Meditation

[AshvinP]

Ashvin,

Thanks for bringing attention to nutrition again. It's a vast topic and I definitely feel there's a lot I don't know about the various elements and how they interact with our physiology. Reading the first part, Octave 1.1. I have to admit, when I read messages such as "the Earth's global controllers do not want us to know the big secret, the miraculous capacity of the chakra system", I become suspicious. I don't want to judge the spiritual content, since I don't have the adequate knowledge to, but I am reluctant to wholeheartedly trust this course. This also depends on other details. An intro such as this for example: "Discovering this summit is heaven on earth. We found it and offer you the same pathway to find it within yourself. Please, let us be your Spiritual Sherpas and show you a pathway to higher knowledge that has blessed us in countless ways." Doesn't this sound odd? Then I clicked on one of the videos, it leads to a commercial for a protein supplement brand. Maybe this is a hasty judgment, but what did you think about these things?

Federica,

I try not to think too much about the varying ways in which these spiritual ideas are expressed. I started out with Steiner, Scaligero, and so forth, so I am also taken aback sometimes by less philosophical-scientific ways of speaking about things. But I have started discovering there are many Anthroposophers (not to mention extra-Anthroposophical thinkers) who approach the ideas from all sorts of different constellations of disposition, experience, beliefs, etc. Generally, I think we should be working towards an inner stance where these variances don't phase us too much, where we can pay attention to the substantial content and reason through it effectively. That doesn't mean we have to ignore the overarching moods of thinkers, either. If we notice their content is consistently structured by a mood of mystical reduction, for ex., then we can take note of that and use it as a tool to understand their ideas. But so far I have not come across any such moods in their work. If anything, it seems they are focused mostly on the Divine Feminine like many people these days, and for good reasons.

I would also note that most (if not all) of the content on that website seems to be offered for free. It is a rare thing when people write books, develop detailed dietary programs, produce lengthy and informative videos, and offer it all for free, where we may only have to endure commercials once in a while. They also have a page that states as follows:

The Gospel of Sophia and Our Spirit are intended for spiritual initiates only. If you are not on an esoteric path of conscious, self-directed initiation, the contents of these esoteric materials may not resonate with you at this time on your spiritual journey. How will you know if you are a spiritual initiate? Please read the materials offered on this site. If they stir your soul and spirit, you will know that you, the student, are ready, and a teacher has appeared.

There are no gurus, priests, or masters on a path of self-initiation. If anyone approaches you as a "leader" of the Sisters of Sophia or Our Spirit movement, please be advised that we hold the view that the path of modern initiation lies in self-initiation.

Ashvin,

I agree, the mood can come from many different directions and reasons, it shouldn't be primary to form an opinion. And I agree that a free resource is generous. However, the problem I see with the commercial is not that they monetize videos. That would be no problem indeed, but this is not the case. The problem is that they use entire promotional videos as tenets of their approach, to justify the necessity to use Himalayan salt, in that case.

But even if we disregard that, and only look at the essence of the advice and recommendations provided, I find that there are very scarce explanations. If we compare, say, with a Steiner course, there is a world of difference. I am reading the second part now. They tell us "do this, don't do that" and it's basically it. Don't drink soda, don't drink water with acidic ingredients (no lemon water?) Do add this and that to your water. One has to believe the advice. Then they rely on external links to support their recommendations. Have you watched the Kundalini video? I watched the first ten minutes or so, I dropped on the animation of Adam and Eve looking like Lara Croft and Indiana Jones I wouldn't call this a course. It is more like a collection of precepts.

Of course, it is not intended to be a Steiner course or anything similar. I think the essential approach of this diet program is summed up in this caption at the end of the lessons:

Please note: Hyperlinked material
may become stale or link broken.
Research for yourself.

It's just a series of helpful indications that we can contemplate and integrate with our current knowledge-experience and/or research further, perhaps through Steiner's many courses or other esoteric sources. If they provided all of that information and reasoning in the lessons, I wouldn't have needed to post about it here and solicit feedback.

