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Introduction

This tool is composed of body/mind exercizes that will result in the development of "personal power". They've been chosen to facilitate the emergence of your creative potential. While there exists a myriad of variations for each of these techniques, the following descriptions deal with the essentials. Every individual should explore them to find his or her particular style, making sure to adhere to the basics.

Method

ASANA: The asana is a sitting technique. The "Lotus Position" is the best known but it is a difficult posture for the average person. By experimenting, you should find a suitable position for yourself, one that allows you to sit still for an extended period of time without becoming "tensed up" or tired.

The only criteria to sitting in asana is that the back be straight (the head and the neck aligned with the vertebral column, respecting the spine's natural curves) and that the shoulders be squared back, centered over the hips. Beginners may use a straight-back chair or wall for support. This exercise is necessary to all creativity development work.

PRANAYANA: Pranayama is a breathing technique. Besides supplying life to organisms, the air that we breathe has an organic life of its own. Pranayama literally means the breathing of prana which is the organic vitality contained in air. Pranayama is a deep rhythmic breathing which originates very low in the abdomen and which allows the conscious perception of the texture, the volume, the life-giving force and the physical journey of air through the body. Experiment and find the rhythm (IN-1-2-3-4 -HOLD- OUT-4-3-2-1, for example) that serves you best. Pranayama balances creative energy, revitalizes the body and stills the mind.

RELAXATION: Loosen your clothing and sit in asana. In order to understand relaxation, you must first become consciously aware of tension. Tense up the muscles in your body by tightening one group at a time. Don't cramp yourself, just become aware of tension, holding the tension to a count of four and then relaxing it.

Start with your toes. Tighten the toes on your right foot -hold- relax. Tighten the toes on your left foot... hold... relax. Work up your body -> foot, ankles, calves, etc...

Tighten your scalp... relax. Tighten your whole body and then feel every muscle relax... breathe deeply... hold... exhale. Find your rhythm...

Become aware that you are completely and totally relaxed. Your body feels light, "you" are floating freely and melting in deeper relaxation... breathe a deep relaxing rhythm... exhale...

Feel yourself leave stress behind... leave fear, anxiety and worries behind. Perceive tension as being shadows which are slipping away from you and falling to the ground. Feel yourself becoming fresh and new... breathe in a new you, breathe out the old.

Allow yourself to slip deeply into the comfort of total relaxation and visit for 10-15 minutes. When you're ready, allow yourself to very gently come back to reality... open your eyes and slowly move your body. Stand up calmly and gently stretch a little.

Practice this exercise daily until you can willfully relax without going through the entire process. Train your conscious spirit to be completely alert and yet totally relaxed at all times. This discipline develops a serenity of spirit and incredible personal power.

VISUALIZATION: Visualization is viewing a picture you build in your mind's eye using a series of interlinking thoughts. The larger or more complex the picture, the more thoughts are necessary, each thought being an aspect of the final picture. Visualization requires developing two capacities: the first is the discipline to maintain clarity and focus of mind; the second is the ability to create a visual image while you view and hold it internally.

Technique A : Begin with the relaxation exercise. Once you have completely relaxed, you are ready for the next step: Imagine that you are seated inside a theatre. The hall is quite dark and you are sitting very close to a giant screen,which is the only thing you can see. Imagine that the number 10 appears on the screen in very large, well lit numerals. Enjoy seeing the number and hold the view for a few seconds, allowing it to completely disappear and be immediately replaced by the number 9, then 8, and so on to 1. Now do the exercise again with the ascending sequence 1-10. Take the time to truly see the numbers, holding them and visualizing every detail. Remain calm, breathing deeply, finishing the visualization by being soothed with the blank screen and then ending it as you would the relaxation exercise. Note: Practice this exercise daily until you can easely change the numbers on the screen. The capacity to visualize want you want is the first step to attaining it.

Technique B : Begin with the relaxation exercise. Once you are completely relaxed, you are ready for the next step: On your inner screen, imagine a situation which is similar to one you would like to experience, to accomplish or to have. Imagine yourself as a film director and clearly develop the scenario -its location, the set, the props, the cast and the extras- so that it corresponds exactly to what you want. Use your senses to actually "feel" the event as if it were real. Direct it so that it perfectly matches your ideal. Imagine yourself "starring" in your vision; imagine yourself in perfect harmony, serenity and joy.

Capture the scenario's subtle nuances with your "mind's eye" camera. Hold your vision, replaying it for about 10 minutes and then slowly allow it to dissolve, empty your mind and relax. End your visualization as you would the relaxation exercise.

