. As we gradually begin to dis-identify from our feelings
and emotions we begin to discover our true identity as that very field of
awareness itself.
4) Body of
Intellect: Inquiring into the nature of thoughts, beliefs, memories and
images.
Exploring the
realm of constantly changing thoughts, beliefs, memories and images. When thoughts are seen to be objects,
attention is released from following cognitions, which otherwise distract and
bind attention. We also explore
opposites of thought during this phase of iRest (ex: “I am a failure” and “I am
a success”). The more we explore
the nature of thought the more we dis-identify from our thoughts, beliefs,
memories, images and the more we rest in our true nature –awareness itself –
awareness that is aware of, not identified with, our
thoughts.
What this does for
us:
We identify negative cognitions and pair them with their positive
opposites. We move back and forth
between these opposites of belief until we are comfortable being with either
side with neither attachment nor aversion.
Then we invite both to be present simultaneously. At this point the opposites resolve and True
Nature (and profound healing) unfolds spontaneously.
Being with the beliefs, memories and images that naturally
arise in awareness reveals the narratives or stories that have been informing
our whole lives. We are then able
to inquire into the truth of these narratives. As they start to deconstruct we catch
glimpses of who we are without our stories and begin to embody the essential
qualities of True Nature (i.e. Accepting, Aware, Complete, Free,
Kind, Peaceful, Present, etc.). You could say that this is
a form of “cognitive therapy.”
However, we are not trading one way of thinking for another way of
thinking. We
are trading a way of thinking for a whole new way of Being.
We are also developing our capacity to remain present with traumatic
memories and images that are associated with events that have happened in our
lives. The more we are able to
abide as pure Awareness as these memories or images arise, the less of an impact
they have on us. Because we are no
longer identifying with them, they no longer have such a hold on us, and we are
able to transcend the “victim identity.”
5) Body of
Joy, Bliss, Love: Inquiring into the nature of desire, pleasure, joy, bliss
and love.
Joy, bliss and
love naturally arise and are seen to be causeless. They are also recognized as
obstacles to True Nature when we are identified with them. We learn to appreciate them and also to
release them with neither attachment nor aversion. Attachment is recognized as
“wanting this to last” and aversion is recognized as “wanting this to
change.” The
more we practice iRest the more we are able to “love what is” with neither
attachment nor aversion.
What this does for
us:
As our attention is liberated from being bound to emotions and thoughts,
pleasure, joy, bliss and love naturally arise. Joy, bliss and love are realized to be
causeless (not dependent on outer events) and begin to saturate the body. Joyous equanimity is always present,
albeit hidden behind the veil of the dividing mind. True joy is seen to
exist independent of all objects, beliefs, images and stories.
Joy, even in small amounts, affects our entire physiology. It affects the respiratory system,
cardiovascular system, muscular system, central nervous system, endocrine system
and the immune system. It releases endorphins, the body’s natural
painkillers, which are often responsible for our feeling of
well-being.
There has also been much research that shows a dramatic increase in
electrical activity in the left pre-frontal cortex of the brain when individuals
are displaying positive emotions such as joy, alertness, compassion and high
energy. There are also dramatic
increases in electrical activity in a parallel site on the opposite side of the
brain in the right pre-frontal cortex when subjects display negative emotions
such as sadness, anxiety and worry.
Experiences that lift our mood cause a “left-ward tilt,” at least
temporarily.
Fortunately, researchers have also discovered that the brain is highly
plastic and continues to change throughout our lives. They have also shown that long-term
meditators demonstrate a heightened degree of activity in the left pre-frontal
cortex of the brain. The
implication is that the longer we meditate and the longer we experience the joy
that is causeless, the more the actual physiology of the brain will change, and
we will experience a more permanent “left-ward tilt.”
6) Body of
Ego-I: Inquiring into the nature of open, subtle and spacious
awareness and the illusory nature of the I-thought (Ego).
As we inquire into the nature of the I-thought that appropriates every
experience and tries to create an identity out of it, we begin to move into the
essential qualities of awareness (Accepting, Aware, Complete, Free, Kind,
Peaceful, Present, etc.). We begin
to deconstruct who we think we are and to dis-identify from the I-thought or
Ego. We see that who we really are
is unchanging, no matter what is happening around us.
“We begin to discriminate
the difference between 1) the objects that are coming and going, 2) the ‘ego-I,
or I-thought’ that appropriates them for its own design, and 3) pure awareness
in which everything is arising” (Richard Miller, 2007).
What this does for
us:
During this stage of iRest (which is actually not a stage and occurs
throughout the entire process) we turn our attention on awareness itself. This is known as “meta-awareness” –
being aware of awareness. Attention
turns back on itself, and begins to inquire and investigate the field of
Awareness in which all objects arise.
We might ask such questions as: “Who is aware?” “Who is aware of the anger that is
arising in this moment?” “Who am I?”
Gradually, we begin to realize that Awareness is who we are. The more we realize our true identity as
Awareness, the less we identify with the changing sensations, emotions and
thoughts that arise in Awareness. We also see that the ego or sense of “I”
exists in Awareness. The
“I-thought” comes and goes. It is
impermanent. Who we are is
changeless, permanent, unconditioned and fully present to life as it is. We begin to embody
what is changeless in the midst of what is changing.
As the session of iRest comes to an end we gradually take on the various
sheaths that we have dis-identified from and reorient ourselves to each
one. We then move back into the
world of changing phenomena with a newfound sense of inner peace, stability and
love of what is. The more we
practice iRest the more we realize that our day-to-day lives are actually the
practice. iRest becomes something
that we do 24/7. It is not just something that we do during the
formal practice setting.
Steps
and Stages of iRest
Step 1 -- Setting your Intention
Step
2 -- Stating to yourself your Heartfelt Desire
Step 3 -- Cultivating your
Inner Resource
Stage 1 -- Awareness of Sensation
Stage 2 -- Awareness
of Breath and Energy
Stage 3 -- Awareness of Feelings and Emotions
Stage 4
-- Awareness of Thoughts, Beliefs, Memories and Images
Stage 5 -- Awareness
of Joy, Bliss and Love
Stage 6 -- Pure "I-ness"
Stage 7 -- Natural
State of Being -- Pure Awareness
The steps and stages may be engaged as a
"long form" of iRest, which takes from 30-60 minutes, or as a "short form,"
which can be practiced in as little as 1-15 minutes, during which time we take
up only one or more of the stages.
Source:
Miller, Richard (2005). Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart of
Yoga, Boulder: Sounds True.
Miller, Richard (2007). Integrative
Restoration – iRest Level I Training, Sebastopol: Anahata Press, Center of
Timeless Being.
Ó
Copyright
2008 Billy Ledford. All rights
reserved