On the other hand, I have watched a few of Douglas Gabriel's videos on YT and they are chock full of esoteric information and insight, although his approach is similarly tailored towards those who are already well-versed in Anthroposophy. He is certainly an interesting character and tends towards a very schematic intellectual framework. Nevertheless, I am sure there are many insights to be gained from contemplating his work from the proper living perspective. Perhaps some of those videos shed more light on the nutritional system as well.

[Federica]

On the other hand, I have watched a few of Douglas Gabriel's videos on YT and they are chock full of esoteric information and insight, although his approach is similarly tailored towards those who are already well-versed in Anthroposophy. He is certainly an interesting character and tends towards a very schematic intellectual framework. Nevertheless, I am sure there are many insights to be gained from contemplating his work from the proper living perspective. Perhaps some of those videos shed more light on the nutritional system as well.

Yes, I've now read a great article on what he calls "Neoanthroposophy" (though I was doubtful before starting it) and watched a couple of videos that I find very well done and presented with great clarity of mind. Maybe you have first come across DG and noticed the nutrition material only later?

[AshvinP]

On the other hand, I have watched a few of Douglas Gabriel's videos on YT and they are chock full of esoteric information and insight, although his approach is similarly tailored towards those who are already well-versed in Anthroposophy. He is certainly an interesting character and tends towards a very schematic intellectual framework. Nevertheless, I am sure there are many insights to be gained from contemplating his work from the proper living perspective. Perhaps some of those videos shed more light on the nutritional system as well.

Yes, I've now read a great article on what he calls "Neoanthroposophy" (though I was doubtful before starting it) and watched a couple of videos that I find very well done and presented with great clarity of mind. Maybe you have first come across DG and noticed the nutrition material only later?

Yeah, I certainly investigated some of the other work before deciding to post the nutritional material here. That being said, I still want to emphasize that i am not suggesting anyone should dive right into the nutritional program or 'wholeheartedly trust' it, as you said earlier. It was only posted in the same spirit as the earlier discussion about ingesting psychedelic substances, where we think through potential spiritual influences at work and whether there is anything positive in them for spiritual development. I suppose the nutritional program is somewhat less risky to try out in so far as it concerns drinking clean water, vitamin supplements, organic coffee, oatmeal, himalayan salts, and so forth. But it is up to each individual to research the substances involved and pay attention to how they influence the whole body-soul-spirit. I was just wondering if anyone already had familiarity with such nutritional techniques.

[Federica]

On the other hand, I have watched a few of Douglas Gabriel's videos on YT and they are chock full of esoteric information and insight, although his approach is similarly tailored towards those who are already well-versed in Anthroposophy. He is certainly an interesting character and tends towards a very schematic intellectual framework. Nevertheless, I am sure there are many insights to be gained from contemplating his work from the proper living perspective. Perhaps some of those videos shed more light on the nutritional system as well.

Yes, I've now read a great article on what he calls "Neoanthroposophy" (though I was doubtful before starting it) and watched a couple of videos that I find very well done and presented with great clarity of mind. Maybe you have first come across DG and noticed the nutrition material only later?

Yeah, I certainly investigated some of the other work before deciding to post the nutritional material here. That being said, I still want to emphasize that i am not suggesting anyone should dive right into the nutritional program or 'wholeheartedly trust' it, as you said earlier. It was only posted in the same spirit as the earlier discussion about ingesting psychedelic substances, where we think through potential spiritual influences at work and whether there is anything positive in them for spiritual development. I suppose the nutritional program is somewhat less risky to try out in so far as it concerns drinking clean water, vitamin supplements, organic coffee, oatmeal, himalayan salts, and so forth. But it is up to each individual to research the substances involved and pay attention to how they influence the whole body-soul-spirit. I was just wondering if anyone already had familiarity with such nutritional techniques.