Creative visualization is very useful for planning the different stages and changes in life. "Anything the mind can conceive, the will can achieve" sayeth the wise man... and this because the human brain makes no difference between reality and, visualization, dream or illusion, treating them all as real and learning from them all, tracing neuropathways, etc…

The mastery of this exercise is the key to developing the deepest self-confidence. (If you experience trouble learning to visualize, you can begin by learning to gaze. Gazing is a conscious, eyes opened exercise. Find a form such as a leaf, stone, crystal or other complex pattern. Using eyes as mere windows, suspending all judgement, "see" the form in infinite and exquisite detail. Discipline your mind to observe without thought. The effects of this exercise are quite wondrous.)

Note:

PERCEPTUAL ENHANCEMENT : Begin with the relaxation exercise. Once you are completely relaxed use the visualization exercise to imagine the following perceptions and thus enhance your technique:

Note: Find your own concepts, ideas, forms, odors, etc... and develop "sense perception" as often as you can. The cumulative effect of this exercise will greatly enrich your quality of life.

"MEETING INNER POWER" : Sit in Asana. Relax and breathe Pranayama.

Method: Imagine that you are comfortably seated in front of a crackling campfire. You're in the middle of a magnificent forest and you can see the shadows of majestic pines which are stretching towards a clear sky, under the light of the full moon. You have never felt so calm and so well; the healing warmth of the fire is lulling you into a deeper and deeper relaxation.

You begin gazing through the flames, across the campfire, and become aware of a silhouette. You are perfectly relaxed and you allow the picture to become clearer; you begin to distinguish a face. At first you don't recognize it, but as you relax deeper and deeper it becomes more clear to you. You recognize that the face is yours and you breathe deeply, looking into its eyes. You understand that the face belongs to the "perfect" you. It is perfectly healthy, radiating serenity, wisdom, and prosperity; it eyes are telling you how this is the face of the potential within you.

For the first time in your life, you have the opportunity to speak with the real you. You relax deeply and contemplate that part of you which is ultimate wellness, creative intelligence, infinite wisdom and prosperity.

In relaxed contemplation, visualize the "perfect" you on your inner screen. How are you dressed? How are you sitting? Look at the intensity of your eyes, see the light radiating from them. Look at the expression on your face; examine the attitude in it.

While contemplating the perfect you, formulate a question and expect to receive a perfect answer. Ask a question of this higher mind and wait for the answer. Relax and breathe deeply.

When you have your answer let the silhouette begin to dissolve. Feel the warmth of the fire and let the forest begin to dissolve. Slowly come back to a now reality by letting go of all images and relaxing. End the exercise by slowly opening your eyes and gently stretching.

Note : You can write down questions that you would like to bring into this type of visualization. You can ask your questions out loud and expect to receive the answers. The process of reaching your higher Self is more important than the Q & A techniques. It is suggested that you meet your Self as often as possible and that you allow the ideal image of yourself to transform your life. Da Free John of the Laughing Man Institute in Boston thinks that one can reach enlightenment within a very short order by continuously asking oneself "Who is the Master I am serving NOW?" This morphogenetic resonance has parasympathetic benefits on the central nervous system which cause an increase in creative receptivity.

"GROUNDING and CENTERING" : Sit in Asana. Relax and breathe Pranayama.

Method : Begin with the Relaxation exercise. Once you are perfectly relaxed, you are ready for the next step. Visualize a tube extending from the base of your spinal column to the centre of the earth. If you are indoors, visualize the tube going through the floors into the earth. Imagine the tube as being like an electrical grounding wire. Breathe slowly and deeply. When you are inhaling, visualize the tube; when your exhaling, feel the tube reaching deeper and deeper into the ground. Imagine the tube solidly linking the centre of the earth and the base of your spine.

Feel your skeleton. Hang your skin and your organic mass on your skeleton as you would drape jello over a wooden frame. Completely relaxed, visualize your hara (your physical centre which is about two inches below your navel between yours hips) and breathe deeply into its centre.

Gravity will signal the minute adjustments necessary to perfect your Asana. Feel yourself reach a perfect balance. Feel your psychic energy gently rising and falling in your tube as you inhale and exhale. Feel yourself firmly and gently anchored to the centre of the earth. Feel yourself reach a perfect equilibrium. Breathe deeply into your tube. Deeply and gently allow your psychic energy to reach the centre of the earth.

Note: Practice is the process and an empowered mind is a result of the process.


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