Sure, Ashvin, I understand. In fact, "wholeheartedly trust" was just my not so effective attempt to make the critique less harsh as you recently recommended that I try (like, maybe I could trust it, but not wholeheartedly)

Regarding familiarity with the nutritional recommendations, for my part I do have organic coffee and organic oatmeal, but the course recommends biodynamic coffee, which is different, surely great, but also very expensive. I don't take vitamin supplements, any supplements. There is conclusive scientific research to show that many drugstore, synthetic vitamin supplements are carcinogenic, and I am not very sensitive to certain marketing that pushes us to medicalize all aspects of life. I have the chance to live in a place with great water quality. I am very fortunate to be able to drink clean tap water, slightly alkaline. I have recently bought himalayan salt in blocks, mainly because I enjoy breaking the rose stony blocks with mortar and pestle to 'make' salt as needed. It doesn't salt very much, so there's a decent amount of stone breaking involved
Now, what is the influence of all this on my body-soul-spirit, I have to admit I have no idea.

[Anthony66]

Reading some of what has been written here and listening to some Steiner talks on the topic of imaginative cognition makes me wonder whether I actually have attained it to some degree if it is essentially characterised by the formation of images in the absence of sensory objects. I would be very surprised if this was the case.

When I meditate, I can quite easily enter a mode where all manner of fractal like imagery appears of which I can exert a degree of control over the form. It can be quite captivating and sometimes I allow myself to watch the unfolding patters for some time. But I've always presumed that be be a distraction and have generally avoided being drawn into it. I remember from a very young age having nightmares which involved being in a similar fractal space, often enclosed in a small room like a toilet where the walls would be morphing with these patterns. It was quite frightening and I was glad when such dreams subsided as I grew older.

Do other people here have such experiences in meditation and what is the difference between this and imaginative cognition?

Anthony,

I don't know if subsequent comments addressed your question in this post. I am also not really sure of the answer to your question.

It may help to hear what meditative exercises you are doing and how vivid is the imagery? One thing to perhaps consider is how the fractal imagery hearkens back to childhood experiences, perhaps related to subconscious fears. Have you had any other experiences besides the fractals? My understanding is that, generally speaking, supersensible imaginations will not be something that could be drawn from our memory. In any case, it is impressive that you are able to resist being drawn into it and remain concentrated.

In the case of voluntarily produced clairvoyance there comes a moment in the course of the soul's inner activity when we know: now my soul is experiencing something that it never experienced before. The experience is not a definite one, but a general feeling that we are not confronting the outer world of the senses, nor are we within it, nor yet are we within ourselves as in the ordinary life of the soul. The outer and inner experiences melt into one, into a feeling of life, hitherto unknown to the soul, concerning which, however, the soul knows that it could not be felt if it were only living within the outer world by means of the senses or by its ordinary feelings and recollections. We feel, moreover, that during this condition of the soul something is penetrating into it from a world hitherto unknown.

My general meditation practice involves 3 phases:
1. Relaxation. Here I try to have no expectations upon myself and I simply sit quietly and progressively relax various components of my body. I don't try to concentrate in this phase as I've found that it is a futile exercise particularly if I've just come off a long day at work.
2. Concentration. Here I will typically focus on the breath but occasionally I'll direct my attention on a particular element of my physiology or even a different point in "space". It is here that I typically experience the visuals that I've described, particularly if my focus is in the region of the third eye.
3. Active concentration. Here I employ the "modern" forms of meditation where I generate an object and concentrate on that object.

So it's in the 2nd phase of meditation that the imagery appears. As I said, this is often fractal in nature but sometimes it can be akin to a spider's web, sometimes cosmic vistas, sometimes forest themes, sometimes geometrical, sometimes endless tunnels. The last few nights I've tried to focus on this a bit more so I could provide some more details but I haven't been able to experience anything terribly vivid. Sometimes it is extremely vivid.

Certainly not all of the imagery is of the nature that I experienced in the childhood nightmares.

Whether the imagery is drawn from memory is a hard question. It's almost like whatever is producing it, is riffing on imagery I have seen. I'm often left with the question, "What on earth produced that?"

[Federica]

Reading some of what has been written here and listening to some Steiner talks on the topic of imaginative cognition makes me wonder whether I actually have attained it to some degree if it is essentially characterised by the formation of images in the absence of sensory objects. I would be very surprised if this was the case.

When I meditate, I can quite easily enter a mode where all manner of fractal like imagery appears of which I can exert a degree of control over the form. It can be quite captivating and sometimes I allow myself to watch the unfolding patters for some time. But I've always presumed that be be a distraction and have generally avoided being drawn into it. I remember from a very young age having nightmares which involved being in a similar fractal space, often enclosed in a small room like a toilet where the walls would be morphing with these patterns. It was quite frightening and I was glad when such dreams subsided as I grew older.

Do other people here have such experiences in meditation and what is the difference between this and imaginative cognition?

Anthony,

I don't know if subsequent comments addressed your question in this post. I am also not really sure of the answer to your question.

It may help to hear what meditative exercises you are doing and how vivid is the imagery? One thing to perhaps consider is how the fractal imagery hearkens back to childhood experiences, perhaps related to subconscious fears. Have you had any other experiences besides the fractals? My understanding is that, generally speaking, supersensible imaginations will not be something that could be drawn from our memory. In any case, it is impressive that you are able to resist being drawn into it and remain concentrated.

In the case of voluntarily produced clairvoyance there comes a moment in the course of the soul's inner activity when we know: now my soul is experiencing something that it never experienced before. The experience is not a definite one, but a general feeling that we are not confronting the outer world of the senses, nor are we within it, nor yet are we within ourselves as in the ordinary life of the soul. The outer and inner experiences melt into one, into a feeling of life, hitherto unknown to the soul, concerning which, however, the soul knows that it could not be felt if it were only living within the outer world by means of the senses or by its ordinary feelings and recollections. We feel, moreover, that during this condition of the soul something is penetrating into it from a world hitherto unknown.

My general meditation practice involves 3 phases:
1. Relaxation. Here I try to have no expectations upon myself and I simply sit quietly and progressively relax various components of my body. I don't try to concentrate in this phase as I've found that it is a futile exercise particularly if I've just come off a long day at work.
2. Concentration. Here I will typically focus on the breath but occasionally I'll direct my attention on a particular element of my physiology or even a different point in "space". It is here that I typically experience the visuals that I've described, particularly if my focus is in the region of the third eye.
3. Active concentration. Here I employ the "modern" forms of meditation where I generate an object and concentrate on that object.

So it's in the 2nd phase of meditation that the imagery appears. As I said, this is often fractal in nature but sometimes it can be akin to a spider's web, sometimes cosmic vistas, sometimes forest themes, sometimes geometrical, sometimes endless tunnels. The last few nights I've tried to focus on this a bit more so I could provide some more details but I haven't been able to experience anything terribly vivid. Sometimes it is extremely vivid.

Certainly not all of the imagery is of the nature that I experienced in the childhood nightmares.

Whether the imagery is drawn from memory is a hard question. It's almost like whatever is producing it, is riffing on imagery I have seen. I'm often left with the question, "What on earth produced that?"

Anthony,

I was wondering: in your n. 2, have you tried the fluffy feather exercise?
I'm not sure, when you say that you typically focus on breath, what this means exactly.

We can imagine a small fluffy feather in our mind’s eye.



Then we can imagine the air element within us and everywhere. For simplicity, we can disregard the physical breathing apparatus and consider only the air. When we breathe in it is as if the air is sucked in from all directions towards our center (chest region). When we exhale, we do the opposite – air expands in all directions. We are like a sphere of air.

Now think of a feather like the above floating in the air. Think how even our gentlest breath carries it away. This leads us to the exercise. When we concentrate on the feather image in our mind’s eye, we try to make our breathing so slow, smooth and gentle that the feather barely moves. We should picture the pulsating air sphere caressing the feather. This would be very easy if we hold the feather in our mind as if nailed. Then we can imagine even a strong wind and it will stay in place. But we have to be very gentle. The feather should feel weightless, we shouldn’t touch it in our imagination with anything solid – only with the air.

The goal of such an exercise is to feel how we don't modify our breathing in hope that something will happen as a result but instead we work directly with the ideal and allow it to inspire the corresponding breathing. This smooth inner soul space is a necessity for proper reflection of the Imaginative. The smooth surface of the lake (or the pond from our talks) in which the mountains and stars reflect is almost a cliché, but it is nevertheless true. Yet instead of mechanically smoothing the surface, we should do that in response to the mountains and stars (or feather) that we want to behold. Thus to the question “what should my breathing be in meditation?” we should answer “whatever the soul space requires in order to manifest its rhythmic and beautiful musical forms”. And of course, one of the best exercises is breathing the light of the Sun (especially in early morning, ideally at Sunrise). With every breath we should try to feel the Divine Ideas that need to be accommodated in our soul. Once again, we should do that with openness as if we want the incoming Inspirations to entrain our breath.

[Anthony66]

Anthony,

I don't know if subsequent comments addressed your question in this post. I am also not really sure of the answer to your question.

It may help to hear what meditative exercises you are doing and how vivid is the imagery? One thing to perhaps consider is how the fractal imagery hearkens back to childhood experiences, perhaps related to subconscious fears. Have you had any other experiences besides the fractals? My understanding is that, generally speaking, supersensible imaginations will not be something that could be drawn from our memory. In any case, it is impressive that you are able to resist being drawn into it and remain concentrated.

My general meditation practice involves 3 phases:
1. Relaxation. Here I try to have no expectations upon myself and I simply sit quietly and progressively relax various components of my body. I don't try to concentrate in this phase as I've found that it is a futile exercise particularly if I've just come off a long day at work.
2. Concentration. Here I will typically focus on the breath but occasionally I'll direct my attention on a particular element of my physiology or even a different point in "space". It is here that I typically experience the visuals that I've described, particularly if my focus is in the region of the third eye.
3. Active concentration. Here I employ the "modern" forms of meditation where I generate an object and concentrate on that object.

So it's in the 2nd phase of meditation that the imagery appears. As I said, this is often fractal in nature but sometimes it can be akin to a spider's web, sometimes cosmic vistas, sometimes forest themes, sometimes geometrical, sometimes endless tunnels. The last few nights I've tried to focus on this a bit more so I could provide some more details but I haven't been able to experience anything terribly vivid. Sometimes it is extremely vivid.

Certainly not all of the imagery is of the nature that I experienced in the childhood nightmares.

Whether the imagery is drawn from memory is a hard question. It's almost like whatever is producing it, is riffing on imagery I have seen. I'm often left with the question, "What on earth produced that?"

Anthony,

I was wondering: in your n. 2, have you tried the fluffy feather exercise?
I'm not sure, when you say that you typically focus on breath, what this means exactly.

We can imagine a small fluffy feather in our mind’s eye.



Then we can imagine the air element within us and everywhere. For simplicity, we can disregard the physical breathing apparatus and consider only the air. When we breathe in it is as if the air is sucked in from all directions towards our center (chest region). When we exhale, we do the opposite – air expands in all directions. We are like a sphere of air.

Now think of a feather like the above floating in the air. Think how even our gentlest breath carries it away. This leads us to the exercise. When we concentrate on the feather image in our mind’s eye, we try to make our breathing so slow, smooth and gentle that the feather barely moves. We should picture the pulsating air sphere caressing the feather. This would be very easy if we hold the feather in our mind as if nailed. Then we can imagine even a strong wind and it will stay in place. But we have to be very gentle. The feather should feel weightless, we shouldn’t touch it in our imagination with anything solid – only with the air.

The goal of such an exercise is to feel how we don't modify our breathing in hope that something will happen as a result but instead we work directly with the ideal and allow it to inspire the corresponding breathing. This smooth inner soul space is a necessity for proper reflection of the Imaginative. The smooth surface of the lake (or the pond from our talks) in which the mountains and stars reflect is almost a cliché, but it is nevertheless true. Yet instead of mechanically smoothing the surface, we should do that in response to the mountains and stars (or feather) that we want to behold. Thus to the question “what should my breathing be in meditation?” we should answer “whatever the soul space requires in order to manifest its rhythmic and beautiful musical forms”. And of course, one of the best exercises is breathing the light of the Sun (especially in early morning, ideally at Sunrise). With every breath we should try to feel the Divine Ideas that need to be accommodated in our soul. Once again, we should do that with openness as if we want the incoming Inspirations to entrain our breath.

When I concentrate on the breath, I do so in the Vipasanna sense, focussing on and dissecting the flow of air into its various components - in, out, turning point, quickening, slowing. I've done it for so many hours and years now that I quickly drop into a mode where the breath as such is not required as an object of concentrations, rather the general "space of breath" becomes a focus of awareness.

Consciously slowing the breathe as per the feather exercise is often challenging for me. I do fairly hard physical training which leaves me with an elevated heart rate the breathing rate for some hours after training. Trying to slow my breath or quiet my breath can become distracting as my body demands a certain rate of oxygen intake. But yes, I should try the exercise to not consciously slow the breath but let it do so as a secondary effect.

[Federica]

When I concentrate on the breath, I do so in the Vipasanna sense, focussing on and dissecting the flow of air into its various components - in, out, turning point, quickening, slowing. I've done it for so many hours and years now that I quickly drop into a mode where the breath as such is not required as an object of concentrations, rather the general "space of breath" becomes a focus of awareness.

Consciously slowing the breathe as per the feather exercise is often challenging for me. I do fairly hard physical training which leaves me with an elevated heart rate the breathing rate for some hours after training. Trying to slow my breath or quiet my breath can become distracting as my body demands a certain rate of oxygen intake. But yes, I should try the exercise to not consciously slow the breath but let it do so as a secondary effect.

I have no experience or knowledge of Vipassana breathing to comment. If I may add an off-topic note - I am no medical doctor, however I suspect that having an elevated heart rate hours after a training session, even if intense (and I'd say especially if it's intense) may not be very good. You may be overexerting yourself and/or your breathing exercises may not be the best complement to the training? Probably another good reason to try spiritually active exercises such as Cleric's feather exercise.

[Cleric K]

I would like to share an exercise. It’s not my invention. Sometimes, after more turbulent day it might be difficult to concentrate right away. I find the following useful.

With eyes closed, we simply move the focus of attention in figure ∞ around our eyes. It is as if we trace the frames of glasses shaped as lemniscate.



This could be easier than immediate concentration, because the moving focus is more engaging for the intellect, so it may be easier to avoid distractions.

As usual, the more smoothly and uninterruptedly (“without lifting the pen of attention”) we can do this, the better. We may notice that we have the tendency to 'toss' our attention from one end to the other. This should be avoided. Instead, we need to feel as the firm (without any lax) driving force of attention at any point along the path. Then from time to time we can stop at the crossing point and stay still for a while.

I can describe my personal experience in the following way. When the inner state is turbulent, concentration feels as if placed within boiling inner phenomena. Distractions pull us in all directions quite chaotically. When we move our focus of attention in the described way, it is as if we instill certain order, as if we are ‘combing’ the imaginative streams in the head. Then when we stop at the crossing point distractions will come again but they may feel differently, more like smoother waves. So, the comparison with turbulence and flow is “more than allegory”. Our imaginative flow can indeed be grasped as having certain momentum, it is inertial. Just like when we swirl water in a bucket, it will continue its motion for a while, so these inner motions that we impress through our activity instill certain inertial flow in our imagination.

When we have some sense of this inner flow we may try an interesting extension to the exercise. We anchor our attention at the crossing point and do the movement only with fluid-like peripheral flow. This may feel impossible at first. It seems that we can't have our attention firmly anchored and yet do things with its periphery without our focus moving there, yet gradually we can learn to do it. The center point may not be perfectly stable it may nudge with the peripheral flow but the experience is unmistakable. This can actually give us some sense for the nature of the Imaginative state because there our ordinary attention is firmly anchored in the center of our Mandalic experience, yet the intuitive panorama of soul phenomena is grasped precisely through the way our expanded periphery of thinking attention moves.

Notice that there are two different directions in which this exercise can be performed. In one we are going down at the point of crossing, in the other – up. We may find that these directions feel differently. One of the directions can be felt as more resistive, as if there’s friction upstream. This might be because of inner disposition, just like brushing our teeth with our non-dominant hand makes us feel clumsy. Sometimes if we persist for enough time, we can reverse the flow and then the first direction feels resistive. Sometimes we can notice that these resistances are different at different times of the day.

I don’t know what the deeper meaning of all this could be, so I’m not suggesting that we should preoccupy with it, but I find it curious, so I decided to mention. It might be interesting if someone tries it, to share their own observations.

[Güney27]

I would like to share an exercise. It’s not my invention. Sometimes, after more turbulent day it might be difficult to concentrate right away. I find the following useful.

With eyes closed, we simply move the focus of attention in figure ∞ around our eyes. It is as if we trace the frames of glasses shaped as lemniscate.



This could be easier than immediate concentration, because the moving focus is more engaging for the intellect, so it may be easier to avoid distractions.

As usual, the more smoothly and uninterruptedly (“without lifting the pen of attention”) we can do this, the better. We may notice that we have the tendency to 'toss' our attention from one end to the other. This should be avoided. Instead, we need to feel as the firm (without any lax) driving force of attention at any point along the path. Then from time to time we can stop at the crossing point and stay still for a while.

I can describe my personal experience in the following way. When the inner state is turbulent, concentration feels as if placed within boiling inner phenomena. Distractions pull us in all directions quite chaotically. When we move our focus of attention in the described way, it is as if we instill certain order, as if we are ‘combing’ the imaginative streams in the head. Then when we stop at the crossing point distractions will come again but they may feel differently, more like smoother waves. So, the comparison with turbulence and flow is “more than allegory”. Our imaginative flow can indeed be grasped as having certain momentum, it is inertial. Just like when we swirl water in a bucket, it will continue its motion for a while, so these inner motions that we impress through our activity instill certain inertial flow in our imagination.

When we have some sense of this inner flow we may try an interesting extension to the exercise. We anchor our attention at the crossing point and do the movement only with fluid-like peripheral flow. This may feel impossible at first. It seems that we can't have our attention firmly anchored and yet do things with its periphery without our focus moving there, yet gradually we can learn to do it. The center point may not be perfectly stable it may nudge with the peripheral flow but the experience is unmistakable. This can actually give us some sense for the nature of the Imaginative state because there our ordinary attention is firmly anchored in the center of our Mandalic experience, yet the intuitive panorama of soul phenomena is grasped precisely through the way our expanded periphery of thinking attention moves.

Notice that there are two different directions in which this exercise can be performed. In one we are going down at the point of crossing, in the other – up. We may find that these directions feel differently. One of the directions can be felt as more resistive, as if there’s friction upstream. This might be because of inner disposition, just like brushing our teeth with our non-dominant hand makes us feel clumsy. Sometimes if we persist for enough time, we can reverse the flow and then the first direction feels resistive. Sometimes we can notice that these resistances are different at different times of the day.

I don’t know what the deeper meaning of all this could be, so I’m not suggesting that we should preoccupy with it, but I find it curious, so I decided to mention. It might be interesting if someone tries it, to share their own observations.

Thanks for the exercise Cleric.

I will try the exercise tonight and share the results with you.